Monday, 25 February 2019

Red Dead Online Beta: New Modes, Enhancements and More Arrive Next Week

Red Dead Online Beta Update Arrives Next WeekAll New World Enhancements, Modes and More from February 26

Next week the Red Dead Online Beta frontier expands with all new Free Roam Events, a host of new Showdown Modes, and new Races coming as part of its first title update on Tuesday, February 26. This update also brings the first batch of new Weapons, Clothing, and Emotes for your character, as well as a series of improvements and balances detailed last week. Also starting on Tuesday, February 26 look out for new content and special promotions weekly.

New Gameplay

New additions will include the Fool’s Gold Free Roam Event, where players will compete to control an equal parts gaudy and protective suit of Golden Armor. Fight to take down the armor wearer to earn points and claim it as your own, then turn the tables and earn points for kills while wearing the armor.

Competitive Challenges gets a fresh catch with Fishing Challenges. Fishing Challenges are broken out by type, opt in to the challenge and you’ll receive all the equipment necessary to compete including the rod as well lures and bait specific to the challenge type, whether it’s crickets for a river challenge, crayfish for the swamp or worms for lakes. Then head to an appropriate body of water to take part – also, you’ll be made safe from the nuisance of trigger-happy outlaws while you are taking the challenge. Catch the highest weight total of fish to win.

Also on the way are three new Showdown Modes where players and teams compete to capture and deliver bags, steal loot from each other and survive. Stay tuned for more details around Up in Smoke, Spoils of War and Plunder. Races will also see a new variation with Target Races where players shoot targets from horseback to pass checkpoints as they race along a track to the finish line.

New Weapons

B.D. and Co. is turning out the high grade, high capacity Evans Repeater rifle. The Rare Shotgun is D.D. Packenbush’s latest variation of the powerful double-barreled longarm. Sporting an antique style faded brass finish and an artfully adorned stock. Both weapons will be available via the Wheeler & Rawson Catalogue and local Gunsmiths.

New Clothing and Emotes

A wide range of new clothing to further customize your character – from the snake adorned Diamondback Hat to the fur trimmed Rutledge Vest – is also on the way with new Outfits, Jackets, Boots, Coats, Gloves, Hats, Vests and more. In addition to all the clothing that will be available for purchase at your leisure, keep an eye on the shops and the Catalogue for unique special items that will come and go. A variety of new Emotes is also on the way – featuring everything from greets to reactions and taunts.

PS4 Early Access Content
In addition to new Target Races, PlayStation 4 players will have early access to Open Target Races where you compete in an open space to take out the most targets on horseback. PS4 players will also get early access to the Jawbone Knife, a unique melee weapon with a handle artfully carved from the remains of a slain animal’s jaw, as well as a range of new clothing options and 3 new Emotes.

Bonus XP This Week
Play the Red Dead Online Beta all this week to earn 20% more XP on all activities ahead of the launch of these new updates on February 26. And be sure to look out for new bonuses, giveaways, promotions and content updates weekly, as we continue to build, balance and evolve the world of Red Dead Online.

Sunday, 24 February 2019

2019 Oscar Awards - who will win

So, it's time - the 91st Academy Awards.

And as ever, ahead of Hollywood handing out awards on Sunday night, it's time to predict the 2019 Academy Award winners

Best Picture - Roma

Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron

Best Actor - Rami Malek

Best Actress - Glenn Close

Best Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali

Best Supporting Actress - Regina King

Best Animated Feature - Spider-Man : Into The Spider-Verse

Best Original Screenplay - The Favourite

Doomsday Week in GTA Online, New Principe Deveste Eight, Principe T-Shirt Unlock and More

It began as little more than a myth: whispers on the dark net that Principe's top engineers were working on their first ever supercar. Then the myth became a legend: a few leaked photographs so provocative that possession was a federal crime. Then the legend became a rumor: a car so exclusive no one could confirm it existed in the real world. And now, thanks to you, that rumor is about to become a very messy headline.

Introducing the Principe Deveste Eight, now available at Legendary Motorsport.

There's more than one way for you and your squad to earn big this week. Further your career in post-apocalyptic vehicular warfare with Double GTA$ & RP in the Arena War Series all week long. Plus, launch into any one of the Doomsday Heist finales to score 2X GTA$ and RP payloads.

Rush to an IAA base under the Satellite Relay Station in the desert. Foreign agents are attacking and trying to hack government servers - they need to be stopped.

Launch an operation on a foreign submarine lurking off the coast. One team boards through an airlock and disables the sub, while the other holds off enemy agents in an aircraft above.

A Missile Launch Base has fallen into the wrong hands. Storm the base, clear it out, stop the warhead from launching, and save the day.

https://dev.rockstargames.com/uploads/2226b97e7bf91e92febdb887dc6f87936e228167.jpg

To mark the release of Principe's first foray into the 4-wheeled market, play anytime this week to unlock the Principe Black T-shirt.

Playing GTA Online at any point this weekend on Saturday February 23rd or Sunday February 24th makes you eligible for this month’s 4th and final GTA$250K bonus, which will be awarded when you log in next weekend.

Plus, if you loaded up GTA Online February 16 - 17, play anytime this coming weekend to claim your outstandingGTA$250K.

