Good For Nothing: Movie Review

Good For Nothing: Movie Review


Cast: Cohen Holloway, Inge Rademeyer
Director: Mike Wallis

Westerns in New Zealand?

Has the world gone mad?

Actually, not really. This latest film from the genre follows on the heels of last year's production of Netherwood and is the most current attempt to showcase the very best of our countryside (outside of the work done by Peter Jackson for Lord of the Rings).

Cohen Holloway plans "The Man" in this - he kidnaps an English woman (played by newcomer Inge Rademeyer) who's immigrating out west. However, when the Man tries to take advantage of the woman, he's unable to perform and is thrown into a case of confusion and self doubt, which fuels his quest for some kind of medicine to help his performance issues.

But when The Man rescues the woman from successive captors, he sets in motion a chain of events which sees a posse out to hunt them both down....

Good For Nothing is a novel approach on the western genre, which is beautifully captured thanks to the rugged terrain of the South Island. In all honesty, I'd never considered the wilds of Central Otago doubling for the Wild West, but having seen what first time director Mike Wallis has brought to the table, I'll be very surprised if they're not used again.

Wallis has also brought some Western sensibilities with him - it's clearly a genre he knows and reveres, as is evidenced by the kind of shots he shoots within the film. From close ups of eyes to the murky lighting inside, from some truly stunning landscape shots to the showdowns, this is a film which respects the Western and does everything to emulate it.

Even down to Holloway's acting - minimal and trying to recall Clint Eastwood's Man with no name, the first words he utters don't come until some 15 mins into the film, where he tells a doctor: "Doc, my dick's broke."

Rademeyer makes a reasonable debut, but to be honest, dialogue and major exposition (as well as a major story) are not a key part to this film; granted, it's more about the mood and tone, which is western through and through, from its grittiness to its look, Good For Nothing is an intriguing success on that front.

All in all, while not quite emulating the best westerns ever, Good For Nothing is a good solid Spaghetti Western start for Wallis and really does open the eyes to what else NZ can offer the outside cinematic world in terms of landscapes.

Offbeat, quirky and a little different, Good For Nothing shows promise; with just a little more depth of story, it could have been truly magnificent.

Rating:

Brand new Dark Knight Rises trailer

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New trailer to the conclusion of Nolan's Batman franchises.

Here's another look at The Dark Knight Rises in the brand new trailer...

The Five Year Engagement: Movie Review

The Five Year Engagement: Movie Review

Cast: Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans and Chris Pratt
Director: Nicholas Stoller

As someone who's engaged and sorting the whole married thing out this year, you could say I'm somewhat invested in a romantic comedy film like The Five Year Engagement already.

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel star as Tom and Violet, a couple who we first meet on New Year's Eve in San Francisco and one year after they initially hooked up. Up and coming chef Tom's about to propose to Violet and unsurprisingly, as befitting this cute couple, she accepts.

However, as they begin to plan their wedding, they find their thunder stolen by Violet's sister's urgent and unexpected marriage to Alex, Tom's best friend. Their engagement becomes further prolonged when Violet receives a job offer to work at a university in Michigan for a couple of years; Tom decides to head there with her, but soon discovers that leaving everything behind in San Fran for mid town America may not have been the best thing he could have done....

If I tell you The Five Year Engagement is from the producers of Bridesmaids, it'll give you a bit of a heads up of what kind of comedy we're pitching for here.

But unlike Bridesmaids, The Five Year Engagement is a not quite as R rated and raunchy.

Sure, it's a sweetly endearing film about a couple in love and the roadsblocks and hiccups on the way to true happiness - it's also very funny - but, it's not quite as good as Bridesmaids (if you're expecting another breakout hit like that).

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel make an adorably real and cute couple as they negotiate the rocky road of love, distance, relocation, wedding planning and life itself. The story route these guys take is a nice role reversal on the traditional "woman must follow where man goes" romcom and it gives it a slightly fresher edge in terms of the dynamics - plus the producers score by using San Francisco and Michigan for locations rather than the usual glitzy hang outs of the genre.

