Archive

New this week / Singles in review

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

Spoon - Do You It’s been four years since their last album, Transference, and Spoon are finally making a return. “Do You” is the second single from their upcoming album titled They Want My Soul. An upbeat, summery track, “Do You” finds Spoon retracing familiar ground, but a kind of Read more...

Sniper Elite 3

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B I’m not a sociopath (I swear) but there is something truly satisfying in games about achieving a stunningly executed headshot. I’m not sure what exactly it is, perhaps the skill involved in lining it up and timing the shot perfectly, or maybe more disturbingly, it’s the clear Read more...

Suji Park - Anu

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Brett McDowell Gallery Exhibited until 16 July 2014 My introduction to Suji Park’s work was serendipity, and I’ve been emotionally involved with her sculptures (and photography) ever since. I was in my friend’s apartment and he had his recently purchased Park positioned on a table Read more...

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: F Since 2007, the Transformers franchise has gotten progressively more offensive in every way: offensive to your senses, offensive to your sensibilities, and offensive to your intelligence. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the culmination of those cinematic sins; making it one of Read more...

What We Do in the Shadows

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: A It did my heart good to see that Nosferatu hadn’t lost his touch. Vampires have become a staple offering of Hollywood flicks in recent years. I haven’t cared much for the ones that sparkle, the ones that are super-cool and drink blood like they’re shooting heroine, nor for the Read more...

22 Jump Street

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Rating: A Anyone who has ever seen a sequel of almost any comedy movie ever made knows not to expect great things. They are usually a rehash of what worked the first time, though less original and less funny (see The Hangover Part II). What made 22 Jump Street such a great sequel was that Read more...

Edge of Tomorrow

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A Edge of Tomorrow is one of those films that people will try and describe to you with 100 different similes, and though the film is “like” many different things, the truth is that it combines these factors to create a unique and gripping movie. Edge of Tomorrow, based on the Read more...

Interview: Peter Dunne - United Future Leader

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Zane Pocock

You were the President of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association, so obviously you would care a bit about student politics. What do you see as the biggest issues for students at the moment? Why should students vote for you; what would you do about those issues? Well, if I go back Read more...

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The queen of tumblrcore returns with her sophomore album boldly titled Ultraviolence, perhaps a reference to Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange? Thus, the pop culture collage that is Del Rey’s music continues. In all honesty, it’s almost easier to start asking what isn’t a reference when analysing Read more...

Giveaway: Arcee - The Cool Zone EP

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Local rapper Arcee is giving away two copies of her debut EP, both of which will be signed by the artist herself. To be in to win, keep an eye on the Critic Facebook page this week for details on how to enter. Her EP launch takes place on 12 July and it’s free entry, so if you’re a hip-hop Read more...

Alex G - DSU

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Peter McCall

Rating: B+ Though DSU is Alex Giannascoli’s first album to be released on Brooklyn-based label Orchid Tapes, it’s the sixth to be uploaded to the 21-year-old’s Bandcamp page (where you can get it for free!). I first heard Alex G’s music through a girl I used to follow on tumblr who would post Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Sharon Van Etten - Every Time The Sun Comes Up The second single from her upcoming album Are We There Yet. Sharon Van Etten crafts yet another melancholic folk song, this time over an affected drum machine. Her voice is full of substance and carries a heaviness that is beautiful, as well Read more...

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- It is strange to think that first person shooters (FPS) are barely 20 years old, especially considering how prevalent they have become. Yet it was only in 1992 that ID Software released the very first FPS, Wolfenstein 3D. Since then, many games have made steps to evolve the genre. Read more...

Brian Alexander - Coppertone

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Mint Gallery Exhibited until 10 July 2014 Dunedin artist Brian Alexander unveils yet another solo exhibition in Dunedin at Mint Gallery this week – Coppertone. Combining influences from his original designs as well as other topics of the female form, the exhibition is comprised of 18 Read more...

This is not the end of the book

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Feby Idrus

Rumours of the death of the book have been grossly exaggerated. In this book-length discussion, Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carrière celebrate the book by delving into its history and speculating on its inevitable future, since, as Eco says early on: “The book is like the spoon […] Once invented, it Read more...

A million ways to die in the west

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Rating: B- This is really the sort of movie that could have gone straight to DVD and had exactly the same impact as it did in the cinema. Seth MacFarlane’s second feature film is nowhere near as funny or memorable as Ted. MacFarlane plays the lead role of Albert Stark, a nerdy sheep farmer Read more...

X-Men: Days of future past

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- Every franchise, regardless of its pedigree, makes a misstep at some point. Undoubtedly, that moment for the X-Men film franchise was 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. However, unlike every other franchise, X-Men has narrative concepts, such as mutants that can time travel, that allow Read more...

