NZ Film Festival goes regional....

NZ Film Festival goes regional

The New Zealand International may have finished in the main centres for 2012 but it continues to roll out to the regions. I caught up with festival director Bill Gosden to get his thoughts on the year just gone - and also to see what the regions can look forward to this year - and what they shouldn't miss out on.

1)      So that’s the end of Auckland and Wellington (and Dunedin) for another year, how’s the festival been - both in terms of sales and experience?Sales exceeded 101,000 in Auckland and we’ve got to be happy about that. We were down 1,000 in Wellington which we attribute largely to the exact coincidence of the Olympics and a general air of caution pervading the capital. Dunedin has been great this year, 2,000 admits ahead of 2011.

2)      What have been the highlights for the main centres?Moonrise Kingdom, West of Memphis, Cabin in the Woods, The Angels’ Share, No, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Marley, From Up on Poppy Hill, and in Auckland, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Live Cinema.

3)      Which films do you think these audiences missed out on and that the regional centres shouldn’t miss out on?
In the Fog, the Imposter, Sleepless Night, Pictures of Susan, Shut Up and Play the Hits and The Red House have proven completely engaging – to smaller audiences than we felt they deserved.


4)      How do you think audiences differ as the festival tours the country?Because attending the festival there requires so much more effort than elsewhere, the Auckland audience is the most intensely focussed. Many Wellingtonians take a more nonchalant approach. The Dunedin audience is our most unnervingly spontaneous, rarely booking and turning up en masse (or not at all) from ten minutes before the advertised start. Elsewhere we can see small venues sell out in advance and schedule extra screenings, but never in Dunedin. This year we’ve had to turn away 100s from Dunedin Rialto screenings of Tatarakihi and The Last Ocean.

5)      Do many of the regionals have the DCP technology – and will people really notice the difference?They certainly will: in Tauranga, Masterton and Hawkes Bay we have no DCP at our disposal and the programme is much, much smaller. The Kiwi content is still strong as we are touring our own HDCAM player.

6)      What’s been your personal highlight so far?There have been many. The first DCP screening at the Civic, Beasts of the Southern Wild  got things off to a stunning start – and the finale with the APO was extraordinary. The response everywhere to such a large and varied New Zealand programme has been very gratifying.

 7)      What do you think will do well around the country?Cabin, Marley, Angels’ Share, Amour, The Last Ocean

8)      What plans do you have for the 2013 festival?Carlos Reygadas has already confirmed his Post Tenebras Lux… We are hoping DCP will be the standard medium by next year and that there will be no more fussing with myriad digital formats.

9)      What’s been the best audience reaction to what you’ve programmed this year?
The big receptions for Beasts and Tatarakihi pleased me the most. Ant gets the credit for orchestrating Cabin in the Woods euphoria.

10)   Just finally, how do you intend to spend the downtime after the regional tour finishes – is there any film or TV you’re desperate to catch up on? Or will you be hoping for a glorious summer to live alfresco and out of the cinema?It’s true that, despite my professional calling, summer is my favourite season, but I am very tantalised by the forthcoming release of 50s and 60s Hitchcock classics on Blu-Ray. 

For all the details of where the NZ Film Festival is hitting around the regions and what's playing, head to www.nzff.co.nz for more!

Moonrise Kingdom: Movie Review

Moonrise Kingdom: Movie Review

Cast: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand
Director: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson's latest whimsical outing collects together eccentricities, visual gags and quirks aplenty as it unfolds on the screen.

Set in 1965 New England, a tale of first love blooms as scout Sam (first time actor Gilman) breaks out from his troop and meets his love Suzy (also, first time actress Hayward) who frees herself from the shackles of her lawyer family (played by the ever deadpan Bill Murray and a stoic Frances McDormand).

But the 12 year old pair's escape doesn't go unnoticed in the small New England time and a search is launched for them as a hurricane approaches.

Moonrise Kingdom is trademark Anderson with his usual idiosyncratic quirkiness still present but dialled down a little.

The music of Benjamin Britten forms a major backbone of this lightly deft piece which is dazzlingly funny and heartfully humorous throughout, despite dealing with slightly precocious kids and more innocent times.

