The 5 Star Comedy Preview: Comedy Festival Review

The 5 Star Comedy Preview

It's that time of year again - the time, the reserved audiences get pushed a little further out of their comfort zone than perhaps they'd like.

The New Zealand International Comedy Festival's kicking off properly this weekend with three weeks of chortle, mirth and merriment.

And if the 5 Star Comedy Preview's anything to go by, it should be a great year for international comics hitting these shores.

From a very competent hosting gig by the UK's  Dan Willis (it's never an easy task taking on the hosting - you can get scant time to shine) through to a musical end, this eight act show was a good taster of what's ahead for the next three weeks.

With the scope of talent on show here, it's hard for any of the acts to get more than a few minutes of comedy going with the crowd - but, despite some jetlag, they all gave it their best shot.

UK comedian Chris Martin riffed on his famous namesake before worrying us with his views on lift etiquette and working a dishwasher. He certainly got the crowd with him to start - always a good sign.

Canadian Craig Campbell, who's a cross between Jesus, Billy Connolly and a man-sized lion, had to tackle problems with the stage lights going on and off during his act as well as trying to recount his mugging in Brussels with host Dan Willis. He showed off some physical comedy as well and certainly got the audience onside.

Which may be a bit more of an ask with Aussie Brendon Burns. Treading a fine line between confrontational and offensive to some, Burns may be an interesting ask in the festival. His stage rage over Michael Barrymore certainly left some in fits and others stunned at what they'd seen as they headed into the break - an interesting paradigm for a comedian but certainly proof that edgy comedy is continuing.

The second half saw South African Stuart Taylor riffing on what makes recession entertainment in his own house as well as the obligatory reference to Browns' Bay on Auckland's North Shore. Amiable and amusing, Taylor is one of the turns at this year's variety show, The Big Show.

American comic Bill Dawes and his overly rubbery face got some laughs when it really shouldn't have and by continuing to push a few stereotype buttons and some interesting local references, his live wire act could maybe make some reconsider working out at Les Mills.

Milton Jones was perhaps one of the highlights of the show, dispersing such surreal non sequiturs and puns in the manner of Emo Phillips and looking a little dishevelled as he walked out on stage - but man, he had the crowd eating out of his hand thanks to some perfectly fine tuned comic timing.

Dead Cat Bounce with their Spinal Tap-esque looks (bet they get sick of that reference) and songs about "What sounds do farm animals make?" And a Song written for Westlife "but they didn't want it" are proof the musical satire hasn't yet gone away.

All of the acts are doing their own solo shows too during the run of the festival. So, my advice until the end of May is to head to as many shows as you can - and while there may be some misses among the myriad of acts, make sure you've got your laughing gear on - because the acts deserve that from you at the very least.

Fanfiction Comedy: Comedy Festival Review

FanFiction Comedy

It was the cult sleeper hit of last year's NZ International comedy Festival and now it's back - having had a successful run in Aussie just prior to coming home to these shores.

Fanfiction, in case you're not aware of the general phenomenon, is where fans of shows take it upon themselves to pen works of fiction involving their fave TV or film characters. It's a field full of love, warmth and affection - much like the NZ stage version hosted with genial warmth by Rose Matafeo.

Fanfiction Comedy's already a success - what with it being a podcast and so forth, so it's no surprise that opening night of the show at the comedy festival this year was packed out.

Essentially, U Live host Rose Matafeo takes to the stage to introduce a group of about six writers (and fellow comedy festival performers) who recite their latest piece of Fanfiction prose, before it's thrown over to a panel for a bit of a discussion of whether it was liked or not. If you're lucky they'll even recruit one of the international comics to be part of it.

Opening night saw the likes of Tom Furniss, Nic Sampson, Heidi O'Loughlin, Edith Poor, Joseph Moore, Stephen Boyce and guest FanFictioneer Greg Benhrendt take to the stage to share a little part of themselves with us.

Fanfiction comedy has the convivial feel of a meeting of addicts who, would in the past have been confined to the forums of the internet for their discussions - but it's not creepy, weird or at all mocking.



In fact, it's the complete opposite - it's a warmly engaging, mutually appreciative and extremely amusingly creative night out.  There's just something about an obsessive love crossed with creativity which breeds for a thoroughly genial atmosphere, replete with laughs, knowing references and an appreciation of the zeitgeist as well as what's been shared on Facebook and tumblrs.

