Film News>> Indiana Jones Quadrilogy Coming out on Bluray!

Hot off the press… Paramount Pictures is releasing the complete Indiana Jones.

The collection will mark the Blu-ray debut of the first three pictures; only Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is now available on the format.

Paramount’s five-disc package offers each film in its 2.39:1 original aspect ratio with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. Steven Spielberg and his sound designer Ben Burtt supervised the A/V restoration work; Paramount’s press release describes the work done on Raiders of the Lost Ark, noting that the feature “has been meticulously restored with careful attention to preserving the original look, sound, and feel of the iconic film. The original negative was first scanned at 4K and then examined frame-by-frame so that any damage could be repaired. The sound design was similarly preserved using Burtt’s original master mix, which had been archived and unused since 1981. New stereo surrounds were created using the original music tracks and original effects recorded in stereo but used previously only in mono. In addition, the sub bass was redone entirely up to modern specifications and care was taken to improve dialogue and correct small technical flaws to create the most complete and highest quality version of the sound possible while retaining the director’s vision.”

While Paramount has yet to provide a complete list of supplementary details, the studio has indicated in the Indiana Jones press release that the collection would contain a “collection of documentaries, interviews, featurettes, and new bonus features.”

Includes: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford, Karen Allen
Director: Steven Spielberg

The Indiana Jones Box Set Releases in New Zealand on  12th September 2012

Game of Thrones in all its beauty!!!

Game Of Thrones^®:

The Complete First Season Collector’s Edition

Limited Edition Gift Set Includes First Season on Blu-ray™ – Along with Dragon Egg Paperweight & Season Two Bonus Blu-ray™ Disc

Available November 21, 2012

Season one of the television phenomenon Game of Thrones will be available this spring with the release of Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season Collector’s Edition. The beautiful collector’s box set is designed with the sigils of the four main houses and comes with a premium dragon egg paperweight, a Blu-ray™ bonus disc of season two, episode one, as well as all of the bonus materials and interactive features from the original DVD and BD releases for only $69.95 RRP. This limited edition set is the perfect gift for any Game of Thrones fan!

Based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire, the sweeping fantasy saga instantly became one of the network’s biggest hits and the fastest selling TV on BD titles of all time.  The Emmy® award winning show, which has been called “tantalizing” (Los Angeles Times) and an “HBO Triumph” (Boston Globe), follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power in a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime.  As two powerful families engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, betrayal, lust, intrigue and supernatural forces shake the four corners of the Kingdoms and the bloody struggle for the Iron Throne will have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences. 

Magic Mike Movie Review

Releases: 26^thJuly 2012

Rating: R16 – Contains Offensive language, drug use & sexual themes

Duration: 110 minutes 

Genre:  Comedy

Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Olivia Munn

Director: Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Twelve)

Reviewer: Jodie Clist 

The Premise>> Set in the world of male strippers, Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money

The Review>> Tatum plays Mike, a nearly 30 something guy who by day, works as a labourer and creates furniture out of washed up items from the beach.  He’s good looking, works out and by night, moonlights as “Magic Mike” at a local strip club, managed by Dallas (McConaughey). 

Along comes Adam, (Pettyfer), burning through every job and interview he’s had since college and sleeps on his sister’s couch.  Feeling sorry for Adam, Mike introduces him to the world of easy money and easy sex.

Cody Horn turns in a nice performance as Adam’s beautiful, smart older sister, trying to keep her little brother on the straight and narrow and unimpressed with the seductive world of strippers and drugs her brother is being pulled into.  The uneasy truce between Horn and Tatum develops quite slowly throughout the film, which is a nice change.

McConaughey injects the odd humorous moment throughout the film playing quirky, flamboyant Dallas, and at 43, still manages to look pretty buff while holding his own against his younger co-stars. 

Once again, Tatum reminds us of why he was cast in his first lead role in the dance movie Step Up.  Even when wearing a thong, the boy sure can dance.

The Verdict>> This film has an R16 rating for a reason and is darker than the trailer suggests.  While the story leaves much to be desired, it delivers on eye candy, and an abundance of dance/strip sequences to keep the ladies entertained.

Some extra bits to know about the film and to look out for>> The character of Tarzan, portrayed by Kevin Nash, wears a knee brace during his routine and goes with the idea that stripping is all his character knows and is doing it past his prime. This wasn’t in the script but came about when Nash showed up on set with the brace on and explained that he wouldn’t be able to do the routine properly unless he wore it. Kevin Nash is a professional wrestler with a history of knee problems.

