Win a copy of Russell Crowe's Unhinged

To celebrate the release of  Russell Crowe's Unhinged, the first movie released in New Zealand after the Covid-19 pandemic closed cinemas worldwide, you can win a copy, thanks to Sony Home Entertainment.

About Unhinged

He Can Happen to Anyone…

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe stars in a timely psychological thriller that explores the fragile balance of a society pushed to the edge, taking something we've all experienced road rage to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion.

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

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

Win a copy of The New Mutants

To celebrate the release of The New Mutants, you can win a copy, thanks to Sony Home Entertainment.

About The New Mutants

Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.

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

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

Win a copy of The Secret Garden

To celebrate the release of The Secret Garden, you can win a copy, thanks to Sony Home Entertainment.

About The Secret Garden

An orphaned girl discovers a magical garden hidden at her strict uncle's estate. Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. 

When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. 

She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Ma­nor.

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

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

Quiz:DVD Review

Released by Madman Home Ent

Here's your starter for 10.

Is the drama Quiz
A) a 3 part expose of the TV scandal that rocked the UK
B) likely to floor you with Michael Sheen's turn as Chris Tarrant
C) an entertaining watch to a story that's never really had a definitive conclusion
D) All of the above.

(The answer's D, for those not paying attention.)

For some the Coughing Major may be an unfamiliar name, but that seems unlikely.

The 2001 scandal involving Major Charles Ingram (Spooks star Matthew MacFadyen) rocked the TV quiz world when it was alleged the major who scooped the 1 million pound jackpot had been aided by someone in the audience, coughing away at the correct answers.

The subsequent trial in 2003 saw the major, his wife (played by Fleabag's Sian Clifford) and audience member Tecwen Wittockall thrust into the spotlight, and vilified by the press and the public who believed they'd cheated their way to the top prize.

Yet, Stephen Frears' 3 part drama is less interested in the controversy and covering the matter in glory. Instead of florid details and embellishments, Frears uses Matthew MacFadyen's relative everyman look to tell a story that's both compelling and entertaining.

Detailing how the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show came to life as UK broadcaster ITV struggled in competition with its BBC counterpart, the drama paints a no-nonsense portrait of how appointment TV was a centrepiece in a world before streaming and Netflix.

Rather than being a stuffy industry piece, the three-parter knows the drama is in the show and its quizzing major who was apparently clueless to the basic questions and somehow wanted us to believe he'd fumbled his way to the top.

As a result, what director Frears and his top-notch cast bring to the table is a look inside a scandal that thrilled a nation. It's a fascinating watch that never once decides which side it's on, and simply presents the facts with an eye for the same kind of tension that an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? used to generate.

While the third episode flounders a little as the focus shifts to a trial and talk of public persecution, MacFadyen and Clifford prove to be an eminently watchable duo, and one whose machinations are never quite clear if you believe what transpires in the final part.

There are insinuations that the wife was a driving force and Ingram was just a willing but clueless participant in this particularly British heist.

But what emerges from Quiz's 3 hour long episodes is a miniseries that's as thrilling as the drama of the quiz show itself - you may think you know the answers, but the show's uncertainties mean a definitive answer is never forthcoming, but is completely hellbent on having you flip back and forth between truth and the fiction.

Just don't expect any final answers.

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks: Review

There's definitely a feeling of deja vu in this New Year's special, the first outing for Doctor Who in 10 months.

As season 12 of the show ended, Jodie Whittaker's Doctor was imprisoned by the Judoon, cast asunder on a space rock that was clearly a prison. Jaz, Ryan and Graham (Mandip Gil, Tosin Cole and The Chase's Bradley Walsh) had been left on Earth, wondering where their friend had gone and if she'd survived her trip to Gallifrey with the Master.

But there's little to worry about for too long, with Chris Noth's oily businessman Jack Robertson returning and apparently aiding the UK government with the creation of some defence drones that look suspiciously like remodelled Daleks...