Host your own Doomsday Heists with discounts on Facilities and Facility upgrades:

Facilities – 30% off
Facility Renovations – 30% off
Hangars – 40% off

Also, take 30% off the weaponized Doomsday vehicles and more:

Mammoth Avenger
Imponte Deluxo
Mammoth Thruster
TM-02 Khanjali
Ocelot Stromberg
RCV
Buckingham Akula
Volatol
HVY Barrage
HVY Chernobog
P-996 Lazer

For more information on all the latest GTA Online bonuses, head to the Social Club Events page.

Saturday, 23 February 2019

After Life: Netflix Review

Watching Ricky Gervais' new series After Life, there's a deepening sense of isolation and low-level anger over its six episode run.

But as the series develops, the acid edges Gervais' Tony has start to soften, as the show starts to wrap itself around the complicated edges of grief, denial and anger.

Tony's had a happy life - 25 years with his wife, before breast cancer stole her. Episode two of the show starts with a stark image, rife in its honesty, as Tony offers up a razor to his wrists in the bath to rid himself of the wretchedness he feels.

Yet, he's stopped from doing so, not by a revelation or epiphany - it's the fact his dog comes into the bathroom, reminding him that she needs feeding. It's this moment of frank honesty, which reveals much about what After Life is trying to do. Something banal needs doing - and that pulls him off the ledge.

Admittedly, the first episode makes Tony a tough character to empathise with or even begin to love.

Sure, he's got the trademark Gervais laugh in flashbacks with Tony and his wife Lisa, but this sallow, slumped man of now is not what you'd expect from a character on screen these days - flashes of malice line some of the barbs, others are just him lashing out in frustration, blackly hitting targets you'd not expect - and delivering c-bombs aplenty in the first outing to make you question the second's necessity for viewing.

However, what Gervais does is remarkable in some ways - but disappointingly, it won't be for everyone - even though we'll all be afflicted by what it's tackling.

It's a study of grief admittedly, but it's also a study of how people react to grief - from the person in the maelstrom to those on the outskirts who try to tackle what's best for their friend.

Bathed in veracity, a conversation with his nephew two-thirds of the way into episode two reveals much. Sure, it's Gervais' trademark atheism writ large, but when the nephew asks why the doctors couldn't save Lisa, Tony says the words without realising, confessing that they tried all they could. It's a flailing bitterness in the wind moment, a moment that speaks to the psyche of those of us in grief - that sometimes, you don't win; sometimes, you don't get the ending you wanted - but sometimes, honesty is what counts.

It's the moments like this in After Life which count; cut through the bleakness like life smashes through dreams. And while Gervais still delivers some bittersweet laughs with Tony's frustrations against the endless inanities of the idiocy of those he works with at his local paper, it's once the sound and fury of the anger subsides, that you see the honesty of the work and bittersweet beauty of it within.

Friday, 22 February 2019

New Rocketman trailer is here

Here is your first look as the Rocketman trailer with Taron Egerton starring as Elton John.

Thursday, 21 February 2019

The Seagull: DVD Review

Based on the play by Anton Chekhov, director Michael Mayer's take on The Seagull is a light, breezy film that benefits greatly from its core cast.

Bening, Stoll and Ronan all breathe exceptional life into their respective roles.

Bening is Irina, an actress whose insecurities stretch to admonishing her son Constantin and mocking his attempts at play-writing. Called in to visit her ailing brother, a tale unfolds of how Constantin met Saoirse Ronan's Nina, an appalling wannabe actress who became his muse.

However, Irina has brought with her the famous writer Boris Trigoran (Stoll, a stoic presence) whose appearance at the family home causes rifts and consternation as all tremble in the shadow of his reputation.

As the rifts deepen, everyone's insecurities increase exponentially...

As mentioned, The Seagull benefits from a career best from Bening, whose scoffing and mocking of those around her surfaces amid her own insecurities. Bening more than delivers, adding touches of nuance when required and bringing the pain to the fore as it's needed.

Equally Stoll and Ronan add much to the ensemble as the combination of comedy and drama unfolds; additional support from a growingly unhinged Elisabeth Moss as an infatuated woman lends the necessary scorn to the piece.

However, some of the hints of destruction are not seen on the screen, and with the flashbacks played out only to a point, The Seagull doesn't quite deliver the emotional heft that's necessary in times. An attempted suicide falls flat, a discussion of one character left bereft feels stripped of the heft - granted, it's a different approach but given the denouement relies on the emotion of the past as the script comes full circle from the flashbacks, it feels a little like The Seagull cheats - even if it does follow Chekov's play.

Fortunately, biting dialogue and stellar performances detract from the downsides, and The Seagull takes flight when it needs to, but fails to soar into the skies when it should.

Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Stan & Ollie: Film Review

Cast: John C Reilly, Steve Coogan, Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda
Director: Jon S Baird

Less a film about an actual break-up, more a piece about the aftermath, Stan & Ollie's tale of a degenerating work partnership and the effects of long-term friendship.

