Rhys Darby scoops top NZ Comedy award

Rhys Darby scoops top NZ Comedy award

The New Zealand International Comedy Festival has drawn to a close, with a clutch of awards being handed out at a starry do in Auckland.

During the Last Laughs ceremony hosted by Te Radar, the Billy T Award winner and Fred winners were unveiled.

Nominees for the Fred Award this year were Rhys Darby, Brendhan Lovegrove and The Boy With Tape on his Face .

Darby was given the Fred Award, an accolade which is named after Fred Dagg and symbolised by a gumboot and prize money. Darby said he was shocked to have won and thanked his wife on stage, before joking that he would "probably retire now". His show This Way To Spaceship played to packed audiences throughout the festival - and the book of the same name has been number one on the best seller list for 3 weeks in a row.

It's the first major New Zealand comedy award Rhys Darby's won, having previously lost out on the Billy T James award in 2002 when it was given to Dai Henwood.

The winner of the 2012 Billy T Award was also revealed - the nominees this year had been Rose Matafeo, Guy Williams , TJ MacDonald, Tom Furniss and Tevita Manukia.

The coveted yellow towel and prize money went to Guy Williams. In an ironic twist, he'd been competing against his girlfriend Rose Matafeo for the award.

Wilson Dixon - Comedy Festival Review

Wilson Dixon - Greatest Hits: Comedy Festival Review

The cowboy from Cripple Creek rolls into town one more time and you'd best saddle up and join for mirth and merriment are on the way.

If you've not succumbed to Wilson's charms before, then you need to make sure you check out this pony tailed country singer who regales his audience with a skewed eye on the world and a lyrical arsenal at his disposal.

These shows for the comedy festival from Wilson are a chance to catch one of our finest country songwriters at work and appreciate the issues he has dealing with family problems and relationships.

But as ever with Wilson, that's only half the story.

Smart, lyrical couplings, lashings of country styling and some faster than a bullet wit are all trademarks of his show - and after a couple of years of success, the man is smart enough to regale us with some new songs about his sister, as well as a truly amusing ditty about the quirks which begin to grate at the end of a relationship.

Throw in the ongoing problems with his violent horse, Andrew and you've got a show which drips with dry, laid back, laconic humour and a superior intellect, wise enough to know when to hold back to let the audience catch up with what's just been said. Ripples of warm loud laughter rock the audience during this show and to be honest, you've got no choice but to give in and bask in the comic genius at play.

Add into that already brilliant comic mix, the smart interplay of a quick wit and warmth to deal with anything the audience throws in (although to be fair, it's not heckling, so much as whistling and even a sneeze) and you're pretty much guaranteed a great night out. Part of the charm and charisma of this show comes from the unexpected wordplay and the tangents - it's unexpected pleasure at every turn.

But you have to admire Wilson; he's smart enough to not rest on his laurels after doing so well with a recent string of hits and shows off some new songs (like "That thing you do - please don't do it") as well as mixing in a few old favourites (such as the brilliantly reflective "The Mirror") into the show. It's a deft move and the new ditties show a lyrical charm and simplicity to render them extremely catchy and make them feel like new best friends by the time they're over.

Wilson ends the show by meeting his audience and giving them the chance to "experience the nostalgia of paying for music" in the foyer afterwards, ensuring that he is a comedy favourite and a welcome face on the annual scene.

Once again, this warm, charming and whimsically laugh out loud funny show is one of the best doing the rounds - here's hoping The Greatest Hits show becomes a nationwide tour and everyone gets to enjoy the Wilson Dixon experience.

Rose Matafeo: Comedy Festival review

Rose Matafeo: Comedy Festival review


Rose Matafeo - Scout's Honour

Were / Are you ever part of the in crowd?

If so, then move along, bucko, we don't want to talk about you here. Because this is the show from Rose Matafeo, the ever so slightly uncool yet totally inclusive stand up who makes the gawky look adorable and you feel like you were never not a part of it.

Starting with an endearingly sung foreign song with subtitles appearing on a screen for us all to follow (which rapidly get out of control), it's an Eurovision style starter with a hint of bizarre singalong about it.

Rose herself is a bundle of nerdy, nervy energy, as she takes us through the things that she's rubbish at. It's the sort of stuff most of us can identify with as we were growing up. But it's the engaging way that she reveals parts of her life that she sucked at that you begin to realise that you too had moments where you were the outcast, or a bit lost in it all.

