Archive

Vietnamese “Summer” Rolls

Posted 1:28pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Kirsten Garcia

You’ve heard of Spring Rolls, but have you tried Summer rolls? If you visited the Dunedin Noodle Market last week, you might have seen these at one of the stalls. Makes 24 rolls Ingredients 24 Rice Paper Wrappers 200g Frozen Shrimp  Lettuce leaves (butter Read more...

The Last Guardian

Posted 1:22pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: 4.5/5 I think The Last Guardian was inevitably going to be a bit disappointing. Its director, Fumito Ueda, has such previous games under his belt as ICO, a puzzle platformer with a dedicated cult following, and Shadow of the Colossus, an abstract adventure game that is considered to be Read more...

When Breath Becomes Air

Posted 1:16pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Zoe Taptiklis

I might be biased when it comes to reviewing When Breath Becomes Air: my degrees in Neuroscience and English are the same as Paul Kalanithi’s, his favourite books are my favourite books, his fascination with identity matches mine, and his notions of mortality, while far more informed, are Read more...

Dunedin Murals: A Snapshot

Posted 1:11pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Poppy Henderson

During recent years, the urban art scene has taken Dunedin by storm. Our buildings are becoming a canvas for internationally renowned street artists, who have been flocking from all over the world to make their multicoloured mark. These unusual artworks are a far cry from the graffiti-style tags or Read more...

Fifty Shades Darker

Posted 12:58pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Florence Dean

Rating: 2.5/5 This saucy flick follows the ridiculous relationship of Anastasia Steel/Ana (Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). James Foley deserves half a clap on the back for accomplishing the, not very hard, task of making this film slightly better than the last. I couldn’t Read more...

Moonlight

Posted 12:55pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Jaxon Langley

Rating: 5/5 This film was originally based on a play called In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney to cope with his mother’s death by AIDS. Indie filmmaker Barry Jenkins stumbled upon this hidden piece of greatness and adapted the long-shelved play into one of Read more...

Silence

Posted 12:51pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Saskia Bunce-Rath

Rating: 2/5 Silence is Martin Scorsese’s latest offering, it’s about two priests (portrayed by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who travel to 17th century Japan to find out what happened to their mentor (Liam Neeson) and help spread the Catholic faith.  I could tell from the Read more...

Toni Erdmann

Posted 12:43pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Jaxon Langley

Rating: 5/5 “It isn’t a comedy - I’m not sure why people think it is” speaks the confused Maren Ade of her acclaimed film. It is at times uproariously funny, but also achingly sad. Toni Erdmann is an unexpected deadpan delight that’s worthy of your time. After the Read more...

Track of the Week

Posted 12:38pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Erin Broughton

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px; font: 15.0px 'Fira Sans Light'} This week we’re pleased to present our first Track of the Week for 2017, carefully selected by Erin Broughton, MD.  Erin knows her stuff. As the Music Director at Radio One, she trawls Read more...

Music Interview: Still // Alone

Posted 12:22pm Sunday 5th March 2017 by Bianca Prujean

Penelope Trappes and Stephen Hindman are The Golden Filter, a UK-based electronic duo who hail from Australia (Trappes) and the US (Hindman). Their latest sonic offering is STILL // ALONE, an album that is divided into two distinct parts, and was recorded in old studio spaces across the Read more...

OM MANI PADME HUM

Posted 1:03pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

My first glimpse of this work was an unexpected one: while chatting with a friend in Nova. I was thoroughly preoccupied with my cappuccino and not ready to be introduced to my new favourite contemporary art piece, but there it was, unavoidable —OM MANI PADME HUM by Tiffany Singh, towering Read more...

Introducing the Music Editors

Posted 12:59pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Bianca Prujean

SIDE A: Welcome to the first 2017 issue of the music section. Your previous music editor, accomplished writer and journalist, songwriter of New Zealand’s most beloved band, and voice of a generation: Millie Lovelock, has vacated her post at Critic. Big shoes to fill… Who am I? Read more...

