Archive

Adventures of Mana

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Rating: 3/5 Adventures of Mana is a remake of the 1991 action RPG Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (or Final Fantasy Adventure). The original is seen as something of a classic, though not nearly as much so as its sequel Secret of Mana, and developer Square Enix seems to be giving the series Read more...

Rebecca Baumann: Untitled (Exploded View)

Posted 2:32pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

Explosions seem to be a bit of a theme at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery at the moment, with Exploded Worlds dominating the ground floor and Untitled (Exploded View) now showing upstairs. While the word seems to connote some degree of chaos, the latter of these two exhibitions is instead built on Read more...

Songs in the Key of Life

Posted 2:27pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Ihlara McIndoe

Jonathan Lemalu, “fiercely proud to be born and educated in Dunedin” returned home after a busy international season of performances and recordings which took him across four continents, performing to a jam-packed Dunedin town hall on 12 April. The city certainly turned out to show their Read more...

Letter from the Music Editor

Posted 2:14pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Bianca Prujean

I went to a festival once. It was a three-day event. The weather was delicious, the backdrop lush and friendly, the tent… sufficient, the music mind-blowing. The following year I missed out on tickets. I cursed my indecision. How many times did my finger hover over the Buy Now icon on the Read more...

I Watched Coachella for Three Days Straight & Now I'm Dead Inside

Posted 2:10pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Grimm Selfie

Over the Easter weekend I “live-streamed” Weekend One of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. The stream is not really live - it’s delayed, and is sponsored by a German telco called T-Mobile. T-Mobile have a pink logo in the shape of a capital ‘T’, with two small pink Read more...

Happy Feastock

Posted 2:04pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Henry Francis

In the depths of Refuel at 1am Zac Nicholls of fuzz-rock group Koizilla gleefully chimed to a loyal and hazy crowd “we have two songs left, and then Feastock is over.” Koizilla brought the curtain down on the ninth installment of what has become a centerpiece of the Dunedin music Read more...

Cauliflower Bites

Posted 1:54pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Liani Baylis

Over the summer, desperate for yet another hungover feed, beautiful cauliflower nuggets were born. At the time, we had sweet F A in the fridge and I was desperate for something deep-fried without having to wipe last night’s make up off or leave the house. Despite being an utter food snob I Read more...

Moone Boy (seasons 1 & 2)

Posted 1:48pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Saskia Bunce-Rath

Rating: 4/5   Moone Boy simply warmed the cockles of my heart. This show makes you want to sit in bed with a soft blanket and drink beverages from a thermos, even though you are literally in your house and could make a cup of tea. But what is Moone Boy you ask? Is it about some type of boy Read more...

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Samuel Rillstone

Rating: 4.5/5 As an avid Batman fan, or Bat-fan, viewing the Dark Knight in all his glory as a brooding LEGO figure was quite the treat. It was fraught with references from both on-screen and comic book depictions of the Caped Crusader, with some very sly ones for those who have extensive Read more...

Going in Style (2017)

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Maisie Thursfield

Rating: 2.5/5 For a comedy this film made me really depressed. Even Morgan Freeman’s voice could barely lift my spirits. Three retired gents have their pensions frozen by the company where they worked for 30 years. They can’t even afford to buy a slice of pie and one of them has a Read more...

Their Finest (2016)

Posted 1:09pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Samuel Rillstone

Rating: 3.5/5 To call Their Finest a British comedy, as many reviews have, is difficult, as it doesn’t provide the classic, almost slapstick, comedy that one associates with British comedy. But there is still that hint of sentimentality whenever the British signature shines through. The Read more...

The Bloggs —Nicola Jackson

Posted 12:56pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

Currently tucked away in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery is a small room exploding with rainbow colours and slightly disturbing human bodies in a kaleidoscope of unapologetic vibrancy. This is The Bloggs by Nicola Jackson, simultaneously Frida Kahlo-style living room and anatomical exploration, and Read more...