Maleficent

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Ashley Anderson

Rating: A+ Disney has outdone itself yet again by making the old-school “good girl gone bad gone good” movie into something completely refreshing. Be that as it may, this is a remake of the old animated Sleeping Beauty (1959) classic, but thankfully with a completely new and engaging twist. Read more...

The fault in our stars

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: A Of the big movies released over the break, perhaps the dark horse of these was The Fault in Our Stars. It’s an absolutely spot-on film adaptation of the New York Times number-one best-selling young adult novel by vlogbrother John Green, and it’s exciting that two more of his novels Read more...

Interview: Majella Cullinane, 2014 Burns Fellow

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Anonymous Bird

What was it like receiving the Burns Fellowship/how did you actually go about getting it? Well, the Burns Fellowship comes around every year. I was pretty unsure whether I was going to apply for it or not, ‘cause I have been in New Zealand for just over five years, and it’s New Zealand’s oldest Read more...

Swans - To Be Kind

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Basti Menkes

Rating: A+ Since their inception in the 1980s, experimental rockers Swans have attracted many superlatives: biggest, loudest, darkest, heaviest. To many folk, Michael Gira and company epitomise music as an extreme experience. Whether percussively punishing as they were in the ‘80s, or gothic Read more...

Download of the week: Salad Boys - Salad Boys (NZ)

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Salad Boys are a band from Christchurch, and this album features some incredible chill-out pop songs. Featuring members of T54, the guitar playing is magnificent. Eight songs, lo-fi, dreamy and fun. Sometimes surfy, sometimes upbeat, bringing to mind Flying Nun glory days. Salad Boys is now Read more...

Pop Strangers - Fortuna

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Popstrangers are serious about this music thing, and so they should be. Since 2012 not only have they signed to Carpark Records, they’ve also made the bold decision of moving all the way to London. With a slew of strong singles since then (“Country Kills,” “Don’t Be Afraid”), I’ve found myself Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Sharon Van Etten - Every Time the Sun Comes Up The second single from her upcoming album Are We There Yet. Sharon Van Etten crafts yet another melancholic folk song, this time over an affected drum machine. Her voice is full of substance and carries a heaviness that is beautiful, as Read more...

Super Time Force

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- After five minutes of scrolling through Reddit posts, you’ll be certain that the world’s about to end – what with all the doom and gloom that abounds online. The trolls of the Internet have infected everything with a disgusting degree of cynicism and negativity. Unfortunately, when Read more...

Chipotle Chicken Burgers

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

I made up this recipe over the summer after I was inspired by a delicious Ferg Burger I ate. Ever since I made these for my family it has become one of Mum’s staple meals on the weekly rotation. My brother, who usually loves these burgers, actually complained about the frequency of their appearance Read more...

Rio 2

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B- People love animated musicals; why else does Disney practically run the entertainment industry? A great Disney musical is like a grand opera with a huge orchestra and people singing their feelings into the sky. But if Disney musicals are like operas, Rio 2 is like Top 40 pop music. Read more...

Godzilla

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- For those unfamiliar with one of film’s longest living monster icons, the eponymous creature first appeared in the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla. A lizard mutated to colossal proportions by radiation, Godzilla allowed Japanese moviemakers to express their concerns about mutagenic Read more...

The Stepford Wives

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Rosie Howells

Cult Film No, I am not referring to the 2004 Nicole Kidman monstrosity that left us all cold and more than a little bit confused. The original 1975 The Stepford Wives was everything the remake was not – brave, tense and extremely unnerving. Unlike the (attempted comedy) of Frank Oz’s remake, Read more...

Chef

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: B- One should always be wary of a film that was written, produced and directed by the starring actor, and Chef is no exception. Jon Faverau is the guilty party in question, as he occupied all the major production roles to bring us a film we could quite frankly do without. The story Read more...

Street Style | Issue 13

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Helen & Grace

Jamie (Microbiology and Commerce) Wearing Beau Coops boots, Ruby dress and coat.. Lydia (Commerce) Wearing New Balance shoes, Levi Jeans, Witchery jersey and Zara coat. Read more...

The Observer

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Emma & Liam

RUBY’s Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, “The Dreamers,” was inspired by the cult classic films of director Sofia Coppola and the rebellious youths of the 1968 student riots in Paris. Having taken over RUBY in 2008, designer Deanna Didovich has seen the label grace its first catwalk at New Zealand Read more...

Saga

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Anonymous Bird

Saga is the new comic book series from Brian Vaughan, who wrote Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, and Runaways. He was part of the scriptwriting team for Lost, seasons three through five, and he’s currently show-runner for Under the Dome, a TV series based around the 2009 Steven King novel. I’ve not read Read more...

