ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN AVAILABLE TODAY FOR PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE

ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN AVAILABLE TODAY FOR PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE

ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN AVAILABLE TODAY FOR PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe are pleased to announce the release of ACE COMBAT® 7: SKIES UNKNOWNtoday January 18^th, 2019 for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One – putting players in control of the most advanced war planes ever created.

Across the emotive Campaign Mode, players will dive into a world-wide conflict - with blurred lines between who is right and wrong - and experience sky battles bursting with graphical power. 

In Multiplayer mode, budding pilots can take to the skies in intense 8-player dogfights or Team Deathmatch mode. From cold, strategic aces to daring, genius pilots, each player will be able to customise their favourite aircraft with more than 100 different enhanced parts, in order to perfectly match their needs. 

ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN is scheduled for take-off on 18^th January for the PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One, and on 1^st February for PC via STEAM.

PlayStation 4 system players will be able to play a full campaign on the standard mode and an exclusive and dedicated experience with specific missions developed for the Sony PlayStation®VR.

To find out more about ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN, head over to http://www.acecombat.eu. 

Diablo III Season of Grandeur Now Live!

Diablo III Season of Grandeur Now Live!

Diablo III Season of Grandeur Now Live!

Diablo III’s Season 16 is now live, bringing with it a new season theme, rewards, and the latest patch. Read on for more details!

New Season Theme: Season of Grandeur

Unlike previous Seasons, Season 16 brings a brand-new buff to change up the way you play. For the duration of Season 16, all Seasonal players will benefit from the legendary power of the Ring of Royal Grandeur. This means you do not need to farm or equip the item to benefit from its ability! Bear in mind that this buff does not stack with additional Rings of Royal Grandeur, whether they be equipped directly to your character or via the Jewelry slot in Kanai’s Cube.

New Cosmetic Rewards

As per tradition, Season 16 will introduce new cosmetic rewards, obtainable by progressing through the Season Journey. In addition to the Helm and Shoulder slots of the exclusive Conqueror Set, a brand-new series of portrait frames themed around the clarion call of adventure will be available. Also, our most devoted cosmetic collectors will rejoice as they can now earn a pair of wings fit for a monarch. The Wings of Lempo draw inspiration from some of the noblest creatures in Sanctuary.

Seasonal Conquests

The Seasonal Conquest rotation continues! For the speedy, Speed Demon/Need for Speed requires the fastest nephalem to complete a Nephalem Rift at level 70 on Torment X or higher in under two minutes. A Good Day/I Can’t Stop encourages you to get your Legendary Gem grind on; raise three Legendary Gems to level 65 to complete this challenge! For the fiercest demon slayers, Boss Mode/Worlds Apart is a speed challenge where you’ll need to eliminate the following bosses at level 70 and Torment X in under twenty minutes:

• The Skeleton King
• The Butcher
• Zoltun Kulle
• Ghom
• Cydaea
• Rakanoth
• Diablo
• Adria
• Queen Araneae
• Maghda
• Belial
• Siegebreaker Assault Beast
• Azmodan
• Izual
• Urzael
• Malthael

For Curses!/Stars Align, pick any Cursed Chest event that requires killing monsters and defeat over 350 or more at level 70 on Torment X or higher. Finally, Years of War/Dynasty demonstrates your mastery of multiple classes by clearing a Greater Rift level 55 Solo with the full bonuses of any six full Class sets.

Haedrig’s Gift

The Class Sets available for completing certain chapters in the Season Journey courtesy of Haedrig’s Gift have rotated once more. The set you will receive depends on the Class of the character you’re playing when you open each Haedrig’s Gift. To collect a full Class Set, you’ll need to open all three on the same character.

Here are the sets granted by Haedrig’s Gift in Season 16:

• Barbarian – Immortal King’s Call
• Crusader – Seeker of the Light
• Demon Hunter – Natalya’s Vengeance
• Monk – Uliana’s Stratagem
• Necromancer – Trag’Oul’s Avatar
• Witch Doctor – Spirit of Arachyr
• Wizard – Vyr’s Amazing Arcana

Quality of Life Changes

Taken directly from player feedback, we’ve focused on a couple of frequently requested changes to improve the overall Diablo experience. This includes minor changes, such as removing Legendary potions from player inventories so that they no longer take up space, but also more significant changes to celebrating end-game loot, in the form of Primal Legendaries.

