Last Christmas is nothing more than your typical Hallmark movie.

It’s sweet but the story line is predictable which does little to keep things interesting. Nothing seems to go right for Kate (Emilia Clarke), a hapless 20 year old stuck in a dead end job working as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Making one bad decision after the other with a pretty grim outlook on life, self-loathing as she basically gives up on living.

Things soon take a turn for the better when she bumps into the mysterious Tom (Henry Golding), who charms his way into her life and seems too good to be true.

As the city transforms into the most magical time of the year, Tom and Kate appear to grow closer as he helps set her in the right direction to help piece her life back together.

Sure, you don’t go into a film like this expecting to be surprised but neither do you want it feeling like it’s two steps behind you just because you’ve seen the trailer. Yet, as soon as the film delivers its climactic plot twist with the earnestness of a kid tying their shoelaces for the first time, the film quickly trips over its own feet.

If you go into this film expecting a rom-com, then you will be disappointed as there surprisingly isn’t much romance. There is always a place and time for these feel good holiday films, however this particular one feels like a lump of coal wrapped up in pretty packaging.

The post Last Christmas (Universal Pictures – 2019) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Both isolated in extreme and unique ways, two ex-lovers recall the events that brought them together the year before in hope it will help their sanity remain intact and let in hope that they might see each other again.

Submergence stars veteran actors Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy as the duo of ex-lovers brought together by chance. You can’t help but think of actor Michael Fassbender, Alicia’s husband and James’ co-star in the X-Men franchise, watching some of his favourites act alongside each other.

This drama / romance had some beautiful cinematography and produced a high-quality indie film. Saying this, Submergence may be one of those films stuck between an indie film and a big budget movie. When you have two of the biggest names in Hollywood leading the film, you are going to need a lot of money to pay them. You can’t deny Alicia and James are great actors though and continue to up their games, even this far into their careers.

Alicia only reminds me of Lara Croft now (a balance of goodness and bad-assery) whilst James is like a chameleon (have you seen him in Split?). Although Alicia’s role in Submergence was tame compared to other works she has done, James’ role still challenged him. His career is a great one to follow.

Sometimes, I struggle with romance in film since most romantic elements tend to eventually end up in the cliché or overused section of narration. Submergence initially went this way (typical boy meets girl) but drifted away from this for the most part (e.g. how the story ends). The typical yearning for each other was still there of course.

Fans of James and Alicia’s work will certainly love this romantic drama. I think we can all admit a certain biased towards an actor’s work occurs if we are a fan of the actor itself, so it makes me wonder whether Submergence relies too heavily on its leading couple and opposed to creating a memorable film.

The post Submergence (Defiant Films – 2018) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It’s difficult to imagine any adaptation of Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to be as successful as the original. With all of Disney’s animated films being timeless classics, consumed generation after generation, adapting such a beloved film into live action, catered toward modern audiences, is a risky task but Disney has certainly pulled it off with their brand new Beauty and the Beast film starring an all star cast including Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline and Emma Thompson.

The film follows essentially the same plot and story as its animated counterpart, and the classic fairy tale, in which a young girl takes her father’s place as a prisoner in a mysterious, dark and enchanted castle ruled by a terrifying and monstrous beast, with whom she eventually falls in love. While following the same storyline, the live-action also makes certain additions, which I personally found as rather unnecessary in developing the plot.

A key and original concept which was added into the live-action film was the backstory into Belle’s mother and the truth behind her absence. While, yes, it was nice to know exactly what resulted in her absence in Belle’s life and a reason for why Belle and her father lived alone in a cottage, this was something that we, as the audience, could imply. We did not need to be spoon-fed an explanation. In a way, the live-action film assumes that its audiences aren’t capable of ‘reading between the lines’ and therefore not educated enough to piece the story together without the help of the film’s creators.

