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...