Amazing Grace: Film Review

Amazing Grace: Film Review

There's one reason to see Amazing Grace - and it's simply staring quietly and unassumingly in the background at you throughout.

It seems woefully stupid to say Aretha Franklin is the reason to see the finally released documentary which captures the recording of a live album in the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, a disused movie theatre, in Watts, Los Angeles.

But the power of the voice lives on and is captured easily in the doco from Sydney Pollack which has been stuck in legal and digital hell for some 45 years. (Bizarrely, also due to Franklin claiming there were no rights to use her image.)

However, it's the sheer power of Franklin's voice which carries Amazing Grace, and lest it simply become a concert recording, side characters give the film a bit more life.

As well as a couple of members of the choir who are either moved by the power of the church or Franklin's voice, the energy brought by an essentially live commentary given by the Reverend James Cleveland is central to the film's tactile success. Providing links to the tracks and to the proceedings, Cleveland's energy is what carries the film, given how silent Franklin is in between songs.

If anything, Pollack's Amazing Grace captures the vibe of being in the moment like nothing else.

Whether it's panning to the crowd, and capturing Mick Jagger grooving on the second night of recording, or simply capturing the everyday African American moved by the gospel sounds, the feeling of the extraordinary in the mundanity of the church is inescapable.

Technically, the film looks as good as it could, and the sounds are simultaneously stripped back and incredible.

Ultimately, Amazing Grace offers a timeless snapshot of a talent in ascendance. Placed in among the everyday setting, the meshing of the music and the people is transcendant. 

The Farewell: Film Review

The Farewell: Film Review

Director Lulu Wang puts family drama and reunion squarely on the table in this piece which is based on an actual lie, as the opening title board points out.

Chinese born Billi (Awkwafina, in a muted and conflicted turn) lives in New York, with her mother and father, and is a struggling writer. When she learns that her beloved Nai Nai is dying, her immediate desire is to get back to China and help her cope.

But the family decides to withhold the fatal cancer diagnosis from Nai Nai, telling her she only has benign shadows on her X-Rays and that she's fine. However, they all decide to fly back to China under the pretence of a wedding for one final family reunion.

The clash of familial duty and the affairs of the heart comes delicately together in The Farewell, and is all anchored by Crazy Rich Asians' Awkwafina's rueful turn that brings together both the inner turmoil and deep emotions needed in something that projects her from the screen into the stratosphere.

But as the subtleties of familial relationships are poured through the prism of escalating tensions and imminent sadness of the loss of the matriarch, the film pivots on its ideas and never milks the emotion for easy drama.

East vs West is explored (obviously) and the family arguments and discussions are all set against some gorgeously shot scenes of dining and food.

It all means that Wang brings together the film in ways that are warm, earnest and also amusing. From Nai Nai's nagging to Billi about how she shouldn't wear earrings in New York as they'll be ripped from her ears to the reunion of the two brothers after twenty-plus years, this is a film that's rich in nuance and deep in feeling.

The Farewell is a nuanced take on family, one that balances perfectly on resonance.

It may be based on an actual lie, but its truths are universal and its performance by Awkwafina is delicate and complex, and well worth absorbing. 

The Hummingbird Project: DVD Review

The Hummingbird Project: DVD Review

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgaard, Salma Hayek
Director: Kim Nguyen

Eisenberg and Skarsgaard team up in this seems-like-it's-true story of two cousins, who work in the high frequency trading market.

Eisenberg is Vinny Zaleski, a dreamer who has a vision of building a pipe across America to get the futures stocks before anyone else, and therefore make more money. A balding Skarsgaard is the more introverted Anton, a coder and over-thinker whose job it is is to shave vital milliseconds off the travelling data tube.

As they put in motion the plans for their fibre-optic dreams, reality starts to intrude - and their former boss (Hayek, in greying wig) starts to take them on.

The Hummingbird Project is a film that's a little too dry to engage in its obvious underdog trappings.

Eisenberg brings his trademark fast patter and slightly annoying edges to Vinny, resulting in an ingenue that's hard to back from the off. Equally, Skarsgaard is so dialled down in his closed down Anton that his spouting about neutrinos and milliseconds is enough to make you detach completely.

These are characters that you don't fully engage in and at times, in this story where you want the underdog to win, it's a crippling factor.

That's not to say Nguyen doesn't deploy the film with a degree of skill; it just occasionally could have used a little more urgency. Though, in fairness, this is a film that's more interested in the two main characters rather than supporting players. Unfortunately, their surface deep personalities don't add much to the mix.

A little more depth over why Vinny is so driven would have helped, and could have lifted The Hummingbird Project into something of the realm of the truly thrilling, as opposed to the occasionally drab.

Cyberpunk 2077 new 'Deep Drive' trailer revealed

Cyberpunk 2077 new 'Deep Drive' trailer revealed

CD Projekt Red have just release a new vide called ‘Deep Dive’ that showcases all new footage and features of  Cyberpunk 2077. 

The 14+ Minute video includes footage of the gameplay seen at E3 as well as all new details and information on the game mechanics and plot of Cyberpunk 2077.

Also, wanna learn more about the story and lore of the game? 

