New Oz The Great and Powerful Superbowl Trailer

New Oz The Great and Powerful Superbowl Trailer

James Franco stars as the Wizard in Sam Raimi's prequel to the famed classic THE WIZARD OF OZ along with Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.

Watch the new OZ The Great and Powerful Superbowl trailer.

The Lone Ranger Superbowl trailer

The Lone Ranger Superbowl trailer

Disney has debuted a whopping 90-second trailer for their summer release, The Lone Ranger.

It stars Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp as the classic Western duo, helmed by PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN's Gore Verbinski.

Watch The Lone Ranger Superbowl Trailer.

Star Trek Into Darkness Superbowl Trailer

Star Trek Into Darkness Superbowl Trailer

Coming today, is the Star Trek Into Darkness Superbowl Trailer.

Here is your first look at the the Star Trek Into Darkness Superbowl Trailer.

World War Z Superbowl trailer

World War Z Superbowl trailer

The long-delayed adaptation of Max Brooks' famed zombie apocalypse novel starring Brad Pitt has dropped.

Here's the World War Z Superbowl teaser trailer.

February movies

February movies

Another month, another set of big releases...

Here's some of what's coming out in February for cinema lovers.

Flight - 6th Feb

Mt Zion - 6th Feb


Hitchcock - 7th Feb

This is 40 - 14th Feb


A Good Day to Die Hard - 14th Feb


Beautiful Creatures - 21st Feb


The Sweeney - 28th Feb

Latest movie reviews with Jack Tame - and reflecting on Sir Paul Holmes

Latest movie reviews with Jack Tame - and reflecting on Sir Paul Holmes

A difficult piece of radio today with Newstalk ZB's Jack Tame - a few movie reviews including Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty and The Expendables 2.

But, I couldn't do the slot without reflecting on the life and input of Sir Paul Holmes, who sadly died February 1st and on whose show I contributed to for four years. The Saturday morning slot is a great show to be part of and Sir Paul was one of the best broadcasters in this country - so, it couldn't be done without a tribute to Sir Paul Holmes.

RIP Sir Paul, and condolences go out to his family. If you want to leave a message for Sir Paul Holmes' family, you can do that here.

http://newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/2083468106-darren-bevan--movie-reviews-and-thoughts-on-sir-paul

Two Little Boys: DVD Review

Two Little Boys: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Adapted from Duncan Sarkies' 2008 book of the same name (which I will confess I've not read), Two Little Boys stars Bret McKenzie in his first cinematic lead role.

It's off to Invercargill in the early 1990s as this dark comedy centres on two very good mates, both mulleted and both looking distinctly bogan.

McKenzie plays Nige, who's been living with Blake's Deano in relative domestic bliss (but not like that) for some 15 years.

As it begins, Nige's doing some laps around the centre of Invercargill and inadvertently knocks down and kills a Norwegian tourist. Panicking, Nige throws the body into a hole, conveniently in the centre of the road and runs to his mate Deano for help.

But, after 15 years of friendship, Deano and Nige have had a falling out and Deano, the slightly psychotic bullying type isn't going to forgive Nige any time soon for leaving their home and shacking up with general nice guy and security guard Gav (Pohatu).

However, when Nige reveals what he's done, Deano's got no choice but to try and help his mate - and so begins a massive misadventure as the three of them (and a body) head down to the Catlins to dispose of the evidence.

Only Deano's got more than the disposing of one body on his mind...

Two Little Boys is an odd film - a twisted tale of bromance gone bitter; of friendship heading south, of finding your own confidence to stand on your own two feet and of how far you'd go for your mates.

It makes a good fist of the moody Southland coast and the Catlins themselves but does little to populate the tale with either comedy or dramatic weight to flesh it out. Sure, there are some good one-liners throughout
and some amusing sight gags (a panicking Nige tries to carry out CPR on the tourist despite his body being upside down) but all in all, this has such a mismatched mix of tones veering from dark, gruesome and attempting comedic that it doesn't come out smelling of, unfortunately, anything other than a bit of a mess.

McKenzie (when his Nige is not having a panic attack) does relatively well for his mulleted bogan but has little to work with; likewise Blake has a few darkly comic moments but is saddled with some pretty unfunny lines for a supposed comedy.

I think the problem with Two Little Boys is one of tone throughout; it has throwbacks to the bleak comedy of Predicament but doesn't have enough to really back it up with any dramatic meat or real character engagement.

Director Sarkies really comes alive with some brilliant touches towards the end (which had been deployed throughout would have sent this into offbeat watchable kookiness) but it's an incredibly long slog getting to that point. While there are touches of the dark underbelly of New Zealand being exposed, Two Little Boys is an uneasy and occasionally queasy mish-mash which feels like an opportunity much squandered.

Extras: Deleted scenes, cast interviews, behind the scenes

Rating: