Game Review - Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (2012)

The Story:

Taking place after 2010's surprise hit War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron continues the story of the Autobots and Decepticons on the now dying world of Cybertron, Optimus and the Autobots have only one goal: to leave their home so their race can survive but Megatron and his Decepticon army want to exterminate the Autobots once and for all.

To say that I was excited for Fall of Cybertron is something approaching an understatement, having really loved WFC, I was eager to see what Fall would be like when I first read about late last year and High Moon Studios promising that this wouldn't be a retread of what came before but a follow up that would up the ante in terms of a darker story, more variety in terms of game play and a smarter AI experience, so did they deliver?

For sure, HMS delivered the goods with almost seemed to be a degree of ease with the game building in several brilliant character moments as well as some moments that will come as unexpected to be sure and some very cool nods to the 1986 animated movie that had me smiling with glee.

Visuals:

The Visuals in Fall of Cybertron are quite good, nicely reflecting the metal look of Cybertron though there is some terrain in the game which wasn't in War, the character animations are well done but at times the textures feel inconsistent with some coming out fuzzy.

The Controls:

The controls in this game easily outperform the visuals as they are consistently excellent and a big improvement from War, each character now has an in built dash ability and the special feature of that character is mapped to the one button and the vehicle controls are air tight, especially when you play as Starscream.

Though its the transition to the more melee focused characters Bruticus and Grimlock that most impressed me, not once do you feel like you've been thrown a different set of controls that you have to learn and it feels hard to readjust to them, the transitions between the gunplay and the melee sections are seamless and not hard at all to adjust to in terms of controls, just a slight rethink and your off and carving Decepti-Chops for Lunch and Auto-Bugs for Afternoon Tea.

The Gameplay:

Gameplay also saw an overhaul for this follow up with an emphasis put on more variety in terms of playable characters, their abilities and the environments and in this HMS have more than delivered with environments feeling much bigger in scope and size than they did in War, each character has a unique feel to them and their abilities are always fun to use, especially Optimus's control of Metroplex (a walking skyscraper) and Grimlock's T-Rex form which will carve even the toughest of enemies up as if they were nothing at all.

But that's not all, the weapons and AI have also been overhauled, new to this game is the Teletraan store where you can buy weapons, items and perks to aid you in fighting the enemy and scattered throughout most of the game are blueprints for weapons and abilities that you can then unlock for most of the characters to use in the game's other levels, a very cool touch.

As for the AI well it's a lot smarter than it was for War and if you aren't careful they'll pick you off especially the Decepticon Leapers, a rethink of the Brutes from War and much harder to defeat though when you play as Grimlock well then they're not so hard.

The Veridct:

Overall Fall of Cybertron exceeded my high hopes with some degree of ease and despite some patchy visuals, the game play and controls have been greatly improved from its predecessor and the game is well worth checking out.

Till All are One.

Film Review - The Raid (2012)

The Raid is an Asian action film that concerns an apartment building with 30 floors and housing a powerful drug lord, a SWAT team is sent in to retrieve him or die trying.

I went into the Raid with moderate hopes as it looked like an interesting action flick, a sentiment backed up with positive word of mouth, so does the film surpass the hype?

Surprisingly it does, the film establishes right away its tone and style with a lot of it being reminiscent of the Asian action films from the 70's and 80's, director Gareth Evans films the action in a very fluid and stylish way that when it gets to the physical fights its very impressive to watch.

If there is a fault to this film however it's that it does feel somewhat clichéd in terms of the cops not being that smart and some of the villains taking an eternity to go down but that really just sounds like a minor niggle.

So all in all, the Raid has some impressive action scenes and is one of the better action flicks of the last 10 years, 3 out of 5.

Blu-Ray Review - Jaws (1975)

The Film:

1975 was one of those years that just seemed in retrospect to be earmarked for the history books though no one could've ever predicted that for sure.

Though one of those moments of history became divisive the other became a phenomenon and that was the release of Steven Spielberg's Jaws, based on the bestselling novel by Peter Benchley (who also helped co-author the script) the story told of a great white shark that stalked and killed innocent people in the waters off a small coastal town called Amity and the efforts of three men (Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw) to stop it cause that shark would swallow you whole.

Its also hard to imagine the impact the film has had over the years since its original release not only on critics and film fans but also on nearly an entire generation of filmgoers that saw it in its initial release and became inspired to enter the business as a result, the only other film to have had a similar impact was George Lucas's 1977 juggernaut Star Wars which sprang from the seeds that Jaws's success planted.

The Image:

Jaws underwent an extensive restoration process for this new Blu-Ray release and Spielberg himself gave this new transfer his seal of approval and honestly who can blame him for doing so, this is a fantastic restoration and it really highlights the reality the film presents and its a reality that while I watched this film I kinda missed as so many films now are computer generated and as a result have an artificial look to them which you never can quite get out of your mind but here everything seems real and refreshing from the sands of the beach to the waves of the water.

