Billy T: Te Movie: Movie Review
Billy T : Te Movie
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Billy T James, a wealth of mates and colleagues
Director: Ian Mune
"His mark on comedy is like a pen mark on a shirt - by a Vivid pen - it's
indelible."
So a doco about the irrepressible and much loved Kiwi comic icon Billy T
James finally hits the cinema
Te Movie is more about Billy T's life and draws inevitable parallels with
Leanne Pooley's Topp Twins Untouchable Girls in terms of how it's put
together.
Using archive performance footage, past interviews and current day
recollections and reconstructions from colleagues, friends but no immediate
family, this piece by Ian Mune is a sensitive, relatively rounded portrait of
the man who clearly set the standard for Kiwi comedy (and whose groundbreaking
talent and natural showmanship have yet to be matched from what I can tell.)
I should hold up my hands here and confess that I'd never been exposed to
Billy T before as it's from before my time in NZ and so while that gives me a
better perspective on the film making, it possibly would have disadvantaged me
on what Billy T brought to the 80s Kiwi world.
Thankfully, Ian Mune uses footage of him truly rocking the house and reducing
everyone to laughter to show what a talent he was - and what a stellar performer
he was once he overcame his initial shyness and found his stride in the Maori
Volcanics group.
He's also wisely chosen to adopt a somewhat matey approach to interviewing
friends and colleagues of Billy T - a trio of bros is interviewed in a field in
Auckland, quite a few other mates are interviewed near a cowshed - there's a
very uniquely Kiwi and casual approach to putting together this film.
Contributions also come from long term Billy T cohort Peter Rowley as you'd
expect.
But it's telling that there's no real comment - other than archival footage -
from immediate family and that's the one real hole and glaring omission which
truly stops this from feeling like a rounded and full portrait of the man who
seems to have crossed Maori and Pakeha divides and trailblazed the way for
comedy on television and the stage. However, you do get a feel for a man who was
a musician, a singer and comedy performer.
As for the Billy T who emerges from this doco, well, what can I say? Clearly
this guy had some real talent, a drive to succeed and a selflessness which led
him to overworking and eventual ill health - you'll be agog at how he bounds
around the stage after having had a heart transplant and at the same time,
you'll feel a real sense of sadness that he never went onto more. There's one
moment where Mune gets everyone to reflect on Billy's passing and it's the only
real slightly creaky moment within the film - sure, I can understand his
intentions, but it's a little heavy handed and feels somewhat intrusive. Though,
that said, I understand a lot of those involved with Billy never got the closure
they needed after his sad early demise so perhaps this goes some way to
providing some kind of relief.
Ultimately, because of the lack of immediate family, Billy T: Te Movie falls
just short of greatness; don't get me wrong - Ian Mune's pieced together a
warmly fitting tribute to the man who made such a difference to entertainment
and Maori/ Pakeha relations.
And quite frankly, decades on, Billy T still has what it takes to reduce
audiences to laughter - no matter how old or young they are in this charming
doco which will have you giggling like Billy T when the lights go up.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Monday, 15 August 2011
I Love You Phillip Morris: DVD Review
I Love You Phillip Morris: DVD Review
I Love You Phillip Morris
Rating: R16
Released by Roadshow
Jim Carrey stars as flamboyant conman Steven Russell in this film which is outrageous and fun at the same time.
Adopted at birth,Russell feels he's living a lie and suddenly decides everything must change-so he starts committing frauds left right and centre to pay for his life as a gay man and enjoy the extravagances.
But as ever, the law catches up with him and banged up, Russell finds Ewan McGregor's sweetly touching Phillip Morris and the two fall in love.
However, Russell's determined to get out of jail and does everything in his power to ensure Morris and he have a life together-but it doesn't run smoothly.
Light, frothy, funny and outrageous in equal measures,ILYPM is a hilarious and insanely fun ride with scenes which will shock and surprise you.
Carrey is very good as Russell but it's McGregor who's the best thing in this with his performance just endearing on many levels. OTT it may be, but it's a great piece of popcorn entertainment.
Extras: The Making of/ interviews
Rating: 7/10
I Love You Phillip Morris
Rating: R16
Released by Roadshow
Jim Carrey stars as flamboyant conman Steven Russell in this film which is outrageous and fun at the same time.
Adopted at birth,Russell feels he's living a lie and suddenly decides everything must change-so he starts committing frauds left right and centre to pay for his life as a gay man and enjoy the extravagances.
But as ever, the law catches up with him and banged up, Russell finds Ewan McGregor's sweetly touching Phillip Morris and the two fall in love.