Ba(e)gels

Posted 12:49pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Liani Baylis

Bread is life. Bread is Bae (do we still say that?). However, it is also something with which we all have a love-hate relationship. On the one hand, it’s frickin’ delicious and yet on the other, I find myself screaming “my skinny jeans don’t fit anymore, you bastard!” Read more...

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Posted 12:40pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: 4.5/5 Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog recently sat down for a conversation with Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games, and asked him how scared Hulst was to commit to Horizon: Zero Dawn. Hulst replied, “very scared”. Guerrilla Games is known for its PlayStation exclusive series Read more...

Marvel’s Iron Fist (2017)

Posted 12:36pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Rating: 2/5 I really, really wanted to love Iron Fist. I count myself as a huge fan of the comic book character, almost entirely due to the Fraction/Brubaker run on Immortal Iron Fist a decade ago. Frustrated by the tempest of controversy leading up to its release (largely due to fears of Read more...

Power Rangers (2017)

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Rating: 3.5/5 Man. Where do I begin? Maybe I’ll quickly outline the three reactions I had to this film, in chronological order. The first third I didn’t like because it was so different to the TV show, the second third I liked because it differed so much that it was almost comically Read more...

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Florence Dean

Rating: 5/5 I prefer to go into a movie with zero expectations. I avoid reviews like I avoid responsibilities. No hype, no let down, ya feel? This time was different. This time I got in on the hype. This time I was the hype. When I found out there was going to be a Beauty and the Beast live Read more...

Swing Time

Posted 12:24pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Jessica Thompson Carr

After being touted by several friends as one of the best writers alive today, I finally decided to pick up Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. She’s an incredibly accomplished writer, having won numerous awards for her five published novels, including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Commonwealth Read more...

Provisionally Listed: ‘Morningside’ (specifically ‘Friends’) by Fazerdaze

Posted 12:17pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Reg Norris

Never judge an album by your laptop speakers. And NO I’m not talking about digital vs. analogue or the fucking warm sound your petroleum based non-renewable vinyl records make. But let’s have a quick chat about that before we begin. Once upon a time, and by time I mean ten years, not Read more...

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Posted 2:20pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Canada-based developer BioWare has leapt from strength to strength over the last couple of decades, building the beloved franchises Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age and Mass Effect around teams of likeable, fleshed-out characters. In the process, BioWare has earned an uncommonly dedicated, diverse Read more...

How To Actually Cook an Egg

Posted 2:16pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Liani Baylis

Picture this—It’s a bleak Sunday Morning. You wake up in a haze and get a sober look at the absolute babe you’ve pulled at Mac’s the night before. Determined to impress the fine lass, you set on whipping up the breakfast of champions before this one wakes up Read more...

Otago Wildlife Photography Competition

Posted 1:53pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

Here in Dunedin we’re pretty darn lucky. We’ve got an abundance of stunning wildlife perched right on our doorstep - the albatrosses, seals and penguins on the coast, the botanic gardens right by campus, and gorgeous countryside only a short drive away. The native birdlife is something Read more...

The F8 of the Furious (eight)

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Critic

Rating: 1 crashed car Reviewer: Michelle Rodriguez I left work and went to my car, only to find a man standing by it. He was old, like 70 years old. He had his back to me, and he was wearing a skirt that was so short I could see his entire bum.  “What are you doing?” I Read more...

The Fate of the Furiosa (2077)

Posted 1:42pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Critic

Rating: ???/5 Reviewer: Dog I went into this movie as a longstanding fan of the franchise. I knew beforehand it was going to be a departure from the tone and structure of the previous films and was pretty excited to see where this would take the series. Nowhere good, it turns out. This Read more...

The Faith of the Furious (timeless)

Posted 1:38pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Critic

Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: Vin Dali The Fate of the Furious is a surrealist masterpiece. Auteur F. Gary Gray subtly plays on the inherent absurdity of reality, presenting us with characters and scenes completely removed from our conception of the ‘real world’. Instead the characters Read more...

