At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog.
The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
To celebrate the release of Bloodshot, thanks to Sony Home Entertainment, you can win a copy.
About Bloodshot Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out. All you have to do is email your details and the word BLOODSHOT! Email now to darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com Or CLICK HERE NOW
With its perils of surveillance of the innocent story, you'd expect Seberg to be a seething commentary on the contemporary ills Americans face.
But in truth, Seberg's simplicity is what cripples its tale of the downfall of Jean Seberg (Stewart, in a largely vacant shell of drama until the final third of the film kicks in).
Stewart is Seberg, an American actress who garnered fame through her part in Jean Luc Godard's Breathless in 1960. When Seberg is seen supporting the Black Panther movement via way of Anthony Mackie's Hakim Jamal, the FBI is ordered to wiretrap and surveil her as part of the FBI COINTELPRO programme.
As the surveillance steps up, Seberg's grip on life starts to falter, and an FBI Agent (O'Connell) begins to question whether his bosses are doing the right thing...
The drama is present in Seberg, and the stage is set for an explosive showdown that lays bare the perils of defamation, the cost of the stalking and the clash of ideologies within. Yet, by laying out broad brush strokes and having a lead who doesn't feel she inhabits the role, the fault lies squarely in the script of Seberg, which is too light and fluffy to really deliver the bite it needs.
Vaughan's pro-FBI man is merely a monster, and O'Connell's wavering is presented too simply. The conflict is nowhere explored nearly as much as it could and should be in Seberg. Presenting Seberg as Joan of Arc early on aims to show her martydom but the film does little other than to portray her as a victim throughout, which is intentional, but unearned thanks to the weak script.
In the final third, as the consequences ramp up, Stewart delivers something close to searing, but it's really too little too late as the muted feel hits the film and cripples it.
Seberg is nowhere near as searing as it should be, and its chance to condemn, lay blame and berate those who gifted Seberg with her unwanted paranoia is squandered, when it should have been seized and milked to maximum dramatic effect.
Wracked with but not wrecked by spoilers dropping before release, and with the weight of expectation squarely on its story, The Last Of Us Part II is a fulfilling exercise in atmosphere, as well as the tropes of the survivor genre much seen in the likes of the Walking Dead.
Naughty Dog has so ferociously guarded this release to heighten the enjoyment of fans that it's repeatedly asked for spoilers to be held close to the chest, and for story details to be kept confined as well.
It makes a review difficult in some ways, but not impossible - loosely, the game centres around Joel and Ellie once again and their life in the post-Infected world years after we last saw them. Once again, a mission rears its head and it's back into the world of The Last Of Us we go.
In many ways, The Last Of Us is very familiar to anyone who's spent a modicum of time within the survival genre, be it comics, games or TV series.
There's once again the message of doing what it takes to survive and the cost of which doing so wreaks upon you - Battle ye not with monsters, lest ye become a monster as Nietzsche said. And much of that ethos is etched throughout The Last Of Us Part II.
As factions arise, groups rise and fall and the game progresses, the dourness settles like a heavy choking mist over proceedings. It's all a world away from the strumming guitar lessons at the start and the innocent snowball fight that sets up the prologue of the game; but it's a welcome touch of levity before the light is dimmed irrevocably and almost irretrievably.
Naughty Dog's included some new touches to their game to ensure this doesn't feel like a retread of the 2013 original.
There are more vicious encounters, a few newer creatures that present a fair few problems in a resource-free world, and things like dogs and Bloaters (a kind of infected) which can track you. The game sticks largely to its MO, and delivers superbly, if with familiarity throughout.
Corridors where your torchlight is the only illumination before that jump scare? Check.
Gorgeous cut scenes and world building that explain every ounce of the craft and demand from the higher ups that's gone in to the visualisation of the performance? Check.
A sense of creeping desperation as the game proceeds and you know you're running out of weapons and bits necessary to survive? Check.
