What's on Neon in February

Here's everything coming up on Neon in February.

Funny Woman (February 9)

Gemma Arterton stars as Barbara Parker - the force of nature who takes 1960s London by storm. Her journey from Blackpool beauty queen to comedy superstar and nation's sweetheart is based on 'Funny Girl' the best-selling novel by Nick Hornby. The series follows Barbara from a factory in Blackpool to the male dominated world of the 1960s sitcom where she redefines the prevailing attitude to funny women and in the process finds her voice.. 

Not Even (February 6)

Ma, Heps, Pua, Liz and Taaps are your average group of twenty-something Māori and Pasifika living in Wellington, Aotearoa. Ma, Taaps and Heps have known each other since they were kids, Ma and Pua are besties and Liz is Ma's annoying cousin, trying to connect with whanau after the death of her Dad. The group of friends crash through Wellington city warring first with their cultural identities and then with each other. Made with the support of NZ On Air. Starring: Aria Dehar, Manu Vaea, Rongopai Tickell, Scotty Cotter, Tāne Rolfe. 

Rūrangi: Rising Lights (February 10)

Rūrangi's culture war intensifies between the transgender activists, farmers, and local Māori, while ancestors from the past reach out to the living with unfinished business. Caz starts a local Rainbow Youth group, Gerald throws himself into the by-law campaign and transgender activists arrive from Auckland to help out. Anahera returns to the marae she hasn't been to since she was a child and starts to stand strong in her Mãoritanga. Meanwhile things come to a a head for Caz as he finds himself tormented by Andy's death. Made with the support of NZ On Air. Starring: Elz Carrad, Āwhina-Rose Henare Ashby, Cohen Holloway, Liam Coleman. 

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (February 20)

One of the funniest, most refreshing personalities to hit the TV scene in years, John Oliver in this series that takes a topical look at the week in news, politics, and current events. Each show offers Oliver a unique platform to offer his distinct perspective on issues facing the world today while also featuring a variety of special guests and segments. 

Snowfall (February 24)

October 1986. As civil war threatens to destroy the Saint family, Franklin is forced into a desperate predicament. Louie has taken over as Teddy's sole buyer, undercutting her nephew and creating a competing empire in the process. Starring Damson Idris, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Michael Hyatt, Amin Joseph, Alon Aboutboul, Carter Hudson, Kevin Carroll, Angela Lewis, and Isaiah John. 

A Million Little Things (February 10)

As the fifth and final season unfolds, we'll watch through laughter and tears as we bring this incredible journey to its conclusion. Along the way, we'll explore the depths of friendship, love and sorrow as we bid this special family of friends goodbye, once again proving that friendship really is a million little things. Starring: David Giuntoli, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Grace Park, James Roday, Stephanie Szostak, Lizzy Greene. 

The Flash (February 10)

Final season. After defeating Reverse Flash once and for all, Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen are growing closer than ever before. When a deadly group of Rogues descend on Central City, Team Flash must once again defy impossible odds to save the day. Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker. 

MOVIES

The Mandalorian: Season 3 trailer arrives

The first look at the upcoming third season of the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian has arrived.

The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.

 
The series stars Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, Amy Sedaris, Emily Swallow and Giancarlo Esposito. 
 
The directors of the eight-episode Season 3 include Rick Famuyiwa, Rachel Morrison, Lee Isaac Chung, Carl Weathers, Peter Ramsey and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The Mandalorian Season 3 debuts March 1.

My Old School: Movie Review

Buoyed by some great energy and an unfolding tale that's firmly in the WTF territory, Jono McLeod's documentary benefits greatly from the spiralling onion of revelations from its subject.

One of those films that it's best going into with no prior knowledge, it's the story of Brandon Lee, a young student who became an international name for reasons that are too spoilery to reveal - if you don't already know.

Some may have in mind the NZIFF hit The Imposter when viewing this, but McLeod's strengths in the film come from the deft way he uses talking heads from the school at the time (himself one of them) and a non-varying line of empathy to its subject.

While Lee said he wouldn't be interviewed on camera, the filmmakers' use of Alan Cumming to lip sync along to a few interview bites proves to be a clever twist. But in truth, it's the other participants of this who are worthy of the attention, immortalised as they are in cartoon characters similar to 1990s MTV hit show Daria.

But what emerges from My Old School is something more than a simple twists and turns story - it turns the incredulous into the tragic with aplomb, and manages to also condemn pressure from society as being a factor in what plays out. (Again, to say more is to spoil it, but there's much fertile ground for discussion afterwards here).