Class Set Updates

The balance changes from Patch 2.6.1 have had a few seasons to percolate, allowing most classes and builds to settle in to comfort areas for their best performance. With Patch 2.6.4, we’ve identified some of the best performing builds, like Condemn Crusader and Rathma’s Necromancer, and we’re looking to bring as many of the other class set builds up to par.

SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION ANNOUNCED FOR SWITCH AND STEAM IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION ANNOUNCED FOR SWITCH AND STEAM IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe has announced the worldwide release of the highly anticipated SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION on Nintendo Switch™ and PC Digital via STEAM® - the first game in the series to be released in the West when it arrives on April 5^th, 2019.

SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION takes place in Hero Town, an alternate reality where a Dragon Ballcard game is the most popular form of entertainment. Players take on the role of Beat, the protagonist of SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION, and follow his journey to become the world champion of Super Dragon Ball Heroes. However, when the antagonists from the virtual game world appear in Hero Town and start wreaking havoc, Beat jumps into the game world and teams up with famous Dragon Ball characters to restore peace in the real world.

SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION is a card battle game featuring fighters from across all the Dragon Ball universes, transformations never seen before, and a brand-new character designed by Toyotarou, the mangaka (manga creator) of Dragon Ball Super.  The game will feature a gigantic roster with 350 fighters available, and over 1000 collectable cards.

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE Esports Expands Into New Zealand With First Ever LAN Event

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE Esports Expands Into New Zealand With First Ever LAN Event

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE ESPORTS EXPANDS INTO NEW ZEALAND WITH FIRST EVER LAN EVENT

The LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier will be held in Auckland

Today, Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege esports will expand in the New Zealand market with the first ever LAN event in Auckland. The LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier will be operated by LetsPlay.Live, marking the first time the tournament operator and Ubisoft have worked together.

The LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier will commence next month with online open qualifiers taking place Saturday 16^th and Sunday 17^th February, 2019. A prize pool of NZ$1,000 will be on offer, with 1^st place taking home NZ$750 and 2^nd place taking home NZ$250. Registration is open to Australian and New Zealand players aged 15 years or older. Teams will be required to have at least three out of five players be residents of New Zealand in order to compete. An offline LAN Final will take place at LPL Studios in the Sky Tower in Auckland the weekend commencing Saturday 23^rd February, 2019. The top 2 teams from this event will qualify for the Six Oceanic Cup in March. Teams and players can register for the LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier via https://letsplay.live/lpl-pro-six-oceanic-cup-nz-qualifier. The LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier can be watched live at twitch.tv/rainbow6anz andyoutube.com/c/rainbow6anz.

Duane Mutu, LetsPlay.Live Director, said, “LPL is delighted to be supporting Ubisoft in bringing competitive Rainbow Six Siege to New Zealand for the first time. The LPL PRO Six Oceanic Cup NZ Qualifier will be an incredible opportunity for our regional gamers to bring their skills into the spotlight and offer a potential pathway into competitive esports.”

The Six Oceanic Cup will be a 2-week, single elimination, best-of-3 tournament featuring 8 teams and will commence with the online quarter finals on March 16^th and 17^th, 2019. The semi-finals and grand final will take place in Auburn, NSW on Saturday 23^rd March, 2019. More details about the Six Oceanic Cup, including the prize pool and ticket availability will be shared in the near future.

For more information about Rainbow Six Siege esports please visit rainbow6.com and follow us at https://twitter.com/rainbow6anz. All Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege ANZ esports content can be enjoyed live at twitch.tv/rainbow6anz and youtube.com/c/rainbow6anz.

Halloween: DVD Review

Halloween: DVD Review

Michael Myers is back.

And you can just forget about all the other sequels spawned post the 1978 launch of the first Halloween, because this latest cares not one jot for the middling to trashy quality of what was launched after.