The Fate of the Furios Twenty Seventeen (2017)

Posted 1:33pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Critic

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Reviewer: Trash Morash The trailer for another yet another Fast & Furious movie came as a surprise to me. Why another Fast & Furious movie, where the only trademark is an increasingly stupid title? The answer can be found by delving into the numbers behind Read more...

Fast & Furious 8 (2017)

Posted 1:24pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Critic

Rating: 1.5/5 Reviewer: Dick Swiveller The eighth installment of the seemingly perpetual Fast and Furious franchise is now in cinemas across the world, smashing global box office records for an opening weekend, raking in an estimated $761 million. I don’t care how many people go to see Read more...

Room

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Jessica Thompson Carr

Winner of awards like the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and based on the infamous Josef Fritzl case of 2008, Room, by Emma Donoghue, captures everyone’s worst nightmare from a decidedly fresh perspective.  Told through the eyes of five-year-old Jack, who was born and raised in a Read more...

Music to Get Through It

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Bianca Prujean

If I Can’t Handle Me At My Best, You Don’t Deserve You At Your Worst —Helena Celle Glasgow-based hardware synth artist Helena Celle, aka Kay Logan, cited music as a “guiding light” when facing challenges related to LGBT homelessness. Regardless of whether or not it Read more...

Totus Tuus —Gorecki, The Armed Man —Karl Jenkins

Posted 12:56pm Sunday 23rd April 2017 by Ihlara McIndoe

The Dunedin City Choir alongside the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra gave a stunning performance of Gorecki’s Totus Tuus and Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man, on Saturday 1st April, earning themselves a standing ovation.  The opening work of the concert, Totus Tuus, provided challenges Read more...

Bad Vibes

Posted 1:20pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Reg Norris

It’s 1998. Some of you are being conceived. Possibly to Cher’s ‘Believe’. Like a stylus scribing a sound onto a wax cylinder this song is imprinted in your DNA. Deal with it. Cher, like Madonna that very year, we’re moving into a lyrically modest danceable club anthem Read more...

Bonjour Tristesse

Posted 1:18pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Zoe Taptiklis

I read Bonjour Tristesse on my way back from France during a six-hour layover in Shanghai airport. I was pretty jetlagged. I won’t lie or mislead you; this is going to be an astral quest of a book review.  The Times cover quote reads “funny, immoral and thoroughly French,” Read more...

Plum Crumble

Posted 1:07pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Liani Baylis

Serves 4, or more with ice-cream   Fruit is fab until you go OTT at the farmers’ market and you’re practically swimming in a sea of dangerously squishy plums —old lady qualms, I know.  “Treat yo’self” is definitely a mantra that gets me right in Read more...

San Francisco Game Developers’ Conference

Posted 12:56pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Lisa Blakie

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The Santa Clarita Diet (2017)

Posted 12:48pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Saskia Bunce-Rath

Rating: 3.5/5 Comedy from Netflix, created by Victor Fresno, who is responsible for the critically acclaimed Better Off Ted. It stars (the criminally underrated) Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore as two Californian real estate agents with a teenage daughter; everything seems normal until Sheila Read more...

Aquarius (2016)

Posted 12:44pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Liz Ross

Rating: 3.5/5 Dona Clara is a Brazilian Battleaxe. Her strength and stubbornness have even fought off cancer. Aquarius is named after her home: a block of apartments being bought out by a development company. But Clara is a force to be reckoned with, and she has decided she will stay at the Read more...

Life (2017)

Posted 12:39pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Rating: 2.5/5 The overall critical response to Life seems to be that it’s an adequate and competently made space-disaster flick, but that it doesn’t give us anything we haven’t seen done better in other films of the genre. Which, yeah, sums it up pretty well I guess. Set aboard Read more...

AXIS: Anatomy of Space —Daniel Belton

Posted 12:33pm Sunday 9th April 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

Beautiful, elegant, and led by a strong sense of purpose, Daniel Belton’s performance piece AXIS — anatomy of space intrigued and inspired audiences at its Otago Museum premiere. In refusing to align with one medium alone, AXIS combines dance with fashion design, celestial cartography, Read more...

Milk and Honey

Posted 1:45pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Jessica Thompson

As nervous as I am to admit it, I disliked milk and honey.  The majority of people to whom I’ve mentioned Rupi Kaur’s first and only book don’t hesitate to immediately vomit their adoration for the poetry and the woman behind it, leaving me feeling awkward and unable to Read more...

Fabricate

Posted 1:41pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Kate Avery

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Delusion at the Bodyvolt

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Bianca Prujean

Four months after the release of Delusion, we catch up with Beta Evers, aka Brigitte Enzler, to find out about the creative process, running a label, and the album that was 10+ years in the making. Thank you, Beta Evers, for taking the time to share your sonic insights with us!   Bavarian Read more...

Shadow Self —Élan Vital

Posted 1:28pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Grimm Selfie

How multiple are you? Ever have moments when you act in way that is out of character? Find yourself reading Jungian psychology while watching the Kardashians? Eat a lot of fried chicken? In random hot spots? With multiple lovers? Fear not, it could be your shadow self at play. This compact album Read more...

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Rating: 3.5/5 It has been 15 years since the last numbered entry in the beloved Disney/Final Fantasy mashup franchise Kingdom Hearts, and Square Enix has had no qualms exploiting fans’ quiet desperation while we wait for the fabled Kingdom Hearts III. The horrifically titled Kingdom Hearts Read more...

The Innocents

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Shaun Brinsdon

Rating: 3.5/5 Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents was not an easy film to watch, but it’s definitely worth watching. Set at the culmination of World War II, the film follows heroine Mathilde Beaulieu: a young woman working for the Polish Red Cross. She is approached by a nun begging her to Read more...

West of Eden

Posted 1:10pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Shaun Brinsdon

Rating: 3.5/5 West of Eden is an independent film set in rural New Zealand in the 1960s. A low budget New Zealand film can sometimes spell disaster, but West of Eden engages the audience through its controversial and unique subject matter. West of Eden is the story of Billy, a young Maori man Read more...

Loving

Posted 1:07pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Maisie Thursfield

Rating: 2/5 Some people are not interesting enough to have a film made about them. Richard and Mildred Loving are perfect examples of those types of people.  Loving follows an interracial couple that marry in 1958 upon discovering that Mildred is pregnant. Wow, the proposal that every Read more...

Kong: Skull Island

Posted 1:02pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Marlee Partridge

Rating: 4.5/5 Set just after the Vietnam War, a team of soldiers, led by Samuel L. Jackson, are tasked with escorting a group of geologists to Skull Island. Tom Hiddleston features as an ex-British Intelligence agent who specialises in tracking. Thankfully, the love story within this film is NOT Read more...

Corn Fritters

Posted 12:55pm Sunday 2nd April 2017 by Liani Baylis

As the new kid on the block, I was a bit worried about how I was going to lure you into actually reading this section. Then I remembered what bonds Scarfies only slightly less than diesels and regret—brunch! This recipe is an ode to being perpetually poor, but pay-waving eggs bene anyway and Read more...

Wide Sargasso Sea

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 26th March 2017 by Zoe Taptiklis

Rating: 4/5 This book lives on my bookshelf, in a case, with a plaque underneath: ‘A Modernist Triumph of Femme Freedom’. In 1969, Jean Rhys published Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel and intervention to Jane Eyre, much like the prequel and intervention of my flatmate telling me I am Read more...

Open Air, Still Life

Posted 1:40pm Sunday 26th March 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

If you’re new to art history and can’t tell your Rembrandts from your Renoirs or your Monets from your Manets — no stress, it’s all good. But you’d probably benefit from learning the name Frances Hodgkins, who was one of our country’s most famous artists and a Read more...