The film is loosely based on Channing Tatum’s experiences as a male exotic dancer before hitting it big as a movie star.

Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer allegedly did not get along on set.

In the scene where Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) finally strips, there is a point where he rolls away from all of the women holding his crotch. This is because the extras got a little bit too excited and accidentally ripped his g-string. Instead of stopping the dance, he just incorporated it in.

Bel Ami Movie Review

Releases: 26^thJuly 2012

Rating: M – Contains sex scenes & offensive language

Duration: 98 minutes 

Genre:  Period Drama 
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas

Director: Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod (The Big Fish – Short)

Reviewer: Jon E Clist 

The Premise>> Guy de Maupassant’s classic tale of passion in late-18th century Paris gets adapted for the big screen in this scintillating erotic drama starring Twilight’s Robert Pattinson as a destitute young soldier who plots to gain power by seducing the mistresses of the city’s most influential men.

The Review>> Not completely sure what to say about this film. For the most part it is a rather well filmed movie. The scenery is quite stunning and the locations are visually interesting to watch. However, unfortunately the other components of this film don’t really match up to the background. The overall concept is not a bad one; a destitute soldier looks for an easy way to make something of himself. Of course, there is manipulation from all sides. However in order to make this sort of film work you have to like at least one of the characters. Of course it is even better with this sort of film that you go on a rollercoaster of love and hate with the key characters, as they manipulate each other. Here however you really don’t connect with any of the characters in that way.

Which is very frustrating, as it is by far one of the best female ensemble casts in a long time. Scott-Thomas, Ricci and Thurman are such talented actresses and most of the time; bring a real depth to their roles. Unfortunately even their wonderful skills are not enough to overcome a somewhat clumsy script and overall lack of cinematic chemistry.

I am sure that if you are majorly into your period dramas, then this could be a film that could still draw you in with its style. However if you only dabble in the genre then this is a pool to not dip your toes into.

From the bit of research that I have done online I have found that is based on a french novel of the same name, written by Guy de Maupassant and first published in 1885. This however is not the first time that it has been brought to film. In 1939 there was Bel Ami, in 1949 The Private Affairs of Bel Ami and in 1976 there was even a Swedish-made pornographic version known as For Men Only. I guess it is only natural that some film makers decided that now was as good a time as any to attempt to bring it back to life. However as their first major motion picture, the directors here might be reconsidering their decision to go down this path. I will point out that this film was partially funded by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Idol television phenomenon.

The Verdict>> If you are a hardcore period drama fan then maybe you’ll enjoy it.

Some extra bits to know about the film and to look out for>> Holliday Grainger and Robert Pattinson also starred together in the made for TV movie The Bad Mother’s Handbook.

Cast includes two actors who played Detective Gene Hunt in the UK or US version of Life on Mars (Philip Glenister and Colm Meaney respectively).

Win Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on Bluray and DVD

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has hit video shop and retail shelves and Warner Bros and Big Screen NZ  are giving you the chance to win a Bluray or DVD copy for yourself…

All you need to do is answer this simple question… 

Name the actor who plays the father in this film?

Email your answer with your name and contact details to  win@bigscreennz.com



(Competition closes 11:59pm Friday 3rd of August 2012, you must be a resident of New Zealand, and judges decision in final.)

The Premise>>  A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile, and pacifist searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Read the Review

In NZ Stores Now

21 Jump Street DVD Review

Releases: July 2012

Rating: R16 – Contains Violence, offensive language, drug use & sex scenes

Duration: 110 minutes 

Genre:  Action Comedy

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube

Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs)

Reviewer: Jon E Clist 

The Premise>> In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school students synthetic drugs.

The Review>> I recently saw a bunch of mates having a discussion on facebook about how crazy it was that they were making a cinematic version of 21 Jump Street. Without having seen it they slammed it, stating that it would likely be utter rubbish and that film makers really are scraping the bottom of the barrel for content. I do understand that feeling, after all I did watch Project X, oh the humanity! However I will say that the TV show that launched Johnny Depp is one of my favourites. In fact it was kind of one of the first action/dramas targeted at youth and not kids. Imagine having to go back to high school and infiltrate the cool kids. Most of us had enough trouble infiltrating the cool clichés the first time round let alone when you’re ancient.