In the latest, with a script from Danny McBride amongst others, babysitter murderer Michael Myers (Castle, non-speaking and menacing in shape) is about to be transferred to another jail - on October 31st, 2018.

And this being a horror film, you can guess what happens next....

Halloween is a film of two halves.

An utterly gripping finale caps off what is a fairly average thrill ride throughout.

The narrative seems to fall into a mesh of wanting to bring some storyboards to vivid life creating more iconic images of the masked one as he goes around ruthlessly killing and putting him on the inevitable collision course with Curtis' Laurie Strode.

It's in the second half of this execution that the film's more successful, largely thanks to Curtis' performance, which encapsulates both the terror of knowing what's coming, and the bitterness of having a life ruined by four decades of post-trauma. In many ways, this Halloween is a paean to those left behind by crimes, and who have to endure - and Curtis, with her mix of resentment and recalcitrant approach, more than rises to the challenge, without ever resorting to cheap acting.

Equally Castle's embodiment of the unstoppable unemotional shape once again captures what an effective Boogeyman is - as Strode says " An evil like his never stops, it just grows older. Darker. More determined." Castle turns Myers into myth, and there are genuine terrors when the impassive 
mask stares at the screen and menaces Strode and her daughter in the finale.

Elsewhere along the way, the film flounders, throwing together a kids in peril plot with a kids rowing over love plot that never gels, and merely provides more slashing fodder for Myers' knife to sink into. It's never interested in providing deep characters outside of the core trio, and potentially never really pretends to.

It may be evocative in parts as it crosses through the tropes and thanks to the perennially chilling song from that score, but Halloween only works best when it's stripped down to basics.

If you're willing to weather the ride, the finale more than rewards you with a housebound showdown that simply personifies the primal terror of the Boogeyman. 

First Man: Blu Ray Review

First Man: Blu Ray Review

The story of the first Man on the Moon is not one that needs to be told.

Everyone knows how it happened and that it happened (unless you subscribe to the conspiracy theories), so Whiplash and La La Land director Damien Chazelle didn't really have his work cut out convincing us of what happened.

However, once again, as he explores the nature of obsession (as with previous films), Chazelle's occasionally slow but neverless than thrilling First Man is the Neil Armstrong film you didn't know you needed.

Gosling's almost automaton-like turn as the pilot turned astronaut anchors the film - though in truth, the connection with family is actually at the core of this space flick. Taking in the years 1961 to 1969 and threading in the death of Armstrong's daughter, First Man looks at the human cost of the space race, the desperation of defeat from the Soviets in parts and those left behind.

It's an interesting concoction, a mix that's slow to brew at times, and that never jettisons pace for necessity of narrative.

But in its space capsule sequences, and its adaption of practical FX (where possible - you'll be hard pressed to find any line), Chazelle, along with sound effects editor Phil Barrie, creates something utterly nerve-shredding.

Clever use of silence (aside from the actual launch for the Moon mission, the one aural misstep where a bombastic OST ruins the atmosphere) and a concentration on the rivets and creaks of the rocket's capsule make the pilot sequences both claustrophobic and thrilling.

Everything rattles - including your teeth - giving you a psychological insight into what the pilots must have felt inside, not knowing what's coming or if this is the end. It's further exacerbated in one sequence where a thump and puff of smoke viewed from outside is utterly devastating.

Simply put, if the use of sound in First Man doesn't secure some kind of award, the system is broken.

Elsewhere, Gosling's touches give Armstong an aloof icy detachedness - you're never quite 100% sure you get to his core, and there are questions about one final sequence on the moon. However, small subtle moments add to the unfolding tension. And Foy's support swerves unnervingly from solid to faltering under the pressure; again, both Foy and Gosling make the best of their slightly under-served arcs. It's not 100% convincing that you leave First Man knowing massively more about the man himself, though it's not entirely clear whether that's the film's MO - and certainly, those who knew Armstrong say they never really knew him.

Equally the politics of space-race are sidelined in favour of the simplicity of the drama; this is not a film where great speeches are dispatched extolling the virtues of why it's important, how small man is etc.

