Film

Barbara

Posted 4:49pm Sunday 5th August 2012 by Loulou Callister-Baker

[FILM FEST PREVIEW] Barbara is set in the German Democratic Republic, informally known as East Germany, during the 1980s. Barbara (Nina Hoss), a doctor working in Berlin, has been banished to a countryside hospital after she expressed her wish to leave the GDR. In this hospital she works Read more...

Late Bloomers

Posted 4:49pm Sunday 5th August 2012 by Taryn Dryfhout

Late Bloomers chronicles the lives of Mary (Isabella Rossellini) and Adam (William Hurt), who have been married for 30 years. A series of life events and an episode of memory loss prompt retired teacher Mary to undergo a medical exam, which in turn stimulates a lot of contemplation about her Read more...

Film Festival Picks!

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 29th July 2012 by Sarah Baillie

The New Zealand International Film Festival opened on Thursday night with Wes Anderson’s latest gem, the super-cute Moonrise Kingdom. Running from 26 June to 19 August, the film festival marks an annual academic slump in Sarah Baillie’s calendar – three weeks of not much study and lots of sneaky Read more...

Letters to Father Jacob

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 29th July 2012 by Taryn Dryfhout

Letters to Father Jacob is a Finnish subtitled film set in the 1970s, about a thick-skinned ex-convict named Leila and her experience working with Father Jacob. The recipient of a life sentence (presumably murder, though it is never explicitly stated), Leila is given a pardon (much to her disgust) Read more...

The Dark Knight Rises

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 29th July 2012 by Daniel Duxfield

The story picks up sometime after the end of The Dark Knight. “Batman” is a spurned memory from a darker time in Gotham City's recent history, and billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne is a recluse. Christopher Nolan starts this episode of the Batman legend by planting the seeds of this story in Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Shadow Dancer

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Sarah Baillie

British spy thriller Shadow Dancer has just the right amount of thrill, a good sprinkling of snooping, and not too much dramatic music, eavesdropping, or complicated spy networks. Collette, a young mother and member of a family heavily embroiled in the IRA, gets caught dropping a bomb in the London Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Undefeated

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Sarah Baillie

A “sports documentary” which is about much, much more than sport, Undefeated is a heartwarming story of personal relationships, struggles, and American football. Before coach Bill Courtney arrived at Manassas high school, their football team had been on a losing streak for as long as anyone could Read more...

A Royal Affair (En kongelig affære)

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Charlotte Greenfield

At first glance A Royal Affair screams “royal historical drama”, with all the sumptuous costumes, distractingly elaborate sets, stilted dialogue and wooden acting (paradoxically, often by the British acting elite) that the genre entails. Maybe it’s the Danish twist, but A Royal Affair some how Read more...

TED

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012 by Taryn Dryfhout

From the creator of TV comedies such as Family Guy and American Dad, Seth MacFarlane (who also voices the main character of Ted) brings us this crude, rude and hilariously indecent film about a young boy who wishes for his teddy bear to come to life. His dream comes true, and the film flashes Read more...

Interview with Bill Gosden

Posted 5:14pm Sunday 15th July 2012 by Jane Ross

Critic film reviewer Jane Ross caught up with Bill Gosden, Dunedin-born Director of the New Zealand International Film Festival, for a quick chat about his lifetime love of film and what to expect from this year’s NZIFF. Critic: So from where I’m sitting I think you probably have one of the Read more...