However, Russell's determined to get out of jail and does everything in his power to ensure Morris and he have a life together-but it doesn't run smoothly.
Light, frothy, funny and outrageous in equal measures,ILYPM is a hilarious and insanely fun ride with scenes which will shock and surprise you.
Carrey is very good as Russell but it's McGregor who's the best thing in this with his performance just endearing on many levels. OTT it may be, but it's a great piece of popcorn entertainment.
Extras: The Making of/ interviews
Rating: 7/10
Friday, 12 August 2011
Conviction: Blu Ray review
Conviction: Blu Ray review
Conviction
Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox
Hilary Swank stars as Betty Ann Waters in this film which is based on a true story.
Waters is a drop out who's formed a close bond with her brother Kenny (the ever great Sam Rockwell) as they've been shunted from foster home to foster home in their childhoods.
But when Kenny's arrested for murder by Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo)- and convicted two years after the crime's been committed- Betty Ann feels her life ripped from her
So, she resolves to put herself through law school with the sole aim of doing whatever it takes to exonerate her brother.
Conviction works okay as a TV movie, rather than a big screen outing.
All involved give great performances and it seems unfair to diminish the true story nature of this, but the problem is the film offers nothing new or original to many other similar stories of their ilk.
Granted, it's made perfectly adequately and sees the main duo of Swank and Rockwell acquit themselves decently - but the emotional core of the film appears to have gone AWOL from script to screen.
The moments where you'd expect your heart to leap are curiously flat and presented in a very matter of fact way; and some of the most potentially engaging drama (Waters' marriage falling apart being one) takes place off screen, robbing you of any real involvement. That and the fact that it's not explored that this woman's spent her entire life trying to save her brother and it's cost her everything and you just feel nothing but detachment from what transpires in front of you.
Extras: Conversation with the director and Betty Anne Waters offers a little insight.
Rating: 4/10
Conviction
Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox
Hilary Swank stars as Betty Ann Waters in this film which is based on a true story.
Waters is a drop out who's formed a close bond with her brother Kenny (the ever great Sam Rockwell) as they've been shunted from foster home to foster home in their childhoods.
But when Kenny's arrested for murder by Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo)- and convicted two years after the crime's been committed- Betty Ann feels her life ripped from her
So, she resolves to put herself through law school with the sole aim of doing whatever it takes to exonerate her brother.
Conviction works okay as a TV movie, rather than a big screen outing.
All involved give great performances and it seems unfair to diminish the true story nature of this, but the problem is the film offers nothing new or original to many other similar stories of their ilk.
Granted, it's made perfectly adequately and sees the main duo of Swank and Rockwell acquit themselves decently - but the emotional core of the film appears to have gone AWOL from script to screen.
The moments where you'd expect your heart to leap are curiously flat and presented in a very matter of fact way; and some of the most potentially engaging drama (Waters' marriage falling apart being one) takes place off screen, robbing you of any real involvement. That and the fact that it's not explored that this woman's spent her entire life trying to save her brother and it's cost her everything and you just feel nothing but detachment from what transpires in front of you.
Extras: Conversation with the director and Betty Anne Waters offers a little insight.
Rating: 4/10
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Cowboys and Aliens: Movie Review
Cowboys and Aliens: Movie Review
Cowboys and Aliens
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Paul Dano
Director: Jon Favreau
In a dusty western desert setting, a man (Daniel Craig) wakes up with a jolt; bloodied and wearing an odd looking bracelet on his arm, he's got no idea who he is, where he is or what he's done.
Unfortunately, this man, Jake Lonergan, is a wanted outlaw and doesn't really have time to work it all out - he ends up in the small town of Absolution and is on a collision course with Harrison Ford's Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a cattleman and who seems to own most of the town in some form or another.
But the pair have to put aside their potential differences and work together when an other worldly presence attacks and abducts most of the townsfolk.
And Lonergan begins to find out he knows more about what's going on than he first thought&.leading him to be Absolution's one hope of salvation.
Cowboys and Aliens is the latest adaptation of a graphic novel and a mash up of sci fi and western (though the emphasis is more on Western than anything else.)
Daniel Craig brings his usual purse lipped steeliness to the role of the mysterious loner - though I think based on this, he'd do very well as a lead in a Western; Harrison Ford is his grumpy self as the rich cattleman who, surprise, surprise has a heart of gold underneath that very gruff exterior and Olivia Wilde continues to impress by underplaying the only real female on the screen Ella. Sam Rockwell is criminally underused in the role of bartender Doc (and is a real disappointment).