A star-packed cast offers up the very best of what's given to them but the film belongs firmly to the two leads and Anderson, whose eye for the artfully insane and utterly charming are once again spot on in this crowd pleasing sure-fire audience winner.

The main duo of Hayward and Gilman work very well together in this film which is drenched in the yellow tones of the 1960s; their performances are cute and watchable, as the little moments in the film make you laugh. It's a comedy of deadpan deliciousness in places which is sly and wry.

Every one of the cast fits into this oddball world with its over pronounced quirkiness and over accentuated dialogue.

Moonrise Kingdom is a delight; it's a salute to the simplicities of childish times as we view the unfolding romance. Coupled with some delightful comic rhythms, it's nothing short of a cinematic treat.

Rating:



 

Julia's Eyes: DVD Review

Julia's Eyes: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Vendetta Films

A Spanish horror/ psychological thriller which set Spain’s box office alight, Julia’s Eyes shows up with the tag, produced by Guillermo del Toro and with the weight of expectation.

Rueda (who made such an impact in arthouse thriller The Orphanage a couple of years back) is Julia; when Julia’s blind twin Sara hangs herself in her basement, Julia suspects foul play.

But Julia, like her twin Sara, suffers from a degenerative eye disease causing her to gradually go blind – and as she investigates further, she finds her eyesight failing and sliding into darkness.

Combined with the fact Julia’s hunt for a killer throws up more questions than answers, it becomes a race against time for her as her eyes begin to fail and the killer begins to get closer.

Julia’s Eyes is atmospheric, claustrophobic, unsettling and well acted – but at times, it does lapse into a “there’s a killer in the house, let’s run around blind (literally)” kind of horror, which is a shame as it detracts from the genuinely spooky start and feel of the flick.

Rueda is immensely watchable as the twins – and her growing horror is evident and well acted thanks to a restrained performance which is empathetic and gripping. With a creeping sense of “there’s something just out of the corner of my eye”, Rueda reels you in.

It’s just a shame that the story lapses into a few horror clichés and loses some of its freshness as the ever so slightly overlong story unspools.

Extras: Trailer, B Roll and Interviews

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Dr Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: DVD Review

Dr Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Entertainment

Into the show's 25th season and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

Starring the dream team of Sylvester McCoy's 7th Doctor and Sophie Aldred's streetsmart Ace, the pair end up on a planet (ie quarry somewhere in England) after being invited to attend the psychic circus. Clowns,  gods of Ragnarok and the kid who played Adrian Mole on TV all these years ago await the duo.

Dr Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is a pretty good and solid entry into the show's history; Aldred and McCoy have a great chemistry together and this serial throws up some genuinely unsettling imagery too - if ever you were a bit suspicious of clowns, then this show will put you off completely.

Sure, there are parallels between the ratings war between the Doc and Coro as the Doc's pulled into an arena and ordered to entertain or die, but Dr Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is a fun slice of Whovian story telling, which sets the tone for future seasons and hints at a more manipulative Doctor.

An average set of extras completes the release - a nice piece looking over how the 7th Doctor's era was covered in the papers explains why there were a few issues - but overall, the set is not massively enhanced by the extra content.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: DVD Review

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

From the director of Shakespeare in Love comes the tale of a group of seven British OAPs who decide to spend their retirement in a hotel in India, having "outsourced" their twilight years.

There's Evelyn, a newly widowed housewife (Judi Dench); Douglas and Jean (Nighy and Wilton) whose lost investment in their daughter's business means they're now broke; Graham (Wilkinson), a retired court judge who grew up in India; ageing lothario Norman (Pickup); Madge, a similarly aged nymphomanic (Imrie) and Muriel (Smith), a bitter lonely racist who has to head for India to get a hip operation.

Unfortunately for the group, the hotel is a lot less than the brochure promised - it's somewhat ramshackle despite the best attempts of would be manager Sonny (Slumdog's Dev Patel) to try and bring investment into it.

But gradually in their own ways, the group begins to adjust to life there - or in two cases, not so much - and find that even in their later years, there's still much on offer from the world around them.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one of those films the word "nice" was invented for; it's a crowd pleasing, snuggly jumper of a film which, while a little overlong, exudes a warm fuzziness and glow which extends beyond you leaving the cinema.

