Archive

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...

How Should a Person Be?

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Mandy Te

In 2012, critics praised Sheila Heti’s second novel, How Should a Person Be? The New York Times named it their most notable book of 2012 and magazines such as The New Republic (who once published the works of Virginia Woolf) and the New York Observer placed this novel on their “Best Books of 2012” Read more...

Beef and mushroom burgers with homemade buns

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Sophie Edmonds

Last week a boy who fancied me bought me a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, but the ultimate in burger-making glory cookbook. If the book wasn’t so spectacular I would have taken offence at this blatant attempt to get me to make him the ultimate sandwich. Riding on the current hipster food trend of Read more...

Download of the week: The Canals - Young Napolean EP (NZ)

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

The Canals are an intriguing new project from right here in Dunedin. Four tracks long, the Young Napoleon EP was written and recorded by Robbie Motion, who is also from post-punk noise outfit Not From Space. The Canals seem to have a significantly more pop objective and boasts a bit of a Brit-pop Read more...

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Loulou Callister-Baker

Rating: A Captivated by the wild blur that is Parquet Courts’ second album Light Up Gold, an initial listen of Sunbathing Animal may throw you off guard. While the album’s opening song, “Bodies,” in tone and yelping vocal style, hints at their previous album, preceding songs show definite Read more...

Artist Profile: Glass Owls

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Glass Owls are an alternative pop act from Auckland centered around the songwriting talents of Anthony Metcalf and Tomas Nelson. Having just released their debut album, Out From The Darkness, Adrian Ng caught up with guitarist Anthony Metcalf. Did you come from a musical background? What Read more...

New this week / Singles in review

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Adrian Ng

Spoon - Do You It’s been four years since their last album, Transference, and Spoon are finally making a return. “Do You” is the second single from their upcoming album titled They Want My Soul. An upbeat, summery track, “Do You” finds Spoon retracing familiar ground, but a kind of Read more...

Sniper Elite 3

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

Rating: B I’m not a sociopath (I swear) but there is something truly satisfying in games about achieving a stunningly executed headshot. I’m not sure what exactly it is, perhaps the skill involved in lining it up and timing the shot perfectly, or maybe more disturbingly, it’s the clear Read more...

Suji Park - Anu

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Hannah Collier

Brett McDowell Gallery Exhibited until 16 July 2014 My introduction to Suji Park’s work was serendipity, and I’ve been emotionally involved with her sculptures (and photography) ever since. I was in my friend’s apartment and he had his recently purchased Park positioned on a table Read more...

Transformers: Age of Extinction

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

Rating: F Since 2007, the Transformers franchise has gotten progressively more offensive in every way: offensive to your senses, offensive to your sensibilities, and offensive to your intelligence. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the culmination of those cinematic sins; making it one of Read more...

What We Do in the Shadows

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Sydney Lehman

Rating: A It did my heart good to see that Nosferatu hadn’t lost his touch. Vampires have become a staple offering of Hollywood flicks in recent years. I haven’t cared much for the ones that sparkle, the ones that are super-cool and drink blood like they’re shooting heroine, nor for the Read more...

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...