A Little Life

Posted 12:46pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Jessica Thompson Carr

Rating: 10/10 Very few books make me cry out loud. Internally, sure, a few have broken my heart, and safe to say I am no longer a whole person after a childhood of Charlotte’s Web and every last book in an epic series, but I don’t remember the last time I actually wept into my pillow Read more...

Thumper

Posted 12:41pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: 4.5/5 Rhythm games are usually defined by musical melodies. With the Hero games, whether they are of the Guitar, DJ or Band variety, you are tasked with recreating a specified popular song, with the effect of getting to feel like you are on stage with one of your musical idols. Even in Read more...

Lion

Posted 12:37pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Florence Dean

Rating: 5/5 An emotional rollercoaster well worth the ride. Garth Davis did a stellar job directing his first feature film, the cinematic adaptation of Saroo Brierly’s autobiography ‘A Long Way Home’.  This uplifting true story follows the adorable 5-year-old Saroo Read more...

Crazyhead

Posted 12:33pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Ceri Giddens

Rating: 3.5/5 Bright and raunchy, Crazyhead is Britain’s latest addition to the urban fantasy genre. It stars Cara Theobold as Amy, a mousy twenty-something bowling alley worker who is also a ‘seer’ of demons, and Susan Wokoma as the larger-than-life personality Raquel: a demon Read more...

The Great Wall

Posted 12:30pm Sunday 26th February 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Rating: 4/5 The Great Wall is a Chinese-US co-production, marketed heavily to Western audiences as an intense, gritty action film. About ten minutes into the film it becomes pretty clear that this is a bold-faced lie. Set during the gunpowder-fueled Song Dynasty, Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal star Read more...

Teriyaki Quorn & Tofu Donburi

Posted 1:00pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Kirsten Garcia

For all the vegans, if Quorn isn't already your friend, it will be. The Quorn pieces are the closest plant based product I have found that resembles the texture of chicken. There is also a "mince" product too, you can find them both in the frozen products aisle at your Read more...

Observations

Posted 12:55pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Carolijn Guytonbeck

This Dunedin exhibition showcases some of the local artistic talent incorporating varied styles but all figurative in form. If you didn’t manage to get to the show you can still easily access these artists if not directly via the gallery. People will always love paintings for their Read more...

Freedom

Posted 12:42pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Lucy Hunter

The most unsettling things are the most familiar —the more you know somebody the stranger they seem. And nothing is more familiar than family. Patty Berglund is an ex college basketball star and fanatically perfect mother. She bakes cookies on all her neighbours’ birthdays and never Read more...

Dear Amy

Posted 12:39pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Hayleigh Clarkson

Helen Callaghan’s debut novel Dear Amy is one hell of a ride. Callaghan writes from the perspective of Margot, a teacher at the local college and also the writer of the Dear Amy help column in the local paper. Typically she deals with mundane relationship issues until one day she receives a Read more...

Harry Styles — Going solo & Another Man

Posted 12:35pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Millicent Lovelock

Four days ago Harry Styles posted three blank white photographs to his Instagram, a day later he revealed three covers for Another Man magazine. Two of the covers feature Styles in a dog collar (not the priest kind), staring broodily into the camera, in the third he is dressed in a turtleneck Read more...

Dunedin Symphony Orchestra

Posted 12:32pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Ihlara McIndoe

When an audience with a mean age of seventy energetically jump out of their seats in enthusiastic applause at the end of a work, you know it’s been a good performance. Associate Professor of Music, Anthony Ritchie’s composition Gallipoli to the Somme traces the journey of Dunedinite Read more...

Riven: The Sequel to Myst

Posted 12:29pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: CLASSIC To round off the year, I would like to be indulgent and review something slightly different. Riven: The Sequel to Myst is my single favourite game of all time. In the game, you have been transported by your friend Atrus through a Linking Book – books that spirit people away Read more...

