Archive

The Last Saint

Posted 4:38pm Sunday 14th September 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- New Zealand cinema is alive and well. This year has been full of premieres of NZ films that have made me truly proud of our industry, but none more so than The Last Saint. Set in the filthy drug- and violence-filled underbelly of Auckland, The Last Saint is a film that Read more...

Murray Eskdale and Tara Douglas

Posted 4:38pm Sunday 14th September 2014 by Hannah Collier

Mint Gallery Exhibited until 23 September 2014 Mint Gallery’s most recent exhibition, Au, features an exclusive display of photographs taken by owner/curator of Mint Murray Eskale and five digital prints from Dunedin artist Tara Douglas, who has previously exhibited “Karucha Shoku” and Read more...

Saucy Meatball Subs

Posted 4:38pm Sunday 14th September 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Mr. Critic Editor Zane messaged me this morning. He said, “I think you know why I’m messaging you.” I respond with a frantic reply as I run around the supermarket on my lunch break. The problem with the arrangement in my flat is that I only cook once a week. I often forget that I have to Read more...

Counterspy

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B + It’s hard for our generation to appreciate how tense the Cold War must have been. Sure, we live in a world with many conflicts, but despite the often horrific and appalling nature of these events, they are all relatively isolated from us. Imagine instead living in constant fear of Read more...

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Bridget Vosburgh

You have of course heard of Agatha Christie, possibly because I just mentioned her, but far more likely because she is incredibly famous. Her patented brand of murder fiction was the cuddly sort. The official genre term is “cosy,” and the notions inherent in the term cosy, are pretty Read more...

The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: B + Talented songwriters Dan Bejar (A.K.A Destroyer), Neko Case, A.C. Newman and Katheryn Calder join forces and together The New Pornographers make mature, saccharine, power pop. There isn't much more you need to say about this star-studded Vancouver band. Before even listening to Read more...

Ty Segall – Manipulator

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A - I've been a follower of Ty Segall's work since 2011, which was around the time he released his solo record, Goodbye Bread. It was of course a pleasant surprise to find out he had already released several records before then, and he has released several records since. Known Read more...

Download of the week: Males - Run Run Run / MalesMalesMales

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Adrian Ng

Males are the local beach pop, fun loving boyband, featuring the songwriting talents of Richard Ley-Hamilton. The group's focus with their first two EPs was shameless pop-punk, layered with interesting guitars and built on a foundation of upbeat, pounding rhythm. Soon to be touring Australia and Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Adrian Ng

QT – Hey QT QT is a project by a pair of artists known as Sophie and A.G. Cook. I'm not quite sure how to aptly describe this track, except does anyone remember that song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua? Well, if you don't, listen to this track and it might jog your memory. It's not quite as Read more...

Dead Poets Society

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

The film that earned Robin Williams his second Oscar nomination and showed the world that he was actually a pretty damn good dramatic actor as well as a talented comedian. Williams plays John Keating, an eccentric and inspirational English teacher at an elite boys prep school in the 50s, whose Read more...

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Ashley Anderson

Rating: A This film has an obnoxiously long title, but a story that climbs out the window and into your heart. Getting straight to the point, the title of this Swedish film really says it all. 100-year-old Allan (Robert Gustafsson) decides that it is time for him to up and leave his Read more...

Boyhood

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: A Boyhood is Richard Linklater’s ambitious project to film the same cast over a 12-year period to document the journey of fictional child Mason between ages 6 to 18. In true Linklater style, he makes it look easy. The first time the film jumps ahead and I saw a noticeably older Read more...

Lucy

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: A - Luc Besson had been directing and writing powerhouse female protagonists since 1990’s La Femme Nikita. Lucy is evidence of 24 years of experience. His French sensibilities with cinema make for an engaging experience. Lucy is a fairly typical student put into the wrong place Read more...

Keisai Eisen - Shunga

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Hannah Collier

Brett McDowell Gallery Exhibited until 18 September Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, Japanese Ukiyo-e artists, alongside their normal print production, were involved in the creation of erotic prints, which are generally known as “shunga.” Translated literally, the Japanese Read more...

Pulled Pork Tacos

Posted 11:52pm Sunday 7th September 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Summer is coming! (She says as she writes this with torrential rain beating down on her roof.) Warmer weather for me means more al fresco dining and entertaining friends, as well as a more colourful array of vegetables gracing our plates. I am a big fan of feeding large groups with fresh handmade Read more...