Jon Favreau also brings a level of skill to the direction of this - the start of which is very well crafted - and ends up essentially just directing a western which has touches of sci fi thrown in here and there - although 30 minutes from the end it simply becomes a fight the aliens and survive kind of flick.
As for the aliens themselves, they're nothing spectacular - early scenes bring a sense of menace to their presence but once these bipedal lizards start running around like apes, they lose a bit of their panache and simply become moving blobs.
Sure, there are some parallels of the westerners being threatened by the more advanced aliens which conjure up an allegory of how the native Americans must have felt, but it's all pretty broad brush strokes and left to your assumption.
It's half of the problem of Cowboys and Aliens - while I'm not exactly raving about the film, I wasn't underwhelmed either; I was simply left feeling a little lukewarm.
The meshing together of the story, genres and scowling grumpy characters simply didn't gel as well as it could have perhaps done; it's difficult to empathise with them; the classic western touches (a stranger rides into town, faces trouble and a threat before riding off into the sunset) are nicely integrated and the initial alien attack channels early Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind but this straight laced film just never kicks fully into gear - there's never really a wow moment which it needs to pull you out of a 2 hour lull.
Cowboys and Aliens
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Paul Dano
Director: Jon Favreau
In a dusty western desert setting, a man (Daniel Craig) wakes up with a jolt; bloodied and wearing an odd looking bracelet on his arm, he's got no idea who he is, where he is or what he's done.
Unfortunately, this man, Jake Lonergan, is a wanted outlaw and doesn't really have time to work it all out - he ends up in the small town of Absolution and is on a collision course with Harrison Ford's Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a cattleman and who seems to own most of the town in some form or another.
But the pair have to put aside their potential differences and work together when an other worldly presence attacks and abducts most of the townsfolk.
And Lonergan begins to find out he knows more about what's going on than he first thought&.leading him to be Absolution's one hope of salvation.
Cowboys and Aliens is the latest adaptation of a graphic novel and a mash up of sci fi and western (though the emphasis is more on Western than anything else.)
Daniel Craig brings his usual purse lipped steeliness to the role of the mysterious loner - though I think based on this, he'd do very well as a lead in a Western; Harrison Ford is his grumpy self as the rich cattleman who, surprise, surprise has a heart of gold underneath that very gruff exterior and Olivia Wilde continues to impress by underplaying the only real female on the screen Ella. Sam Rockwell is criminally underused in the role of bartender Doc (and is a real disappointment).
Jon Favreau also brings a level of skill to the direction of this - the start of which is very well crafted - and ends up essentially just directing a western which has touches of sci fi thrown in here and there - although 30 minutes from the end it simply becomes a fight the aliens and survive kind of flick.
As for the aliens themselves, they're nothing spectacular - early scenes bring a sense of menace to their presence but once these bipedal lizards start running around like apes, they lose a bit of their panache and simply become moving blobs.
Sure, there are some parallels of the westerners being threatened by the more advanced aliens which conjure up an allegory of how the native Americans must have felt, but it's all pretty broad brush strokes and left to your assumption.
It's half of the problem of Cowboys and Aliens - while I'm not exactly raving about the film, I wasn't underwhelmed either; I was simply left feeling a little lukewarm.
The meshing together of the story, genres and scowling grumpy characters simply didn't gel as well as it could have perhaps done; it's difficult to empathise with them; the classic western touches (a stranger rides into town, faces trouble and a threat before riding off into the sunset) are nicely integrated and the initial alien attack channels early Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind but this straight laced film just never kicks fully into gear - there's never really a wow moment which it needs to pull you out of a 2 hour lull.
Incendies - Movie Review
Incendies - Movie Review
Incendies
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Melissa Desormeuax Poulin, Maxim Goudette
Director: Denis Villeneuve
It's rare for cinema to leave you speechless and a little numb by its power - Incendies is one of those films.
The Canadian French collaboration has a simple enough premise - when a pair of twins Jeanne and Simon attend the reading of their mother Nawal's will, they receive two envelopes - one for a father they never knew they had and another for a brother previously unheard of.
So Jeanne, being the more open of the two to the search into the past, heads to the Middle East to try and find out more of the family history and to try and trace the family tree which had become broken shattered. Eventually her twin brother Simon joins the search also.
However, what they find changes their lives forever.
Incendies is heart stopping cinema, and is quite frankly in places, not for the faint hearted.
An adaptation of a play by Wajdi Mouawad, it's a rich tapestry of shocks and twists - the final one of which is truly shocking by cinematic standards and really does render you stunned as the pieces of this intricate puzzle fit together.
It begins with a wailing Radiohead soundtrack as a young boy has his head shaved and stares right into the camera - it's a powerful opening which sets the pace for this tragic tale.