Beginning in 1937 with Coogan's Stan Laurel refusing to sign a new contract with studio head Hal Roach at the peak of their fame, the cracks show when Oliver Hardy (Reilly in a spot-on turn as the infamous gambler and womaniser Babe) doesn't demonstrate solidarity with his on-screen chum.

Fast forward 16 years and the motion pictures have dried up, the crowds have largely deserted and the audiences have moved on, Baird's film follows the duo in the twilight of their career as they pursue live shows in the UK.

Whilst Stan & Ollie doesn't exactly push the envelope in terms of on-screen presentation, but it's pleasantly evocative of an era long since forgotten in a world that revolves around CGI.

Simply and affectionately presented, Stan & Ollie benefits greatly from everything being laid bare on the table - the performances pickle in their own bittersweet moments, and the finale is designed - and succeeds in - to deliver a lump to the throat.

Coogan and Reilly encapsulate the duo perfectly; from Coogan's slight stumbles as he delivers Laurel's trademark speech patterns, to Reilly's capturing of Hardy's performance tics, this is a deeply affectionate tribute to the duo.

But more than that the bittersweet touches and hints of a friend not wanting to let down another friend are subtly painted in and liberally applied throughout. More goes unsaid during the film, but when the moments need to be delivered in the final 10 minutes, it's perfectly dispatched for superb effect.

At its core, Stan & Ollie is a film about friendship, of the peaks and troughs, of the resentments both spoken and kept internalised - and Coogan and Reilly make wondrous fists of both the sub-text and the physical demands of Laurel and Hardy's routines, which are recreated throughout.

There's wonderful support from Henderson and Adrianda as their wives, with their spiky relationship echoing that of Laurel and Hardy themselves, and showcasing a different paradigm of much the same relationship mechanic - it's fair to say their arrival enlivens things a little, but the groundwork's already been done by Reilly and Coogan with ease.

Bathed in melancholy, with a wonderful opening tracking shot that mixes both the truth of the Laurel and Hardy dynamic as well as the need to constantly perform for the public no matter how fleetingly, Stan & Ollie is a fitting celebration and a biopic that's haunting and anything but another fine mess.

Vox Lux: Film Review

Cast: Natalie Portman, Raffey Cassidy, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle
Director: Brady Corbet

Brady Corbet's Vox Lux aims to shock, albeit unintentionally.

Its opening is as powerful as it is mundane, beginning as we do with Raffey Cassidy's Celeste going back to school after the holidays. To say more is to deprive you of the jolt, but needless to say Corbet's opening salvo puts our heroine on a path she'd not expected as tragedy comes calling.

As Celeste begins to find her singing voice, she's aided by her agent (Jude Law) as Vox Lux's pre-2001 episode begins to chart her career ascent as a singer. Book-ended by both a personally major event and a US event of the time, Celeste's life is tarnished with tragedy.

The messy scrappy second half of the film picks up 16 years later with Portman portraying Celeste as she mounts the comeback trail, before something else threatens to overwhelm her and her plans.

Vox Lux is a pompous, self-obsessed, pretentious mite of a movie - and some will run lovingly into its arms because of that very fact, while others will head in the opposite direction screaming.

But its two halves division causes an issue, and the first's stronger loss-of-innocence tale towers over the second, with a subtlety of direction and script helping propel it along (as well as Dafoe's booming voiceover pomposity).

However, its second half is blessed by a ferocious Portman, who revels in the Gaga-esque edges of the character, but who makes the self-loathing feel all too real, after years of insecurities eat away at her from the first years of her life and career as she teeters on the cusp of her journey.

There's a bravura edge on Corbet's filmmaking, even if the script and its ultimately disappointing end make parts of the film feel uneven. As an artistic endeavour, it's second to none, revelling in its luxuries in the second half, but dawdling in its emotional waters early on.

Vox Lux is polarising to be sure - is it a commentary on the music industry, on society and its violence, is it a piece about how we've always been anchored in violence and its effects?

No one is telling for sure as it ends, but what is certain about Vox Lux is that it's a piece of film-making which will shock you out of the dullness that pervades cinemas these days. And while that power is never quite as stringent as in its first half, its effects linger long after it's ended.

Escape Room: Film Review

Cast: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine
Director: Adam Robitel

Less torturous than the Saw franchise, but still none the less suspenseful, Escape Room's premise is a nicely executed mystery box, awaiting to be opened.

Zoe (Russell) is a college kid, who finds herself at a loose end at the Thanksgiving break, and not going home. Upon receiving a mystery box, she cracks it open, eventually, to discover an invite to an Escape Room meeting, where the prize is $10,000 for escape.

Upon arrival, she finds a clutch of others in the waiting room as well, destined to be her colleagues in the escape. But each has a secret, and as the reality begins to settle in, everyone has everything to lose.

While Escape Room is a case of some fairly weak character work (everyone's a stereoptype in some form or other), thanks to the lead's empathy, there's a bit to latch on to in terms of emotional stakes.

And what Escape Room may lack in depth for leads, it more than makes up for in terms of execution.

Essentially a series of five chamber pieces, the claustrophobia and suspense of an escape machination is given a taut and well-executed edge. Certainly, the aesthetics of the third room is brilliantly conceived and nonchalantly realised. To say more is to spoil that reveal, but needless to say this one central set piece more than makes for the price of admission.