The Sound:

The sound comes in a new 7.1 DTS-HD mix and the original 1975 mix preserved in a DTS-HD 2.0 mix, the 7.1 mix sounds fantastic, very clean and clear and also very balanced between the music and sound and the dialogue (sometimes some HD mixes have the dialogue scenes very low and the music and sound effects very loud) and it's just so refreshing to hear this film in this way as it makes you feel like your seeing it for the first time all over again.

The 2.0 Mix is the original mix from 1975 and while its somewhat clearer to hear the background dialogue and other sounds, it also feels very cluttered when compared with the new 7.1 mix but still I'm very happy that the original mix is on this disc.

The Extras:

There are a number of extras on this Blu-Ray release but first I must say that this release comes in a beautiful book like packaging that also has a medium sized booklet at the back of the case with bios, production notes, photos, storyboards and posters comprising its pages, will be a real treat for big fans of the film.

With that out of the way, lets dive into the on disc extras

Documentary - The Shark is Still Working - The Impact and Legacy of Jaws: Talked about for some years, this 2007 produced doco finally sees the light of day on this release and its well done with many interviews from cast and crew as well as fans and future filmmakers who were inspired by the film to enter the business themselves (some of those include Kevin Smith, Bryan Singer and Robert Rodriguez), for a fan made documentary this is very impressive and well worth a look.

Documentary - The Making of Jaws: Created for the 1995 20th anniversary laserdisc release of the film (a release that Bryan Singer liked more than the initial DVD release of the film in 2000) this 2 hour documentary covers just about every aspect of the film's creation with nearly everyone involved, its a thorough look at the making of a classic and it should not be missed.

Featurette - Jaws the Restoration: Probably my favorite extra on this set is a look at how the new restoration for Jaws was created and it is a fascinating watch, showing us some of the un restored scenes, how the film was cleaned up, how the new sound mix was created and even a few comments on the heritage of film from Spielberg himself, a great watch.

Featurette - From the Set: A Vintage featurette from the film's shoot in 1974 hosted by Iain Johnstone, it looks at the shoot and has comments from a VERY young Spielberg, recommended.

The Jaws Archives: 4 big still galleries covering Storyboards, Production Photos, Marketing and the Jaws Phenomenon, again a lot of ground is covered in these galleries though the last 2 galleries were more interesting for me and there's fun stuff to be found in the last, especially letters from Spielberg to Lucas and a fun drawing by Chuck Jones.

Deleted Scenes and Outtakes: A selection of Deleted Scenes and a 90 minute reel of Outtakes comprise this section, all are played in one stretch instead of just selecting the deleted scenes and outtakes separately in their own menu, some good stuff here but like the majority of deleted scenes they're best left out.

Theatrical Trailer: "It is as if God created the Devil and gave him... Jaws" says the ominous voiceover at the beginning of this trailer which are sadly becoming a rarity on disc releases these days and its very nice to see the trailer for this movie on the disc.

The Verdict:

If you're a fan of Jaws, you have to buy this release, a terrific restoration and a truly comprehensive selection of extras that not only cover just about anything you could ever want on the making of the film and its legacy but also don't bore you while you're watching them.

Film Review - Battleship (2012)

Battleship is based off the famous board game and stars Taylor Kitsch as Hopper, a man who's life is going nowhere until his brother played by Alexander Skarsgard (son of Stellan Skarsgard aka Captain Tupelov) where he suddenly finds himself faced with an alien visit and one that is far from friendly.

I went into Battleship with very low expectations as the trailer for the film really put me off and as a result I was reluctant to see it but I decided to do so in the end so were my low expectations justified?

Well surprisingly it was better than I thought it would be but only by the smallest of margins and that's mainly due to the film's second half which focuses on simply fighting the invaders with Battleships and director Peter Berg handles the action in those scenes competently though when it's all over you will be thankful of that as it does border on being too much by the end of the film and made me groan once or twice.

Apart from that there is very little else to like about this movie as almost the entire thing plays out like a vacuum in space but instead the vacuum sucks up 2 hours of a person's life as they watch this movie, the first half of the story is boring to watch, Skarsgard is wasted and Liam Neeson looks as though he'd rather be enjoying the Hawaiian sun rather than be in this movie and honestly, who can blame him.

You know, if you want a good action film that takes place on a US battleship, rent the 1992 Steven Seagal movie Under Siege, that was a fun ride with good acting and action direction and is also actually worth your time and your money, this movie is not, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Cape Fear (1991)

Cape Fear is the 1991 remake by director Martin Scorsese and stars Robert de Niro as Max Cady, a felon recently released from prison after serving 14 years for a rape charge, but like Khan in Star Trek II, he's had a long time to wait for vengeance against the man who caused his wrongs and he'll chase him round the houses of New Essex and round the streets of town and round the Cape of Fear before he'll give him up.

This version of Cape Fear by Scorsese interested me after seeing the trailer, I mean it had de Niro in the key role plus it had the two chief actors from the original 1962 version (Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum) in small roles, very clever on his move but at the same time I also couldn't shake the ghost of the pitch perfect Simpsons parody of this story with Sideshow Bob that has me in stitches whenever I watch it so does this version escape those long shadows?

