Archive

3 x 4 — Lisa Reihana

Posted 1:14pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Carolijn Guytonbeck

Take the opportunity to view some work from one of New Zealand’s current 'it' artists, Lisa Reihana. Milford Gallery are showing a range of her magnificent staged photographic portraiture work.  Distinct themes of mythology and colonisation run through the Māori descended Read more...

The Story of Your Life

Posted 1:11pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Jack Blair

Ted Chaing examines, through the eyes of Louise Banks (a linguist tasked with decoding the language of an alien species known as the Heptapods), how understanding language means more than simply understanding a conveyed message. As The Story of Your Life progresses, and Louise applies a theory of Read more...

The Nature of Jade

Posted 1:08pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Monique Hodgkinson

Although technically classified as a YA novel, The Nature of Jade is one of those rare books which holds something inspiring and beautiful for readers of all ages. This book has been one of my firm favourites for years now, because of its captivating and accessible writing style, unexpected and Read more...

Puberty 2 — Mitski

Posted 1:04pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Millicent Lovelock

I have been sitting on US artist Mitski’s latest offering for a while now, not because I didn’t think it would be good, but because I knew it would be too good for any mood that wasn’t the right mood.  Mitski’s songs have a particular tendency to tunnel through you Read more...

Abzû

Posted 1:01pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Lisa Blakie

Rating: B+ Giant Squid is an indie game studio founded by Matt Nava, the art director who also worked on the critically-acclaimed Journey and Flower, both of which rank among my favourite games. Giant Squid’s first game Abzû was announced back in 2014 at Sony’s E3 press Read more...

Why do we need...WeChat?

Posted 12:55pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Anthony Marris

WeChat is the Chinese multi-platform social networking app produced by Tencent which is dominating inside the Great Firewall. Available on both Android and iPhone, it makes common social media sharing apps like Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram look like glorified telegraph Read more...

Our Kind of Traitor

Posted 12:50pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Nita Sullivan

Rating: B Our Kind of Traitor is the latest in spy-thriller-novel conversions by British author John Le Carre, and delivers generously in suspense, espionage, and drama. While the film is no doubt a good watch, it falters in equalling the critically acclaimed British miniseries The Night Manager Read more...

War Dogs

Posted 12:47pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Lindsay D’Alessandro

Rating: A- Based on the 2011 Rolling Stone article, “The Stoner Arms Dealers: How Two American Kids Became Big-Time Weapons Traders,” War Dogs tells the true story of two twenty-something childhood friends from Miami Beach who made millions during the Iraq War bidding on US military Read more...

Crazy ex-Girlfriend (TV series)

Posted 12:41pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) is a successful, career focused, big bucks lawyer —who is unsatisfied and unhappy with her New York life. During a panic attack over a promotion, she bumps into total heartthrob Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) her summer camp boyfriend from when she was 16. He Read more...

Ben Hur (2016)

Posted 12:38pm Saturday 10th September 2016 by Max Olson

Rating: C+ Set in ancient Roman-occupied Jerusalem, Ben Hur is a remake of the 1959 film directed by William Wyler, which famously grabbed a record 11 Academy Awards at the time. Unfortunately, I cannot see many awards lurking in the near future for the 2016 version, although I will admit that Read more...

Monsters — Strange Harvest

Posted 1:23pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Lucy Hunter

You know that thing when you know someone, and you know they know you, and you’ve met them a few times but they pretend they don’t know you when you see each other out in public? Strange Harvest wrote a total banger about that thing. “Monsters” is on Dunedin duo Strange Read more...

Get A Yes — SAD 13

Posted 1:20pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Millicent Lovelock

Sad13 is Speedy Ortiz singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis’ solo project. Her first single “Get A Yes” is quite a divergence from her trademark deadpan vocal delivery and contortionist guitar lines, but this poppy little number is not altogether surprising.  Dupuis makes no bones Read more...

Nimona

Posted 1:17pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Lord Ballister Blackheart, our protagonist, scientist and villain, finds Nimona at his lair. Nimona is a young, powerful and impulsive shape-shifter with a desire to cause havoc and bring about destruction. She convinces him to take her on as a sidekick. The pair work together to mess things up in Read more...

I Hate Fairyland

Posted 1:14pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

It’s almost every child’s dream to be transported to a mystical fairyland to complete some complicated and epic quest, making bizarre and cute friends along the way, right?  The eight-year-old Gertrude might have fantasised about Fairyland, but she certainly wasn’t equipped Read more...

Why do we need...3D Printing?

Posted 1:11pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Anthony Marris

3D printing (or additive manufacturing) is the process where multiple layers of a pliable material are applied sequentially to create a new object. Youtube channel “Print That Thing” showcases some of the products being made with 3D printing. One example was motivated by the lack of Read more...

OUSA Student Art Exhibition & Sale

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Monique Hodgkinson

Now that the OUSA Art Week festivities have wound down for another year, I think it's safe to say that the events were a fantastic success once again. Awesome work all you painters, sculptors, sketchers, jewellers, activists, volunteers, and other art-lovers! It was a fabulous five days which Read more...

Chicken Satay

Posted 1:03pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Nick Blankendaal

I am Dutch so I thought “oh I’ll make something Dutch!” Alas, I couldn’t find anything really Dutch. Just Pancakes or how to make pea soup. I settled on making a meal based around a satay sauce recipe which, according to Wikipedia, the Dutch stole from Indonesia and is now Read more...

Shadow of the Colossus

Posted 12:55pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: Classic While it doesn’t deal with heavy psychological themes, Shadow of the Colossus is another beautifully empty game that instead imbues a feeling of the mythical. It is the 2005 spiritual successor to Team ICO’s first game, Ico. While that game was a dreamlike, Read more...

Silent Hill 2

Posted 12:53pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Campbell Calverley

Rating: Classic Modern gaming can be alienating to some. This is not because of excessive difficulty or because of technology advancing too quickly, but because of sensory overload. There is a trend for modern games to be open-world, action packed, maximalist blockbusters. One can quickly get Read more...

Steven Universe (series)

Posted 12:45pm Sunday 4th September 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: A+ Steven Universe is quite possibly the most progressive children’s TV show ever. Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who the show is named after, is a young (mostly) human boy with magical powers due to being the son of the Crystal Gem, Rose Quartz (Susan Egan). Gems are essentially Read more...