In a very well put together opening sequence, as we're introduced to the characters, we're given all of their backstory and all we need to know about them right away. It's a nice touch and a cleverly deft piece of direction which Madden handles well. 

There's plenty of humour on display too - Dame Maggie Smith's racist and elderly Muriel says of the time they have left on earth being so short "that she doesn't even buy green bananas." It's this kind of humour which permeates the stereotypes of the British abroad story and while occasionally it's predictable, it will be lapped up - no doubt as a level of recognition shines through.

Each of the main cast gets their moment to shine; Dench and Nighy stand out in this ensemble and Wilkinson adds a poignancy to his high court judge. Perhaps the only exception is Patel's Sonny who feels a little sidelined towards the end of the film. India gets a little time to shine as the backdrop but it's never front and central to the action, giving you a taster of life in this love and relationships drama.

Overall, you can see exactly what's coming in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; the racist whose eyes will be opened; the widower who will step out from her dead husband's shadow; the bickering couple who will discover where their future happiness lies and an Indian who's threatened by an arranged marriage - it's all perfectly obvious what will transpire. And while there will be some who'll roll their eyes as this plays out on the screen, there will be many - including a larger elderly contingent of the audience who will recognise a lot of the universal frustrations - who'll lap up this middle of the road pleasantly watchable and charming dramedy.

Extras: Welcome to the real hotel, casting legends piece, behind the story and other mini docos.
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Darksiders 2 - Game Review

Darksiders 2 - Game Review

Released by THQ
Platform: PS3

Here comes Death.

Well, more specifically, one of the four horsemen in this new action/adventurer game from THQ, which is the sequel to Darksiders but takes place around the same time. A parallel-a-game if you will..

When fellow Brother horseman War is taken captive and blamed for starting Armageddon, Death sets out to prove his brother's innocence and rescue him.

Resembling a sort of dreadlocked Skeletor, this version of Death is mad, bad and angry and determined to save his brother. So it's into the realm he goes, into a frozen world where crystal creatures are ready to break through the ice and beat seven shades of, erm, death out of him.

Starting off in Darksiders 2 entails a bit of training on how to walk along walls and of course, wield the axe and attack the baddies, lurking around. You can't block attacks (aside from cutaway sequences in the middle of fights which require you to mash the Square button) but you can wield some pretty impressive damage here and there. Each attack throws up a barrel of numbers above the creatures, in something akin to RPG board games years and years ago, before they're beaten down.

Treasure, weapons, health potions all lie around defeated enemies for the taking - and gradually, you get to wield more weapons and unleash more chaos.

A heady mix of quests, puzzles and combat make up the majority of this game play and it does actually take a bit of time to take down the level bosses; in fact, an early fight was actually a lot tougher than expected and nearly reduced me to giving up on Darksiders 2.

Thankfully, a bit of perseverance and some frantic button pressing got me past that and into a world which is entrancing, captivating and a lot more fun than you would have expected. Darksiders 2 is eminently playable and enjoyable - Death's never been so much fun.

Rating:

How Far Is Heaven : Movie Review

How Far Is Heaven : Movie Review

Cast: The people of Jerusalem
Director: Christopher Pryor and Miriam Smith

Originally premiering in the New Zealand International Film Festival, How Far is Heaven now finally gets a wider release.

This doco spends time in the community of Jerusalem, just outside Whanganui, where the majesty of the river flows through the heart of the community. It's here the Sisters of Compassion have lived for the past 120 years - and today, only three nuns remain.

This film follows the life of Sister Margaret Mary over a year - she's a regular volunteer at the school; by spending time with her and the community, the cameras capture not only the majesty of the surrounding landscape but the diminishing role played by the Sisters in the community which is becoming more staunchly Maori.

But as well as charting the divides between Christianity and Maori beliefs within the community, it also concentrates on the kids of the area, whose various views veer from fear of the local taniwha to general impishness and refusal to be anything other than cheeky when day to day life comes calling.

How Far Is Heaven is a picturesque, vitally important document of community here in Aotearoa these days; it captures an innocence of children and a vital paradigm and paradox of tradition and its contrasts. All of it among some truly wonderfully done cinematography. With a blissfully judge free approach to all sides of the community, the filmmakers have crafted together something which is both respectful and moving, a portrait of a life many of us will never see and experience but whose very existence is central to our own.

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