Well for the most part I do think that it does, Scorsese directs the film beautifully with his fluid camera moves and nice use of widescreen framing that would've been murdered in the 4:3 transfers used for the film's video release in late 1992, de Niro is also very good as Cady and plays it as the man we all imagine, a man who was waited a long time for his vengeance against Bowden (Nick Nolte) and will make sure that he does far worse than kill him, but hurt him as well as leave him where he left him.

But the positive vibes don't end there as most of the cast also perform well with Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Fred Dalton Thompson, Peck and Mitchum all putting good performances and the late Elmer Bernstein creates a tense and dramatic musical score that is certain to either send a shiver up your spine or make you think of Sideshow Bob or possibly both.

But unfortunately for all of those strengths the film has one big weakness to counteract all of this good work and that is the casting of Nolte and frankly he is miscast in this role, the whole reason this story has a real impact is that all of this terribleness is happening to a good man who did nothing wrong but Nolte doesn't project that vibe, its rumoured Harrison Ford was considered for his part and boy did I wish he was able to do it as Ford can project a natural empathy to audiences and we care about him from the first moment we see him on screen, that kind of quality would've worked beautifully in this role and given this version of the story the impact it needed.

But all in all, this Scorsese remake is not without merit as there is a lot to like but the central casting flaw almost kills it, 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Haywire (2012)

Haywire is a new spy action film by Steven Soderbergh whose last film was the virus thriller Contagion and stars MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter Gina Carano as Mallory, an agent in a private company asked to do a job in Barcelona, but things after that start to go wrong.

Haywire was a very cool and very stylish action flick with its tone and style being very reminiscent of some of the early James Bond from the 1960's like Dr. No, From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service which had Bond stripped of all the gadgets and had him rely more on his wits and training to get the job done and that's the case here, especially in the action scenes which are really well done, there's very little that underscores them but you really feel the blows and bone crunching in them which is really cool to watch.

The film also has a great cast of male actors with Bill Paxton, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael "Gordon Gekko" Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Channing Tatum, all of those mentioned are very effective in their roles with a smile going on my face when Douglas came on screen and Tatum surprisingly good though the stand out once more is Fassbender and his role reminded me a lot of when Timothy Dalton played Bond in the Living Daylights and Licence to Kill, let's hope he's considered for Bond when Daniel Craig moves on from the role.

If there is a downside to this movie its that the plot doesn't quite come together as neatly as it should and there are times where you do get a little confused as to who's who, what's what and how its all going down but by the end of the film those little niggles are nicely dealt with so I guess its not that big of a problem.

And so shouldn't it, this is a very good and very well made spy flick and I hope to see more of Carano in the future, she's really a nice surprise and very effective in front of a camera, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Any Questions for Ben (2012)

Any Questions for Ben is the latest production from Working Dog films, best known for their 1997 classic the Castle and the underrated 2000 comedy the Dish, the story here concerns Ben (Josh Lawson) a man in Melbourne who seems to have a dream life but also feels that something is missing from it to make it feel complete.

AQFB is quite frankly one of the worst films I've had the displeasure to watch so far this year, so much of it feels cynical and obnoxious in a way that makes you think "I can't stand to watch these characters on screen" when they come across as being successful in terms of both work and family life which I'm sure that if you were in that position you wouldn't be thinking about the meaning of existence and the changing of your life now would you?

Would you, really?

(general silence, person in the audience coughs)

Didn't think so.

Well I'll move along then and all of this is exemplified in the central character played by Lawson, almost from the first moment you see him on screen he goes on and on like a loudmouthed selfish little smeghead and two thoughts primarily went through my head as the film went on.

The first was "Shut up, Shut up, Shut up, Shut up" and the other was "I wish Megatron would swoop out of the air so he can rip out his voice box with his bare hands for all of his friends to see" as he just got on my nerves so much that I just couldn't stand him as he's once again portrayed the stereotype of the charismatic man that women swoon for because he's so handsome despite the fact that he has the personality of a teenage boy wanting his DIY Kit fed most of the time.

There were however some positives, first of all the city of Melbourne looks wonderful in this film, its beautifully shot from the aerial shots of the city landmarks and highways, to the streets of the city and its many cafes and eateries, it's hard to imagine anyone not wanting to visit Melbourne after watching the film.

The other positives were the performances by Rachael Taylor, Daniel Henshall and Rob Carlton, all three are rather good and bring a nice sense of humour and heart to the film but also all three just end up wasted by the time you reach the end of it which is a very sad thing to say especially about Carlton (and I really hope he didn't turn down Howzat! to do this film) and Henshall.

So all in all, the team that once made the Castle, a comedy classic with great lines, great characters and a wonderful spirit that's touched millions of Australians since its release has fallen very heavily into the pits with this, if you have a partner you love dearly please don't rent this for the two of you to watch, do something nice instead like go out for a nice dinner or drinks, this is really nothing more than something that would've ended up as a second rate Applause release from the early 90's and trust me they're out there, .5 out of 5.