Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trailer arrives

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Trailer arrives

The new trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife has arrived.

From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman, comes the next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe. 

In Ghostbusters: Afterlife, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. 

The film is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan.

Starring Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd.

Directed by Jason Reitman

IN CINEMAS JULY 2, 2020

Amazing Grace: DVD Review

Amazing Grace: DVD 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. 

Wonder Woman 1984: First Trailer

Wonder Woman 1984: First Trailer

The first look at Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman 1984 has dropped.

A new era of wonder begins. #WW84 in theaters June 5.

Apollo 11: DVD Review

Apollo 11: DVD Review

There's no way you don't know how this story goes.

And on the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, with timing that can only be described as fortuitous in extremis, the film festival is playing the Apollo 11 doco on the day the moon landing happened.

The film is of the kind of calibre you'd expect from those like CNN who are involved, but director Todd Douglas Miller manages to create a kind of unfussy portrait of the hours of the build up to the launch and the days after.

It's intriguing in that, despite some over-produced moments of the bombast of a score intruding and trying to provoke drama, a film takes you directly back to the era, and the ordinary everyday "heroes" of NASA, who were not called Buzz or Neil.

Camera footage early on chooses to focus on the scale of the gantry by shooting from the ground up, sets the tone by focussing the cameras on those inside the control centre, and the gathered crowds who look like they're there to be part of a rock-n'roll event; it's here Miller pitches the actual event as something that everyone aspired to be part of, and which was monumental at the time, but has slowly been dwarfed by the extraordinary times we live in, and the naysayers who try to detract from its happening or its relevance.

CCTV footage, and footage shot within the craft, along with some Asteroids-level graphics build a portrait that's selective in the imagery it presents, but one which builds a tapestry of our greatest achievement.

Apollo 11 uses footage only of the moment, archives of the time and sights and sounds to create something that is never heart-stopping but is always awe-inducing. It's a time capsule, definitely, but it's a film of its time, and also one that showcases the fearlessness of man's occasionally indomitable spirit.  

Win a double pass to see SORRY WE MISSED YOU

Win a double pass to see SORRY WE MISSED YOU

To celebrate the release of Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You, in cinemas December 26, and thanks to Icon Films, you can win a double pass.

About Sorry We Missed You

Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labour exploitation.

Starring Kris Hitchen, this searing movie hits cinemas December 26 and showcases Ken Loach at his most seething.

All you have to do is email your details and the word SORRY!

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

It Chapter 2: Blu Ray Review

It Chapter 2: Blu Ray Review

The sequel to the phenomenally popular horror movie It presents a sustained disturbing assault on your psyche, while somehow managing to completely repeat itself from its first outing.

In the final part of the adaptation of horror meister Stephen King's seminal work, the Losers club, now scattered, scarred and disjointed, are pulled back to Derry by Mike (an exposition heavy and sullen Mustafa) after it appears Pennywise has reappeared 27 years later.

Dealing with their own issues, as well as an inexplicable memory loss in the intervening years, the group must come together one more time to face their own fears and banish the malignant clown cancer that's blighting their home town.

It: Chapter Two presents almost three hours of psychological assault, trading on primal fears and drowning the audience in noise and bluster - as well as making a strong case for exceptional work by both Bills in the cast.

Yet, in among the meta gags about writers that seems to mock King, there's a feeling "You don't like endings" is a trope which can't be escaped. (MacAvoy's Bill, now a writer is oft mocked for his literary inabilities to climax).

Choosing to present sustained noise and fury, the film seems content to retread a similar pattern proffered by Muschietti's first opening chapter - one of a funhouse with jolts and jump scares rolled out as a series of set pieces, and held together solely by nicely emotional flashbacks and a less weighty current day plight for the gang.

That's not to say they're not successful in among the bluster, more than they're a narrative equivalent of a carny ride through the spooky horrors of the gang's scarred psyche. But despite the noise of the horrific gay bashing that opens the film, the success comes in the quieter moments and the more upsetting set pieces.