SOMA

Posted 12:26pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: B+ SOMA is a first-person science fiction horror game that was released online in late 2015. Its story begins with its protagonist Simon Jarrett waking up in his apartment to a phone call from a doctor about an appointment for a brain scan later that day. After searching his apartment and Read more...

Why do we need...more women in STEMM?

Posted 12:21pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Anthony Marris

By rights, this piece should be titled “How do we recruit, retain, and recognise women in STEMM”, but I was not clever enough to devise a snappy title that sums it up in eight words. STEMM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine – all vital Read more...

Chasing Great

Posted 12:13pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Hugh Baird

Rating: A+++++++ After watching Richie McCaw's latest film Chasing Great, I’ve come to the careful conclusion that the man pisses excellence. He was dux of his high school, he flies planes and helicopters, and he is now widely regarded as our greatest All Black of all time. Despite all Read more...

Bridget Jones’s Baby

Posted 12:10pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Not Hugh Baird

Rating: B+ So there I found myself, on my lonesome sitting in the movie theatre with about nine younger women and twenty seniors all staring at me, wondering what the hell I was doing with my life. I must say, in the midst of my hangover I was thinking the same thing. I slumped low into my seat Read more...

2001: A Space Odyssey

Posted 12:08pm Saturday 8th October 2016 by Jac Aske

Rating: F--- I want to preface this by saying that I only saw this movie because my Dad got a Kubrick box set from The Warehouse and said we had to watch it. It’s about some astronaut guys who are on a spaceship going somewhere and it sucks. I don’t care how fancy a director Stanley Read more...

The Good Place

Posted 11:28am Saturday 8th October 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: A- In the pilot episode of The Good Place, Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) is sitting in a perfectly pleasant waiting room. Michael (Ten Danson) calls her into his office and explains that she has died, and she is now in the afterlife. He assures her that she is in “The Good Read more...

Gnocchi

Posted 1:50pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Kirsten Garcia

Viva la Pasta. If you want to expand your pasta dishes beyond the 95 cent budget spirals, give this a go. Gnocchi, pronounced knock-e, are little potato pillows. They're a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. The most time consuming part of this was rolling and cutting the dough. You Read more...

Blaine Western’s ’Grammars’

Posted 1:45pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Monique Hodgkinson

What do a greyscale hand poised mid-click, a brick wall, and large concrete arches laid on a gallery floor all have in common? When I entered this exhibition I had absolutely no clue. But apparently Visiting Artist Blaine Western did, the guy who curated Masques, one of the latest shows at the Read more...

The Sandman

Posted 1:41pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Anonymous Bird

If you’ve ever been curious about graphic novels but aren’t interested in the superheroes or serialised never-ending issues of comics, I would highly recommend Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. It tells the story of Dream of the seven Endless, essentially the god of dream world. The other Read more...

Girl at War

Posted 1:37pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Hayleigh Clarkson

When you grow up surrounded by war, how do you continue through life once the war is over? This question hangs over Ana in her adult years. She grew up in Zagreb and spent her youth, the development years, calling the war-torn country of Croatia her home. Now in America, Ana struggles with her past Read more...

Why do we need…social media/networks?

Posted 1:33pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Anthony Marris

This question has constantly plagued me. I have always maintained that I have no need for a social media/network (sm/n) account of any form. I firmly believe, in the spirit of 15th century Dutch scholar Eramus, that in this new land of complete observation, the person without any links to sm/n Read more...

Inside

Posted 1:28pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: A I was 17 when I played Limbo for the first time. I remember sitting on the floor in front of the TV at my friend’s house, eagerly playing this beautiful and creepy puzzle game. Since then, I have replayed the game multiple times. I was told that I would like INSIDE, but had not Read more...

Don’t Breathe

Posted 1:22pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Rating: B There was a lot of buzz about this being the best American horror movie in decades, or some such. Personally I wouldn’t go that far; however, a lot of the film was very effective.  The quick summary of Don’t Breathe is that it’s like a darker version of Home Read more...