Luftrausers

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

This may or may not be something you consider when pondering video games, but join me for a moment in thinking about how a game feels to play. Think of your favourite game … Now instead of its art, sound or gameplay mechanics, I want you to think about how the game feels. Does it feel light or Read more...

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Mandy Te

Before Maria Semple was a novelist, she was a screenwriter for Arrested Development and Saturday Night Live. With the Arrested Development aspect in mind, there is no doubt that Semple can write great, satirical pieces. Her latest novel, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, is no different. In this novel, Read more...

Merchandise - After The End

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- Formed in 2008 in Tampa, Florida, Merchandise has undergone reinvention after reinvention. Cementing themselves, at first, as a punk band, they soon evolved into an off-kilter, experimental, alternative, pop outfit in the early 2010s. After experiencing mild success with 2012's Read more...

Download of the week: Iron Tusk - Iron Tusk EP (NZ)

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Iron Tusk are a local Dunedin progressive metal band, featuring the talents of Adam Wells on drums, Scott Herriott on guitar, Jake Langley on vocals and Shane Hellyer on bass. Members and ex-members of Dunedin metal luminaries Ignite The Helix, Threads, El Schlong and Twist of Fate. The Iron Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Lauryn Hill - Black Rage (Sketch) The actress and musician Lauryn Hill only has one album under her belt, but that hasn't stopped her from releasing the odd single now and then. “Black Rage (Sketch)” is a slow burning, RN'B track, dripping with her trademark boldness. While it Read more...

Profile: Zac Fay

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Hannah Collier

Last Friday night I went to Dunedin-based artist Zac Fay’s first official exhibition, Blood Eagle, at Kiki Beware on George Street, and it was so effortlessly great. Unfortunately the exhibition is now over, but because Zac is local, naturally I felt it would be appropriate to meet and greet and Read more...

Slow cooked moroccan chicken

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

I stayed home sick today. It was miserable outside and I sound like a man. A man with a blocked nose. I took advantage of the day of paid sick leave at home to fill the house with the smell of slow cooked Moroccan chicken. I usually make it on the stove but I find it far easier and way more Read more...

Jumanji

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Classic Film A nostalgic 90s’ classic, which I’m sure many of us have been revisiting in the weeks since Robin William’s death. The film is about a magical board game named Jumanji, which conjures deadly jungle-related things with each roll of the dice. There are killer mosquitoes, lions, Read more...

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Mandy Te

When I procrastinate, I try to do it with class. As in, I’ll be my foodie self and watch seven episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. To me, “foodie” just means you’re addicted to food porn. The Hundred-Foot Journey is not just a feel-good film; it’s a feel-good opportunity to satisfy those foodie needs. Read more...

The Expendables 3

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: C+ In the long tradition of The Expendables series repackaging the exact same action-hero products you have seen before in 80s’ movies, comes The Expendables 3, a film with no original dialogue. Some might say that the way they rework each action actor’s iconic catchphrases (such as Read more...

Housebound

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: A- Does anyone else feel the pressure to love any film made in New Zealand? Like there’s a special place in hell for those that don’t support Kiwi comedy? What I’m saying is, I do. So when reviewers and punters alike starting raving about Kiwi-made horror-comedy Housebound, a voice Read more...

Burial Rites

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Imogen Davis

I am a wide reader, and will read just about anything; I have even been known to read the phone book in those moments of bibliographic desperation. Hannah Kent’s debut novel Burial Rites, however, finally stumped me. I have had no motivation to read this book. Zip. Nada. Zilcharooney. On paper Read more...

White Fence - For the Recently Found Innocent

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Oscar Francis

Rating: B- Gentle, psychedelic rock music with some great guitar moments – the penultimate track “Raven on White Cadillic” really shines. Frontman Tim Presley sounds like a world-weary Syd Barrett, nightingale-singing through a warm, beautifully mastered mix. However, as a whole, For Read more...

FKA Twigs - LP1

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A+ "I love another, and thus I hate myself,” Tahliah Barnett (FKA Twigs) chants over the first two minutes of LP1. Her delivery is bold. Her voice warped and affected. Layer upon layer, resembling a sort of Kate Bush, alien choir. If there is a phrase or message that conveys the Read more...

