Archive

22 Jump Street

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Rating: A Anyone who has ever seen a sequel of almost any comedy movie ever made knows not to expect great things. They are usually a rehash of what worked the first time, though less original and less funny (see The Hangover Part II). What made 22 Jump Street such a great sequel was that Read more...

Edge of Tomorrow

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A Edge of Tomorrow is one of those films that people will try and describe to you with 100 different similes, and though the film is “like” many different things, the truth is that it combines these factors to create a unique and gripping movie. Edge of Tomorrow, based on the Read more...

Interview: Peter Dunne - United Future Leader

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Zane Pocock

You were the President of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association, so obviously you would care a bit about student politics. What do you see as the biggest issues for students at the moment? Why should students vote for you; what would you do about those issues? Well, if I go back Read more...

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The queen of tumblrcore returns with her sophomore album boldly titled Ultraviolence, perhaps a reference to Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange? Thus, the pop culture collage that is Del Rey’s music continues. In all honesty, it’s almost easier to start asking what isn’t a reference when analysing Read more...

Giveaway: Arcee - The Cool Zone EP

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Local rapper Arcee is giving away two copies of her debut EP, both of which will be signed by the artist herself. To be in to win, keep an eye on the Critic Facebook page this week for details on how to enter. Her EP launch takes place on 12 July and it’s free entry, so if you’re a hip-hop Read more...

Alex G - DSU

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Peter McCall

Rating: B+ Though DSU is Alex Giannascoli’s first album to be released on Brooklyn-based label Orchid Tapes, it’s the sixth to be uploaded to the 21-year-old’s Bandcamp page (where you can get it for free!). I first heard Alex G’s music through a girl I used to follow on tumblr who would post Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Sharon Van Etten - Every Time The Sun Comes Up The second single from her upcoming album Are We There Yet. Sharon Van Etten crafts yet another melancholic folk song, this time over an affected drum machine. Her voice is full of substance and carries a heaviness that is beautiful, as well Read more...

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- It is strange to think that first person shooters (FPS) are barely 20 years old, especially considering how prevalent they have become. Yet it was only in 1992 that ID Software released the very first FPS, Wolfenstein 3D. Since then, many games have made steps to evolve the genre. Read more...

Brian Alexander - Coppertone

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Mint Gallery Exhibited until 10 July 2014 Dunedin artist Brian Alexander unveils yet another solo exhibition in Dunedin at Mint Gallery this week – Coppertone. Combining influences from his original designs as well as other topics of the female form, the exhibition is comprised of 18 Read more...

This is not the end of the book

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Feby Idrus

Rumours of the death of the book have been grossly exaggerated. In this book-length discussion, Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carrière celebrate the book by delving into its history and speculating on its inevitable future, since, as Eco says early on: “The book is like the spoon […] Once invented, it Read more...

A million ways to die in the west

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Ben Tomsett

Rating: B- This is really the sort of movie that could have gone straight to DVD and had exactly the same impact as it did in the cinema. Seth MacFarlane’s second feature film is nowhere near as funny or memorable as Ted. MacFarlane plays the lead role of Albert Stark, a nerdy sheep farmer Read more...

X-Men: Days of future past

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- Every franchise, regardless of its pedigree, makes a misstep at some point. Undoubtedly, that moment for the X-Men film franchise was 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. However, unlike every other franchise, X-Men has narrative concepts, such as mutants that can time travel, that allow Read more...

Maleficent

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Ashley Anderson

Rating: A+ Disney has outdone itself yet again by making the old-school “good girl gone bad gone good” movie into something completely refreshing. Be that as it may, this is a remake of the old animated Sleeping Beauty (1959) classic, but thankfully with a completely new and engaging twist. Read more...

The fault in our stars

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: A Of the big movies released over the break, perhaps the dark horse of these was The Fault in Our Stars. It’s an absolutely spot-on film adaptation of the New York Times number-one best-selling young adult novel by vlogbrother John Green, and it’s exciting that two more of his novels Read more...

Interview: Majella Cullinane, 2014 Burns Fellow

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Anonymous Bird

What was it like receiving the Burns Fellowship/how did you actually go about getting it? Well, the Burns Fellowship comes around every year. I was pretty unsure whether I was going to apply for it or not, ‘cause I have been in New Zealand for just over five years, and it’s New Zealand’s oldest Read more...

Swans - To Be Kind

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Basti Menkes

Rating: A+ Since their inception in the 1980s, experimental rockers Swans have attracted many superlatives: biggest, loudest, darkest, heaviest. To many folk, Michael Gira and company epitomise music as an extreme experience. Whether percussively punishing as they were in the ‘80s, or gothic Read more...

Download of the week: Salad Boys - Salad Boys (NZ)

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Salad Boys are a band from Christchurch, and this album features some incredible chill-out pop songs. Featuring members of T54, the guitar playing is magnificent. Eight songs, lo-fi, dreamy and fun. Sometimes surfy, sometimes upbeat, bringing to mind Flying Nun glory days. Salad Boys is now Read more...

Pop Strangers - Fortuna

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Popstrangers are serious about this music thing, and so they should be. Since 2012 not only have they signed to Carpark Records, they’ve also made the bold decision of moving all the way to London. With a slew of strong singles since then (“Country Kills,” “Don’t Be Afraid”), I’ve found myself Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Adrian Ng

Sharon Van Etten - Every Time the Sun Comes Up The second single from her upcoming album Are We There Yet. Sharon Van Etten crafts yet another melancholic folk song, this time over an affected drum machine. Her voice is full of substance and carries a heaviness that is beautiful, as Read more...

Super Time Force

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Baz Macdonald

Rating: A- After five minutes of scrolling through Reddit posts, you’ll be certain that the world’s about to end – what with all the doom and gloom that abounds online. The trolls of the Internet have infected everything with a disgusting degree of cynicism and negativity. Unfortunately, when Read more...