What's not as great about Escape Room (aside from some of the aforementioned characterisation) is the fact its ending feels deliberately conceived as a cash-grab, scene setting for anything future. It's massively disappointing that this cynical approach is deployed, robbing the audience of a feeling of completion and a film that deserves another on its own merits, rather than lazy writing by studio fat-cats.

Ultimately, Escape Room provides some knotty moments, gives the torture-porn series a welcome non torturous approach, but fails the finale intensely.

The Girl In The Spider's Web: Blu Ray Review

The Millennium Trilogy was, to be frank, a sensation.

Dark, dingy, Scandi-noir that hooked audiences, the Noomi Rapace/ Michael Nyqvist combo sustained three films and millions of book sales. The subsequent reimagining with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara fell short, even if it embraced some of the darkness and intense nastiness which percolated through the first.

And now, from the director of Don't Breathe, the book not written by Stieg Larsson has made it to the big screen, with The Crown star Claire Foy taking the lead role of hacker Lisbeth Salander.

Yet, The Girl In The Spider's Web all feels so formulaic, and largely unexciting.

The story concerns Salander who's contacted by Stephen Merchant's Frans Balder to retrieve a defence programme he's written. Salander does, but then finds herself unexpectedly under attack from others who want it, and framed for crimes she didn't commit.

Sylvia Hoeks in The Girl In The Spider's Web

Racing against time to clear her name, and stop the end of the world, Salander discovers the conspiracy has a very familial feel to it...

The problems with The Girl In The Spider's Web are largely not those connected with the execution of the film, which deploys some clever twists and starkly nasty imagery with veritable aplomb.

And the problem doesn't lie on the shoulders of a relatively emotionless Foy, who largely turns Salander into a scowling, scornful, brooding superhero type, in a performance which dials down the restraint, ups the physicality from Foy and leaves an impressive feel.

The main issue with The Girl In The Spider's Web is the story itself - it seems so out of keeping with what the original trilogy aimed for.

When Salander first appears, it's like she's cosplaying Oliver McQueen from Arrow, and the script demands an avenging angel like performance as the righter of wrongs, catapulting Salander into the echelons of damaged superheroes. And while Alvarez does much with jerky camera movements and handheld rushes to complement a sense of suspense at the start, he soon abandons for formulaic thriller territory.

The Girl In The Spider's Web still has some nightmarish edges, and while the emotional touches at the end come down to a short scene involving two people on a snowy ledge, there's little to let the light in throughout.

Stanfield is terribly and woefully underused as an American agent chasing the missing program; and in much similar ways, journalist Mikael Blomkvist is sidelined as the story goes on, robbing the film of the central spiky partnership that was such a tenet of the original series.

If all of this feels like The Girl In The Spider's Web is being damned, it's pertinent to say it's still a competent thriller, even if it's one constrained in a narrative web of its own doing.

It's just compared to the original films, and source material, no matter what Alvarez and Foy do, it's not enough to lift it from the gloom that pervades throughout - both of atmosphere and of oh-so-familiar pulp plot which lacks the sophistication and lyrical poetry of the first three.

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: Film Review

Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrara, F Murray Abraham
Director: Dean DeBlois

The animated dragon saga hits its conclusion capper with The Hidden World, a film that's a visually layered but occasionally muted end to the series.

Jay Baruchel's Hiccup is back, this time as the chief of Berk, and still pal to alpha dragon Toothless.

With Hiccup facing marriage to Astrid (Ferrara), the world of Berk is thrown into disarray with the arrival of a new dinosaur hunter Grimmel (Murray Abraham) determined to wipe Toothless' kind from the world.

As the tribe up and leaves from Berk, Hiccup begins to doubt himself, and worries what future lies ahead for them all - and most importantly, for his pal Toothless.

There is no doubting the calibre of the animation of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Certainly, the sequence where The Hidden World is discovered is visually astounding, shimmering as it does with colour, and subtle hues.

And there are moments between Toothless and his new lady dragon friend that are up there with some of the best animal courtship sequences you've seen on TV animal shows (complete with some truly adept orchestral scores helping the scenes soar).

The visuals are award-worthy, and certainly do much to build on previous installments.

But it has also to be said, there's a lot of distraction in How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World which pulls away from engaging with Hiccup one last time. Tedious back and forth bonehead banter between Tuffnut and Ruffnut grates immensely and derails the emotional heft that's brewing.

When How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World concentrates solely on Hiccup and Toothless though, it soars. From the age old message of learning to love with loss, and realising they have to move on, Jay Baruchel does some of his best work, giving Hiccup the bittersweet sadness he needs to carry it off.

It's a good solid end and capper to the trilogy, and while the emotional edges work best when they stay focussed, the ultimate open end feel to the film allows you to hope against hope that one day, Hiccup and Toothless will reunite on the big screen.

Mega Time Squad: DVD Review

More loopy, than Looper, Mega Time Squad is a blast.

A ludicrously-fuelled tale of crime and lack of ambition in middle New Zealand (Thames, to be precise), director Tim Van Dammen's follow up to NZIFF hit Romeo and Juliet: A Love Story is nonetheless stylish.

