Mystify: Michael Hutchence: DVD Review

Mystify: Michael Hutchence: DVD Review

Director Richard Lowenstein pulls together a relatively intimate portrait of the famed INXS rock icon, in a documentary that soars for the majority of its time before crashing into more sombre territory in its final 30 minutes.

Eschewing talking heads and having them provide soundbites over footage from the archives, concert moments and Hutchence himself gives the feel of a family album being narrated by mates and family around a good bottle of wine.

But Lowenstein's also smart enough to pepper the piece with moments of Hutchence himself, allowing the man's clear charisma to shine forth and illuminate the screen.

Vignettes from Kylie Minogue about their relationship and earlier lovers help build a portrait of a man lost in the world at some point - but also humanise Hutchence beyond the rock icon label that he's gained since his death at 37.

In some ways, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is a relatively formulaic doco presented in an albeit unusual way.

There's no denying the music still stands strong, and Lowenstein wisely uses only a smattering of the live footage to boost the appeal of the Aussie.

But the film hits a screeching halt and almost derails as it reveals the change in Hutchence after a head injury. It appears to echo Michael himself in that the tone shifts awkwardly from more hedonistic fare to an almost funereal pace that wonders dangerously close into mawkish territory.

And there's an odd feeling towards the end that veers dangerously into hagiography with various drugs issues mentioned, albeit fleetingly, and hinted at rather than doing anything to darken the appeal of Michael Hutchence.

There's a sense of being too close to the subject - but it's a double-edged sword, as without the closeness, there wouldn't have been the abundance of footage to present something compelling.

All in all, Mystify: Michael Hutchence is a fine tribute to the star, and one that explains the appeal to all, rather than just fans. 

New JAMES BOND 007: No Time To Die Trailer

New JAMES BOND 007: No Time To Die Trailer

It's here - the very first look at James Bond: No Time To Die Trailer

The final Daniel Craig Bond outing is due April 2020, and the latest trailer gives a hint of what to expect next from Ian Fleming's spy.

In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

James Bond: No Time To Die (2020) is the new action movie starring Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux and Helena Bonham Carter.

The Farewell: DVD Review

The Farewell: DVD 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. 

Doctor Who Series 12 to premiere New Year's Day

Doctor Who Series 12 to premiere New Year's Day

The brand new series of Doctor Who will premiere on New Year's Day 2020.

It's official: Doctor Who will return to our screens on New Year's Day 2020.

As confirmed in the brand new trailer below, Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord will ring in the 12th series with a special two-part episode titled 'Spyfall' written by showrunner Chris Chibnall.

Doctor Who series 12 will consist of 10 episodes, and the show will air on Sundays much like the previous series in the UK.

The Good Liar: Film Review

The Good Liar: Film Review

Cast: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey
Director: Bill Condon

Based on Nicholas Searle's book, The Good Liar's thrills mainly arrive in the form of watching Sir Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren interact, rather than the central so-called mystery of what's unfolding.

McKellen is Roy Courtnay, a con artist, who thinks he's found his latest mark in the form of Mirren's well-to-do widow Betty McLeish. Ingratiating himself in her life, Courtnay's swindle is under threat thanks to the uncertainty of Betty's grandson, played by Being Human's Russell Tovey.

Will Courtnay get away with a multi-million pound con?

The Good Liar has obvious twists that are relatively signposted from the start.

Not simply content to follow a fairly formulaic and perfunctory story, Condon rarely elevates Searle's story beyond an 80's UK TV thriller, with gradual revelations building to the kind of crescendo a finale would cover, and audiences would lap up.

However, times have changed now, and while the whole thing is nicely presented, the story's crippled by some flashbacks and a final act that feels flat and emotionally lacking, as the puzzle pieces slot neatly into place.

Thankfully, Mirren and McKellen make a masterful pair (and it's good to see Downton Abbey's Jim Carter playing a more contemporary role as Courtnay's partner in crime), but the film's script doesn't quite live up to their brilliance.

It's rare to see a film that relies so heavily on more mature leads, and it greatly deserves to be applauded; every scene with McKellen soars, and the film suffers in comparison when neither are on screen.

But ultimately, The Good Liar doesn't deliver a compelling enough twist or reveal to render any of what's happened previously potent; its final shots may be shocking in some ways, but that's only because of the actors' work.

Far better suited to a short run TV miniseries, The Good Liar may be masterfully shot, perfunctorily plotted and well-acted, but the truth of the matter is it lacks the gut punch to give the mystery the chance to soar, and the audience the chance to be utterly shocked and absorbed.

The Addams Family: Film Review

The Addams Family: Film Review

Vocal cast: Charlize Theron, Oscar Isaac, Chloe Grace Moretz, Alison Janney, Nick Kroll
Director: Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon

Another do over for the Addams family, albeit in animated form this time around offers varied reasons to exist, but none strong enough to truly stand out in the cinema, proffering more TV bound fare than big screen thrills.

In the latest, when Morticia and Gomez are driven out of town on their wedding night by a pitchfork mob, they take up residence in one of the most hideous places they could ever imagine - New Jersey.

Moving into an abandoned asylum, the Addams' desire for a normal life is shattered when a home renovation TV show sets their sights on their home for a makeover...

Theron and Isaac make a fine lead duo but the ghouls' share of the grins go to Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday whose deadpan delivery makes a macabre treat that the script really doesn’t deserve thanks to lazy writing within.

Janney’s ghastly Reno TV mom is a ghoul of her own and adds an OTT counterpoint to the monochrome Addams, but the idea that assimilating into the ordinary and not standing out like the Addams do is not a new - or totally enticing - idea.

Equally Kroll's Fester is a delight but he’d hardly given enough to do and is confined frustratingly to the sidelines.

A few emo gags fly past here but are mostly lost in an animation that’s less than interested in embracing the gallows humour that the Addams Family is famed for and more interested in trying to push the idea that weird is good - something the target audience will already know and probably won't rock their world.

Ultimately, The Addams Family does just about enough to justify its existence, but not enough to sound a horn for a spooky and kooky revival that the series would have wanted.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: PS4 Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: PS4 Review

Released by Activision
Platform: PS4

The latest first person shooter is the 16th installment of the Call of Duty series.

The sixteenth - meaning other iterations of the series have barely moved on from the first person shooter mechanics of the series.

Though this one also serves as a relaunch of the Modern Warfare series as well.

Set in modern times, it follows a CIA officer and Brit SAS soldiers as they take on rebels from Urzikstan (fictional, though it may not be) fighting Russians who've invaded. So far, so gung ho, and so slightly tapping into modern worries and fascinations.

However, that's also what's controversial about Modern Warfare, its villainisations and its desire to tap into tropes and stereotypes that could enrage if it was placed in a lazy campaign story. The problem is that the campaign is perhaps the best part of Modern Warfare, a tense and gripping series of orchestrated moments and sequences that compel you from beginning to end, even if they may slightly enrage you as well.

Slickly produced, the first person elements are the closest COD has ever really gotten to a grey area of gaming, a queasy mix of conscience and shooting.

The game's multiplayer is as ever, solid, but in a world where we're bombarded with arenas, battle royales and all kinds of shooters, it has to work hard to keep you engaged and not enraged when you're picked off.

Thankfully, the addition of extra maps in the game after launch has helped immensely - and with levels like Ground War and Gunfight really mixing things up for the casual player, it looks like, against all the odds, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty is strongly back in the game.