I like Rose's awkwardness-mixed-with-confidence act on stage; it produces some truly unexpected laughs and some very funny comedy stylings from the most bizarre of topics and ideas.

From an impression of Liam Neeson to a section where she reads from her forthcoming book "Saddest tweets from NZ celebrities" (please let it be so - I predict a major best seller there based on the ones she read out), there's plenty of laugh out loud moments. Attempts at audience interaction - with the promise of cat badges lovingly made by Rose - work well; we're au fait with her easy going approach and despite the usual Kiwi reticence to get involved, it's all at the expense of Rose rather than the crowd.

(As an aside, I do wonder if she must have been the kind of kid who must have spent all their time sticking stuff together with glue and glitter, only to find most of it was on their face / fingers. Though she did reveal that she wasn't sure whether to use her best cat stickers on the crowd - and was tempted to keep those for a very special occasion.)

Scout's Honour is a celebration of a self confessed and self effacing peripheral character, someone who's been on the fringes of the cool crowd but who never really let it bother them despite their apparent dorkiness.

Rose is a rising comedy star on the scene and despite her belief that maybe she's a bit uncool and unhip because of her earlier years, I don't think she has anything to worry about.

Based on Scout's Honour, this star's going stellar and thanks to her warm generousness, we're all along for the ride.

Jan Maree - comedy Festival Review

Jan Maree - comedy Festival Review

Jan Maree - Hairy Today, Gone Tomorrow

After winning last year's Fred Award, Jan Maree had the world as her oyster.

Which is probably a good thing given this half-caste Kiwi / Croatian lady had a sudden attack of the "Who am I?" and "Where am I from?" syndrome.

To be honest, a voyage of self-discovery is always a worry for a show - it's prone to self obsessed sentimentality rather than sharp insights; thankfully, Jan Maree is the complete opposite of what you'd expect from one of these trips in the vein of Who Do You Think You Are?

Caustically funny, raucously rude and yet surprisingly touching at the end, this journey is one you really do want to take.

From the quest to get a good waxing because of her hairy Croatian roots, to panic brought on by a teacher friend moving to Thailand, Jan gives this occasionally demented travelogue a freshness and live-wire feel that's eminently watchable.

Energetic and amusing, Jan has a penchant for story telling and a predilection for situations which bring out the bizarre which translates very well on stage. With an eye for a very funny one line quip here and there, she's also a great performer.

With a surprisingly moving ending as well as Jan celebrates her core Maree-ness, I left this show in a reflective mood, having been amused and also moved to thought.

There's something about this show that many of us will recognise deep within ourselves - a need later in life to understand our roots, to embrace our heritage and to celebrate what we've become (and why).

But it never becomes mawkish in Maree's hands - sure, it's a personal and moving trip, a confessional piece dripping with history and poignancy.

However, Hairy Today, Gone Tomorrow is never short of side-splittingly asides, punchlines or perfectly delivered moments as you are welcomed in on the journey - and for that reason, you should make sure you sign up to enjoy the ride.

Guy Williams Comedy Festival Review

Guy Williams in On the verge of Nothing

Low key is perhaps the best way to describe this gig for Guy.

I've seen his television stuff before and I've got an idea of how deadpan and dry he can be - but in a stand up situation for Guy, it's a completely different kettle of fish.

The evening kicks off with a longer than expected, ever so slightly rambling introduction which is self deprecating, dry and bemusing. An admission that he's going to thank all of us personally for coming actually translates to him carrying that out - and it's the unpredictable awkwardness which hangs in the air which sets the tone for the next hour.

With a style that could be best described as "hang dog" and "laconic", Guy tackles some truly odd topics with some great comic aplomb. Irony and pauses hang in the air and it takes a real talent to work out how to use these for comedic effect rather than coming off looking like he's bored.

You have to feel for Guy though - that kind of approach may lead some viewing this show to feel that he doesn't have a clue of where he's going or what to do. But it's a smart man who plays down the feel of the comedy and avoids a lot of punchlines to simply carry on an act.

Self-deprecating in the extreme - at one point, he tries talking to the audience before dismissing the idea quickly after two interviewees, muttering that it "was a disaster" before launching into something else.

