Hail Satan?: DVD Review

Hail Satan?: DVD Review

Hail Satan?'s high-level trolling documentary is something of a wry amusement as it starts, but what emerges later on is an expose of the widening schism between the US and the freedom of expression.

Director Penny Lane's doco serves to show the contrasts between those in the Satanic Temple and their perception in the media. After all, some of the chapter are part of a beach-tidying commitment for a year.

It appears the message is one of benevolence, and those levelled with criticisms of going to hell are met with a "I believe it and I'm very supportive of it" response that's both amusing and also indicative of the good nature of those in the Temple.

As the so-called Satanic Panic spreads, and the more trolling and playing with media the Temple does, Lane pivots perceptions and the doco becomes an intriguing look about how different people are treated over events, rather than as themselves.

A tongue in cheek approach seems to be Hail Satan?'s raison d'etre, but it also by weaving in video interview clips and media stunts seems to give the doco an offbeat feel that's hard to shake, but worthy of smiles. However, Lane never resorts to mockery of her subjects, and the piece is all the better for it.

Less religious fervour, more a plea for tolerance, Hail Satan?'s devilish charms are not hard to resist.

Late Night: DVD Review

Late Night: DVD Review

Aiming to smash the glass ceiling, but ending up more just politely tapping on it, Mindy Kaling's comedy Late Night will feel familiar to fans of the vitriolic Larry Sanders Show from the 1990s.

In Late Night, Kaling plays Molly Patel, a plant worker who ends up being a diversity hire on Emma Thompson's Katherine Newbury's late night show. Newbury is a legend, and has been on the circuit for years, but the show's on the wane, with viral clips and interviews with YouTube stars punishing them in the ratings.

So when the head of the network (Amy Ryan) decides to move Newbury along in favour of a newer foul-mouthed host (Barinholtz), Molly is caught up in the last great offensive to keep ratings high.

Essentially a romantic comedy with a side of showbiz and a dash of social commentary, Late Night treads the boards of familiarity with such geniality it's hard to fully hate it.

But the film lacks a punch that would translate to some interesting barbs and commentary on women in the workplace and women on TV. It feels like Kaling's written sadly from reality, but is a little too frightened to make the commentary needed to help it land in ways which would give it its power.

There's an underdeveloped romance sideplot, which swipes at MeToo, and a sweet relationship between Thompson and Lithgow that brims with reality and depth.

Yet it's not enough to make Late Night feel anything other than undercooked at times.

Thankfully, Thompson makes great fist of her barbed and occasionally bitter Newbury. You can see where it's coming from a mile off, but the joy of seeing an older woman in a lead in this is clearly what Kaling wanted for the film, and the fact the reality of late night TV in the US is scarcely inhabited by women speaks volumes.

Kaling plays on her innate likeability repeatedly, and the result is a fair film that offers some laughs - it's just with a sharper eye for the targets and a few wittier barbs, it could have been unstoppable. 

Concrete Genie: PS4 Review

Concrete Genie: PS4 Review

Developed by Pixelopus
Released by Sony Interactive

It would have been a perfect game for the now defunct PS Vita, Pixelopus' Concrete Genie is a pleasant mix of Life is Strange and painting, with elements of the Unfinished Swan thrown into the mix.

You are Ash, a small town kid who has a penchant for doodles and a mind for creativity. Against the backdrop of the darker town of Denska, Ash is bullied, mocked for his paintings and his thoughts.

When bullies scatter Ash's drawings, he chases them down - but in a mysterious lighthouse, one of his favourites, Luna, comes to life and begins to guide him on new adventures and drawings....

Concrete Genie is a sweet, neon-coloured graffiti blast.

Using the DualShock to create paintings within the landscapes and tagging everything and anything, the game's creativity comes to life. It takes a bit of getting used to in terms of firing up the brush and moving the motion sensors around - and ideally a PS Move capability would be perfect (or the aforementioned Vita).

Thematics are handled in a solid fashion, and it's clear Pixelopus is talking more about wanting players to have fun than be judged for their work, literally leaving those behind the controller to have a blank canvas with which to work from.

It may be simple in its approach, and relatively short in its overall execution, but Concrete Genie is effective in its messaging. It encourages creativity within Denska, demands innovation and leaves you with the reward for it.

Concrete Genie may be short, but it's certainly sweet enough to deliver a finely tuned gaming experience for all ages.

The Lion King: Blu Ray Review

The Lion King: Blu Ray Review

The new version of The Lion King is visually phenomenal.

Imagine the Planet Earth team had been tasked with creating a photorealistic version of the Disney classic and ensuring your nostalgia rush was catered for as well, and you can encapsulate the goosebump moments of the Circle of Life as the sun rises above the plains.

It's an astounding feat that showcases what Favreau began with The Jungle Book and has once again raised the bar in terms of what visuals can offer - especially on the biggest screen available.
And yet the 2019 reimagining of The Lion King does little to tamper with the original's formula, other than dressing up the CGI and presenting the story as is.

Unfortunately as well, the emotion is somewhat lacking once the visual dazzle of the opening starts to fade, and you realise this is a spectacle above all else - whereas the original Lion King had heart, heart-stopping moments and heartbreak in spades.

It's partly due to the impassive nature of the lions' faces, from the cubs through to the leaders via the insidious Scar - the lions themselves can do little to emote, reminding you the cartoon faces of the original were so expressive, so OTT in places and so helpful at searing the whole thing into your heart.

Consequently, iconic lines and story beats feel simply like they're read aloud at a cast reading, and lack the effects the original had. Scar, while looking slumped and emaciated compared to Mufasa, lacks the cartoon villainy that made Jeremy Irons' delivery so delicious. The hyenas fare better, their dead eyes and sneers helping bring the menace and darker edges vividly to life.

And there are odd moments when the creatures don't actually seem to interact with their surroundings too, as if placed on top rather than in environments. Gravel doesn't move under their feet in the Elephants' graveyard, and there's a rather curious relationship with grass.

These sound like minor niggles - and in fairness, they are; but given how superlative Favreau's crafted his FX team to deliver, it's the small things which stand out in Disney's latest revamp of their cartoon catalogue.

Thankfully, Timon and Pumbaa (Eichner and Rogen respectively) add much to proceedings and serve to enliven events after you begin to feel the scales falling away from your digitally-impressed eyes.

The problem is ultimately that the 2019 version of The Lion King, while overstuffed with animals, is never its own beast - there's hardly a moment within that doesn't remind you of the original.

It's not enough to be a fatal flaw for the Lion King, and certainly in terms of spectacle, the film overdelivers in a wonderful way; but is it likely to be as timeless as the original's more basic edges?

That seems distinctly unlikely, and while audiences will adore this version in the way Disney wants, you'd be hard pressed to say it's anything more than nostalgia that helps you feel the love tonight. 

Disney+ NZ reveals details of its streaming content

Disney+ NZ reveals details of its streaming content

The hotly-anticipated launch of Disney+ – Disney’s all-new streaming home for entertainment from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic – is drawing near. 

Come November 19, Kiwis can enjoy the Disney cinema experience from the comfort of their couch, bingeing on everything from nostalgic Disney classics, including a special remake of Lady and the Tramp, to Disney+ originals such as The Mandalorian, a live-action Star Wars series.

Disney+ has just announced their first official NZ content list. 

The exciting announcement has been shared on the DisneyPlusNZ Instagram platform with a content piece showcasing the wide breadth of content that will be available for New Zealanders to enjoy when they sign up.  

View this post on Instagram

And this isn’t the half of it...

A post shared by Disney+ New Zealand (@disneyplusnz) on Nov 13, 2019 at 2:52pm PST

Ailo's Journey: Film Review

Ailo's Journey: Film Review

Director: Guillaume Maidatchevsky

This live-action tale of a baby reindeer making its way through the Lapland countryside as he struggles into life is a sure-fire Christmas winner.

Director Maidatchevsky makes great fist of the stunning countryside vistas in this story of life, and layers some hints of climate change, and moments of menace that almost feel like they're ripped from a Disney movie involving Bambi, as the mother and son start their migration.

But the story's more a frolicking rather than rolicking ride through the wilds, and even though the locales soar, there's a feeling that the script has been tailored to fit the action as the camera follows Ailo on his journey.