But it's in the thrill and terror of this technically adept biopic that proves to be enthralling; you can understand the joy of what NASA achieved and how they felt, even if the script fails to fully place it into words for you.

And that's perhaps Chazelle's greatest achievement here - a clinical commitment to the nuts and bolts (literally) of NASA and the rush to space that proves First Man is gripping from beginning to rather abrupt end.

First Man is one giant leap for space cinema in many ways. 

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot: DVD Review

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot: DVD Review

A heady mix of life-affirming biography, swirled in with a truly chameleonic performance from Joaquin Phoenix as Oregon slacker John Callahan, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot shouldn't really work.

After all, it's the usual trappings of a illness TV movie of the week - guy wrecks his life, guy tries to put his life back together. But what it is about Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot that works is simply, Phoenix.

Callahan was paralysed after a car accident at the age of 21, in which the driver, a fellow alcholic played with anarchic glee by Jack Black, walked away scot free. Callahan was not so lucky, choosing to go down the path of self-destruction before ultimate redemption, and discovering a penchant for black-humoured cartoons.

A patchwork portmanteau start sees Van Sant messing with timelines, a twitchy holding-you-at-arms-length approach which takes some getting used to. But as the story treads its familiar route, it's peppered with such warmth and disarming moments of humour and reality that its sentiment wins you over (even if it dangerously veers close to overdose at times, and showcases some of the lesser written characters, such as Mara's carer / girlfriend).

Thankfully, Phoenix delivers another stunning performance.

Whether it's Callahan going hell for leather in his wheelchair through the streets, or making his own denials about what his mother did to him, Phoenix takes every moment and makes it his own, overcoming the script's occasional weaknesses and the somewhat sanitised view of life in a wheelchair.

It's impossible not to feel something for Callahan in this, and Phoenix is the main reason why, along with the anarchic tones and touches deployed throughout. Solid support comes from an early unrecognisable Jonah Hill, whose Jesus Christ-like hippy sponsor becomes central to peripherary proceedings.

Never stronger than when it uses some deftly off-kilter touches to develop the film from above its overtly familiar roots, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot trades a careful line between inspiring and irritating.

In the end though, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot works, and hits a level of affecting which is as surprising as it is moving. 

You Were Never Really Here: DVD Review

You Were Never Really Here: DVD Review

Director Lynne Ramsay's thriller is bathed in brutality, but also beaten down in humanity.

A hooded, hulking and haunted Joaquin Phoenix is Joe, a hitman former veteran, whose specialty is saving children from sex rings.

Aside from the repugnance of his day job, Joe spends the time outside of the job looking after his mother, who's ailing and in need of care.

But when Joe's called in to a kidnapping of a US senator, what he believes is a cut-and-dry job turns into something a lot more personal - and potentially fatal.

Based on the 2013 Jonathan Ames' novel, Ramsay's sparsity with the camera work and the hallucinatory material within works masterfully for You Were Never Really Here.

It's aided by a sterling turn by Phoenix, whose intensity is suited to the anger contained within Joe as he dispatches his law-breakers with a hammer. But Phoenix also makes a case for real tenderness in terms of his interaction with his mother and also the victims of the child sex rings.

It's these touches which lift You Were Never Really Here out of the darkness that it inhabits.

Ramsay (who did We Need To Talk About Kevin) keeps things taut and interesting throughout - rather than fixating on the violent means of despatching, she angles the camera away from proceedings.

When Joe breaks into a hotel to free his victims, CCTV footage shows the scene but cuts just before the method of murder is revealed; equally a desperate fight on the floor is depicted through a ceiling mirror - it's impressive stuff that's not too showy, but very effective.

It helps with the disorientation too, as You Were Never Really Here has an overall feeling of thrilling wooziness as it plays out.

Greatly enhanced by a turn from Phoenix that keeps you riveted as the conspiracy plays out, You Were Never Really Here is as much of a trip for the audience as it is on screen.

It may be a trip to a seedy underbelly, but thanks to Ramsay and Phoenix, it's a trip that's well worth taking.  

