Archive

Jacob's Ladder

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Cult Film To call Jacob’s Ladder a horror movie would be selling it short. It doesn’t only rely on frightening images, it also gets inside your head. Tim Robbins plays Jacob Singer, a soldier who returns from Vietnam and begins to experience terrifying demonic visions. His girlfriend Read more...

A Promise

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: B+ Have you ever had one of those love affairs that was spine-tinglingly perfect in every way – except, perhaps, for that tiny, insignificant detail, that one of you is not technically “available?” Maybe the other person was married to your boss? Then has Patrice Leconte got a film Read more...

Sex Tape

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Rating: C+ I have never come so close to walking out of a movie as I did in Sex Tape. A likable cast and an interesting premise were enticing enough to attend, but after sitting through an hour of the blandest humour imaginable, I just about lost it. Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz play Read more...

Quai D'Orsay (The French Minister)

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- The French Minster joins other works such as the US TV show Veep that have clearly taken their inspiration from the popular UKTV series The Thick of It. These shows and films all portray important government figures through a satirical lens, which simultaneously undermines many Read more...

Michael Parekowhai

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Hannah Collier

Dunedin Public Art Gallery Exhibited until 9 November 2014 Michael Parekowhai (born Porirua, 1968) is one of New Zealand’s most important contemporary artists. Parekowhai acquired his BFA (1990) and his MFA (2000) from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. In 2001 Read more...

New York style soft pretzels

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

The other Saturday i woke up. Well, i say “woke up” – in reality I was barely conscious and still a bit drunk from the night before. I felt like death. After a few more hours of remaining in the horizontal position, I dragged my tragic ass out of bed, put in my contacts and on some pants and Read more...

Profile: New Zealand Child Poverty 101

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Stacey Kennedy of Choose Kids

“Child poverty;” “vulnerability;” “income gap.” Buzz words, right? Phrases thrown around by the radical lefties? There are 285,000 children living in poverty in New Zealand, yet so many of us New Zealanders seem content to ignore the problem, or worse, to deny it altogether. Unfortunately “us Read more...

Strange Harvest

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Dunedin cold-wave duo Strange Harvest have been busy finishing their third full-length album. A few weeks removed from the studio Justin Walshaw catches up with Critic’s Adrian Ng. Did both of you come from musical backgrounds? Was there a particular moment that made you want to do music? Read more...

Download of the Week: The River Jones - The River Jones (NZ)

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The River Jones are a four-piece from Christchurch. Noisy, post-punk, emo. Reminds me of a combination of Sonic Youth and Slint. Their live shows are spectacular. You can get their album at a name-your-price download from theriverjones.bandcamp.com. Read more...

A Sunny Day in Glasgow

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- A Sunny Day In Glasgow began as a recording project in 2006, between friends Ben Daniels and Ever Nalens. Since their inception the band has seen countless line-up changes, albeit always centered around the songwriting prowess of Ben Daniels. Sea When Absent is the group’s third Read more...