Download of the week: Two Cartoons - Tiny Terrors

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Two Cartoons are Dunedin pop heroes Isaac McFarlane and Brad Craig, who, as of this year, are based in London. Their music is a mixture of summery indie-pop, pop-punk revelry and overall fun and good vibes. You can download both their EPs for free from their bandcamp page, twocartoons.bandcamp.com, Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Merchandise - Green Lady Merchandise are a trio from Tampa, Florida. “Green Lady” is the second single from their upcoming album After The End. The track is a shameless rock ballad, in the same trajectory as Oasis' “Champagne Supernova” or Suede's “Beautiful Ones.” With the grandiose Read more...

Rogue Legacy

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A We are currently living in the midst of the Renaissance period for the platforming genre. Over the past couple of years Indie developers have created a litany of amazing new platforming experiences, which is incredible when you consider that at its core platforming games really only Read more...

Vegetable and Blue Cheese Hipster Soup

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

I decided to call this soup hipster soup as when made in its purest form, from the sad-looking veges at the bottom of your fridge, it costs you next you nothing but somehow taste delicious. You can also make it wannabe hipster soup by buying and making it with new veges and then dressing it up in Read more...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Mandy Te

Classic Film I once asked my family if I could skip school and stay at home; unfortunately, they said no. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off always makes me wonder if my hypothetical day off would have been as cool as his. Probably not. I mean, I asked if I could stay at home. Sooo not “choice” of me. Read more...

The Dark Horse

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: A+ The Dark Horse echoes the conversation around Maori urbanisation started by Once Were Warriors and, in my opinion, supersedes it. Set in Gisborne, The Dark Horse tells the based-on-life story of Genesis Potini, who is a one-time chess champion. Released from Read more...

Under the Skin

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: A+ Harvesting human flesh for your alien homeworld’s meat industry is a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Scarlett Johansson (or ScarJo, as she likes to be called) plays an enigmatic seductress that has a disgusting job to do here on Earth: luring local Glaswegian men into her Read more...

Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A It was a big risk for Marvel to move their massive franchise into space. After all, the Space Opera is a swing-or-miss genre that began with one colossal hit, in the form of Star Wars, but has been predominantly misses in the 40 years since. The coming weeks will tell if Guardians Read more...

Gary Currin

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Hannah Collier

Milford Gallery Exhibited until 27 August 2014 Gary Currin was in Wanganui in 1952 and has been exhibiting his work since 1976. His paintings and exhibitions have gained national momentum, placing Currin within the sphere of significant New Zealand artists alongside people like McCahon, Read more...

Guardians of the Galaxy: Legacy

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Brandon Johnstone

Guardians of the Galaxy: Legacy is the first volume of the 2008 comics reboot of the ragtag space-team. The writers, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, or “DnA” as they are known collaboratively, have been writing comics since the mid-80s and have a solid legacy as a team. Together they have worked Read more...

Jenny Lewis - The Voyager

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: B+ The Voyager is the third full-length release from Jenny Lewis, the former co-songwriter of the now deceased Rilo Kiley. With albums such as Take Offs and Landings and More Adventurous, Rilo Kiley were certainly a leading presence during that weird, semi-commercialisation of Read more...

Spoon - They Want My Soul

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- I’ve been a Spoon fan for quite some time now. I found their music mesmerising for its meticulousness. I appreciated the mastery they had over their sound, from each guitar stab, to each drum fill Jim Eno decided not to play. Their music seemed to ruminate in this pent up Read more...

NZ Download of the week: Clemintine - Kate Moss EP

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Clemintine is a local project based around the songwriting talents of Jamie Russell, and features the fearsome duo of Max Lake and Oscar Parker. The Kate Moss EP is four tracks ridden with angst and self-loathing. It’s driving, distorted pop-punk. You can get the release at a name-your-price Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Dope Body - Hired Gun Dope Body are a four-piece rock bandbased in Baltimore, USA. “Hired Gun” is the first single from the group’s third full- length album, Lifer. Known for their heavy yet intricate sound and referencing of 90s hardcore-influenced riffs, the band pretty much cover a Read more...

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - New 'N' Tasty

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- Have you ever finished a book/film/TV series and felt totally devastated by the loss? That feeling of emptiness created when you have become so utterly entranced and involved in a fictional universe that for a time after finishing the series you don’t know how you can function Read more...

God help the girl

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

God Help the Girl follows three youngsters around the streets and music halls of Glasgow, in one of those “perfect carefree summer” kind of romps. Eve is recovering from a self-harm episode and decides to chase her musical dreams, enlisting the help of mega-cutie James, one of those insufferable Read more...