Venom: DVD Review

Venom: DVD Review

As tonally schizophrenic as its star talking to its symbiote, Sony’s attempt to bring anti-hero Venom into the 21st century stumbles into cliched exposition land but never fully finds its feet.

Hardy is Eddie Brock, a crusading internet reporter whose show The Eddie Brock Report champions the wronged

But when Brock loses his job and his fiancée (Williams, in a phone-it-in turn) because of his refusal to be a patsy in his interview with Riz Ahmed’s tech giant Carlton Drake, he spirals down.

Offered a chance months later to find out what Drake has been up to at the LIFE institute, Brock’s life is changed when he’s infected with a parasitic alien creature aka Venom.

With the LIFE institute after him to retrieve their “property”, the Brock/ Venom hybrid goes on the run as they try to stop the conspiracy.

Venom feels like a curious hybrid itself - and much like the symbiote struggles with its prospective host, director Fleischer struggles to deliver something that feels nothing more than a garbled, rushed mess.

A hastily assembled opening 20 minutes barely gives any characters chance to breathe and dispenses swathes of emotionally necessary narrative for the hell of it, leaving you gasping to care for what unfolds.

Meshing body horror with a bizarre buddy comedy, Hardy gurns and mumbles his way through the film, giving Brock scant moments of humanity here and there. Plenty of the film sees him pacing and talking to himself before the CGI elements kick into play. It's a shame as Hardy's more than committed to the role, whatever it demands.

The comedic elements are fine and hint at what could have been had the PG bloodless approach been jettisoned for something darker and more twisted. If anything at times, Venom shows a troubled production and hints at a fear of going further than it could.

Some decent FX aside (the twisting rotating creatures are well done, as are scenes of the symbiotes being rejected) much of the action passes by in a blur;, and in parts looks like children flinging and flailing around wet coloured spaghetti; certainly a creature feature finale looks messy and garbled, with neither element standing out, nor the singular triumphant moment emerging at the end.


Ultimately, and sadly, this Venom lacks bite - it's not as bad as you're expecting, but it's not as good either - ironically, this venom is not the cure to the cinematic poison of anti-superhero films.

Mary Queen of Scots: Film Review

Mary Queen of Scots: Film Review

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Gemma Chan, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Joe Alwym, Jack Lowden

Director: Josie Rourke

Aiming for more than just a period piece, but barely elevating above its ambitions, Mary Queen of Scots takes in the conflict between Elizabeth and Mary in 1569.

North of the border, Mary (Ronan) arrives to a frosty reception as the Queen of the Scots. With a preacher shouting from the hilltops that she is the devil incarnate, Mary tries to negotiate the perils of Scotland rule, and the ambitions of those in her court who would depose her.

As if that wasn't bad enough, she's trying to keep Elizabeth (Robbie) in check as her court whispers that Mary will overthrow her.

There is a lot of politicking within Mary Queen of Scots, and an unbridled amount of talking as well, which holds the film back from fully gripping in the way it should.

It's an interesting take on the power of men in ancient times, and for feminist edges; and certainly, it's beset with tragedy as well as the various power plays take their forms.

But the film rarely grips as it should, teetering dangerously close to being a touch on the stultefyingly dull spectrum as it plods through its two hour run time.

Robbie is excellent - and there's inherent poignancy in the the tragedy of her time on the throne.

Riddled with jealousy at her "sister" Mary's success (good looks, blessed with a child), Robbie reaches deep within to channel some of the inherent fears of a barren woman, struggling to maintain her place as those around the throne plot and deliberate.

Restrained and remarkable, it's Robbie's turn which stands out in Mary Queen of Scots, and the screen's rarely better than when she's on it. Certainly, the fabricated meeting of the two in the final ten minutes of the film is utterly electrifying, and yet only goes to highlight what was missing beforehand.

Ronan deserves plaudits too, but her route and arc is a more traditional one, as she deals with double-crossings, plottings and betrayal. There are definitely signs of Ronan lending life to the character journey, and there's sadness in its ultimate destination which Ronan channels exquisitely and subtly.

There's a feeling that Mary Queen of Scots feels like an episode of Game of Thrones but through the prism of the Lifetime channel, and while there are some shocks, they lack the requisite strength needed to fully land.