Anton Tennet is John, a small town hoodlum who's less a player, more easily-to-be-played. Part of a crime gang run by Jonny Brugh's Shelton (the humourous lunatic of the piece), John's sent to rob a triad at his behest to prevent the Chinese from getting a foothold in Thames.

While carrying out the deed, John gets his hands on a mysterious piece of Chinese jewellery that has mystical time-travelling properties...and suddenly finds he has ambitions he never realised.

Fresh, enticing and flipping funny, Mega Time Squad is easily one of the best time at the movies.

With a laconic style and some unexpectedly humorous moments to pierce any of the meanness (of which there's little) van Dammen celebrates the Kiwi in the middle of the country, and never once loses any of the smarts of the film's genre. It may play up the mystical elements of the bracelet and then never quite deliver (the film's only criticism), but van Dammen's clever enough to use the genre for what it needs, and never loses sight that the core of the story is of a man stuck where he is split between wanting to be and not.

Very much a celebration riddled through with a lunatic lo-fi joie de vivre (and some truly amusing yet human imagery, pies under a cloche being the best), Mega Time Squad is enjoyable.

There's nothing pals and pies can't solve, and amid the wannabe gangster storyline and growing absurdities, Mega Time Squad packs as big a heart as you could ever want from a NZ film.

Monday, 18 February 2019

What Men Want: Film Review

Cast: Taraji P Henson, Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener
Director: Adam Shankman

An uneven script, doused in a smattering of MeToo gags and some current pop culture references, does not help Taraji P Henson in the latest take of the Nancy Meyers Mel Gibson flick, What Women Want.

Henson is Ali, a ball-busting sports agent, who's stuck in a firm that's clearly a boys' club and bouncing from one one night stand to another. Rejected again to take partnership in the firm, Ali finds her world further complicated when at a bridal shower she meets a psychic (an unhinged Erykah Badu) who gives her the ability to read men's minds.

Faced with the possibility of using this to get ahead at work, Ali becomes re-energised and desperate to get a star client before her other compadres.

Clever references to Get Out and crowd-pleasing Black Panther moment aside, What Men Want seems to be lost in its own execution, an uncertain mess of where it wants to go and how it wants to get there.

Henson is uniformly excellent though, giving Ali a ball-busting bluster that's needed early on, and a life that shows that she's as good as the boys in the Boys Club sports agent company to get ahead. But saddled with material that's rote and formulaic does little to help Henson rise out of the mire, no matter how hard she tries - and no matter how hard the script tries to mix Jerry Maguire with Entourage.

It helps little that it aims for every low-hanging fruit it can, barely hitting some of them with the crass bat swinging in every direction.

There are obvious learnings here, and perhaps that's what hinders What Men Want - unless you're a gaggle of women, boozed up and after a girls' night out, the film's less than content to satiate many in the audience. It's shallow as you'd expect, giving the men thoughts about body image, promotion, social climbing and work insecurities, as well as the usual sex issues.

Ultimately, while a love story with Aldis Hodge is reasonably well handled, Tracy Morgan's involvement feels like a muted amount of bluster to be fired in the direction of the audience. Supposed to be a foil for Henson's Ali, Morgan's Joe Dollar feels weak and badly-timed for the necessary gags.

All in all, What Men Want is a weak attempt at a feminist bout of humour. Were it not for Henson's all-in approach, the film would be torture for nearly two hours.

As it stands now, it's still torture, but a little more endurable in parts.

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Win American Animals on Blu Ray

To celebrate the release of American Animals, thanks to Madman Home Entertainment, you can win a Blu Ray copy!

About American Animals

Nobody wants to be ordinary

From Bart Layton (The Imposter) and starring Evan Peters (The X-Men Series), Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk & The Killing of the Sacred Deer), and Ann Dowd (The Handmaid's Tale) comes the extraordinary and thrilling true story of four friends living an ordinary existence who brazenly attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in US history.

But not everything is as it seems, and as the daring theft unfolds through each of their perspectives, they start to question whether their attempts to inject excitement and purpose into their lives is simply a misguided attempt at achieving the American Dream.

To win all you have to do is email your details and the word ANIMALS to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Competition closes March 5th

Win Mega Time Squad

To celebrate the release of Mega Time Squad, you can win a copy, thanks to Madman Home Entertainment

About Mega Time Squad

Out of time without a clue

A small-town crim finds an ancient Chinese time-travel device that can help him pull off a heist and start a new life-but he may not survive the consequences of tampering with time.

The Castle meets Looper, Mega Time Squad is a study in high-meets-low, combining elements of the sci-fi, the crime thriller and the comedy to make a comedy heist film with a time-traveling twist.

To win all you have to do is email your details and the word MEGA to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Competition closes March 5th

Win The Girl in the Spider's Web

To celebrate the release of The Girl in the Spider's Web, thanks to Sony Home Entertainment, you can win a Blu Ray Copy!

About The Girl in the Spider's Web

Golden Globe ® and Emmy ® winner Claire Foy (Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, “The Crown,” 2017; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, “The Crown,” 2018) brings to life the iconic role of Lisbeth Salander in the next exciting chapter of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB, debuting on digital February 6, 2019 and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™, DVD February 20, 2019 from Sony Pictures
Home Entertainment.