Scenes where you're on horseback and ploughing through snow with flakes settling on your clothes a la opening of Red Dead Redemption 2? Also, Check.
If this seems like it's cocking a snook at Naughty Dog for repeating itself, it's truly not; it's a recognition that these were the highlights of the original game, and the sequel takes the same beats and amplifies them where necessary. It's even taken some of the same mechanics and gameplay beats, edges and sequences as Uncharted 4 and twisted them into their own.
It's the narrative that provides the thrust this time around - less a game about survival, more about what it means to survive and what the cost is, The Last of Us Part II's elegaic edge has a maudlin quality that's in keeping with its stealth kills and vicious encounters. Each death felt like a small piece of my soul was being sacrificed and began to wear heavy on my mind as the story progressed.
Encounters are more brutal, and more frenzied - the viciousness is omni-present, and the softer edges of the story (such as they are) complement it well and needed when they come. Flawed individuals make up the story, and serve as a reminder of humanity - or the crippling lack thereof - in this post-apocalyptic world.
New enemies emerge, and new ways to defeat them are needed; throw into that mix as well a feeling that the environment can throw anything at you without warning, and it's no wonder the over-riding feeling of The Last Of Us Part II is one of unease and almost crippling fear among the stealth and stalking.
There are some new skills to learn throughout, but the basics of the first game are in tact, and make diving back into the world easy enough. And touches like subtitles and guided audio cues will give all players the chance to be part of Joel and Ellie's world, rather than seasoned Last of Us gamers. It's things like this which add to the craft of The Last Of Us Part II and speak volumes to how gamers should be treated.
There are occasionally one too many flashbacks, something frustratingly akin to the Lost effect, where the player is drawn out of the game at the tensest of moments, leading to a feeling of delayed gratification. But each flashback, as it comes, serves to deepen the character engagement and then subsequently lose the player in a few hours of diverted gameplay.
A few glitches have also hit the game in its pre-launch status; a couple of times, characters have blended with walls, and even gone below the game itself, forcing a restart, but these minor bugs will hopefully be ironed out at launch.
Graphically, The Last Of Us Part II looks incredible - overgrown areas sing with both reality and flourishing touches. Walk past the snow on a tree and it'll fall off onto the ground, walk through water and the ripples carry on - every inch of Naughty Dog's craft is evident in every corner of the screen (even if the game's more a guided open world, than an actual open one).
However, it has to be said, The Last Of Us Part II is not the game you'd expect, and that's no bad thing at all.
It may lack the novelty of the first game in some parts, but in others, it's deepened and enriched the experience, and developers have aimed to provide more of a conflicted gamepath than a straight rescue mission of the first.
It tears up a rulebook, changes the rules for storytelling and consistently shakes the core of what makes a triple A title on the platform. And you'll hate it in parts, forced to relive moments that consistently cause you pain - but at the same time, you'll deeply admire Naughty Dog's determination to try something different with the story-telling narrative.
The Last of Us Part II is a game of consequences where the web of revenge envelops all from the centre out, and where the strands surround players who appear on the peripherary. To that end, while the story's still Ellie's, the world feels deeper, more real and more terrifying. The violence appals more this time around, shrouding a lot of the world in ugliness.
It may be one of the PlayStation exclusives to hit the PS4 platform before the arrival of the PS5, but The Last Of Us Part II is a challenging, enticing, sickening and engaging follow up to spend plenty of time in in the darkness of the winter months. The Last Of Us Part II releases exclusively on PlayStation on June 19 This reviewer was given a pre-release copy of the game from the publishers and PlayStation NZ.
