Going in Style (2017)

Posted 1:13pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Maisie Thursfield

Rating: 2.5/5 For a comedy this film made me really depressed. Even Morgan Freeman’s voice could barely lift my spirits. Three retired gents have their pensions frozen by the company where they worked for 30 years. They can’t even afford to buy a slice of pie and one of them has a Read more...

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Posted 1:19pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Samuel Rillstone

Rating: 4.5/5 As an avid Batman fan, or Bat-fan, viewing the Dark Knight in all his glory as a brooding LEGO figure was quite the treat. It was fraught with references from both on-screen and comic book depictions of the Caped Crusader, with some very sly ones for those who have extensive Read more...

Moone Boy (seasons 1 & 2)

Posted 1:48pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Saskia Bunce-Rath

Rating: 4/5   Moone Boy simply warmed the cockles of my heart. This show makes you want to sit in bed with a soft blanket and drink beverages from a thermos, even though you are literally in your house and could make a cup of tea. But what is Moone Boy you ask? Is it about some type of boy Read more...

Songs in the Key of Life

Posted 2:27pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Ihlara McIndoe

Jonathan Lemalu, “fiercely proud to be born and educated in Dunedin” returned home after a busy international season of performances and recordings which took him across four continents, performing to a jam-packed Dunedin town hall on 12 April. The city certainly turned out to show their Read more...

Rebecca Baumann: Untitled (Exploded View)

Posted 2:32pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Monique Hodgkinson

Explosions seem to be a bit of a theme at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery at the moment, with Exploded Worlds dominating the ground floor and Untitled (Exploded View) now showing upstairs. While the word seems to connote some degree of chaos, the latter of these two exhibitions is instead built on Read more...

Adventures of Mana

Posted 2:35pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Brandon Johnstone

Rating: 3/5 Adventures of Mana is a remake of the 1991 action RPG Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (or Final Fantasy Adventure). The original is seen as something of a classic, though not nearly as much so as its sequel Secret of Mana, and developer Square Enix seems to be giving the series Read more...

The Yield

Posted 2:41pm Sunday 7th May 2017 by Jessica Thompson Carr

Perfect timing. With the Dunedin Readers and Writers Festival upon us I thought it appropriate to give Sue Wootton’s most recent publication The Yield a go. I admit that I haven’t dabbled enough in modern New Zealand literature. In the past I’ve been prejudiced against it, Read more...

Swing Time

Posted 12:24pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Jessica Thompson Carr

After being touted by several friends as one of the best writers alive today, I finally decided to pick up Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. She’s an incredibly accomplished writer, having won numerous awards for her five published novels, including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Commonwealth Read more...

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Florence Dean

Rating: 5/5 I prefer to go into a movie with zero expectations. I avoid reviews like I avoid responsibilities. No hype, no let down, ya feel? This time was different. This time I got in on the hype. This time I was the hype. When I found out there was going to be a Beauty and the Beast live Read more...

Power Rangers (2017)

Posted 12:31pm Sunday 30th April 2017 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Rating: 3.5/5 Man. Where do I begin? Maybe I’ll quickly outline the three reactions I had to this film, in chronological order. The first third I didn’t like because it was so different to the TV show, the second third I liked because it differed so much that it was almost comically Read more...