There may be a great deal of light-hearted playful touches deployed throughout My Old School, but if you have any humanity, you'll leave viewing it with a strong vein of sadness coursing through - at its heart, it's a tragic circumstance made marvellously entertaining by a docomaker who has the levity needed to handle all angles of this engrossing story.

You Won't Be Alone: DVD Review

Don't be fooled by You Won't Be Alone's pitch of a shapeshifting witch.

Goran Stolevski's almost meditative take on what eternal life means is actually a thought-provoking piece that some are comparing to Terrence Malick's Tree of Life.

Set in Macedonia in the 19th century, it follows a witch who uses her one "witching spit" on a baby that grows up within a community and takes on various lives when it realises how it can become others. What follows is less a horror slasher of someone stalking a village, but a meditation on what life can be like for others, what aspirations there are, and where the journey can take you.

There's no lying that this is slow cinema in extremis, and with a near mute protagonist there are moments that it feels like an artsy-Witch infused version of Nell, but with a lyrical bent and a determination to get to its end, Stolevski's You Won't Be Alone does feel like the payoff is worth it.

In the latter third of the film, there's much to be said about toxic male behaviours, and an idea that manhood is something to be aimed for in life's progression is perhaps the wrong message to take from it all, but it's an inescapable feeling that rises from the film as it plays out.

But equally this section offers fascinating insights into society's expectations for women, gender expectations and the parenting role.

There are moments of brutality within, but there are never moments of deliberate exploitation, thanks to the alluring nature of the story and how its rhythms can wash over you.

Questions of language, civilisation and growth all come to the fore as this season of the witch plays out. You'll be surprised by how its lyrical qualities leave many seeds implanted in you long after it's done. A compelling debut for sure, and a refreshingly different and engaging take on what it takes to be a witch.

Full Time: DVD Review

With its pulse-pounding drama and tension, set against a backdrop of strikes and one last hope, Full Time very much feels like a 21st century rejoinder to Run Lola, Run.

Call My Agent's Laure Calamy stars as single mum Julie, who's struggling to juggle two young kids, a hotel job as a maid miles away from her home and her ambitions and qualifications, as well as a city grinding to a halt by strikes from commuter providers.

When Julie gets a chance to make an interview, she puts it all on the line - her kids' babysitter, her only secure employment. But what she can't have accounted for is the precarious position the dominoes are in - each small movement has a major knock-on effect.

Driven by a nerve-shredding synth score, À plein temps (Full Time) is a propulsive drama that feels very much like the kind of film you can get swept up in. 

With a central performance from Calamy that straddles both desperation and an underdog charm, director Eric Gravel dials up the tension but never loses sight of the humanity of those stuck within an eternal and universal struggle - making ends meet, spending time with your children and wanting something better.

It's a film where the little moments lead to various dramatic narrative bombs (none of which, it has to be said, feel contrived or overplayed) and where the relatable story is the triumph. At the centre of it all is Calamy, a grounded performer whose Julie is a heroine for the times.

Much like Aubrey Plaza in Emily The Criminal, there's something underplayed here which gets you right behind what Julie is undergoing - and like it or not, you'll be on the edge of your seat in many unexpected ways throughout.

The Humans: DVD Review

Stephen Karam's adaptation of his one-set play is blessed with a stellar cast.

From the always watchable Richard Jenkins to Beanie Feldstein, this story of a family brought together for a Thanksgiving meal inside a rundown lower Manhattan apartment is more pertinent for what's not said than what is spoken across the table and in the build up to the meal.

Thanksgiving meal stories are always of a similar ilk - an outpouring of tensions before an explosion and catharsis toward the end of the meal as the true evocation of Thanksgiving is invoked.

In many ways, Karam's story doesn't veer drastically away from the tropes and template of what's expected, but using a combination of some claustrophobically shot angles and some creepily timed noises, The Humans feels like it's aiming for a ghost story that never fully delivers.

Described as a take on existential dread, Karam's technically-adept film feels at once light on drama and yet confined by its stage limitations. But as the rhythms of the story begin to take hold and Jenkins' demons begin to manifest themselves as well as the tension between Feldstein and Amy Schumer's sisters, there's a veracity that proves hard to shake.

From close ups and a nervy soundtrack, there's a feeling that The Humans is heading for its pot-boiling-over-moment from its very first 10 minutes. It's fair to say the bubbling up moment isn't as dramatic as one would have been expecting, but thanks to the stellar work of its impressive ensemble, the journey to the end is just about worth clinging on for.