Pete’s Dragon

Posted 1:19pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Lisa Blakie

Rating: B+ Pete’s Dragon is a wonderfully wholesome story that made me cry in the first five minutes. The film is a remake of the 1977 musical that I haven’t seen, but I’m sure this 2016 reimagining of Pete’s Dragon is much better. It follows a young boy Pete and his Read more...

Free State of Jones

Posted 1:14pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Max Olson

Rating: B- Being a history student and massive Matthew McConaughey fan, I thought I would take myself to see the new Gary Ross film, Free State of Jones. Set in Mississippi during the latter half of the American Civil War (1863-1865), the film is based on the true story of Newton Knight, a poor, Read more...

Nerve

Posted 1:12pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: B If you were invited to play a game where strangers were invited to watch and film you complete dares decided by them, in order for you to win money, would you choose to be a watcher, or a player?  Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) is the awkward high school photographer, with a crush Read more...

I think you think too much of me — Eden

Posted 1:06pm Saturday 1st October 2016 by William Sharp

Those of you who are searching for a deep and emotional musical venture will become enthralled by this new star in the indie-pop scene. Jonathon Ng, known since early 2015 as EDEN (previously the Eden Project) has shone his deep blue hues across the indie pop scene through his new EP album: I Think Read more...

Beef Empanadas

Posted 1:08pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Kirsten Garcia

I loved these growing up, my mum makes the best ones. It was a good day when I got to bring these for school lunches. Empanadas are little Spanish savoury pies with nice flaky pastry. You can use premade pastry if you are short for time.  Makes: 10-12 empanadas Serves: Read more...

The Port Collective

Posted 1:03pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Carolijn Guytonbeck

Here we see a mix of painting, printmaking, and ceramics influenced by the artists’ environment and daily life in Port Chalmers. There is a coherency to this collection of work - along with a lyrical and wistful feeling. End of Days Man with Flax Low Fly Zone  Dave Read more...

Sex Criminals (VOL. I)

Posted 12:54pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Sex Criminals is about Suzie and her extraordinary ability to freeze time upon orgasm. Growing up, she spends a lot of her time alone in her orgasm induced solitude until in adulthood, she meet Jon, has sex with him, and they discover they both have the same ability. They form an instant bond (how Read more...

Faith (VOL. 1)

Posted 12:50pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Valiant Comics’ recent volume follows the adventures of Faith, a telekinetic super heroine. She’s a big comic book nerd now living her dream as super lady flying through the air, kicking ass and saving lives. Previously Faith was a part of the supergroup Harbinger Renegades, but has Read more...

My Chemical Romance — A Retrospective

Posted 12:48pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Millicent Lovelock

October 23rd will mark the tenth anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade, the mid-2000’s most seminal, explosive and morbid rock opera. Fans ride or die for My Chemical Romance, even now they have broken up, and after four courageous albums and years of blood, sweat and Read more...

No Man’s Sky

Posted 12:43pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: C- THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ANGRY SPOILERS. Cut me into pieces and rocket me into deep space, this game was a mistake. Hype has been surrounding No Man’s Sky since it was first announced in 2013, and has only increased as more gameplay trailers have been released. Players could Read more...

Why do we need...MMORPG's?

Posted 12:41pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Anthony Marris

Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games (MMORPG’s) are online based games that allow players to engage with each other cooperatively or aggressively. The most recent MMORPG to hit the markets was No Man’s Sky, a game boasting over eighteen quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) Read more...

Preacher (TV Series)

Posted 12:36pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: A- Preacher is an adaptation of the popular graphic novels of the same name that came out earlier this year. Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) is an ineffectual preacher in a small southern American town. His goal is to find God, despite no longer actually feeling as though he’s in a Read more...

Sully

Posted 12:33pm Saturday 24th September 2016 by Nita Sullivan

Rating: A- In the filmic reincarnation of that famous “2009 Miracle on the Hudson”  where Captain “Sully” Sullenberger made a successful emergency water landing after hitting a flock of geese soon after takeoff—director Clint Eastwood makes some effort to keep Read more...