Director Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead; Don’t Breathe) brings insurmountable suspense and tension to
the film adaptation of the fourth book of the acclaimed Millennium series to create a thrilling cinematic experience.

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB also stars Sverrir Gudnason (Borg vs. McEnroe), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out; Sorry to Bother You, TV’s “Atlanta”), Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) and Stephen Merchant (Logan; Hot Fuzz).

To win all you have to do is email your details and the word SPIDER WEB to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Competition closes February 28th

American Animals: Blu Ray Review

A sizzling and hyper-stylised drama that blends heist aesthetics and thrills with contemporary interviews, Bart Layton's American Animals is a slick film that grips and pulses from the outset.

Assembling a clutch of young actors (including American Horror Story alum Evan Peters and The Killing of a Sacred Deer's Barry Keoghan), it's the story of Spencer Reinhard (Keoghan) and his part in a library heist which took place at Transylvania University in Kentucky in 2004.

Despite the fact he has everything he needs in life, but bemoaning the fact that he's after some kind of life-altering experience to change him as an artist, Spencer forms a friendship with a hyper Warren Lipka (Peters).

Hitting on the idea to rob the library's rare book collection and its multi-million dollar haul, Warren and Spencer recruit two others to their plan - and start pulling together a heist.

Jumping between interviews of the real people involved and the drama, with moments of fourth wall breaking and unreliable narrators, American Animals' aesthetic and vibe seizes from the outset.

Layton assembles the pieces with the same kind of compelling bravura we witnessed in his doco The Imposter, but never loses sight of the two main leads in all the action.

Bringing the kind of tension that was missing from the recent Ocean's 8 film, the heist preparations excel - a swirling interplay of ideas executed in the head benefitting from taut editing and a pulsing soundtrack of music. It's a perfect insight into the minds of those involved over how it should play out, and for an audience, it's never less than gripping.

To say more about American Animals is to betray the sense of what plays out, a bastardisation of the American dream and a warning that nothing comes for free - even with talent. But Layton's less focussed on the themes of the piece, laying them out for subtle watchers to pick up on.

He's more interested in providing a film that thrills, in a format that makes the very best of docu-drama, with the emphasis on the drama. It helps the general idea of the heist is so audacious and the premise so compelling, but what American Animals also does is deliver two impressive turns in Keoghan and Peters.

Peters displays the intensity we've come to know from AHS but gives his Warren a kind of gleeful Joker style mania, the kind of guy you'd want to hang out with at a party. Keoghan, meanwhile, gives Spencer a feeling of being lost, an artist struggling to find their voice, and a would-be criminal struggling with his moral compass.

Throughout American Animals, the queasily compelling mix works incredibly well; the slick stylish piecing together of the elements of the drama and the documentary add much to what transpires - a portrait of the dispossessed and the bored - but it also gives the audience a thrill ride that has as much substance as it does style.

Saturday, 16 February 2019

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown: PS4 Review

Released by Bandai Namco
Platform: PS4

Part of the Ace Combat series (the clue is in the 7 of the title), Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown gives a very good case for being a great fun simulator for even the most useless of pilots.

Set at a time of fragile peace between two continents, Osea and Erusea, it's the story of Avril Mead a mechanic who lands in hot water after a surprise attack. You take up the mantle of Trigger, a pilot who finds themself in the middle of the scrap, and forced to take to the skies to try and save the day.

It's fair to say that Ace Combat 7 is as much for the casual player of flight combat games as it is for the hardcore fighter; but how much mileage you get out of it will depend on which category you fall into.

That said, while a lack of tutorials is occasionally galling, it's fairly simple to pick up the basics of the game, but it may be harder to grasp the intricacies of hurtling around the skies in your combat jets.

Each mission leads you further into the story, and gets you along unlocking elements of the development tree for your craft. But it's when the game slips into histrionics and somewhat cliched territory that some of the more glaring elements stand out - notably some lunk-headed dialogue and some overly scripted cut scenes.

But once you get into the skies, Ace Combat 7 does come into its own.

Whether it's flying through a storm cloud and finding droplets on your windshield or watching portions of debris fall from the sky after you've blasted your enemy to pieces, Ace Combat 7 really does look the part when it absolutely needs to.

The VR side of the game impresses as well, though it does little to combat any motion sickness issues you may have with headsets. But turning around and seeing other fighters like you're in your own Top Gun is not to be scoffed at.

To all intents and purposes, Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown is a game that manages to appeal to a broader audience than just air combat enthusiasts.

With a bit of patience, it's rewarding and challenging enough to overcome its basic level scripting problems. In fact, you could almost say it takes to the skies with ease when it needs to.

Super Mario Maker 2 And The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening Coming In 2019

SUPER MARIO MAKER 2 AND THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING COMING IN 2019

New games join a non-stop line-up of Nintendo Switch releases this year

14^th February, 2019 – In a new Nintendo Direct video presentation, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Maker 2, a sequel to the groundbreaking original game, and a stylish re-imagining of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening are both launching this year for Nintendo Switch. The video also revealed ASTRAL CHAIN, a new action game from PlatinumGames exclusive to Nintendo Switch.