PlayStation will finally unveil more details of its PlayStation 5 line up on Friday June 12 at 8am. Jim Ryan of Sony says: "With each generation, from the first PlayStation to PlayStation 4, we aim higher and we push the boundaries further, to try and deliver better experiences for our community. This has been the mission of the PlayStation brand for more than 25 years. A mission I have been a part of nearly since the beginning. "There are few things as exciting as the launch of a new console. While this road to launch has been a bit…different, we are as thrilled as ever to bring you with us on this journey to redefine the future of videogames. "We’ve shared technical specifications and shown you the new DualSense wireless controller. But what is a launch without games? "That’s why I’m excited to share that we will soon give you a first look at the games you’ll be playing after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday. The games coming to PS5 represent the best in the industry from innovative studios that span the globe. "Studios, both larger and smaller, those newer and those more established, all have been hard at work developing games that will showcase the potential of the hardware. This digital showcase will run for a bit more than an hour and, for the first time, we will all be together virtually experiencing the excitement together. "A lack of physical events has given us an amazing opportunity to think differently and bring you on this journey with us, and hopefully, closer than ever before. "This is part of our series of PS5 updates and, rest assured we will still have much to share with you."
Cast: Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, the wonders of Greece
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan reprise their Trip persona for the fourth time.
And while the third time is apparently the charm (not so in The Trip To Spain's case), it feels like now really is the time to wind up this over-inflated travelogue series for good.
It's something which those involved have said will happen with this Hellenic outing, but in parts, this film feels like a retread of everything that's gone before and a greatest hits package of the Coogan-Brydon relationship.
Except in parts, this trip around Greece, as the pair follow Odysseus' journey, delves more in the maudlin and melancholy, a welcome touch from the incessant one upmanship that's been seen so many times before. Sure, the banter between Brydon and Coogan becomes more desperate as the duo tackle more impressions, but it really does start to grate the fourth time around.
This time, it's peppered with touches of the portentous as Coogan trumpets being known for his BAFTA for Stan Laurel, but hints at being tired of only ever being awarded for work playing other people; and Brydon's continual talk of being a light entertainer feels more savage as the legacy suffocates him rather than leaving him feeling fulfilled.
As with the previous films, this has been crafted out of the 3 hour TV version, and most of the intricacies and rhythms of the food tasting and the locations have been scythed through - which is a great shame.
The star of the Trip is still Winterbottom, whose eye for magnificent shots is evident once again.
But Brydon and Coogan prove to be game enough company - from a swimming competition that's more an old man's pissing contest to the constant jabs, their exploration of friendship is a more poignant and potent affair to spend time with, rather than a tiresome retread of who can do the best impression.
If this Trip to Greece truly is the last, it's a welcome end to the series which should have been a two course menu, rather than an endless degustation of middle-aged mimcry and midlife melancholy.
Ken Loach's latest piece of socially shocking miserabilism in the UK is a savage indictment of how the everyday family is being beaten down by those abusing the system.
And yet, in among the blood-boiling moments of Sorry We Missed You, Loach displays elements of everyday love and compassion along with humour that helps you along the 100 minutes of what plays out.
Kris Hitchen plays Rikki, the head of a family who is scrabbling day to day to make ends meet. Taking the chance to become a franchisee of a delivery company, Rikki finds himself part of a contract that serves the masters better than it does the servants.
Coupled with the fact his wife Abby (Debbie Honeywood) is working 14 hours a day as a carer, the pair is left hardly any time for their two children.
Stretched as thinly as it will go, something is likely to snap in Rikki and Abby's lives...
Clothed in savage condemnation of the zero hours' slavery, Loach's film promotes a growing sense of depression, as well as a sense of latent activism in the audience.
But it's the realism here, and the intimate relatability that gives Loach his power in this film - a growing sense of desperation from both Hitchen and Honeywood creates an aching, gnawing sense of disillusionment as events threaten to swallow them up.
There's nothing here that's played for easy drama, merely a growing sense of a maelstrom about to encompass the everyday family. And because of that it's even more horrifying to behold.
There's an anger in Sorry We Missed You, but Loach is restrained enough a director to realise that simply playing out events will get the required results in the audience. It's horrifically affective and affecting - ultimately, Sorry We Missed You is one social drama not ignore - both on screen and off it.
