Archive

Cheat's Carbonara

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Ines Shennan

From a young age I was mesmerised by spaghetti carbonara. My mother is in no way Italian, but she had a knack for producing the most lip-smacking bowls of pasta, overflowing with everything from olives, capers, and feta to the tongue-tickling saltiness of anchovies. It has remained a favourite Read more...

Home Brew

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Tom Tremewan

"Shot to our olds for bringing us into existence, Avondale and Otahuhu for raising us, our girls for loving us even when it’s not dole day, the bros for helping us not kill ourselves on those Sunday mornings and you cunts for buying this bullshit. Fuck the Prime Minister. Fuck the law force. Fuck Read more...

Dishonoured - PREVIEW

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Toby Hills

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Developer: Arkane Studios | Genre: Stealth, Action Why can my telepathy grant momentum to granite boulders and dead people, but not living ones? Why can my fireballs ignite moist fleshy alien-scum, but not the wooden floorboards beneath them? Why, video Read more...

A Land More Kind Than Home

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Lucy Hunter

A new pastor arrives in a small-town North Carolina, covers the windows of his church with newspaper, and puts a sign outside which reads Mark 16:17-18 – that’s the bit about speaking in tongues and daring snakes to bite you in the name of God. He leads services of faith healing, snake-wielding, and Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Shadow Dancer

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Sarah Baillie

British spy thriller Shadow Dancer has just the right amount of thrill, a good sprinkling of snooping, and not too much dramatic music, eavesdropping, or complicated spy networks. Collette, a young mother and member of a family heavily embroiled in the IRA, gets caught dropping a bomb in the London Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Undefeated

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Sarah Baillie

A “sports documentary” which is about much, much more than sport, Undefeated is a heartwarming story of personal relationships, struggles, and American football. Before coach Bill Courtney arrived at Manassas high school, their football team had been on a losing streak for as long as anyone could Read more...

A Royal Affair (En kongelig affære)

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Charlotte Greenfield

At first glance A Royal Affair screams “royal historical drama”, with all the sumptuous costumes, distractingly elaborate sets, stilted dialogue and wooden acting (paradoxically, often by the British acting elite) that the genre entails. Maybe it’s the Danish twist, but A Royal Affair some how Read more...

TED

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Taryn Dryfhout

From the creator of TV comedies such as Family Guy and American Dad, Seth MacFarlane (who also voices the main character of Ted) brings us this crude, rude and hilariously indecent film about a young boy who wishes for his teddy bear to come to life. His dream comes true, and the film flashes Read more...

Off the Wall

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Taryn Dryfhout

The Special Exhibitions Gallery of the Otago Museum is filled with colour, textiles, and ultraviolet light. It is being inhabited by the World of Wearable Art exhibition, otherwise known as “WOW”. WOW is a breathtaking demonstration of the imagination, originality, and ingenuity of the Read more...

Totally Boss Steak Sammies

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Ines Shennan

With more grunt than a humble ham sandwich but requiring little in the way of preparation, these steak sammies will quell that gnawing hunger. Flash-fried schnitzel simply flavoured with garlic and salt is the foundation of this stomach satisfier. It’s ideal because it’s relatively cheap and cooks Read more...

Sexuality In Music

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Isaac McFarlane

Whoever you are, wherever you are . . I’m starting to think we’re a lot alike. Human beings spinning on blackness. All wanting to be seen, touched, heard, paid attention to.” When I think of Odd Future, I think of #swag, chants of “free earl” (I think it worked?) and some more swag, never enough Read more...

Resistance: Burning Skies

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Robert Hill

PLATFORMS: PSVita | GENRE: FPSz The PSVita is here, and the game that gets the title of “First FPS on a dual-stick portable device” is Resistance: Burning Skies. However, those who already have the Vita (and I doubt many of you do) might want to give this one a miss. Story-wise, Read more...

Dunedin's Globe

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Bronwyn Wallace

Dunedin seems to have this great ability to hide wee treasures all throughout the city, with only the locals being in the know. From beaches to shops, you all know a nice secluded spot concealed from the world. On London Street, tucked up in a beautiful garden, is the Globe Theatre, one of these Read more...

Ping vs. Pong

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Beaurey Chan

Yes, this is a review of an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. No, I have not recently (or ever) been to New York (don’t remind me, I’ll just get depressed). But while procrastinating writing my dissertation this week, I discovered the wonderful realm of online exhibitions. As Read more...

The Hut Builder

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Feby Idrus

It’s fair to describe Dunedin author Laurence Fearnley’s novel The Hut Builder as a portrait of the artist as a young Kiwi man. A character study rendered in luscious prose, The Hut Builder follows central character Boden Black from his early years as a 1940s rural Cantabrian with a love of poetry Read more...

Interview with Bill Gosden

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Jane Ross

Critic film reviewer Jane Ross caught up with Bill Gosden, Dunedin-born Director of the New Zealand International Film Festival, for a quick chat about his lifetime love of film and what to expect from this year’s NZIFF. Critic: So from where I’m sitting I think you probably have one of the Read more...

Rock of Ages

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Emma Scammell

Rock of Ages is a musical adapted from a popular Broadway show, set amidst the turbulent atmosphere of sex, drugs, and rock‘n’roll in the 1980s. The film follows small-town girl Sherrie (Julianne Hough) and aspiring rock star Drew (Diego Boneta), both wannabe singers lured in by the seductive Miami Read more...

The Amazing Spider Man

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Alec Dawson

The last film telling the story of Spider-Man’s beginnings was made only ten years ago. Since then, the huge success of the Batman and Avengers franchises, as well as the subversions of the genre through films such as The Incredibles and Kick-Ass, have developed a whole new set of expectations Read more...

Pulled Pork

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 8th July 2012 by Ines Shennan

This heady, sticky, and rich slow cooked pork has been trending in the food world for some time now, and for good reason. Throw it together at midday and it will be ready to devour by dinnertime. This recipe is a cheat’s version, which I have adapted from a blog called “The Londoner”. Full of Read more...

Oh, Hey there

Posted 5:13pm Sunday 8th July 2012 by Isaac McFarlane

Hello. My name is Isaac. I am the new Critic Music editor. I like cheese and crackers, Mario Ballotelli, jelly tip ice creams, the customer service at the Link dairy, and BYO Japanese. And I love music. Well, most types of music anyway. I probably won’t be writing about freeform jazz or country Read more...