In addition to introducing other acclaimed titles coming to Nintendo Switch, like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the video also provided more details about upcoming Nintendo games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Yoshi’s Crafted World, DAEMON X MACHINA and MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order, among many others. Nintendo Switch will also be home to BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!, the next iteration in the charming puzzle-platformer series coming to Nintendo eShop.

Plus, starting today, Nintendo Switch owners will have access to surprise launches like the online 99-player puzzle-fest TETRIS^® 99 and classic SQUARE ENIX role-playing game FINAL FANTASY IX, as well as new co-op DLC for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and free demos for upcoming anticipated games.

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com.au/nintendo-direct. Some of the highlights revealed in the video include:

Super Mario Maker 2: In this new game players can create the Super Mario courses of their dreams, with access to even more tools, items and features. Super Mario Maker 2 launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch this June.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: Originally released for the Game Boy more than 25 years ago, one of the most beloved games in the Legend of Zelda series returns. In this modern re-imagining, players travel to the mysterious island of Koholint to guide Link on a perilous adventure. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening arrives exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2019.
ASTRAL CHAIN: ASTRAL CHAIN is a new action game from PlatinumGames, directed by Takahisa Taura, known for his work as the game designer on NieR:Automata, and supervised by Hideki Kamiya, creator of the Bayonetta series. As part of a police special forces unit in a multi-cultural futuristic city, players work together with a special living weapon, the Legion, in a synergetic action system of battle and exploration. More details about this Nintendo Switch exclusive will be revealed in the future. ASTRAL CHAIN launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on 30^th August.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses: The Black Eagles. The Blue Lions. The Golden Deer. Three noble houses that are part of the Officer’s Academy, an elite facility that trains students in the ways of weapons, magic and special skills. As a professor, the player must choose one of these houses to lead its students in grid-based battles with life-or-death stakes. Each house comprises many different students to meet and train, each with her or his own personality and skills. These students can interact with each other at the academy, strengthening their bonds and supporting each other on the battlefield. Fire Emblem: Three Houses and the Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Seasons of Warfare Edition both launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch on 26^th July.
BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!: Welcome back, BOXBOY! The fan-favourite puzzle series is back with a brand new game for Nintendo Switch. In addition to 270 new levels, two players can work as a team to solve puzzles in a new co-op mode. As a bonus, players who complete the game can access a new adventure starring Qudy. BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! unboxes itself on Nintendo eShop on 26^th April.
TETRIS 99: The iconic puzzle game TETRIS arrives, but with an online experience like no other. In this next entry in the storied puzzle franchise, 99 players compete together until only one is left standing. Nintendo Switch Online members can battle for dominance in this free to download game*. The Nintendo Switch exclusive will be available to download starting today, and players can look forward to battling it out in upcoming online events.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The side-scrolling action of yore rises once again in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Play as Miriam, host of the Alchemist’s Curse, as she steals the abilities of enemies, bends gravity to her will and darts around the game’s elaborate castle at lightning speed. Here, the laws of reality – and 2D side-scrollers – don’t apply. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night emerges from the shadows in 2019 for Nintendo Switch.
Mortal Kombat 11: New and classic characters return for more over-the-top fighting action in Mortal Kombat 11, launching for Nintendo Switch on 23^rd April.
Yoshi’s Crafted World: Before Yoshi’s Crafted World launches on 29^th March, Nintendo Switch owners can head to Nintendo eShop to download a free demo for the artfully handcrafted game, starting today. In Yoshi’s Crafted World, players can explore the Front and Flip-Side of stages while rafting, racing solar cars, tearing through the sky on a plane and experiencing many other wild and surprising gameplay sequences. Using coins collected through the varied and secret-filled levels, players can unlock 180 different crafted costumes that Yoshi can wear.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Update and Special Episode DLC: Guess who is still ready for adventure? After downloading a free Nintendo Switch version update for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker that is available starting today, all courses in the game will support a new two-player co-op mode featuring a second Toad for exploring simultaneously with a friend. And on 14^th March, new paid DLC arrives that adds 18 new challenges, including five new courses, to the game, as well as new Shiny Crowns, which can be obtained in each course. Players who pre-purchase the Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Special Episode DLC, available from today in the Nintendo eShop, will get early access to one of the courses. Remaining courses will be available on 14^th March.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Update: The fastest-selling home console game in Nintendo history is about to spring forward with a free Ver. 3.0 update coming to the game this autumn. Before the end of April, Joker from Persona 5 will be available as a playable fighter. Announced in December, Joker is the first Fighters Pass DLC fighter to join the game’s expansive cast. Players who want to get access to five upcoming DLC fighters, plus additional stages and music, can purchase the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass by visitinghttps://www.smashbros.com. Additional details about the Ver. 3.0 update and upcoming Fighters Pass content will be revealed in the future. Also, be on the lookout for new amiibo in 2019 like Snake, Simon, Squirtle, Pokémon Trainer and Ivysaur.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice: Winner of multiple awards, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is coming to Nintendo Switch. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and those with lived experience of psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice pulls players deep into the mind of a Celtic warrior on a haunting vision quest to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launches for Nintendo Switch in 2019.