Both Poulin and Gaudette are mightily impressive Arab leads whose performances are so compelling throughout that you can't tear your eyes off the screen as it unfolds. Stares and silences along with lingering camera shots help build an atmosphere as their hunt unfolds.
Equally, the flashbacks into Nawal's life in an undefined Middle Eastern country are hypnotic and appalling too. Azabel gives great credence to Nawal's struggle and the horrors she faces as she's caught up in the maelstrom of a religious war.
One scene where a bus full of Muslims are held up by Christian soldiers is one of the most heart stopping scenes I've witnessed all year and the drama pulls you right in with sickening ramifications.
It's easy to see why Incendies was Oscar nominated (it lost to In A Better World) - thanks to a taut mystery and an intriguing premise, great performances and a foreboding moody story which appalls and grips in equal measures, it's one of the most impressive foreign films of the year which will haunt you from the moment you leave the cinema.
Incendies
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Melissa Desormeuax Poulin, Maxim Goudette
Director: Denis Villeneuve
It's rare for cinema to leave you speechless and a little numb by its power - Incendies is one of those films.
The Canadian French collaboration has a simple enough premise - when a pair of twins Jeanne and Simon attend the reading of their mother Nawal's will, they receive two envelopes - one for a father they never knew they had and another for a brother previously unheard of.
So Jeanne, being the more open of the two to the search into the past, heads to the Middle East to try and find out more of the family history and to try and trace the family tree which had become broken shattered. Eventually her twin brother Simon joins the search also.
However, what they find changes their lives forever.
Incendies is heart stopping cinema, and is quite frankly in places, not for the faint hearted.
An adaptation of a play by Wajdi Mouawad, it's a rich tapestry of shocks and twists - the final one of which is truly shocking by cinematic standards and really does render you stunned as the pieces of this intricate puzzle fit together.
It begins with a wailing Radiohead soundtrack as a young boy has his head shaved and stares right into the camera - it's a powerful opening which sets the pace for this tragic tale.
Both Poulin and Gaudette are mightily impressive Arab leads whose performances are so compelling throughout that you can't tear your eyes off the screen as it unfolds. Stares and silences along with lingering camera shots help build an atmosphere as their hunt unfolds.
Equally, the flashbacks into Nawal's life in an undefined Middle Eastern country are hypnotic and appalling too. Azabel gives great credence to Nawal's struggle and the horrors she faces as she's caught up in the maelstrom of a religious war.
One scene where a bus full of Muslims are held up by Christian soldiers is one of the most heart stopping scenes I've witnessed all year and the drama pulls you right in with sickening ramifications.
It's easy to see why Incendies was Oscar nominated (it lost to In A Better World) - thanks to a taut mystery and an intriguing premise, great performances and a foreboding moody story which appalls and grips in equal measures, it's one of the most impressive foreign films of the year which will haunt you from the moment you leave the cinema.
Love Story: Movie Review
Love Story: Movie Review
Love Story
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Florian Habicht, Masha Yakovenko, Florian's father
Director: Florian Habicht
Delightfully quirky, and a little bit insane, this is the latest from NZ film maker Florian Habicht who made Kaikohe Demolition and Land of the Long White Cloud. It's opening in Auckland and playing in the 2011 New Zealand International Film Festival as well.
It's a mash of genres - with a dazzling pinch of interactivity.
Love Story is made on the fly with the truly interactive feel of New York and those who live there. Basically, Habicht one day sees a woman (Masha Yakovenko) walking on the streets holding a plate with a piece of cake on it.
Spurred on by a whim, he introduces himself to Masha and persuades her to be part of his film - only, he doesn't really have a vision of where it's going and this is where the New Yorkers and his father come in as he seeks advice from them about what he should do next&
Love Story is random, nuts, hilarious and touching throughout as well.
There's a real blurring of reality though as Florian the film maker plays "Florian the film maker" (or does he?) as he directs himself in this film which takes the path chosen by the New Yorkers he randomly meets in the streets.
It's also got a brilliant turn by his dad - who tends to skype in and join the discussion at highly random times but with laugh out loud repercussions.
This wonderfully absurd and highly watchable film is rewarding, entertaining and will make you smile the biggest smile as you head out into the winter nights. It's to be commended for its light tone which shows an inventive touch at work and one who'll clearly be able to turn his hand to anything when necessary.
Plus you'll never look at romantically eating food off someone in the same way again when you see this...