Pulp: A film about life, death & supermarkets

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Ashley Anderson

This documentary-style film is an en- dearing tribute to the ‘80–‘90s Sheffield- based band, Pulp. While probably not a well-known rock group in New Zealand, they have had many hits, including “Common People” (1995). Unlike many band-based movies, the members (now in their 50s) seem like genuinely Read more...

Robocop (1987)

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Classic Film I can imagine watching the blood-soaked ridiculousness that is Robocop would be an incredibly rewarding experience while high. Peter Weller plays Alex Murphy, a police officer that is brutally and graphically blown to pieces by criminals, his life saved when he is rebuilt Read more...

Begin Again

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: B- Begin Again, a modern music film in which the music felt terribly dated, and scored by The New Radicals, who haven’t released an album since 1999. I don’t understand this bizarre choice in musicians for the score of a film about the current music industry. The whole thing felt Read more...

Pacific Rim

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by CJ O'Connor

Cult Film For various reasons, in this day and age there is often a certain scorn for so-called “blockbusters,” like it is incredibly passé to find enjoyment in anything mainstream. It probably doesn’t help that, in the days of mass film production, unique plot lines are often few and Read more...

Hercules

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B When you’ve heard a story told the same way 100 times, you never expect the 101st retelling to be different. Which is why Brett Ratner’s Hercules was a pleasant surprise, if not your usual action blockbuster fare. Hercules is one of humankind’s oldest legends, and Ratner’s Read more...

John Ward Knox & Sophie Bannan

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Hannah Collier

Blue Oyster Art Space Exhibited until 23 August 2014 The Optimists is a new work by Christchurch-based artist Sophie Bannan and Auckland-based artist John Ward Knox, and is currently being exhibited at The Blue Oyster Art Project Space. While each artist presents a series of work unique to Read more...

Pork and Coriander Dumplings

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Hi, my name is Sophie and i am a dumpling fiend. Steamed dumplings, fried dumplings – all the dumplings! I spend a lot of time sourcing out the best dumpling stalls and night markets and frequently venture into D-graded food establishments to find premium offerings. I had tried making Read more...

Drowning City

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Bridget Vosburgh

Other reviews i’ve read of Ben Atkins’ first novel Drowning City tended to sound something like: “ZOMG this teenager wrote a book when he was like 17 and then it was published when he was 19 ZOMG and it sounds just like a real person wrote it, this is incredible!” The problem with this is that his Read more...

Shamir - Northtown EP

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- Shamir Bailey is a nineteen-year-old musician from Las Vegas, USA. The Northtown EP is his debut release, and it is definitely a promising one. The first thing that becomes immediately apparent is Bailey’s voice. It is silky smooth, and seems to sit at quite a unique Read more...

Radiator Hospital - Torch Song

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- Radiator hospital is a self-described DIY band based in Philadelphia and centres around the twitchy, heartfelt, pop-punk songwriting of frontman Sam Cook-Parrott. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, this spry collection of 15 songs is upbeat. Well, you know, as upbeat as Read more...

NZ Download of the Week: Dinosaur Sanctuary

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Dinosaur Sanctuary is a Dunedin four- piece made up of Kane Strang, Joshua Hunter, Rassani Tolovaa and Isaac Hickey. Together they make sort of sonic, stoner rock. A kind of Black Sabbath fused with Queens of the Stone Age, plus a dash of Arctic Monkeys. You can download their album from Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Adrian Ng

Weezer - Back to the Shack Not many bands face such loathing from their own fan base. Since their apparent fall from glory around the new millennium, the group have remained prolific. However, every album seems to breed a sense of, “oh no, you’re just making it worse, guys.” Read more...

Divinity: Original Sin

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

Rating: B- There are so many gaming arguments that I am sick to death of hearing about, but more than any other, I am tired of people whining about games not being hard enough anymore. Not because I think it is a completely baseless complaint, but because people don’t understand the Read more...

At Berkeley

Posted 9:43pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 by Rosie Howells

At Berkeley is an in-depth, atmospheric documentary study of what life is like at the University of California, one of the most prestigious universities in the world today. Any movie that examines a famous academic institution with amazing facilities, scarily intelligent students, and incredible Read more...

Cap Bocage

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

New Caledonia is one of the world’s richest sources of the metal nickel, making it a target for mining companies. In the early ‘70s the Ballande mining group procured much of the New Caledonian indigenous land to begin mining the precious metal. In 2008, mismanagement of mining sites and heavy rain Read more...