So here it is 21 Jump Street for a new century, in fact a new millennium. I was dubious about how they would handle it, after all once Johnny Depp left the show, they had trouble maintaining their coolness even with Richard Grieco. I think one of the things that I actually enjoyed about this version was that they didn’t try to completely copy the same thing, with the same characters and the same storylines. Instead they did a switch-aroo, with the cool kid becoming the geek and the nerd becoming a social god.

There are a lot of laughs some clever and some irreverently silly, but overall the laughs and the action abounds in great quantity. Obviously you are not going to expect it to be deeply moving cinema, nor will it challenge you to change your life. However for a couple of hours you might laugh, cheer and escape the busy-ness that is life in today’s hectic world. Isn’t that one of the roles that cinema is meant to play in our lives? Escapism for just a little bit of soul relief? On a side note, perhaps because it’s not cheap to go to the movies anymore we often feel as though we need to maximize our dollars by getting something more out of our cinema going experience.

Tatum and Hill combine well to create this not so dynamic duo, who fail more often than succeed and kind of end up falling into success by the end. Just going to show that the odds of success will fall in everyone’s favour if you have an infinite amount of time to keep trying.

One thing to look out for is the wonderful cameos of many of the original cast members of the original 21 Jump Street who reprise their roles as older police officers many years after their stint in Jump Street.

The Verdict>> Actually a fun filled nearly 2 hours of slightly silly but very funny action.

Some extra bits to know about the film and to look out for>> Channing Tatum’s character is named Jenko after Captain Richard Jenko, played by actor Frederic Forrest, on the original 21 Jump Street TV series. Jenko was the original captain of the squad before being replaced by Steven Williams and the character Captain Adam Fuller.

Channing Tatum passed on the movie twice before he was convinced by Jonah Hill to take the role.

Win 21 Jump Street on DVD or Bluray

21 Jump Street has hit video shop and retail shelves and Sony Pictures Entertainment and Big Screen NZ  are giving you the chance to win a Bluray or DVD copy for yourself…

All you need to do is answer this simple question… 

Name three of the original actors from the 21 Jump Street TV series?

Email your answer with your name and contact details to  win@bigscreennz.com



(Competition closes 11:59pm Friday 27th of July 2012, you must be a resident of New Zealand, and judges decision in final.)

The Premise>>  In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school students synthetic drugs.

In NZ Stores Now

The Dark Knight Rises Movie Review

Releases: 19^thJuly 2012

Rating: M – Contains Violence

Duration: 164 minutes 

Genre:  SciFi Action

Starring: Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Director: Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento)

Reviewer: Jon E Clist 

The Premise>> Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

The Review>> I am not sure that I could name a film in cinematic history that has such a huge level of expectation associated with it before it was even released. Perhaps due to the untimely death of Heath Ledger, it’s predecessor The Dark Knight certainly built a huge level of hype based around his performance. However after Christopher Nolan delighted and dazzled us with that film we have all been warming to boiling point with the excited wonder of ‘what will he do now to bring a climactic end to his time on the Batman franchise?’

It is now over an hour since I left the cinema and I am still kind of at a loss for words to describe this film. I know that I really don’t want to go into great detail about the storyline, as I firmly believe this is a film worth seeing on the big screen and experiencing as many of its nuances and twists for yourself. So here it is, my thoughts without plot specifics or spoilers.

Firstly, I cannot fault any of the character or actors involved in this story. Each and every one of the team involved have portrayed their roles to perfection, right down to the level of emotion and even in the case of Bane, right down to the lack of emotion. Desperation and pain abounds as the protagonists are thrown through a gambit of loss and suffering. I know a lot of people seemed to wonder if Anne Hathaway could do justice to the character of Cat Woman. In fact there are a lot of people who even wanted to refuse to give a chance after the successful performances that were done by Michelle Pfeiffer in the past. Sorry Michelle, but despite the wonderful job you have done in the past, you have been beaten by perfection in leather by Hathaway.

Visually this film is mind-blowingly amazing to watch. The Dark Knight Risesfeatures over an hour of footage shot in IMAX (by comparison, The Dark Knight contained 28 minutes) So watching it come to life on the very big Imax screen, is awesome. Of course if you aren’t near the Imax theatre in Auckland, the majority if screens in New Zealand are digital and you certainly experience something rather amazing at pretty much all locations. Nolan has obviously put a lot of time and thought into each element of this cinematic experience and it’s 164 minutes has no downtime, but instead an intense collection of action, drama, twists and turns, stunts, gadgets and so much more.

The Verdict>> My favourite film of all time, 6 stars out of 5 beyond all doubts and I will be watching this film again multiple times.