There's something endearing about the pair from the first time we meet them - either in the New Year's Eve proposal sequence to the flashbacks of Tom dressed as "Super Bunny" and Violet decked out as Princess Diana at a costume party - there's a frisson of reality to their courtship which helps you invest in them from the beginning. So, when things sadly hit the skids, you care - and that's a rare feat these days.

I have to admit though that in parts, The Five Year Engagement feels a little overlong as it rolls out its occasionally awkward comedy. At 2 hours, I reckon producers could have trimmed a little off without losing too much of the beat of the film - and while I can appreciate that not everything is played for laughs during this film, the unexpectedly great one liners and barbs make up for the lack of relatively long gag filled sequences that end up in a punchline.

All in all, The Five Year Engagement is a rare beast - a comedy drama that looks at what comes after the happy moment and the realities of what happens to a couple when reality intrudes. It's a guaranteed win for Blunt and Segel and offers up a cosy warm jumper of a movie which will leave you with a fuzzy glow afterwards.

Rating:


Watch The Five Year Engagement trailer below - and it contains some scenes which didn't make the final movie - so it's a bonus piece!

The Grey Movie Review

The Grey Movie Review

Cast: Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney

Director: Joe Carnahan

Forget Bear Grylls, here comes Wolf Neeson.

In this film adaptation of short story, Ghost Walker, Liam Neeson stars as John Ottway, who's hired by a corporation in Alaska to take out the wolves preying on the men as they work.

Along with a group of other workers, he's sent on a plane to another job - but in a truly terrifying scene, the plane goes down, stranding only seven survivors in Alaska. With nothing but their wits, the men try to survive and get to some form of civilisation and escape.

But standing between them and safety is a pack of wolves, which gradually begin to pick them off one by one.

The Grey is a stunningly good film - and it's entirely unexpected.

Through opening shots of white mountains to the sudden fade to black at the end, it's a constant surprise - and not what you would expect from the director of action packed films like The A Team and Smokin' Aces.

Carnahan's crafted together a subtly philosophical action film which explores spirituality as it forces the characters to confront their own mortality in horrifically extreme conditions. There are a couple of jolts and shocks here and there too - with moments that really catch you off guard.

Neeson is outstanding as the weary Ottway, a man who's weary of life and who starts the film with the desire to commit suicide after admitting "I've stopped doing this world any real good."

Thanks to Neeson's dialled down and restrained performance amid the piercingly arctic conditions of white out, he's mesmerising as the leader from the get go - and unfortunately, the rest of the plane survivors don't get as much characterisation as he does.

That's a real shame though because you really just focus on Ottway's character but it doesn't fully give you the pull for the rest of the group to make it through.

Via flashes back to Ottway's past, we see a woman, but gradually Carnahan drips out the pieces of their backstory all the way until the end - it's a clever directing tactic which continually reminds you Ottway is an enigma as well as an expert on wolves. Neeson delivers a pitch perfect performance as the leader of this ragtag bunch of ex-cons trying to survive.

But it's the film which is the star really - it's a nicely put together piece which you can read more into if you want to. There's certainly a fair amount of philosophising on hand as the wolves close in on the gang and you can maybe read into the potential allegories which are hinted at but at the end of the day, The Grey is one heck of an adventure pinned by a great central performance from Neeson.

Rating:

Starbuck: Movie Review

Cast: Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand Julie LeBreton
Director: Ken Scott

A French/ Canadian comedy, Starbuck is the story of Huard's David Wozniak, a man child/ loser who's barely getting by; he has a crummy job delivering meat, which he's always late at doing and a pregnant girlfriend who he's a bit distant from.

He loses the plot even further when he ends up owing loan sharks somewhere in the region of 80,000 dollars - but that's nothing compared to what's around the corner.

You see, David was literally a wa**er, anonymously donating to the local sperm bank plenty, and pocketing the cash. But when a lawyer shows up one day, telling him that he's fathered 533 children and that over 100 of them have joined together to form a class action against him to reveal his identity, it all falls apart.

So, with no other option, David decides to man up and starts his quest to become a father - in more ways than one.

Starbuck starts with a fairly outrageous idea and then turns it into something of a watchable piece; mainly in part due to Huard's central performance. With his scruffy looks, unkempt appearance and football shirt, he's recognisable to many as a man child who's lost his way.

But along the way, it becomes a film about what family means - as David lurks in the background, watching over these kids he's created like a kind of guardian angel.

