Pick Of The Litter: DVD Review

Pick Of The Litter: DVD Review

So, here it is - this year's Kedi.

Whereas the tale of Turkish kitties was a story of animals, their surroundings and the people that adopt them, Pick Of the Litter is an unashamed piece of furry kryptonite, determined to deliver some close ups of adorable puppies.

Choosing to follow five Labrador puppies as they undergo training for guide dogs for the blind in the USA is not the most taxing of intentions.

However, Dana Nachman and Don Hardy's documentary is unashamed in its desires and is oblivious to the notion of going deeper in this once-over-lightly piece that just about entertains for its 80 minute run time.

Primrose, Poppet, Phil, Potomac and Patriot are all born within the walls of a Guide Dogs building in California and all have the potential to change future owners lives. But not if they fail basic training and their puppy raisers don't meet the mark.

With a couple of the pups passed around different trainers, the interesting parts of the film and the dilemmas which reside within are largely ignored in a brisk and brutally cute piece that's aiming for Hallmark thrills rather than in-depth investigations.

Perhaps the more interesting and knottier elements of the film are dropped in amid the cutesier touches as the dogs are "career changed" (lingo for being moved out of the programme) and disappear from our immediate view.

Questions over the ethics of in-house breeding, what kind of a life that must be, the cost of doing it, both financially and emotionally for the organisation and more specifically the trainers are vaulted over at such speed that it's dizzying.

It's a shame as there are hints of some darkness here that are genuinely worth exploring, and which linger rather than being dug into. Some trainers have the dogs taken from them with a disconnect between the administration and the owners unable to be reconciled; issues over whether there are problems with expectations are hinted at - there's a lot more meat to be explored here, but doesn't get done so.

It's not to say that Pick Of The Litter isn't engaging - certainly, if you're an animal lover, you'll adore it, and you'll end up invested in which of the five pups - if any, given the high rate of failure - make it to the end of the training.

And there's certainly no denying the power of the simplicity of seeing the joy on new owners' faces and prospective lives being changed just by having a dog get through this.

But Pick Of The Litter is very much a once-over-lightly kind of pleasantly presented doco, that lacks deep insight but gives cutesy cuddles - not a bad thing for the winter months, but certainly there's a nagging feeling that a stronger documentary definitely lies within, waiting to be coaxed to the surface.  

First look: IT Chapter Two

First look: IT Chapter Two

IT CHAPTER TWO:

Evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club—young and adult—in a return to where it all began with “IT CHAPTER TWO.” 

Because every 27 years evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, “IT CHAPTER TWO” brings the characters—who’ve long since gone their separate ways—back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

IT CHAPTER TWO is directed by Andy Muschietti and stars James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Bill Skarsgård, Andy Bean, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs and Jack Dylan Grazer.

IT CHAPTER TWO releases in New Zealand cinemas on September 5, 2019.

All Is True: Film Review

All Is True: Film Review

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Alex Macqueen, Ian McKellen
Director: Kenneth Branagh

Offering up a different look at the Bard, former comedian, now turned writer Ben Elton offers up a poignant take on what next for William Shakespeare.

The later-in-life biopic takes Branagh's Shakespeare in 1613, who's forced to retire after fire destroys his Globe Theatre. Returning to Stratford-upon-Avon and his family, including wife Anne Hathaway (Dench), Shakespeare decides to build a garden to lost son Hamnet.

But Shakespeare's return isn't as welcome as he'd have expected, as former resentments resurface in the form of his unmarried daughter, and his wife who's unhappy he was never there when Hamnet died.

All Is True is a contemplative piece that ties together the strands of what next in more ways than one.

Imbued with a mournful tone, Branagh's film is shot in seclusion, in close ups and for the large part under candlelight. It gives the film an oppressive touch, which does much to display the mental state of all involved, and certainly proffers up much to consider.

Essentially the story of a long-conquering hero returning home to find his place usurped by the past and inadequecies of the present, All Is True greatly benefits from the dialled down edges of Branagh, as well as his supporting players.

Levity comes in the form of McKellen's muse and admirable Wriothesley, who breathes life into a brief cameo, but who delivers much in the way of insight into Shakespeare's state of mind.

There's plenty of elegaic touches on display throughout, and while the inevitable reveal of several well-timed truthbombs towards the end weights the denouement with exposition and robs the film of its meditative touches, there's still much to admire here.

All Is True may not be a powerhouse gut-punch of an emotional movie, but it certainly is a film that gives a different take on Shakespeare and offers insight into what many suffer for for their art.

The Hustle: Film Review

The Hustle: Film Review

Cast: Rebel Wilson, Anne Hathaway, Alex Sharp
Director: Chris Addison

Remaking Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with female leads isn't a bad idea, it's just that The Hustle doesn't really do much with its central conceit.

Meshing both the original through a prism of The Taming of The Shrew with This Means War mentalities and throwing in Rebel Wilson's freewheeling ways and Anne Hathaway's uptight English accent doesn't quite deliver the requisite goods, even if it does proffer a few belly laughs.

With their odd couple vibe (Wilson plays a low rent hustler, Hathaway a more society-obsessed scammer), the duo forge a bet against each other after Hathaway's Josephine's offended by the arrival of Wilson's Penny in her patch. Landing on a scam that's a winner takes all, the battle lines are drawn...

To be fair, the banter between Josephine and Penny makes part of the film worthwhile. From decrying Hathaway's Josephine to a "librarian's corpse, but less lively" to referring to Wilson as a "big titted Russell Crowe", there are some moments that really land in this continually flat and formulaic mess.

But they're outweighed by Wilson once again debasing herself in weight gags and the fact nobody can love her (relatively fresh in Pitch Perfect, but starting to depressingly stink in 2019) and a script that's nonsensical and keen to drop storylines for the hell of it, despite giving them weighting early on.

Hathaway's game for comedy proves fruitful once again, with a deft light touch benefiting proceedings.

While The Hustle doesn't outstay its welcome at a relatively tight 90 minutes, it can be summed up in one interaction between Wilson's Penny, who's pretending to be blind, and Sharp's benevolent tech guy who befriends her, unaware he's her mark.

"You've got hysterical blindness," he says; to which she remarks quickly "It's not that funny to me."

So say we all, Rebel Wilson, so say we all.

Win a double pass to see John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

Win a double pass to see John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

To celebrate the release of John Wick 3, in cinemas May 16, you can win a double pass, thanks to StudioCanal NZ.

About John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum

In this third installment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise, super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail.

After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is in cinemas May 16, Rating TBC

All you have to do is email your details and the word JOHN WICK 3!

Email now to  darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com 
Or CLICK HERE NOW  

Competition closes 23rd May.

New Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer

New Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer

It’s time to step up.

Watch the new #SpiderManFarFromHome trailer, in cinemas July 3 and get your tickets today from participating cinemas.

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!

Starring Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, JB Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr with Marisa Tomei and Jake Gyllenhaal

Directed by Jon Watts

Mary Queen of Scots: DVD Review

Mary Queen of Scots: DVD Review

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.