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...

New this week / Singles in review

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

Perfume Genius - Queen Perfume Genius is the moniker for Seattle musician Mike Hadreas. “Queen” is the lead single from his third album, Too Bright, set to be released in September later this year. A beautiful, sprawling ballad, “Queen” is grandiose and at the same time dangerous. Read more...

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A This year marks the 100-year anniversary of WWI, making it a crucial moment in our generation’s cultural memory. With the last veteran of the Great War having passed away in 2012, our memorials of this event become increasingly about remembrance instead of respect. As time moves on, Read more...

52 Tuesdays

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Wow. Words almost fail me. 52 Tuesdays was filmed over the course of one year, entirely on Tuesdays, to watch the mother-daughter relationship evolve, as Billie’s mother becomes James, her second father. Teen Billie is fairly naive to begin with, but gets totally derailed from herself when Read more...

Locke

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

I know what you are thinking. If the film is just Tom Hardy’s face as he drives and talks on hands-free, how interesting could it be? The answer: RIVETING. And, no, that’s not sarcasm. We follow Ivan Locke on a literal journey to a hospital one night, but more importantly on a figurative one Read more...

Night of the Living Dead

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Classic Film The mother of all zombie movies and, in my view, the most effective and terrifying, with the possible exception of 28 Days Later; NOTLD did a lot with a small budget, few special effects, few locations and a small cast. The grainy, shaky home-footage look gives it an immediacy Read more...

Words and Pictures

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: B- Like a lot of bad rom-coms, they really should have ditched the rom-com angle altogether and focused on the much more interesting subplots. Handsome English teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) is having a pretty crummy time, having not been able to write anything worth Read more...

The Face of Love

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: B+ This movie is like combining American Beauty with Misery, and the plot from The Great Gatsby. With Robin Williams, too, as the same creep-next-door from One Hour Photo. Nikki (Annette Bening) is traumatically widowed when her husband of 30 happy years drowns beside her, but Read more...

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A I remember the first time I saw Gollum, and knew that there was something special happening. He was different to other CGI creations; there was something far more complex happening in his movements and expressions. Now, of course, we know that special element was the use of Read more...

Lolita

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Andrea Reed

Lolita is Nabokov’s best-known novel. Written about 60 years ago, the novel now is being promoted in the Central Library’s showcases as a crucial modernist text. But what characterises modernist fiction? It appears, on the whole, that modernist authors explore styles and themes that engage in moral Read more...

Pulled Pork Burgers

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Here is my third addition to the growing tradition of Burger Sunday at my flat. Last Friday I had a sibling date with my brother. Basically I bribed him with free burgers in order to make me feel like less of a loner. We visited this new place in Ponsonby Central, Burger Burger, where I Read more...

Paul Maseyk

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Dunedin Public Art Gallery Exhibited until 30 November One Pot Wonder is literally a one-pot wonder, as there is one pot (it stands at about two metres tall), and it makes you wonder. Along with the rest of the survey exhibition, which is equally as wondrous. The exhibition as a Read more...

Interview: Ryan Johnson - Great White Shark Expert

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Zane Pocock

You moved from New Zealand to South Africa to pursue your career looking at the Great White Shark? Well, I was primarily a zoologist and I finished my undergrad work and I suffered from what a lot of Kiwis suffer from – you want to go off and see the big world – but I wanted to carry on with my Read more...

Interview: I Am Giant

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

I Am Giant are back in New Zealand for a nationwide tour. They touched down in Dunedin on 18 July to play at student bar Re:Fuel. With a new album under their belt and a lot of excitement brewing, Adrian Ng caught up with the band right before the craziness began. How long has it been since Read more...

Download of the week: Glass Vaults - Glass EP (NZ)

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The Glass EP is the debut offering from Wellington group Glass Vaults. Revolving around the songwriting of Rowan Pierce and Richard Larsen, the EP is five tracks of beautiful, ambient, psychedelic wonder. You can get the EP as a name-your-price download from glassvaults.bandcamp.com. Read more...

Ought - More Than Any Other Day

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A Ought are a four-piece based in Montreal, More Than Any Other Day is their debut release. The record is an interesting conglomeration of different musical spare parts and personalities. Whilst taking cues from art punk forefathers such as Television, The Talking Heads, Wire, Slint Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Viet Cong - Throw it Away Throw It Away (Single) by Viet Cong Viet Cong is comprised of the former members of noise pop band Women. “Throw It Away” is the single from their newly released EP, the aptly titled Cassette. The track also catches the band at it’s most straightforward and Read more...