A sequence with Pennywise and a young girl under the bannisters of a baseball game is as disturbing and as delightful as it should be - and equally, a sequence in a hall of mirrors offers some viscerally unsettling moments.

But all too often, It: Chapter Two is happy to squander those in favour of bigger, brasher horror set pieces which scream out of the screen as the nightmarish edges are etched into the mind.

And if anything, the lunatic conclusion of the film and the third-act reveal of the origins of Pennywise border on the laughable, as befits the material.

However, there are bonuses to be had among the boos.

While the older version of the Losers' Club are essentially sidelined in favour of flashbacks, Bill Hader offers up a broken fragile version of an older Richie that feels lived in, giving depth to where King's brush strokes have been found wanting. The same can't be said of Jessica Chastain's Bev, a domestic violence victim that barely gets the redemption and boldness her younger version was proffered in the first.

Bill Skarsgaard's Pennywise remains a definitive take on the character, but this time around, while the scares he delivers are genuinely unsettling, the boogeyman feels less developed and more a purveyor of terror than a figure of depth. But when the jolts are delivered as effectively as they are, this is less glaring than it normally would be.

There's no denying an edit may have helped It: Chapter Two, and there's a distinct feeling of disturbing deja vu, but ultimately, this big budget adaptation is a fitting finale to fear.

It offers some psychological terrors to unsettle long after the lights have gone up, and while its themes of trauma and friendship aren't new or original, they're solidly executed in among the carnival atmosphere of carnage.

Ultimately, It: Chapter Two will leave you feeling bereft and potentially divided; it doesn't clown around when the scares are needed, but its propensity for bluster damages the great work done by the first part. 

Borderlands 3 - DLC Gameplay video

Borderlands 3 - DLC Gameplay video

See First 13 Minutes of Borderlands 3’s Upcoming Campaign Add-On,  Due Out December 19

The first gameplay footage from Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot features glitzy lights, Hyperion Loader Bots, and a cameo from Handsome Jack himself … kind of.

Want a sneak peek of your next great adventure? Moxxi's Heist of The Handsome Jackpot—the first campaign add-on for Borderlands 3—launches on December 19, and we know plenty of you Vault Hunters can’t wait to wreak havoc aboard Handsome Jack's space casino.

To view the gameplay video click the image below

In case you missed the original announcement, Moxxi’s recruiting you to seize control of a derelict space station built by the infamous Handsome Jack back when he was still president of the Hyperion corporation. The Handsome Jackpot is quite possibly the gaudiest gambling spot in the galaxy, with neon signs, slot machines, and gold statues all over the place. It’s also crawling with multiple models of deadly Hyperion Loader Bots, as well as lunatic looters who’ve been trapped on board ever since Jack’s death. But that’s not all:

·       Explore a glitzy new galaxy destination packed with unique zones worthy of Handsome Jack’s lavish lifestyle and dirty dealings;

·       Join Moxxi’s crew of eccentric characters and pull off the ultimate casino heist in a series of thrilling campaign missions;

·       Discover hidden secrets and strange happenings in The Handsome Jackpot via fresh side missions and Crew Challenges;

·       Get a blast from Pandora’s past when you battle the Hyperion forces that outlived Handsome Jack, including never-before-seen enemies and larger-than-life bosses;

·       Perfect your Vault Hunter’s gear loadout with all-new Legendary weapons and gear;

·       Expand your collection of cosmetics with even more customization items, including Vault Hunter heads and skins, weapon trinkets, an ECHO Device skin, and new emotes.

Moxxi's Heist of The Handsome Jackpot is tuned for characters who are at least level 13 but will automatically scale up so that higher-level Vault Hunters can find a challenge and appropriately powerful loot. In order to access this content, you'll need to have unlocked Sanctuary III, your space-faring home base that you reach at the end of the campaign’s prologue. 

As a reminder, Moxxi's Heist of The Handsome Jackpot is the first of four DLC packs in development for Borderlands 3 and is included in both the Season Pass and the Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition. We'll be showing off more of the action and adventure you can expect in Moxxi's Heist of The Handsome Jackpot as we approach its December 19 launch date.

2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).