Form and Void

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Hannah Collier

Mint Gallery Exhibited until 29 May 2014 “Form and Void presents a study in contrasts by staking out a liminal territory between cadence and dissonance, presence and absence, potentiality and actuality. While eschewing iconographic elements, the work of this collection continues to engage Read more...

Interview: Michael Woodhouse - National Party MP

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Michael Woodhouse is a National Party list MP based in Dunedin. He takes care of both Dunedin North and South, and is the Minister of Immigration, Veterans’ Affairs, and Land Information. He is also Assistant Minister of Transport. Why should students vote for you? What do you want to do for Read more...

Download of the week: Sheep, Dog and Wolf - Ablutophobia EP (NZ)

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Sheep, Dog and Wolf is the project of prolific New Zealand musician Daniel McBride, recorded in 2011 when he was only 17. He says, “My name is Daniel McBride, 17 years of age, and Ablutophobia EP is the result of nine months on-and-off recording in a tiny little studio I’ve managed to set up Read more...

The Phoenix Foundation - Tom's Lunch EP

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Rating: A- In the fall of 2013, New Zealand pop heavyweights The Phoenix Foundation released their sprawling double album Fandango to widespread acclaim. The album featured two drummers, with longtime member Richie Singleton leaving the band in the midst of making the album to focus on Read more...

Artist Profile: Millie Lovelock

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Millie Lovelock is one part of space-pop duo Astro Children and also my bandmate in Trick Mammoth. This year she travelled to Montreal as part of the University’s exchange programme. An influential presence on the Dunedin music scene, I asked Millie some questions about her trip and what we can Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Quirke - Break a Mirrored Leg “Break a Mirrored Leg” is the lead single from the British producer’s debut EP Acid Beth. A swirling mish-mash of sounds, like machine parts. The track blends driving rhythm with well-executed dynamics. The result is a cold, dark soundscape which is Read more...

Child of Light

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- The gaming industry was born in Japan, and there it lived for several decades. But it wasn’t long before western developers began to spring up by the handful, and now the power has shifted and the bulk of development happens in western countries. Because of these distinctions in Read more...

Corn Fritters

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

In my third year, if our flat was a country, its national dish would have been corn fritters. Corn fritters for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Last year I came home rather drunk, tripped over my feet and left my knees outside on the concrete. The first thing to come to my attention was not the Read more...

Transcendence

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: B Transcendence raises a lot of questions. Why was no one prosecuted for the excessive law breaking? How did the terrorists and the FBI become buddies? Why am I so bothered by the slow-mo shot of water droplets falling off a sunflower? Johnny Depp is the smartest computer geek Read more...

Bad Neighbours

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B It’s been 20 years since the heyday of the Frat comedy, but it seems that this genre is without a bottom. Bad Neighbours tells the story of a married couple Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) who have just had their first child and bought a house, when a frat moves in next Read more...

The Fly (1986)

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Cult Film Cast your minds back, to a time before computers, when filmmakers where stretching the minds and imaginations of millions of moviegoers without the help of CGI. It’s getting harder and harder to remember such a thing, especially as such effects become cheaper and easier for any Read more...

Sunshine on Leith

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: B+ You may know the Proclaimers as those Scottish guys who sang “I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man who walked a thousand miles before I’m at your door.” Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Turns out they have heaps of other songs, and are really Read more...

Street Style | Issue 12

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Helen & Grace

Gabby (studying Bachelor of Arts) - is wearing Nike shoes, Topshop pants, AS Colour top and H&M shirt. Chris (studying microbiology and textiles) is wearing Nike shoes and pants, Our Legacy jersey, Shades of Grey jacket, Norse Projects hat and Deadly Ponies bag. Read more...

The Observer - How to dress sporty casual

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Emma & Liam

As New Zealand’s future academia, you may have thought that there was absolutely nothing that you could stand to learn from the desperate housewives of New Zealand. However, it is a truth that if we did not have housewives, we would not have sporty casual; and if we did not have sporty casual, we Read more...

Cross Fingers

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Bridget Vosburgh

Cross Fingers is a thriller by Paddy Richardson. The tagline says that Cross Fingers is, in fact, psychological crime fiction, but I don’t feel that the pacing gives you time to stop and think. So thriller it is. One Rebecca Thorne, a not too hard-assed, plucky reporter lady who gets sexually and Read more...

Belonging

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 18th May 2014 by Hannah Collier

Dunedin Public Art Gallery Exhibited until 31 March 2015 The Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s Belonging displays a privately owned collection of works that features various artists (national and international) whose work is both bold and rich in religious references, symbolism and iconography, Read more...

Interview: Wendy Syfret - Editorial Coordinator at Vice

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Loulou Callister-Baker

Can you describe what your current role as Editorial Assistant at VICE involves, in both its local context and globally? I was actually bumped up to Editorial Coordinator last year so my job involves a few facets. I manage the website, monitor traffic, commission and edit pieces, write them Read more...