Ultimately, Mary Queen of Scots' over-writing does it damage, failing to land a sharpness that's required. It's more than worth though for the final 10 minutes, which stand out as some of the best cinema of the year.

Glass: Film Review

Glass: Film Review

Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson, James McAvoy, Anya Taylor Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark
Director: M Night Shyamalan

There's a lot of pseudo-waffle in Glass; there's a lot of pontificating about what superheroes are, if they exist etc and there's a lot of labouring the points as this unexpected trilogy delivers its capper.

Set merely a few weeks after Split ended, Bruce Willis' David Dunn, complete with trenchcoat, is on the heels of the Horde and their monstrous member the Beast (another ferocious turn by McAvoy), following a series of abductions.

But when both the Beast and Dunn are captured and imprisoned in a sanitarium run by Dr Ellie Staple (Paulson, in expositionary mode), they find themselves questioning if they are superheroes or freaks of a medical nature.

Things are further complicated when it's revealed that also staying at the hospital under duress is Samuel L Jackson's Elijah Price aka Mr Glass....

Glass does not deliver what you'd expect, or perhaps what you'd hope for.

In some ways, that's a great thing, but it's also a stumbling block as the film lurches tonally between drama and psychobabble.

Once again McAvoy is resplendent in the role, bringing the physicality and ferocity of Split back to life as he pivots between characters with ease, imbuing the Horde with the subtleties of difference and the scale of screen grandeur that's needed.

Willis is muted, and almost sidelined in the film, adding a requisite level of tragedy to the tortured hero. And Jackson is, to be frank, solid but borderline annoying as he espouses meta-dialogue gifted him by Shyamalan, who's keen to labour each comic book point and make sure you don't miss a single one. Subtlety is not on show here, with exposition heavy scenes dulling the impact of what's gone prior.

Shymalan goes the circuitous route in Glass, fiddling with expectations and wrongfooting you at every turn. He delivers comic book action in a different way, with fights happening from other perspectives rather than the smash and crash you're used to - it's not exactly bravura stuff, but it is notable that someone's trying something different with the genre in a saturated smash-em-up market.

There's creepiness aplenty, and while you may not be emotionally invested in the Glass-half-full-glass-half-empty characters on show, Glass delivers something akin to a muted crescendo of a trilogy ender.

It stymies itself in the asylum sequences and shuts down the excitement of the earlier scenes and also films (Unbreakable and Split) - but it does deliver something which proffers an occasionally more cerebral take on a genre that's now de rigeur.

Spider-Man: Far from Home trailer

Spider-Man: Far from Home trailer

The first trailer for Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Far from Home movie has dropped.

The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming is out in July 4th.

Peter Parker returns in Spider-Man™: Far From Home, the next chapter of the Spider-Man™: Homecoming series! 

Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. 

However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent!

Directed by:                                                                    Jon Watts

Screenplay by:                                                               Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers

Based on the MARVEL Comic Book by:                  Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Produced by:                                                                  Kevin Feige

                                                                                          Amy Pascal

Storm Boy: Film Review

Storm Boy: Film Review

Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, Finn Little, Erik Thomson, Trevor Jamieson
Director: Shawn Seet

Based on a famous Australian school text by Colin Thiele, Shawn Seet's reimagining of the 1976 film Storm Boy digs deep from the well of earnest reaction to environmental concerns, while never straying too far from the central story of a boy and his friendship with a pelican.

Rush is a mournful Mike Kingley, called into a family conference over whether to allow a sell off of land for mining. Unsettled by his granddaughter's complaints over whether it's morally right, Mike decides to reflect on his past relationship with his own father and with a trio of orphaned pelicans he rescued from hunters.

Storm Boy is a curio of a film.

Clearly, in some ways, out of time from what kids and teens may come to expect from films in these superhero-filled days, Storm Boy charts a path towards a decent relationship movie, that's somewhat stymied by unsubtle touches of environmentalism.

The central story set in the past between Mike and his relatively aloof father (Courtney, doing a lot with very little) is your typical tale of man and animal bond, given a refreshing honesty and earnestness that proves hard to deny.