DAEMON X MACHINA: Starting today, mech pilots in the making can head to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch to download a free demo for DAEMON X MACHINA called “Prototype Missions” available for a limited time. In the demo, players can battle through four different missions while testing out the game’s controls and mech customization. After playing, select players will receive an email containing a link to an online survey where they can provide feedback about the game to Producer Kenichiro Tsukuda and the development team. Currently in development, DAEMON X MACHINA is scheduled to launch for Nintendo Switch this winter.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order: For the first time in 10 years, the MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE series returns with four-player action and an original story … all exclusive to Nintendo Switch! Assemble your dream team from a huge cast of Super Heroes, including Marvel’s ultimate cosmic protector, Captain Marvel. Players can save the world together with up to four players** in TV mode, with four separate systems locally or online. A dynamic zoomed-in Heroic Camera will give players the option to get closer to the action. As characters level up, they’ll learn new skills they can use on the fly, and also perform powerful Alliance Extreme attacks. MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order launches for Nintendo Switch this winter.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition: Ready for a grand adventure filled with memorable characters, an enchanting story and classic RPG gameplay that can be taken on the go? This enhanced version of the critically acclaimed game features the same sprawling content of the original, but with newly added character-specific stories, the option for increased battle speed, fully orchestrated field and battle music, and the ability to switch between HD and retro-inspired 16-bit visuals. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition launches for Nintendo Switch this spring.
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2: Combining both RPG and crafting gameplay together, players gather materials to create things like weapons, buildings, and even entire towns. With the help of the mysterious Malroth and other villagers, players will explore large islands, find quests, and battle monsters and bosses scattered around the world. Those who own the original DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS on their Nintendo Switch console can craft the Legendary Builder’s outfit and the Dragonlord’s Throne. DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 launches for Nintendo Switch on 12^th July.
ONINAKI: To uphold the tenets of reincarnation, players must travel between the Living World and the Beyond to rescue lost souls from the terrible fate of becoming monsters. In battle, the souls you rescue manifest within you, granting you strength and new abilities. ONINAKIlaunches for Nintendo Switch this winter.
New Star Fox Missions in Starlink: Battle for Atlas: The Starlink: Battle for Atlas digital update coming in April will add new Star Fox missions to the Nintendo Switch version of the game. Play as Peppy, Falco, and Slippy to help aid the fight to down Star Wolf’s lieutenants, Andrew, Pigma and Leon, in a series of challenging missions. Additional content released as part of the update includes new starship races, faction missions and more! The autumn update of Starlink: Battle for Atlas launches this April on Nintendo Switch.
Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL: Disney’s adorable Tsum Tsum are coming to Nintendo Switch in a new game! In Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL, players connect matching Tsum Tsum to clear them and set a high score. Up to four players** can compete against each other or play cooperatively together in local or online* modes. Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL launches for Nintendo Switch in 2019.
Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5: Classic RPG Rune Factory 4 is being remastered for Nintendo Switch. Interact with townsfolk, grow vegetables and fruit on the farm, catch fish, raise monsters and wield weapons and spells in this new version of the game.Rune Factory 4 Special will be ripe for playing on Nintendo Switch later this year, with the newly-announced Rune Factory 5 coming at a later date.
DELTARUNE: The next game from the creator of Undertale, is coming to Nintendo Switch. Players can download DELTARUNE Chapter 1for free on Nintendo eShop beginning 28^th February.
FINAL FANTASY VII: Return to Midgar in one of the most iconic RPGs of all time, when FINAL FANTASY VII finds a new home on Nintendo Switch on 26^th March.
FINAL FANTASY IX: First time players have the chance to fall in love with Vivi like the rest of the world when the beloved RPG FINAL FANTASY IX comes to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch today.
Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!: KWEH! On 20^th March, the latest game in the Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon series arrives on Nintendo Switch.
Dead by Daylight: Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game where one player takes on the role of the savage Killer, and the other four players play as Survivors, trying to escape and avoid being caught and killed. The Nintendo Switch version features loads of maps, characters and cosmetics, and a deep progression system to try out. Dead by Daylight creeps onto Nintendo Switch in 2019.
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered: For the first time on Nintendo Switch, experience Assassin’s Creed III with revamped gameplay and features tailored to the system like motion aiming and touch input. In addition to all the original game’s DLC, the standalone gameAssassin’s Creed Liberation Remastered will also be included when Assassin’s Creed III Remastered launches for Nintendo Switch on 21^st May.
Unravel Two: Take control of two adorable characters made out of yarn and solve challenges in Unravel Two. Play as both characters in single-player or team up with a friend in local co-op. Unravel Two launches for Nintendo Switch on 22^nd March.
GRID Autosport: GRID Autosport comes to Nintendo Switch fully loaded with a mix of high-speed thrills, realistic handling and a difficulty level that scales to players’ skills. Players will feel like pro racers as they master the world’s fastest cars to win motorsport’s most exhilarating races, from the prestigious Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps to the narrow city streets of Barcelona. All DLC is included in this version of the game, with 100 cars, 100 circuits and some welcome additions like tilt controls and custom controls. GRID Autosport launches for Nintendo Switch this winter.