Most of the characters in the live-action Beauty and the Beast are portrayed the way I remember them in the original animated film. In my opinion, the cast did a fantastic job of bringing such memorable characters to life in a way that pays tribute to the original. I found that Lumiere (McGregor), Gaston (Evans), LeFou (Gad) and the Beast (Stevens) to have been outstanding in their performance, not only in depicting their characters but also in terms of their singing voice.

Evans and Gad’s rendition of ‘Gaston’ is almost Grammy worthy and the way in which the scene was depicted was thoroughly enjoyable. LeFou’s character appeared far more engaging, witty and all around enjoyable compared to his animated counterpart. Sadly, that can’t be said for Cogsworth (McKellen), whose sarcastic comments and complains were certainly missing in this version of the classic tale. It was rather disappointing that the familiar banter between Cogsworth and Lumiere was missing. Instead, Cogsworth appeared to be rather frail, old and cowardly.

In addition, Madame Garderobe (Audra McDonald)’s excessive loud opera bellowing seemed a bit much and my ears certainly couldn’t handle it (I could just be sensitive to loud, piercing and annoying sounds). Where in the original animated film, Madame Garderobe (the wardrobe) consoled Belle after being imprisoned and encouraged her to have dinner with the Beast, the live-action version was far too loud and kept falling asleep, which was simply unnecessary and not even all that amusing.

Despite certain moments which could easily be forgotten, the live-action Beauty and the Beast utilised all the same songs as the original animated film and even added some original numbers, such as the Beast’s own solo, which was quite delightful. My only gripe with the music is the slight alteration to the lyrics to Belle’s ‘Little Town’ song. That and Emma Watson just wasn’t convincing enough as a decent singer. In fact, to me personally, she came across as almost snobby (I can’t quite think of the right word to use here). Her portrayal of Belle came across as too posh and British rather than the sweet, innocent, yet gentle and caring poor French girl.

The most fascinating aspect of the live-action Beauty and the Beast, to me, is the costumes and visual spectacle that was provided on screen. The amount of detail, colour and variety that went into the costumes was fabulous. Through the use of costume and setting, it is glaringly obvious where the film is set and in what time period. In terms of visual effects, the ‘Be Our Guest’ number was absolutely stunning, striking and one of the most colourful moments in film this year. The use of brilliant CGI should also be noted as all non-human characters looked exceptionally detailed and rather antique.

Overall, the live-action adaptation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a true testament of the magic of Disney and does the original animated classic justice. With a brilliant cast comprising of some big names and an enchanting tale that will continue to ignite the fairytale spark in generations to come, Beauty and the Beast is a must watch. Just watch out for the unnecessary moments that might leave you a little bored.

The post Beauty & the Beast (Disney – 2017) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Local Wellington independent film Chronesthesia, written and directed by Hayden J. Weal, has been picked up by distributor, Madman Entertainment, for distribution in NZ and Australia, scheduled for a June 2017 release on home entertainment.

On the acquisition John Gough, General Manager Madman NZ comments “Madman have a long standing history with local content and couldn’t be happier to be bringing this unique and charming feature to audiences across New Zealand and Australia.”

Chronesthesia had its world premiere in Wellington, at the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) and played in competition at Austin Film Festival. It’s also been accepted to the Sonoma International Film Festival and is currently playing a small season at Nga Taonga Sound & Vision in Wellington, where it has a final screening on Saturday 25th February which features a Q & A with the cinematographer, Simeon Duncombe.

Producer Kelly Kilgour says the team are stoked to be working with Madman. “We’re a huge fan of the Madman catalogue and the team couldn’t be happier that they’ve embraced the film and have found a home for it on their slate”.

Chronesthesia received four nominations at the Rialto NZ Film Awards (the “Moas”), which will be presented last weekend and picked up a win for Best Sound (Phil Burton, Underground Sound).

The deal with Madman means local audiences will be able to enjoy the self-funded indie romance on DVD and Digital platforms, from June onwards.