Wildstar

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- Here’s the little spoken truth about MMORPGs: they’re actually in many ways mediocre games. Take any aspect from a non-MMO game, gameplay, graphics, design, story, and compare it to any MMO and it becomes quickly apparent that nearly every aspect is just a watered down version of a Read more...

Yona Lee - Specific Objects

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Blue Oyster Gallery Exhibited until Saturday 26 July Yona Lee is a Korean-born artist (and former cellist) currently residing and working in Onehunga, Auckland. She acquired an MFA from Elam School of Fine Arts in 2010, leading to her most recent exhibitions including Tangential Read more...

The Name of the Wind

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Chelsea Boyle

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first novel of a trilogy known as “The Kingkiller Chronicle.” This debut fantasy novel has quickly garnered critical praise for its style and creativity. A unique prologue foreshadows an original take on the hero’s journey. It features beautiful, Read more...

Interview: Bill Gosden - International Film Festival Director

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Rosie Howells

In the Auckland and Wellington International Film Festival, there is between 150-170 films playing. And slightly less in Dunedin? Yes, but Dunedin is quite big. I haven’t counted exactly but it’s in the mid 90s. The thing is, with the availability of everything digitally, the time has now passed Read more...

Blended

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: E Movies, like any art, reflect the culture that created them. If any aliens were to pick up the tired romcom Blended and draw conclusions about our planet’s cultural values, unfortunately they would be morally obliged to vaporise us all immediately. Formula: Adam Sandler is Read more...

Jersey Boys

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: B- Let me start by saying that Jersey Boys the stage musical is SO FREAKING GOOD. Following the true story of the mob-associated New Jersey lads’ rise to fame as the squeaky-clean pop sensations The Four Seasons, it included dozens of impeccably-performed hits that you had no idea Read more...

How To Train Your Dragon 2

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Ella Borrie

Rating: B+ How to Train Your Dragon 2 is like one of those shape-sorter toys. It’s not complex, and every emotion fits into perfectly shaped slots. The square block fits in when the young hero acts plucky. A heart-shaped block whenever the pet dragon is adorable. A teardrop block when the Read more...

Calvary

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- Sometimes it can be hard to pick the genre of a movie before seeing it. You can be easily misled by the marketing or, as in this case, a cast comprising several prominent comedic actors such as Brendon Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd and Dylan Moran. The predominantly elderly audience and I Read more...

Feta & Pesto Burgers

Posted 5:12pm Sunday 20th July 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

So Sunday nights have become Burger Sundays. That’s when I make my flat (and whoever else turns up) burgers – all totally from scratch, including the buns. After a couple of texts last Sunday afternoon, our dinner for three turned into a dinner for seven. But that’s ok. The tag-alongs brought wine Read more...

How Should a Person Be?

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Mandy Te

In 2012, critics praised Sheila Heti’s second novel, How Should a Person Be? The New York Times named it their most notable book of 2012 and magazines such as The New Republic (who once published the works of Virginia Woolf) and the New York Observer placed this novel on their “Best Books of 2012” Read more...

Beef and mushroom burgers with homemade buns

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Last week a boy who fancied me bought me a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, but the ultimate in burger-making glory cookbook. If the book wasn’t so spectacular I would have taken offence at this blatant attempt to get me to make him the ultimate sandwich. Riding on the current hipster food trend of Read more...

Download of the week: The Canals - Young Napolean EP (NZ)

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The Canals are an intriguing new project from right here in Dunedin. Four tracks long, the Young Napoleon EP was written and recorded by Robbie Motion, who is also from post-punk noise outfit Not From Space. The Canals seem to have a significantly more pop objective and boasts a bit of a Brit-pop Read more...

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Loulou Callister-Baker

Rating: A Captivated by the wild blur that is Parquet Courts’ second album Light Up Gold, an initial listen of Sunbathing Animal may throw you off guard. While the album’s opening song, “Bodies,” in tone and yelping vocal style, hints at their previous album, preceding songs show definite Read more...

Artist Profile: Glass Owls

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Glass Owls are an alternative pop act from Auckland centered around the songwriting talents of Anthony Metcalf and Tomas Nelson. Having just released their debut album, Out From The Darkness, Adrian Ng caught up with guitarist Anthony Metcalf. Did you come from a musical background? What Read more...