Some extra bits to know about the film and to look out for>> Christopher Nolan is the first director to complete a full trilogy of Batman films, but the second to direct a full trilogy of films on one superhero (after Sam Raimi completed his Spider-Man films).

Christian Bale has stated that he would not play Batman if Robin appeared anywhere in the trilogy. Christopher Nolan agreed not to include Robin as it would undermine the dark tone of his series.

Christian Bale is the first live action actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne in three Batman films. Kevin Conroy has played the character in seven animated films as of 2011 (including Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker).

Cinematographer Wally Pfister has expressed interest in shooting the entirety of the film in the IMAX format, as both Pfister and Christopher Nolan have expressed distaste for shooting the film in 3-D. Ultimately, the film would feature approximately 50 minutes of IMAX footage, while the rest was shot in a combination of 35mm and 70mm, as IMAX cameras proved to be too noisy for shooting the films dialogue scenes.

According to Gary Oldman, Christopher Nolan told the actors the ending of the film verbally to avoid any leaks.

One of the reasons why Christopher Nolan cast Tom Hardy as Bane was because of his performance in the film RocknRolla. Hardy stated that he thought he was cast because of his role in Bronson. He arrived on set only to learn that Nolan has never even seen Bronson.

Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field. Some of the Pittsburgh Steelers played football players, including Hines Ward, who played himself.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway’s stunt double broke one of the IMAX cameras when she crashed the Batpod into it. This marks the second time an IMAX camera has been destroyed on a Christopher Nolan Batman film – a previous camera was smashed when filming the Joker’s underground truck chase in The Dark Knight.

Win Being Human Season 4 on DVD

Being Human Season 4 has hit video shop and retail shelves and Roadshow Entertainment and Big Screen NZ  are giving you the chance to win a DVD copy for yourself…

All you need to do is answer this simple question… 

What three types of Supernatural beings live together in Being Human?

Email your answer with your name and contact details to  win@bigscreennz.com



(Competition closes 11:59pm Friday 27th of July 2012, you must be a resident of New Zealand, and judges decision in final.)

The Premise>>  Being Human is a comedy-drama about three twenty-something housemates trying to live normal lives, despite struggling with unusual afflictions – one is a werewolf, one is a vampire and the other is a ghost. They face a human threat in the form of the mysterious Professor Jaggat and the cold-hearted Kemp, who are fundamentalist Christians that have discovered the existence of vampires, werewolves and ghosts – and are determined to destroy them or use them for brutal experiments.

Available on Bluray and DVD
in NZ from 18 July 2012
Rated: R16- Contains horror scenes and offensive language

Project X DVD Review

Releases: July 2012

Rating: R18 – Contains Sexual themes, drug use & offensive language

Duration: 88 minutes 

Genre:  Comedy

Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown

Directors: Nima Nourizadeh (First and possibly last feature film)

Reviewer: Jon E Clist 

The Premise>> 3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.

The Review>> So this film is loosely based on the house party of Corey Delaney in Australia. The then-teenager posted the address of his house party on MySpace, attracting around 500 people and caused over $20,000 in property damage. His party attracted journalists and was widely disliked by the public, having been assaulted by a group of teenagers after the events.

Based on this piece of information and what you may have already read about that Australian party in the past, I will take this opportunity to warn you that the Rating notes for this film don’t really even touch on the amount of objectionable content in this film that will offend a decent portion of the population. It has a very liberal attitude towards extreme drinking, drugs and promiscuity. In fact it very much glorifies these parts of the party lifestyle and in the most part does not balance it up with safety or precaution. So be warned, if that sounds too much for you then stay away.

There are plenty of laughs in it, and although I personally didn’t really enjoy it overall, a decent portion of the young male audience laughed and cheered throughout. The irreverence that flows through the film and total disregard for other people and their property certainly gives plenty of opportunity for laughs at other people s expense. A kind of voyeuristic comedy of errors with events, that for the most part is beyond that which we would normally do in our own lives.

For me the best part of the film are the scenes that involve the little dog, who through secondhand smoke gets a little high and has some adventures of his own. Including some awesome fun in a bouncy house.

I guess the bad taste that was left in my mouth was the general lack of consequence for some pretty bad behavior. Everyone kind of lands on their feet to some extent even though so much property is destroyed and lives affected. I wonder if life will imitate art here, with more young guys trying to create a bigger party and havoc being inflicted on the world.

The Verdict>> A very limited target audience will enjoy this party romp film, I however did not.