Love Story
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Florian Habicht, Masha Yakovenko, Florian's father
Director: Florian Habicht
Delightfully quirky, and a little bit insane, this is the latest from NZ film maker Florian Habicht who made Kaikohe Demolition and Land of the Long White Cloud. It's opening in Auckland and playing in the 2011 New Zealand International Film Festival as well.
It's a mash of genres - with a dazzling pinch of interactivity.
Love Story is made on the fly with the truly interactive feel of New York and those who live there. Basically, Habicht one day sees a woman (Masha Yakovenko) walking on the streets holding a plate with a piece of cake on it.
Spurred on by a whim, he introduces himself to Masha and persuades her to be part of his film - only, he doesn't really have a vision of where it's going and this is where the New Yorkers and his father come in as he seeks advice from them about what he should do next&
Love Story is random, nuts, hilarious and touching throughout as well.
There's a real blurring of reality though as Florian the film maker plays "Florian the film maker" (or does he?) as he directs himself in this film which takes the path chosen by the New Yorkers he randomly meets in the streets.
It's also got a brilliant turn by his dad - who tends to skype in and join the discussion at highly random times but with laugh out loud repercussions.
This wonderfully absurd and highly watchable film is rewarding, entertaining and will make you smile the biggest smile as you head out into the winter nights. It's to be commended for its light tone which shows an inventive touch at work and one who'll clearly be able to turn his hand to anything when necessary.
Plus you'll never look at romantically eating food off someone in the same way again when you see this...
Something Borrowed: Movie Review
Something Borrowed: Movie Review
Something Borrowed
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield
Director: Luke Greenfield
From the book of the same name comes a new rom com.
Goodwin stars as Rachel White, a woman hitting her 30s and still single and unmarried; her best friend Darcey Rhone (Hudson) is the complete opposite - engaged to Rachel's former college buddy dreamy Dex (Egglesfield) and about to be married.
But when Rachel begins a clandestine affair with Dex, all manner of secrets, lies and hidden truths begin to surface.
Something Borrowed will appeal to a certain sector of the audience but to everyone else, it'll be a case of eye rolling and a terrible sense of déjà vu.
While Goodwin does as well as she can with drippy sad sack Rachel, Hudson's managed to perfect the self obsessed and generally unlikeable best friend who's unaware she's being cheated on.
And that's major problem with Something Borrowed; there's no one really to root for in this. Sure, you can argue it should be about friendship but when Hudson's character is so spiteful and self centred, it's hard to argue for her and that her fiancée shouldn't cheat on her.
The only high point in this film is John Kransinski - his best friend Ethan is hilariously funny in an underplayed way dispensing deadpan lines and generally stealing the show. The negative side of that is how the story treats him with a revelation ruining any kind of decency his character may have had prior to that.
With some funny scenes (a badminton match on the beach is amusing and seeing Goodwin and Hudson pretend to be Salt'n'Pepa being the best) and a subplot involving Ethan being stalked by a cougar he can't shake, this overlong romcom seriously outstays its welcome with its 2 hour run time.
Overly asinine and formulaic, Something Borrowed left me feeling like shouting Something Blue afterwards.
Something Borrowed
Rating: 4/10
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield
Director: Luke Greenfield
From the book of the same name comes a new rom com.
Goodwin stars as Rachel White, a woman hitting her 30s and still single and unmarried; her best friend Darcey Rhone (Hudson) is the complete opposite - engaged to Rachel's former college buddy dreamy Dex (Egglesfield) and about to be married.
But when Rachel begins a clandestine affair with Dex, all manner of secrets, lies and hidden truths begin to surface.
Something Borrowed will appeal to a certain sector of the audience but to everyone else, it'll be a case of eye rolling and a terrible sense of déjà vu.
While Goodwin does as well as she can with drippy sad sack Rachel, Hudson's managed to perfect the self obsessed and generally unlikeable best friend who's unaware she's being cheated on.
And that's major problem with Something Borrowed; there's no one really to root for in this. Sure, you can argue it should be about friendship but when Hudson's character is so spiteful and self centred, it's hard to argue for her and that her fiancée shouldn't cheat on her.
The only high point in this film is John Kransinski - his best friend Ethan is hilariously funny in an underplayed way dispensing deadpan lines and generally stealing the show. The negative side of that is how the story treats him with a revelation ruining any kind of decency his character may have had prior to that.
With some funny scenes (a badminton match on the beach is amusing and seeing Goodwin and Hudson pretend to be Salt'n'Pepa being the best) and a subplot involving Ethan being stalked by a cougar he can't shake, this overlong romcom seriously outstays its welcome with its 2 hour run time.
Overly asinine and formulaic, Something Borrowed left me feeling like shouting Something Blue afterwards.
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