The post MADMAN ACQUIRE CHRONESTHESIA FOR LOCAL (NZ) RELEASE appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

A few years back New Zealand film industry professionals, Ample Films Ltd and in an association with Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology got together to collaborate on Stars in Her Eyes.

Up and coming aspiring actors were cast in a first of its kind in New Zealand, where students from Auckland’s Unitec Institute were invited to participate in the production and marketing while Ample Films took the lead and overall investment.

Written by Athina Tsoulis, Lucy Zee and Danny Aumua and Directed by Athina Tsoulis, who has a few other feature films to her credit, Stars in Her Eyes debuted at Auckland, New Zealand’s grandest theater; Sky City Theater on Friday the 18th of November 2016.

Stars in Her Eyes is a romantic comedy film, styled from the Bollywood genre.

It tells the story of Anousha Patel (Leila Alexander). A 30 years old Indian girl living in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. Anousha takes care of her elderly Mum who recently had a stroke and she pens a column a fortune telling column for a local newpaper.

Anousha has one older sister Lakshmi (Negin Allaverdi-Gorji) who is married already and appears to have a successful life and also two brothers, Damon (Mohit Sharma) and Sanj (Colin Mathura-Jeffree) who are in stark contrast to eachother. Damon’s artistic endeavours don’t sit too well with the family monarch and father played by Mohinder Anand whereas the oldest; Sanj is a New Zealand Cricketing legend and the ideal child in the family.

Anousha is pushing 30, slightly over weight and still a virgin. Her time is taken up by caring for her disabled Mum, while her siblings live their own lives, the most distant one being Sanj who with his sports is generally always from home… however the prodigal Sanj also has a secret that he is trying to keep under wraps.

Given mis-guided advice from her childhood friend and neighbour Jay (Eli Mathewson) Anousha sets out on a path of discovery of self-worth, sexuality and determination to find a boyfriend.

That opportunity arises when she she sees Raj (Vinay Chinni) a local Bank Teller. He catches her eye, but Raj doesn’t seem to notice Anousha, even though he himself is seeking love with the unhelpful assistance from his workmate Miten (Tarun Mohanbhai).

Anousha engineers it so that their paths cross via her Stars column. Raj had been writing in to the column seeking relationship advice. The responses he gets are very specific and tailored to Anousha who begins a mission to attract Raj.

However when the two finally meet and begin dating Raj turns out to be a bit strict and almost jeapordises the blossoming relationship.

Stars in Her Eyes is fully comedic, where it takes a tongue in cheek view on Indian family culture, life in New Zealand and how a Indian woman’s life can be controlled by her culture, family and even friends.

It’s a film that has been made by a whole series of newcomers in to the industry. Not just the students that assisted from Unitec Auckland, but the actors aswell, with the exception of Colin Mathura-Jeffree, who is internationally known for his two seasons of New Zealand’s Next Top Model and New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker, aswell as being an international male super model. Tarun Mohanbhai who plays Raj’s close friend and workmate Miten is also known as a regular on the New Zealand professional Comedian circuit.

All actors, from Negin through to Vinay, Eli, Mohit, Mohiner and even the Bank Security guy played by Jansen Ryan make the entire story and they equally give outstanding performances of their respective characters. However lead actress Leila Alexander makes Stars in Her Eyes the film it is as her personality as Anousha Patel shines out. Leila herself was a law student at the time of production.

Stars in Her Eyes is at it’s essence a film worthy of New Zealand’s cinematic history books and a film that everyone must see.

Stars in Her Eyes will be showing at select cinema’s in Auckland and will release on VOD (Video on Demand). I am hopeful that we see more collaborations with learning institutes such as this in the future.

If there is a locally produced film to see right now, this is it. A truly outstanding piece of theater produced garnering a deserved five stars from us.

So be sure to get some Stars in YOUR Eyes all the while supporting New Zealand’s local film industry.