It's this kind of rambling, random, a propos of nothing, lo-fi approach which truly works for him - the deadpan dispatching of dry comments and throwaway lines is actually so completely unexpected that it takes the funny bone by surprise. He's got some great one liners, some amusing stories and you can't help but feel that when he's name dropping New Zealand "celebrities", it's actually steeped so much in irony that he's mocking himself rather than bragging about who he's seen/ what he's done.

He's a relatively emotionless guy on stage, not once cracking a smile or laughing at his own smarts; he lets the audience do that for him. Sure you could argue that using some blown up pictures for "jokes" (actually, it's probably fairer to call them observations) is nothing new but you can't tell what Guy's about to say or do; it's that kind of refreshing randomness which really was a winner.

On the Verge of Nothing is Billy T nominated - it's a different show than anything else I've seen in the festival from a young comic who's clearly ploughing a totally different route to anyone else out there; it's a refreshing approach and I hope he reaps the rewards that he justly deserves.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is coming....

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is coming....

Fans of the shooter will have something awesome to look forward to next week...

The release of Ghost Recon Future Soldier!

And as if that wasn't enough to get excited about, there's been a new trailer for the short film which will come out with its release.

Here's what the release says:

"Ubisoft has released a new trailer for the short film, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha to mark its release on Uplay today.    Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha is the 25-minute prequel film to the video game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and follows the Ghosts as they are dropped deep behind enemy lines in order to eliminate one of the world’s most sought-after war criminals."

Meanwhile, the game's not yet out and already details are out of the DLC associated with it...

"Ubisoft has announced the first Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier DLC package, the Arctic Strike Map Pack.

From the streets of Moscow to the far reaches of the Arctic, this all-new downloadable content pack extends your Ghost Recon Future Soldier experience with new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer mode, a new Guerrilla Mode co-op map, and six additional weapons to give you the supreme edge over your enemies.  

Arctic Strike will be available for purchase on Xbox Live or on the PlayStation Network on July 3, 2012.  It can be pre-ordered at GameStop and Best Buy retail locations. In Ghost Recon: Future Soldier join an elite team of highly trained, cut-throat special-ops soldiers.  Armed to the teeth with unrivalled combat technology and cutting-edge military hardware, Ghost Recon takes you to the globe’s most deadly warzones to hunt down the highest value targets.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be available on May 24th for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.  It will be released for Windows PC on June 15th."

Check out the trailer for the game Ghost Recon Future Soldier, which hits stores on May 24th...

Man On A Ledge: Movie Review

Man On A Ledge: Movie Review

Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Ed Burns, Ed Harris, Genesis Rodriguez

Director: Asger Leth

Sometimes, a film title comes along which tells you everything you need to know.

Star Wars, J Edgar, Bridge Over The River Kwai, erm, The Smurfs – just a few of the self explanatory titles which don’t require much brain power.

Now, you can add to the list – Man On A Ledge.

Sam “Avatar” Worthington stars as Nick Cassidy, who is titular Man On A Ledge.

Checking into a downtown New York hotel, Cassidy grabs some food and without any obvious reason, heads out onto the ledge and waits.

Pretty soon, all of Manhattan’s transfixed and watching Cassidy – and sent in to try and talk him down is negotiator Lydia Mercer (a tough and wearied Banks). But Cassidy’s got other reasons for being where he is – and some of it involves his belief he was framed for a $40million jewel theft by David Englander (a somewhat emaciated looking Ed Harris).

So with time ticking against him and police trying to work out how to end this safely, Cassidy begins to realise that nothing is as it seems and trusting people could literally bring on his downfall.

Man On A Ledge is really a case of checking your brain at the door and just leaving any kind of logic behind before the lights go down.

It's a really good premise which is somewhat squandered by the story telling; Worthington makes his plight seem real and plausible; he begins by shouting that "I will exit this world as I entered it - innocent" giving you that curious in you need - and Banks makes a good foil to the potential hero as the tale unfolds.

But the initial start falters pretty soon in and you're into formulaic thriller territory complete with overbaked tense OST; and also due to some preposterous story moments - at one point, Worthington's character is fearful of being on the ledge, then next he can run and jump - and it goes from cryptic thriller to run of the mill actioner, which is a real shame. 

Man On a Ledge is a perfectly serviceable film with a reasonably silly heist movie operating within - it's just that overall, it's unmemorable the minute it's over. It lacks the excitement and tension of a good edge of the ledge thriller despite the efforts of all involved.

Rating: