Possessor: Film Review

Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

Director Brandon Cronenberg brings an unsettling touch to this arthouse sci-fi story that will be familiar to anyone who's delved into the 2000AD archives of Future Shock stories.

Riseborough stars as assassin Taysa Vos, whose skill is to insert herself into other's minds, assume their personalities and carry out the required mission.

When she's contracted to infiltrate an organisation and kill the CEO, she finds the man whose mind she's taken over stronger than expected, and given she's already struggling to disengage from each possessed host, things go from bad to worse very quickly.

Admittedly a parable of identity, mixed with copious shots of body horror and body piercings from needles, Possessor is brutal in its execution and unswerving in its dedication to its visuals that will unsettle and haunt for days.

Stark colours, hues of orange, purple and a bleached and drained Riseborough lead to a slow and moody set up that climbs levels of tedium before dipping deep into unnerving. Cronenberg knows what he wants and gives the chilling movie a calm and measured approach that plays more into its malevolent Quantum Leap ethos more than you'd expect.

As Possessor goes on, it becomes clearer that the film is one of psychological battles, of wearying ids and of loss of empathy in brutal situations. 

Riseborough initially impresses and upsets before giving way to Abbott's more straight-laced and emotionally dead approach to the story. It's an intriguing juxtaposition, and while Cronenberg's deliberately vague on the battles of identity, one sequence involving a melting face and application of a mask is perhaps the most upsetting committed to celluloid in 2020.

It goes without saying that Possessor is unflinching at times, and it's downright unsettling throughout - it won't be for everyone, but thanks to its technical actors and visual flourishes, it's a film and experience unlike anything else on screen this year.

Let Him Go: Movie Review

Cast: Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Jeffrey Donovan, Lesley Manville

Director: Thomas Bezucha

Thomas Bezucha's neo-Western, based on the book of the same name by Larry Watson, is a taut and suffocating film to watch.

But it's even more compelling because of the fact - and because Diane Lane delivers a career-best performance as a troubled mother.

Lane and Costner star as Margaret and George Blackledge, a grieving mother and mother whose son is killed early on in a freak accident on their farm as they're bathing their grandson. When their daughter-in-law remarries one of the feared Weboy family, Margaret is unsettled to see her beloved grandson and his mother hit in the streets by her new husband.

Distraught at the news they've left town, and fearful for their grandson's life, Margaret decides to set out across the heartland of the US to rescue them, and bring him home. But her husband, a former sheriff, isn't sure the move is the best one - and things are further complicated when the pair clash with the Weboy matriarch (played with steely coldness by Manville).

Let Him Go is a searing film that builds simmering tension throughout.

It helps that Costner and Lane have mature chemistry and deliver performances that are stunning to watch, mired as they are in subtlety and solemnity. Neither deliver pretentious turns, but both convince they are lived in people whose lives have led to this awful point.

Equally Manville, in few scenes, delivers a matriarch for the ages. Scenes with her facing off as the head of the family crackle with electricity and uncertainty, and revel in their awfulness. It helps Donovan gives an ambivalent performance as the male head of the family, cowed in the presence and power of Manville's Blanche Weboy. It's the kind of stuff nightmares are made of, and Manville's performance is on a par with Jackie Weaver's fire-breathing dragon in Animal Kingdom.

But Let Him Go - with a truly upsetting and tightly ratcheted tense sequence inside a motel - belongs to Lane and Costner's mature double act. 

Their reserved performance accentuates Blanche's nastiness and cruel veneer, and Bezucha's restrained direction helps build the firecracker and powderkeg to Let Him Go's conclusion that's as explosive as it is stunning.

Patience is a reward with Let Him Go - it's emotionally draining and yet at the same time, it's the kind of drama you can't tear your eyes away from.

Six60: Till The Lights Go Out: Film Review 

Director: Julia Parnell

There is a certain section of New Zealand that utterly adores Six60.

Beloved by the heartland, despised by sections of the musical mainstream and yet phenomenally popular, the Dunedin lads have cracked the big time selling out Auckland's Western Springs stadium and being the first to do so.

But as it stands, Julia Parnell's doco dips dangerously close to hagiography, thanks to a desire to not delve deeper into the issues that have plagued Six60 or to detract from their clearly mapped out redemption arc that anchors most of this piece.

The beautifully shot film is one of two halves, as the first leads to plenty of inspiration from Matiu Walters, Eli Paewai, Chris Mac, Ji Fraser and Marlon Gerbes and their family history. From being raised on the rugby field via drinking issues, via Gerbes' escape from gang life to Eli being raised by grandparents, the unconventional route is both a salute to the boys' work ethics as much as it is a tribute to New Zealand living in all its different paradigms - and triumphing.

Parnell knows how to make great fist out of this side of things, using archive footage of the younger lads, choice soundbites, down-to-earth talking heads and a generally loving vibe, she crafts an underdog story that's truly hard to resist.

It all works well in Six60: Till The Lights Go Out until it doesn't.

From grandiose statements made by others and backed up by none, it becomes clear Parnell isn't interested in digging deeper below the surface and scratching into the issues that have plagued the band through the years. From the binge drinking to conflict between Walters and co-founder Fraser (the clash of which is choreographed in of all places a boxing ring), Parnell's less keen to move away from the largely positive vibe she's after presenting.