But the flashes back and forth prevent the narrative from fully feeling fleshed out and create a disruptive flow that's hard to shake, in among Seet's overuse of slow-mo shots and blurred images of hunters, guns and waters sullied by cans.

Rush is nicely mournful, and delivers a character who clearly rues a lot of what life has dealt to him, as he faces one last real chance of making a difference for eternity. There's a soulful edge to his performance, and while some may be too caught up in the troubles facing him in real life to focus on what's on screen, he more than delivers a melancholy turn.

In the flashbacks, the contrast with wide-eyed newcomer Little and slightly underplayed Courtney works well. And certainly the animal interactions add much heart to keep the younger end of the audience engaged.

While the film's less successful with its environmental edges, preferring to be blurred rather than outright and honest, Storm Boy is a film that feels refreshingly old school and yet bizarrely, may fail to find an audience who will be anything but inured to its charms.

Night School: DVD Review

Night School: DVD Review

From no less than six writers, "comedy" Night School aims low and continues to mine low, before delivering an unearned sentimentally sappy ending.

Hart plays Teddy Walker, a high school dropout who's living beyond his means as a BBQ salesman, and with a girlfriend Lisa clearly above his league. When a proposal goes awry, and Walker blows up the BBQ store, he realises it's time to go back to school and secure the GED diploma he never got so that he can progress in life.

But with a headmaster nemesis from his past (Killam) and a sassy teacher (Haddish) who won't stand for any of his smooth talking and desire to sail past, Teddy has his Night School work cut out.

Night School fails on many levels, but is happy to embrace as much dumb as it can to deliver what little laughs it has

The bar's set low early on when Hart's Walker pulls out his own pubic hair at a restaurant and plants it on his food to avoid paying a hefty bill, and then it keeps just going lower.

But the broad missives aren't particularly of the highest calibre, and don't always hit the target.

While Hart and Haddish have a nice caustic rapport that inevitably softens, their banter and childish rows feel improvised enough at times to hit some of the sweeter spots needed. But there's little to build on, and scant nothing to fully develop.

There could be an outsiders' Breakfast Club to be had here, with the misfits gang in place. To be frank though, Night School's characters are less than memorable and idiotically annoying.

However, a script that piles dumb on cliched and unoriginal doesn't help much - from the usual steal the exam heist to Rob Riggle's attempt at Tom Cruise's high rise misfire, Night School's lack of anything overtly or consistently funny really makes the film drag.

There will be audiences (possibly boozed up) who will adore this, but their adoration is misplaced.

Granted, there are some laughs to be had from Walker's one-liners, but once again Hart's comedy schtick just doesn't cut it thanks to a script that's woefully weak (even with six writers). Depressingly over-long, woefully not funny enough and as painful as nails on a school chalk board, this Night School sadly flunks out, without any chance to redeem itself.

Watch it be big at the box office. 

The Kid Who Would Be King: Film Review

The Kid Who Would Be King: Film Review

Cast: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Ferguson, Dean Chaumoo
Director: Joe Cornish

There's no hiding from British films as the stench of Brexit starts to creep in.

And in Attack The Block director Joe Cornish's latest, which he wrote as well, The Kid Who Would Be King reeks of both the problems of the current United Kingdom's plight (albeit at a surface level), but also global uncertainty. Along with the aimlessness of contemporary society, Cornish has his sights squarely set on making sure the kids don't feel lost in a present of our own making.

Throw in a message of empowering the kids against the problems of today for the future, amid the contemporary transposition of the Arthurian legends, and it's clear what The Kid Who Would Be King is trying to do.

Serkis is 12-year-old Alex, a non-consequential kid in a school in England. Mates with bullied Bedders (Chaumoo, who may leave you feeling like he's channelling Julian Dennison), Alex stands up for what's right - despite the right thing being to his detriment.

One day, while escaping the bullies, Alex discovers a sword in a stone slab at a construction site, and quicker than you can say Lady of the Lake, Excalibur or any of the Arthur lore, pulls it out.