Farcical and a bit out there, Starbuck sheds its lunatic premise early on to become a piece which is sensitively done, sweetly acted and fairly decent fare. It won't rock your world but thanks to a nicely told original story, it's a piece of cinema which may make you look twice at your own family.

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Milton Jones: Comedy Festival Review

I've seen Milton Jones three times now in the past 4 days - twice as part of other shows and now as a solo act.

Despite some of the material being replayed (as it obviously would) I've not suffered a lessening reaction - in fact, it's been the complete opposite - even more mirth at his surreal one liners and overtly corny puns.

The show begins with Milton Jones' grandad being welcomed to the stage and he dodders out and begins to perform an act; it's madness in a flat cap and overcoat.

And it's bloody funny to be frank. It's also unfair of me to reveal some of the gags and non sequiturs he comes out with (the majority of which I'm smirking at as I write this.)

Suffice it to say that time with Milton is like walking through a maze with ever shifting dimensions; just when you think you're about to turn left and get to the point, the white rabbit rushes into the maze, pulls the rug from under you and then jumps on your head. If you think that analogy came from nowhere, then you've got some idea of what Milton's MO is.

After his grandpa's done the set twice (trust me, you'll never look at the phrase "I'm going to start again" in the same way), Milton himself is brought on and the mirth and laughter doesn't let up as he delivers hit after surreal hit in a flowing stream of surreal stupendousness.

You don't quite know where Milton's going when he starts to speak - you think you have an inkling of where he's headed and then he wrong foots you or delivers such a terribly corny line, you can't help but give in and just revel in the zaniness of a perfectly timed punchline. For example, one line is that you should never buy pizza from sports shops. While you're scratching your head, Milton reels you in by pulling a dartboard out. In Milton's wacky world of weird, it all makes sense. And after a little exposure to him, it makes sense to you as well.

Even though the audience is occasionally non-plussed, there's some good natured banter back and forth - as well as a little audience involvement, there's also Milton's pictures on a technologically advanced OHP. It was at this point that I really lost any last minor resistance to his gags - and lines like "My favourite memory of Houdini...pause...no, it's gone" just proved hit after hit. Quite simply, resistance is futile.

So, I'll admit I relented and gave you a couple of his gags, but given the amount that he uses throughout his set, you're not spoiled....trust me, there's plenty more where that came from in this pure quality set. And it's sheer genius.


With his puzzled face, wavy hair and calm exterior, Milton Jones is a comedy festival must see - it's a polished and unusual set which locks horns with the absurd and tosses it your way. Don't miss Milton - he's one of the UK's premiere entertainers, an archduke of the absurd and a prince of the peculiar. He's also  perfectly timed punchline perfection which will have you chortling as you wander off into the night.

Jesse Griffin: Comedy Festival review

Into the Classic Studio we filed - and to a sign on the stage saying "You'll find out what this is a bit later", setting the tone for an inquisitive night ahead.

Jesse Griffin introduced himself in the best way on the PA - as our support and headline act before making his way to the stage and beginning right from the very start - with the big bang.

From there, a rambling stream of consciousness extolled how we'd got to this stage - and how chance had led us to Jesse, our leader.

It's an interesting night with Jesse - a lot of wordplay and deadpan dry moments which you really need to make sure you're paying attention to to get the maximum return from what he's saying. This self professed "Ginger nut" had a lightly mocking tone which belied some quick thinking and smart seeding of payoffs early on.

It's actually hard to define fully what this show was about - as Jesse selects three members of the audience to fill in his survey questionnaire (sample question: On a scale of 1 to 10, tell us how you feel about 11), there's a genuine impish pleasure in revelling in the absurdity of language, the ambivalence of meaning and a large serving of very dry humour.

A selection of graphs (whoever thought you'd come to a comedy show to look at graphs) proved to be a very sly nod and a wink to those investing in intellect into the proceedings.

That's the thing with Jesse's humour - it's quietly delivered, super smart throughout and will need your investment in the set ups for the ultimate pay offs. With a glint of something twinkling behind his eyes, I was very happy to follow Jesse as a leader - hopefully you'll feel the same as one of the quirkiest, and most different of the festival shows continues.