Rose manages to move the discussion along amiably thanks to a great rapport with the judging panel of two (Steven Boyce and Joseph Harper) - but I still reckon an element of audience participation may add more to the experience; whether it's voting on the best or a bit of feedback/ ideas being proffered, there's certainly the feeling that this pop culture loving forum will have its contributors within the audience as well.

All in all, FanFiction won't be the same show each week - with writers penning new material every week, it's a uniquely geeky experience every time - and one that you should put aside any inhibitions toward, embrace the inner nerd and revel in the show.


Rose Matafeo is also doing a solo show at the NZ Comedy Festival called Scout's Honour - and she's been nominated for the Billy T Award too. You'll also find the other acts in the FanFiction team on during the festival in their own shows too.

The Comedy Gala 2012: Comedy Festival review

Perhaps one of the most solidly funny and consistently entertaining galas of the festivals, this collection of 20 plus comedians was a great start to the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

Perfectly hosted by Greg Behrendt, who professed his love for Pineapple Lumps, the show moved along with a stonkingly good pace in front of a circus big top set.

It's hard to pick out anyone who was stand out because to be honest, pretty much everyone was on the money on opening night. From locals like Dai Henwood to The Boy With Tape on his Face, to the likes of Idiot of Ants and a brilliantly deadpan Milton Jones, the crowd was in sidesplitting mood from the get go.

Judging by the proliferation of local talent on the list, we've got some stonkers out this year - Urzila Carlson is clearly destined for stunning greatness based on the few minutes she gave; likewise a superb Jarred Fell, rocking a rude as magician demonstrated why he's the kind of act some will want to punch in the face cos of his cheekiness; and Steve Wrigley hit home with the truth about sick days and how they should be saved for when it's a nice day. Equally The Boy With Tape on His Face demonstrated why he's a surefire crowd pleaser with his ever charming audience participation antics.

But the international acts weren't exactly shrinking violets either - from Jason Byrne's brilliantly manic and chaotic attempt at magic, to the Idiot of Ants sketch involving two fathers to be being subjected to "Dad conditioning"; from Steve Hughes deftly smart anaemic looking Lemmy dishing out lines about being a death metal cook, Wilson Dixon's dry laconic riffing to Milton Jones' hilariously funny surreal deadpan one liners, this is clearly a vintage year for the festival.

If any acts have been left off here (and by the sheer science of maths and space, they will have to have been), it's nothing against them because I promise you every single one of them was great - so make sure, over the next three weeks, you get in amongst it - because you'll laugh so hard, you'll have to book plastic surgery to fix your face at the end of May.

The Axis of Awesome: Comedy Festival Review

The Axis of Awesome are a three piece Aussie comedy rock band, who apparently have been together for 40 years. Although as the show goes on, it turns out they've been together for some 150 years.

Yep, it's that kind of night in Auckland's Comedy Chamber.

The trio consists of gangly tall guitarist Lee Naimo, lead singer Jack Blackesque Jordan Raskopoulos and keyboard player and short guy Benny Davis.

Comedy songs are a tough nut to crack to be honest; they're either side splittingly funny or a bit lame. Thankfully, with a bit of clever wordplay and general good humour, Axis of Awesome manage to be more amusing than irritating.

But thanks to a rather average sound mix at the start, most of their lyrics in the opening number were lost in a mix of guitar and keyboard and I was a little worried the cavernous Chamber may have been their downfall - however, with some banter and discussion between the trio (as well as a running gag mocking Benny's height) they soon managed to win over the somewhat reluctant crowd as they dished out their Songwriting 101 style humour.

Parodying a myriad of styles, the three of them demonstrated that they actually know what they're talking about - from love songs to boyband tracks, from the most irritating dance music song to their trademark Four Chord medley (which took in just shy of 50 songs), they're clearly in the know as they frame their lyrical epithets.

Of the night, I'd say the second half of the hour was more fun than the first - whether it's the fact they'd found their groove or the sound mix had sorted itself out, I'm not sure but with a dance track called Can You Hear The F**king Music Coming Out Of My Car they had all of us wrapped in their musical warmth and merriment. It could also have been a little something to do with the relative reluctance of the crowd to get into it - seated and reticent, while the Axis gave it their all, there wasn't as much laugh out loud love back from the sitting masses.

There were plenty of laugh out loud moments for the Axis and with some musical smarts as well, there was food for thought for the head - I just can't help but feel that with a slightly more enthusiastic crowd, The Axis could have been truly more Awesomer.

Brand new Prometheus trailer is here

The brand new trailer to Ridley Scott's much anticipated sci fi flick, Prometheus is here.

Warning - a few spoilers lie ahead.