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks has a nice book-end feel to it, as it's set up as a compendium piece to the first New Year's special Resolution. The decision to pick up the show moments after the original dispatch of the Dalek drone is a nice continuity touch that appears far too infrequently during the show, and delivers some implications of consequences for the Doctor and her fam's adventures.

John Barrowman adds a burst of energy to the return of Captain Jack, and nods to his past show why Barrowman's infectious enthusiasm give the show the edge it needs a little this time around. (Though his use at the hands of Chibnall's writing to help the Doctor break out is more Looney Tunes than strong concept and execution).

Special credit needs to go to Misfits star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Leo, Robertson's tech guy who inadvertently puts the world in danger. There's an empathy immediately with Leo, as he suffers a similar fate to some of those who encountered Daleks back in Resolution. 

And here inherently is some of where the problem lies with Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks; there are familiar beats to the previous story, a feeling of a repetition of some showdowns from the David Tennant era Doomsday as well as Third Doctor Dalek stories and various comics where differing factions face off against each other. It's all nicely paced, but doesn't feel essential viewing for the return of such an iconic character and Jodie Whittaker.

If anything, show runner Chris Chibnall is more interested in the emotional implications for the reunited Fam, especially with the news that Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole are leaving the show.

An early scene where Cole's Ryan reiterates his reasons for thinking about moving on rehashes some of the moments of season 12 but the interaction of Cole and Whitaker demonstrates a warmth and emotional centre that's been the beating hearts of this show from the get go. Plus, as the Doctor delivers a speech about rewinding time and getting to spend more time with her Fam following her incarceration and isolation, one can't help but feel the double-edged connotations given the Covid-19 pandemic that befell the world post the filming of the show.

There is a feeling at times of over-stuffing the festive script, and so when the moment comes to farewell Graham and Ryan, they feel cheated as characters - certainly in Bradley Walsh's departure, the moment feels a touch ungainly and lacking the gravitas that maybe it could have had, had the special aired closer to the end of Series 12 - here it feels narrative necessity, rather than tear-jerking farewell.

Ultimately, Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks is a nice filler episode that moves along a-pace but doesn't really offer much new to the show other than a degree of affection for the characters and their journey. Technically, it's dazzling, but emotionally, while it draws a line under the show's current incarnation, it's not quite the Revolution the title promised.

(And the post-credits reveal of the new companion for the Doctor and Yaz as they carry on is either going to be the making or breaking of the show.)

SPOILER VIDEO BELOW FOR THE NEW COMPANION REVEAL

What games to play, what to stream and what to watch at the movies in January 2021

It's the start of a new year, and across the entertainment front that brings many new and exciting possibilities for the year ahead.

Here are just the best things to get thrilled about in January 2021.

Wandavision (Disney+, January 15)

Marvel Studios presents “WandaVision,” a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In this series, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) – two super-powered beings living idealised suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. The new series is directed by Matt Shakman.

Hitman III (All formats, January 21)

Agent 47 is back - and more murderous than before.

HITMAN 3 puts you in full control of Agent 47’s deadly abilities, his razor-sharp instincts and his entire arsenal of weapons and tools that you can use to master the art of assassination. 

Get to grips with the new camera that can open locks and analyse your performance with the return of post-mission Playstyles that are awarded based on how you complete missions.

The Dry (At the movies, January 1)

The mystery thriller set in an Australian small town is easily one of the most compelling movies set down for a while.

Eric Bana plays Aaron Falk who returns to his hometown of Kiewarra after the apparent murder suicide of friend Luke Hadler and his family, he finds old wounds reopened after he's asked to look into the case by family.

The Dry's drama and its central mystery are more than enough to keep you engaged over its 2 hour run time.

Promising Young Woman (At the movies, January 7)

Promising Young Woman will have you squirming in your seat - both with unease and with glee that films as bold as this can still be made.

Destined for discourse on gender politics and rape culture, the film stars An Education's Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a woman who seemingly goes out every night, gets blind drunk and waits for a "decent guy" to help her home. Only each "decent guy" turns out to be as predatory as the rest.

