At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog.
The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
Cast: Barry Ward, Simone Kirby, Jim Norton, Andrew Scott
Director: Ken Loach
Against a backdrop of images of workers in old New York and a jazzy old school wartime soundtrack, comes Brit miserabilist Ken Loach's latest.
Set in Ireland in 1932, Barry Ward is Jimmy Gralton - who divided a small community when he built a dance hall nearly a decade ago. Forced out, he went to New York but returns to Ireland "not the same man that went away" and determined to live out a quiet life.
However, urged by the kids who are blessed with wanderlust and boredom, he restarts the hall up only to find his plans pushing him into direct conflict with the Church (in the form of Father Ted's Bishop Brennan actor Jim Norton )
There's a quietly reflective tone to Jimmy's Hall, but it wafts as lightly as a flower on a summer breeze. It's pleasant to look at but is distinctly unmemorable as it goes on. Ward is fine, but lacks any real edge during the genuinely heartfelt drama. Even the conflict with the Church seems tame by comparison and the mournful tone against the lush verdant green backdrops of Ireland proves to be an odd mix that never really fires up.
While there's a vibrancy and energy to the dance hall scenes, they only really ever serve to highlight the fact that that is missing throughout the rest of this piece, which seems remarkably toothless by Loach's standards.
Coupled with the fact this battle for hearts and minds through dance and against the church ethos is never anything but black and white. The church is firmly in the wrong and Jimmy's a hero to all, albeit one that never really serves to light the fires of passion for those watching.
While Loach may be mellowing (see the brilliant The Angels Share for proof of that), his touch on this true story is too slight to be anything as engaging as it should be.
The Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer's already dropped - and now, there's some truly beautiful Avengers Age of Ultron concept art to go with it.
Take a look at Hulk, Iron Man, Hawkeye and the rest of the gang
When Tony Stark jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as they battle to save the planet from destruction at the hands of the villainous Ultron. In NZ cinemas April 23, 2015.
Cast: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, George Henare, Rena Owen, Raukura Turei
Director: Toa Fraser
With praise ringing in its ears from the Toronto International Film Festival, Toa Fraser's The Dead Lands hits cinemas, completing a veritable belter of a year for Kiwi fare at the multiplex.
Entirely in Te Reo, Boy and Dark Horse star James Rolleston is Hongi, a Maori chieftain's son whose witnessing of a desecration of ancient descendants by rival chief son Wirepa (Tuhaka) sparks a rift in pre-colonial times.
When Wirepa and his men attack Hongi's tribe in the night, slaughtering all the men and killing Hongi's father Tane, Hongi swears revenge on Wirepa, despite not being fully versed in the ways of the warrior. Hongi sets out to get his vengeance, and with Wirepa crossing the abandoned Dead Lands, he sees his chance to use the spirits of the land and the ancient ways of the warrior to achieve victory.
In among the lush, verdant land so beautifully captured by Fraser and his team, there's a potent mix of spirituality and brutality on show in The Dead Lands.
Rolleston cements his place as a national treasure by pulling in a performance that's a subtle blend of ferocious anger during the quick cut fight scenes and sensitively scared maudlin boy on a coming-of-age journey, teetering on the verge of manhood. Equally, Makoare as the Monster in the Dead Lands is also a frightening presence, a reminder of the simmering rage and yet sadness that lurks in the violence of the past within this taniwha.
But it's Fraser who's the real star of this piece, for pulling together an epic genre film that blends martial arts style fight scenes that spit over with brutality, spirituality, Greek tragedy (via Wirepa's hubris - which is cunningly subverted at the end), 80s action movies (quick zoom ins, an atmospheric synthesiser score from Don McGlashan) and full on te reo. The soundscape's also impressive too, with bone-crunching fight scenes sizzling among the violence of this old fashioned revenge flick.
The te reo is also a masterstroke, with the colourful enunciations delivering an evocatively emotional edge to the spiky dialect and dialogue when practically spat by some of the cast - it's a touch which wouldn't have worked as well were it in English or dubbed.
Presence is key here and Fraser crackles with it with his cast and behind the camera, even as the vengeance story goes on - and leads to a finale that somewhat lacks in final act showdown showmanship after plenty of posturing has filled out the screenplay and screen time. (And given that the haka is more menacing here than on any rugby field)
It's an interesting end where Fraser looks to bridge the violence that's gone on previously and has so wrecked Hongi's life and other tribes with the signs of a dawning of a new sensitivity in the dawning of a new age. Perhaps, a more mature response to what's gone on before.
The Dead Lands proves to be creatively fertile ground for New Zealand cinema in a year that's been unprecedented for Kiwi product - and a sign that when required, we can offer an unique spin on events.
But it's Fraser who's the real star of this piece, for pulling together an epic genre film that blends martial arts style fight scenes that spit over with brutality, spirituality, Greek tragedy (via Wirepa's hubris - which is cunningly subverted at the end), 80s action movies (quick zoom ins, an atmospheric synthesiser score from Don McGlashan) and full on te reo. The soundscape's also impressive too, with bone-crunching fight scenes sizzling among the violence of this old fashioned revenge flick.