Prometheus, which stars Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron, returns to the genre that Scott helped define with Blade Runner and Alien. A  team of explorers discovers a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the corners of the universe where they must fight a  battle to save the future of the human race.

The film hits New Zealand cinemas on June 7th and has already been preceded by a massive viral marketing campaign.....

There's also been a new Prometheus featurette released too...


And here's all the marketing so far...

There's also been some new imagery released from the film too.

Prometheus hits NZ cinemas on June 7th.

Starring the likes of Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, this is likely to be one of the biggest sci fi hits of the year - and we get it a few hours before America does too.

Here's the official trailer for Prometheus...

And if you want to see everything which has been released so far - here it is...
There's also been a heap of viral activity for Prometheus - here's them all rounded up into one easy to monitor place...Something called "Our Family is growing" from Weyland industries...



And of course, the Guy Pearce fronted, TED 2023 talk from the Weyland Industries leader...

I Am Alive: PS3 Game Review

Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PS3

Let's be honest here - who of us would survive in a post apocalyptic world if we had to?

Surely, many of us would quiver like jellies and crumble to the floor in the foetal position. That's certainly the challenge facing you as the player of new survival game, I Am Alive.

You're a survivor as dust swirls around streets, littered with cars and no easy option of escape. But armed with the overbearing desire to save your family, you're heading out into the wilds, risking what you can and scrounging whatever you can to survive in this grey, grainy world where shocks lurk around every corner.

This is no Resident Evil style carnage - society's broken down and groups of survivors are out to get what they can and fight whenever necessary in this accomplished game from Ubisoft.

But as you head further into the city, first off getting to your old apartment, it soon becomes clear this isn't a game where you hack and shoot your way to survival; this is a game which really taxes the grey matter and compels you to think about your every move and to plan a strategy; it's clever stuff.

Case in point - you have a gun, but initially no bullets - so you're without a weapon per se, but you're not powerless; because pointing that weapon at someone approaching you has the effect of intimidation...However, what happens when they realise you're without bullets?

It's questions like this and having to use your brain that make I Am Alive such a successful and atmospheric experience; while it's not ideal that your stamina metre depletes so quickly (rendering simple tasks like climbing and running away from trouble occasionally difficult to achieve without dying), you begin to learn the quirks of the game's format and adapt your play to them.

Occasionally though, there are frustrations to the play - sometimes you can run to the edge of an area with ease and at other times, the computer stops your character dead in a place you'd thought you'd be able to access as the screen carries on - eg occasionally you can jump gaps and other times, while the gaps are the same, you can't jump over them. It's a minor niggle but one which, from time to time, prevents fluid gameplay.

You'll need patience and determination to get through this and while it can occasionally be frustrating and graphically lacking, I Am Alive is certainly an immersive game which will grip you in its tense paranoia like vice before letting you go.

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Resident Evil - Operation Raccoon City - PS3 Review

Resident Evil - Operation Raccoon City - PS3 Review

Released by Capcom
Platform: PS 3

I've never been much of a player of the Resident Evil franchise of games.

Despite the massive popularity of the games and inexplicably the movie franchise, I've never succumbed to their offerings - so it was a little tentatively that I took on Operation Raccoon City.

Sure, I understand the appeal of holding back the undead hordes and fighting and shooting to save the day, but to be honest, I don't think anything had prepared me for this latest.

In this release, you're part of the Umbrella corporation and given the job of trying to contain a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. But you're not alone in his as you're part of a squad whose job it is to blast them into pieces and make sure the spread doesn't continue.

First person shooters can at times be difficult to get just right - and while Op Raccoon City isn't a bad entrant into the genre, it can take a little while to make sure you're playing to your character's strengths rather than simply blundering about getting shot.

The pull of this game is really in the co-op nature of it- being part of a squad gives it a nice touch which is welcome from the tedium of simply shooting everything around you and moving on. Working with your teammates helps you achieve at the end of the levels and gives you access to power ups and weapons which help you more than anything else.

It occasionally shoots itself in the foot though as you can blunder into colleagues and find yourself against a wall when you're trying to get to the other side of the room making it difficult to fight off attacks.

All in all, I didn't mind playing Operation Raccoon City - it's just that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the experience of the single player mode as the novelty wears off pretty quickly as you're shooting, moving on, fighting and then moving on. A little more satisfying is the co-operative mode and online version - but even then the gaming flaws  here and there are still present.

If you're a Resident Evil fan, no doubt the name alone will have been enough of a drawcard to hook you in - otherwise though, I'd offer caution of trying before you buy this title.

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