It culminates in the collapse of a balcony at a Dunedin gig in March 2016, which left teen Bailley Unahi paralysed. While the band talks of their guilt at her fate, Parnell uses footage of Bailley but she doesn't speak. It's an odd moment that stands out, and while producers say Unahi was happy to be featured, but didn't wish to take from the band, it feels jarring and difficult to watch - especially given how the accident impacted the band and nearly caused them to implode.

You may gain respect for Six60 through the piece, as the aforementioned wobble is of the director's making, and you may understand their triumph at the end, but you may also be surprised how emotionally hollow it feels thanks to the somewhat shallow approach to the subject.

In some ways, Six60: Till The Lights Go Out may be the doco 2020 needs - a feelgood celebration of one of our own and a salutation to the ordinary New Zealander and the can do attitude. But long term, this lack of fleshing the meat on the bones prevents Six60: Till The Lights Go Out from excelling into the stratosphere it could have so easily ascended to.

Cyberpunk 2077 PlayStation Gameplay Released! 

Cyberpunk 2077 PlayStation Gameplay Released!

 

CD PROJEKT RED today revealed a Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay video, captured on PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 5.

 

The video showcases Cyberpunk 2077 running on both PlayStation 4 Pro, and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. 

The gameplay is taken from the Nomad lifepath, one of the three playable backstories players can choose to jump into when they begin their adventure. 

Featuring action from the Badlands — the desert area which surrounds Night City — as well as from the streets of Night City itself, the PlayStation footage is available to watch on Cyberpunk 2077’s YouTube channel right now.

 

Cyberpunk 2077 will release December 10th, 2020, for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The game will also be playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 consoles. 

At a later date, a free upgrade to Cyberpunk 2077, taking full advantage of next-gen hardware, will become available for owners of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions respectively.

 

For more information regarding the game, follow Facebook, Twitter, and visit cyberpunk.net.

The Good Liar: Neon NZ Review

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.

Scoob!: DVD Review

The Hanna Barbera cinematic universe fires its opening salvo with the reimagining of Scooby Doo for a 2020 audience - mixing in some Avengers' style elements with some old school nostalgia sure to delight fans.

In this latest, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers befriends lonely mutt, Scooby, founding a friendship on food and hijinks. After a casual Halloween meeting with Fred, Velma and Daphne and an unmasking of a ghost, the gang forms Mystery Inc, deadset on solving mysteries.

However, when Scooby and Shaggy are ostracised after a business deal from Simon Cowell excludes them, they find themselves caught up in Dick Dastardly's quest to open the Underworld...

While Scoob has some great nostalgia for those brought up on the show, it does move massively away from its mystery roots in favour of an Avengers-style adventure.

At times, that's no bad thing, but given that Cervone's peppered the film with hints of the past - from a pitch perfect recreation of the original titles to cameos from other Hanna Barbera characters - there's an occasionally disjointed feel to the proceedings.

Younger fans may be more amused by the animated antics than older ones, given the film's propensity for silliness and catchphrase moments. Some of the clearly winking jokes about Avengers fall a little flat, if truth be told.

Odd pop culture references feel a little out of place, and will age quickly, but there's no denying Scoob! wants to be a good shaggy dog film - whether that's enough for this origin tale to guarantee its future is questionable at best.

However, for a blast of fun during the school holidays and indoors thanks to Covid-19, Scoob! proves diverting enough for the younger end of the audience.

The Painter and The Thief: Movie Review

Director: Benjamin Ree

Director Benjamin Ree's The Painter and The Thief has a delicious premise.

When Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova has two of her paintings stolen in an apparently random crime, CCTV leads police to track down the thieves and put them on trial.

But despite the pieces being two of her most important works, Barbora finds herself fascinated by the man who stole them and approaches him in court, wanting to learn why. Soon-to-be-convicted thief and drug addict Karl-Bertil has a simple answer - and one that proves to be as devastating and enticing as it could be - "Because they were beautiful."

An unlikely friendship forms between the pair, leading Barbora deep into places she'd believed forgotten and delivering Karl-Bertil a redemption he believed he'd always been denied.

Ree's The Painter and the Thief is a compelling dalliance with darkness.

Delivered a third act twist, the movie is as much about the artist muse relationship as it is a tale of humanity and obsession. And in one early sequence alone, the film delivers a powerful emotionally raw moment that no actor could easily bring to the surface.

If perhaps Ree is to be faulted, it's in the lack of exploration over the consequences of Barbora's friendship on her current relationship, and Ree doesn't seem interested as much in anyone other than the central pair.

However, there are touching moments as each are sucked into their respective orbits, and two apparently damaged people collide. It's a fascinating and electric journey, that delivers a powerful emotional catharsis just as the energy levels begin to massively flag.

The unexpected friendship is the reason to tag along for this ride, and while a lack of any definitive conclusion proves frustrating for what's transpired, Ree's The Painter and the Thief concerns itself more about the realities of friendships, the ups and downs of life and the highs and lows of consequences.

The Painter and the Thief will have its New Zealand premiere as part of Sunday’s Doc Edge at the Civic event in Auckland on November 22.