Make sure to check out the extended version of the video, with a special Deep Dive Q&A with members of the development team — Miles Tost (Senior Level Designer), Paweł Sasko (Lead Quest Designer), and Philipp Weber(Quest Design Coordinator):

Look out for more information on Cyberpunk 2077 shortly!

Mirai: Blu Ray Review

Mirai: Blu Ray Review

Apparently inspired by director Hosoda's observations of the interaction of his own kids, Mirai is the tale of sibling jealousy.

Kun is the apple of his parents' eye - or so he believes. The four-year-old thinks the world revolves around him, but finds his view shaken up when a younger sister is born into the family.

Riddled with jealousy at his parents' loss of time for him, Kun's resentment of baby Mirai reaches fever pitch, and he hits the child with one of his beloved bullet trains. Struggling to find his place in the world post baby, Kun finds a magic world in his garden, as the importance of a sibling is demonstrated to him.

Mirai's touches are sweetly despatched, as the darker edges of the tale come to light.

It's one of seething inadequacy from the whining baby Kun; but despite Kun's apparent anger toward his situation, the Ghosts of Christmas Past / Future style visitations show really what could lie ahead for him as an older brother.

There's some further darkness in Mirai, with a heartbreaking scene of a child clearly in trouble after Kun's visit and subsequent trashing of the house. And the lessons doled out are a little on the heavy-handed side and obvious to anyone with an eye for them.

However, given this anime is aimed more at a family audience, Hosoda's sweeping touches can be forgiven within the simplicity of the story.

Mirai won't possibly win over everyone, and it lacks the timelessness of some other anime, even though there's a universality of theme at play here - but for the start of the school holidays and with an ever-growing awareness of the genre, its messages may be timely in today's world. 

JOKER - Final Trailer

JOKER - Final Trailer

About JOKER: Forever alone in a crowd, Arthur Fleck seeks connection.  Yet, as he trods the sooted Gotham City streets and rides the graffitied mass transit rails of a hostile town teeming with division and dissatisfaction, Arthur wears two masks.  One, he paints on for his day job as a clown.  The other he can never remove; it’s the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel he’s a part of the world around him, and not the misunderstood man whom life is repeatedly beating down.  Fatherless, Arthur has a fragile mother, arguably his best friend, who nicknamed him Happy, a moniker that’s fostered in Arthur a smile that hides the heartache beneath.  But, when bullied by teens on the streets, taunted by suits on the subway, or simply teased by his fellow clowns at work, this social outlier only becomes even more out of sync with everyone around him. Directed, co-written and produced by Todd Phillips, “Joker” is the filmmaker’s original vision of the infamous DC villain, an origin story infused with, but distinctly outside, the character’s more traditional mythologies.  Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society.  Longing for any light to shine on him, he tries his hand as a stand-up comic, but finds the joke always seems to be on him.  Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty and, ultimately, betrayal, Arthur makes one bad decision after another that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty, allegorical character study.
JOKER stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais and Leigh Gill.
JOKER releases in New Zealand in theatres on October 3, 2019.

JUST CAUSE 4: DANGER RISING OUT NOW

JUST CAUSE 4: DANGER RISING OUT NOW

JUST CAUSE 4: DANGER RISING - OUT NOW!

Biggest Expansion to JUST CAUSE 4 Available Now for Gold Edition and Season Pass Owners

SYDNEY, 30^th August 2019 – Square Enix Ltd. is pleased to announce that JUST CAUSE 4: DANGER RISING is available now for Gold Edition and Season Pass owners.

Watch the JUST CAUSE 4: DANGER RISING Gameplay Trailer here: 

DANGER RISING is the third and final part of the “Dare Devils, Demons and Danger” expansion pass and the biggest addition to JUST CAUSE 4 since launch, featuring 9 new missions, plus exciting new gadgets, weapons and vehicles. Last but not least is a new addition to Rico’s already impressive suite of traversal options in the massive open-world of Solís: a fully functional Hoverboard.

The story picks up with giant submarines appearing off the coast of the island of Solís, serving as massive outposts for the Agency, who have arrived to hunt down the rogue agent Rico and reclaim their technology. He must take down all strongholds to bring the Agency to their knees. Every submarine base presents new gameplay challenges and requires a fresh approach to strategy in order to put them out of commission.

With Agency operatives stalking the shores of Solís, Rico is faced with a difficult new challenge – an enemy with the same technology and training as him. For the first time, Rico must fight other agents, tough and dangerous foes with grapple hooks of their own and incredible new high-tech weaponry.

“JUST CAUSE 4 is a huge sandbox experience, full of over-the-top action and amazing emergent gameplay moments. There’s nothing else like it.” said Victoria Setian, Senior Producer at Avalanche Studios. “But it’s about to get crazier! We are so excited for players to finally get their hands on the Hoverboard in JUST CAUSE 4. It’s a game-changer, which will allow our players to tackle content in a whole new way.”

JUST CAUSE 4: Danger Rising is available now on XBOX ONE®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.  

You can read more about the improvements to JUST CAUSE 4 on the Developer Blog: https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB/topic/jc4-dev-updates

Gold Edition purchasers receive 7 days early access to the JUST CAUSE 4 Danger Rising DLC, starting the 29^th of August. Standard Edition access begins on September 5^th, 2019.

For more information on the Gold Edition visit: http://justcause.com/buy-now

For exclusive news and information visit: https://www.youtube.com/justcausegame