NZIFF Review - Much Ado About Nothing, You're Next and The Broken Circle Breakdown

NZIFF Review - Much Ado About Nothing, You're Next and The Broken Circle Breakdown

Joss Whedon's latest, Much Ado About Nothing sees a gathering of the Whedonverse alumni in a take on Shakespeare's play which has lost none of the subtlety and fizz of the Bard's work.

Keeping the actual text in place, and tweaking only some of the minor details, it still focuses on the quarreling relationship of Benedick and Beatrice (played by Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker) and the relationship of Claudio and Hero amid modern times.

Set on a sumptuous estate (Whedon's own) this black and white adaptation is a virtuoso of subtlety and wit. The dialogues between the characters shine with nuances and revel in the language, frolicking in the back and forth of Benedick and Beatrice as well as Nathan Fillion's constable. But there's also some silly visual humour such as when Benedick finds his three friends discussing how Beatrice has fallen for him - those moments of comic capery will delight audiences.

Acker and Denisof are perfectly cast, balancing the moments of lightness and tomfoolery with the seriousness needed by Shakespeare's text; other players circle around them but to be honest, they barely register as highly as this duo. With perhaps the exception of Nathan Fillion.

A Shakespeare to be watched and enjoyed, Much Ado About Nothing is a zesty treat which feels fresh and sparkling as the festival draws to a close in Auckland.

Adam Wingard's You're Next is a gory treat.

It centres on a family who've come together to celebrate the 35th wedding anniversary of their parents in a deserted country mansion. Partners are brought along for the weekend and tensions rise to the surface between brothers and threaten to bubble over.

But those have to go on the back burner when a group wearing animal masks start picking off their victims one by one. The only problem with their Extreme Makeover: Home Invasion plan is that one of them (played by Home and Away's Sharni Vinson) has a talent for fighting back....

You're Next is a delicious treat, delivering fresh and suspenseful thrills on the horror front, before also dishing out some laughs here and there. Overall though, it's a clever and bloody inventive look at the horror, with Wingard eeking out as much tension as he can here and there as the showdown goes on.

Crowd-pleasing and also jump out of your seat jolting are the order of the day - and You're Next delivers on the promise of thrills, twists and suspense. It's one of the freshest films in the Incredibly Strange section this year and it's not to be missed.

Finally, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a terrific and heart breaking look at the demise of a relationship.

Weaving back and forth over the course of a relationship, it follows the story of Veerle Baetens' Elise, a tattoo artist and Johan Helderbergh's Didier, a banjo playing bluegrass artist. As the story begins, their daughter Maybelle has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and their differing viewpoints on life are challenged.

The Broken Circle Breakdown is a great piece of cinema - it's blessed with a great soundtrack and uplifting country bluegrass music which helps anchor the story of these lovers. But it's also the performances of the two leads which linger long after the story moves across different time periods, charting the highs of love and the lows and perils faced when life throws them your way.

Ultimately downbeat, the journey is an incredibly emotional one - moments are shuffled around out of chronological order with glimpses of what's to unfold / what's already happened hinted at and expanded on later in the film. It's a thrilling narrative touch which proves engaging and affecting.