Lashed with avuncular narration from Donald Sutherland, it never quite hits the highs of an Attenborough led doco, but there's enough distractions to keep the young cooing and cowering throughout.

From a hyperactive white stoat to a wolverine that's got food on its mind, the film's less interested in showing the nastier side of the circle of life (something that many wildlife pieces shy disappointingly away from these days) and more concerned with the cutesy feel. It's of a generation hardly furnished these days, and is more interested in letting the cameras follow the story, and occasionally manufacturing some of the drama needed.

There are certainly wider and deeper points to be made about the effects on migrating herds, and how life is getting tougher for our planet's most under threat animals, but Ailo's Journey is more concerned with planting the seed of thought in minds than spelling it out.

Ailo's Journey is a masterpiece of editing; crisply shot scenes meld with the story, and even though in parts the voiceover feels dreadfully scripted and more interested in a once over when it comes to climate change issues, the film's gleefully uncynical approach, coupled with the magical hitherto unseen world of the Christmas reindeer, may win over more family filled audiences than cynics.

Charlie's Angels: Film Review

Charlie's Angels: Film Review

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Elizabeth Banks, Ella Balinska, Patrick Stewart
Director: Elizabeth Banks

"I think women can do anything," Kristen Stewart's bewigged spy says at the start of the 2019 franchise reboot, seducing a potential fly in the web before launching into a curtain-inspired take on asphyxiation.

It's an obvious and overt meta comment to both the audience and critics of the intentions of the new Charlie's Angels, just moments before it launched into a montage of everyday women doing every day things, and simply, as the song says, putting their hands up.

Yet, it's also symptomatic of why the new popcorn blockbuster doesn't quite fly as it could, regardless of whether you're a male or female audience member.

Granted, for all the independent women out there, the story of a systems engineer (played with wide-eyed innocence by Aladdin's Naomi Scott) who finds herself ensconsced in the spy world when she discovers the technology she's developing is flawed and potentially life-ending is nothing new.

Even peppered with Banks' trademark zing and the light touch as director and writer, the film still flounders with some of its would-be peppier lines failing to hit any target and clanking to the ground.

Meta discussions about whether Ben Affleck truly is Batman raise nary a titter, and reek of a push to bring contemporary themes to the fore, just to give the film an edge, and its writer a "we can do this too" voice.

A continuing "gag" about men underappreciating and underestimating women just seems to grate (there's no bitterness on this male reviewer's point of view) rather than scythe through the ongoing chatter like it should. And most of the men within the movie are treated more as bad guys than anything more three dimensional, adding to a feeling this film, rightly so, is all about the sisters and sisterhood rather than the script.

Within the Angels themselves, Brit newcomer Ballinska stumbles occasionally, floundering with any emotional delivery of basic dialogue but kicking ass when needed. More successful is Aladdin's Scott, who gives the her newbie the innocence she needs and some life to the arc she's been dished out with.

And easily the MVP of the piece is Stewart, even if there's a feeling that she's been held back by a script that doesn't allow her comedy chops to cut loose. Though disappointingly, hints of who she may be are confined to a look in one shot, and give a feel of a withering uncertainty to mark her sexual place in the film. Had the script afforded her a greater chance to lean more into the quips and beefed them up, she would easily have scorched the cinema screen.

But that's symptomatic of where Charlie's Angels goes wrong; it feels underwritten and undercooked.

From the lack of real energy and chemistry between this team of angels to a story that's almost irrelevant to proceedings, the movie flails and fails to find a voice of its own, even if there are touches that make the all-female led reboot worthy of some of your time and money.

Its message of sisterhood bleeds unfortunately too heavily from the screen, watering down its action movie roots, and giving you a sense that there could have been more. While the two Stewarts (Patrick and Kristen) deliver much comedy and ham, it's not enough of a frisson on screen to connect, even if the film's DNA is infused with some touches of feminism and some welcome subversions of what's transpired before.

Some diverting stunt sequences (particularly in a quarry) may distract from the weaker and confused action scenes, but this Charlie's Angels lacks the punch and pace of the reboots a few decades ago. On this outing alone, it seems unlikely these Angels will be taking flight again - despite the good intentions of all those involved.