Archive

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...