Download of the Week: Opposite Sex - Opposite Sex (NZ)

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Based in Dunedin, Opposite Sex combine noise-pop and no-wave elements by blending percussive bass playing, furious drumming and menacing guitar work. This self-titled debut was recorded when the band first moved down from Gisbourne, and features the noodly guitar playing of “Fergus.” 13 tracks Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Ought - Habit “Habit” is the lead single by Montreal-based band Ought, from their debut album More Than Any Other Day. A mixture of art-punk, ‘90s looseness and classic emo tendencies. Singer Tim Beeler sounds like Ian Curtis singing a Pavement song. In a good way. Alex G - Read more...

Artist Profile: Sherpa

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Auckland powerpop group Sherpa hit ReFuel on 30 May. With their new album Blues and Oranges set to be released soon, Adrian Ng caught up with frontman Earl Ho. You released your previous album, Lesser Flamingo, in 2012. What have you guys been up to in between then and preparing for this new Read more...

Goat Simulator

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B There are a ridiculous number of simulation games. Some of them you would have heard of and played, such as The Sims, and maybe even games such as Roller-coaster Tycoon or Zoo Tycoon. For the more hardcore simulation fans there are even games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Read more...

Baked Rice Pudding

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Winter is coming! Therefore, so too is pudding season! The smell of rice pudding baking in the oven reminds me of my childhood, but also of my first year at Carrington. I swear the abundance of rice pudding there was fully responsible for my fresher five. I spent the Easter weekend helping my Read more...

Divergent

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Rosie Howells

Rating: B+ I have to admit, my expectations were not soaring for Divergent, as all the pre-release chatter seemed to indicate it was some kind of poor man’s Hunger Games but with way more leather jackets. Although this is partly true (so many cows died in the making of this film), I have to Read more...

The Other Woman

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Ashley Anderson

Rating: A- Cheating, lies, and a whole lot of mischief goes down in this highly-anticipated chick flick of the year. The Other Woman tells the story of Carly (Cameron Diaz), a high-rolling lawyer in NYC who thinks she’s found the man of her dreams in smooth-operator Mark (Nikolaj Read more...

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: B+ After Toby McGuire successfully managed to flush the Spider-man franchise down the toilet in 2008, I was grateful to see the character successfully rebooted in 2012 with The Amazing Spider-man. Thankfully, director Mark Webb has continued to grow the Spider-man character and Read more...

Half a Yellow Sun

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: A I do not know what war means. I say this with as much education on the subject as the average person. I understand it in theory, but emotionally – the reality of being prepared to flee for my life at a moment’s notice, an air raid bomb about to go off next to me, losing my friends, Read more...

Street Style

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Emma & Liam

Kate (Marketing and Communications) - Bassike striped top, dress from Australia, Stylestalker cardigan, Karen Walker bag. Campbell (Commerce) - ASOS shoes, Thingthing trackpants, RPM t-shirt, Longlost hoodie, Stark Bros Ltd. beanie. Read more...

The Observer - The new essentials for guys

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Emma & Liam

While the best-before date on food packaging may be a mere guideline, the best-before date on clothing is as mandatory as the Crimes Act 1961. Unfortunately, men are notorious for overestimating the length of time that they may wear a single item of clothing with pride. We at the Observer advise all Read more...

American Skin

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Mandy Te

In 1998, Don De Grazia released his critically acclaimed debut novel American Skin. It is described as an American classic and a powerful coming of age novel. The thesis-turned- popular-book process was like a recipe. All De Grazia had was a dash of luck, a cup of talent and 75 dollars to make this Read more...

Zine of the week | Issue 11

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Jacobin

Pamphlet published by See Sharp Press First published in Australia by Libertarian Socialist Organisation, 1979 Spray-paint did not cripple the World Trade Organisation in Seattle. The 11 September terrorist attacks did not bring down the United States. The bombing of Greenpeace’s ship, Read more...

The Cubic Structural Evolution Project

Posted 3:11pm Sunday 11th May 2014 by Hannah Collier

Dunedin Public Art Gallery Exhibited until 3 august 2014 Everything is so much better when you can touch it. I’m really enjoying the participatory installations that have been at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery recently. Playing with Seung Yul Oh’s “Oddooki” (those performance sculptures Read more...

Interview: Jerome Cousins - Improsaurus

Posted 4:20pm Sunday 4th May 2014 by Zane Pocock

Give me a quick background of Improsaurus! We are a local Dunedin improv group that performs fortnightly shows at the Fortune Theatre Studio. We have been there for a little over the last two years, and then two years before that at various venues around Dunedin ‘til we got offered the space Read more...