And to say more about this searingly good film is to spoil what writer/ director Emerald Fennell has committed to screen.

Do yourself a favour, and go see it - it's one of the year's best.

The Silence (Acorn TV, January 11)

This socially charged thriller follows 18-year-old Amelia played by deaf actress and writer Genevieve Barr (Been So Long, Liar) as she adapts to life with her new cochlear implant.

A 4 part mini-series that premiered back in 2010 on the BBC, the show promises tension, and was hailed as one of the best dramas by the Daily Express.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Amazon Prime, January 22)

Humour based on Star Trek? Yep, it's no joke as this hilarious animated series was developed by Emmy Award-winner Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites)

Star Trek: Lower Decks focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. 

Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. 

American Gods Series 3 (Amazon Prime, January 11)

In the third season, Ricky Whittle's Shadow angrily pushes this apparent destiny away, and settles in the idyllic snowy town of Lakeside, Wisconsin — to make his own path, guided by the gods of his black ancestors, the Orishas. 

But he’ll soon discover that this town's still waters run deep, and dark, and bloody, and that you don’t get to simply reject being a god. The only choice — and a choice you have to make — is what kind of god you’re going to be.

One Night In Miami (Amazon Prime, January 16)

One Night In Miami, is a fictional account of one incredible night where four icons, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown, gather to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing and discuss their roles in the civil right movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s

Good Lord Bird (Neon, January 20)

Told from the point of view of Onion, a newly freed teenager who joins abolitionist John Brown on a holy crusade to end slavery and finds himself part of the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry,  the Limited Event Series is an adventure equal parts absurd and  tragic, spotlighting the ever-changing racial, religious and gender  roles that make up the American identity. 

Starring: Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer),  and Joshua Caleb Johnson (It’s Just A Gun). 

Dinosaurs! (Disney+, January 29)

Meet the Sinclairs -- the funniest family in 60 million years! They're just your average family with one BIG difference. 

They're dinosaurs, living the good life in sixty million and three B.C. Daddy Earl, his wife Fran, their kids Robbie, Charlene, and the Baby, and feisty Grandma Ethyl bring a hilarious Jurassic twist to daily life. 

Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles: Film Review 

Director: Laura Gabbert

Revered Israeli-born chef, restaurateur, and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi stars in this genial yet unchallenging documentary from the City of Gold.

When Ottolenghi is challenged to cater for the 2018 New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art summer gala, he decides to assemble a crack squad of caterers and mavericks to help - in a sort of The A Team spinoff but for pastry chefs.

Matching his theory that every decent recipe has a story with it with the idea of the opulence of Versailles, it seems like a natural fit for Ottolenghi - and by extension for Gabbert who made such wonderful fist of her Jonathan Gold food critic film.

She has an eye for the food porn, and scatters shots of tasty delights among the proceedings, as well as using the sumptuous artistry of the Met itself and Versailles to complement the whole affair.

But, even with all that, there's about as much to Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles as a choux pastry - it looks mouthwatering from the outside, but probe the inside and you soon discover there's a hollowness to what's within.

A lack of conflict, and a lack of any kind of danger hovers over proceedings - there's no last minute failure to rise disaster, no tumbling of pastry on the floor and no Great British Bake Off style of competition to be beholden here. It's a fairly simple, fairly unchallenging film where Ottolenghi proves to be both curator of the event, and tour guide into the history of the Versailles era and some of the crack squad he assembles.

It's not that Gabbard doesn't pull it all together in a truly pleasant way, merely that this is a sugar rush which wears off fairly quickly and leaves the viewer feeling a bit deflated.

There is no real sense of build up to the actual event, just a workmanlike behind the scenes approach to capturing what goes on for the event, and allowing the chefs airtime to espouse their various views.

Perhaps that;s some of the problem - there are too many things to cover, and bizarrely too little time with one person to fully indulge; Gabbard's scope is a little too wide to retain a focus.

At the end of the day, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles will satiate high end art lovers, and culture seekers but may leave the casual viewer deeply unsatisfied.