But under the ground, Arthur's long-lost half sister Morgana (Ferguson, underused) is stirring, ready to take the world as her own, now it's in a fragile state.

Much like Attack The Block did, The Kid Who Would Be King bandies together an 80s style gang of kids (once again, multi-cultural) to save the world. This time though, they lack the killer charisma of the first, but in some ways, that's perhaps the point, as these are everyday kids, given a bit of the once-over-lightly treatment.

That flaw does slightly show in the quest portion of the film as Cornish reinvents the Arthurian legends to fit his own ends. And it does feel padded in parts as it heads toward its inexorable CGI denouement. But it helps that what transpires riffs nicely on the likes of Lord Of The Rings and Percy Jackson and even has its own baddies in the form of flaming sword carrying CGI creatures.

The Kid Who Would Be King: Film Review

Serkis makes a reasonable lead, doing the best with what he has to work with, and even getting some laughs out of lines like "I'm 12, I'm not even old enough to do a paper round" when Alex's told he is the future king. He also brings some heft to the fatherless storyline - though in truth Patrick Stewart (complete with Led Zeppelin T-Shirt) does a lot of that with his Merlin. There's a lot riding on the tales he learned as a child, and the tales he's told now by friends or by family - but Serkis translates that through the prism of an ordinary kid, trying to do the best he can.

Gently earnest, with an exhortation to listen to the kids of the present, because they are the leaders of our future, The Kid Who Would Be King wears its empowerment message with pride - but it never loses sight of the fact it's there to serve as escapist family entertainment - and does so admirably.

Join Mario And Luigi On A Fun-Filled Platforming Adventure In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Out Now On Nintendo Switch

Join Mario And Luigi On A Fun-Filled Platforming Adventure In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Out Now On Nintendo Switch

JOIN MARIO AND LUIGI ON A FUN-FILLED PLATFORMING ADVENTURE IN NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U DELUXE, OUT NOW ON NINTENDO SWITCH

Includes 164 courses which can be enjoyed by up to four players of all skill levels, while newcomer-friendly character Toadette makes her first appearance

Run, leap and stomp through 164 2D side-scrolling courses in traditional Super Mario style in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, out now for Nintendo Switch. Using a single Joy-Con each, up to four players* can work together to grab coins and topple enemies on their way to the Goal Pole, while in challenge mode, players must compete to see who can nab the most gold in frantic, friendly – and above all, fun – competition.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe contains both New Super Mario Bros. U and the more challenging New Super Luigi U. While seasoned players can play as iconic characters Mario, Luigi and Toad, two new characters also join the mix – Toadette and Nabbit. Younger or less-experienced players can choose to play with these new characters, as they offer extra assistance during play. When Toadette picks up a Super Crown, she turns into Peachette and can double jump, float slowly during freefall and boost back up when she falls in a pit. When playing as Nabbit, players won’t be hurt by enemies and can earn extra 1UPs at the end of stages.

On top of both adventures, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe features a variety of game modes to entertain players of all skill levels, either alone or together. Players can test their skills in dozens of varied and crafty trials designed for players of any ability. Race to the goal as fast as you can in Time Attack, grab all the coins in Coin Collection, or do your best to stay airborne by jumping on multiple enemies in 1-Up Rally. In Special, players will need to complete very particular conditions to advance, such as taking on a course without touching any enemies, coins, or cannonballs. Players can watch a series of over 200 online videos** from the game’s development team, showcasing some nifty tricks you can use to topple those tricky tests – useful for when players are stuck on a level or challenge.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is the latest title joining the wide range of software anyone can enjoy on Nintendo Switch, the unique home console from Nintendo that can be taken on the go. Nintendo Switch includes two Joy-Con controllers for multiplayer fun right out of the box, making it perfect for playing games anytime, anywhere, with anyone. The Nintendo Switch  software library includes more than a thousand titles for all tastes and experience levels, including Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and the unique make, play and discover experience of Nintendo Labo.

Join Mario and Luigi and take on 164 courses in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, available now on Nintendo Switch. Using a single Joy-Con each, up to four players can enjoy a variety of game modes, anytime, anywhere.