First Born To Dance trailer drops

First Born To Dance trailer drops

New Zealand shot Born To Dance has just released its first trailer.

With choreography by Parris Goebel,  and Stan Walker starring, it looks as if it could rival the Step UP series when it releases.

The Ground We Won: Film Review

The Ground We Won: Film Review

Director: Christopher Pryor, Miriam Smith

Life goes on.

It's an adage that two moments chiefly evoke in The Ground We Won and a reminder that come hell or high water, on and off the field, the cows still need milking - or delivering.

New Zealand's two chief exports - farming and rugby - get the once over in this new doco which premiered to crowd-pleasing warmth at the Autumn Events and is likely to steal the hearts of both the heartland and abroad.

Husband and wife film-makers Christopher Pryor and Miriam Smith, the self-confessed naive townies who made How Far Is Heaven, head to Bay of Plenty community Reporoa to document a community, their obsession with rugby and the life lessons that we draw parallels from.

Shot evocatively in black and white, and bathing the whole thing in a kind of mystical feel, The Ground We Won is likely to win many admirers (and potentially a few side observations and detractors about the drinking culture within sport) as it follows the team and their quest to remain unbeaten (and friends) in a season back in 2013.

But by focusing on three guys of differing age levels of the team, Pryor and Smith tell us more about a community and the bonds that maketh a man than any simple sports underdog doco ever could.

There's 17 year old Peanut, complete with scar on his chin, who's determined to win the Young Farmer Fight for Life scrap he's in as well as the respect of his team-mates; there's Broomy, the captain and the man who's worrying over how any on-field injuries could impact his running of the farm and force his parents into action; and finally, there's Kelvin, the undoubted star of the piece, a single dad of two adorably cute 7-year-old rugby obsessed boys, who's juggling coaching a kids' team, running the farm and the homestead with a "She'll be right" attitude from the dawn of the day through to the end of the night. (His attitude to getting spoons for yoghurts for the kids' school is to re-use the McFlurry ones from the back of the ute and just to wash them being one of the pearls of wisdom that any Kiwi male will silently but gratefully acknowledge). All of these guys are destined for cinematic fame and the annals of Kiwi blokedom.

There are others in the team, but Pryor and Smith choose not to label them on screen (and the three above as well), which is an interesting narrative choice, but makes the audience work to engage. But it's a clever move which pays off as the reward is an incredibly emotional one and one which reaps the dividends it so rightly deserves as the final furlong nears.

With banter that borders on a mix of continually self-effacing, mocking and what happens when lads get together over a few drinks, there's certainly something for everyone to associate with and engage at every level.

Pryor and Smith wisely realise the draw of this verite piece isn't whether the team wins, or if Peanut triumphs in his boxing and quest to get the ladies or Thomas' attempts to coach the youngsters, but that the true strength and worth comes from the way these guys react to what everyday life presents them with - and by extension, us too.

A morning after calf delivery for Broomy is the reality of a hang-over, using cable to hoist a newborn into the world without losing his lunch. It's moments like these which define us as a people, a nation or a bloody good-fulla.

Equally, the black and white cinematography drenches Reporoa in a blanket of beauty; mist hangs in the air, training takes place in complete fog and the decision to turn things so sparse, gives the film a timelessly haunting quality that's complemented by David Long's sparse OST.

Less a celebration of the drinking culture within sport (though questions will linger), The Ground We Won is an inspiration, an exploration of what makes Kiwi men tick and what binds together communities - no matter what your personal opinion is, every one of these men in their daily lives is an inspiration, proof that no matter what kind of person you are on the field, it's how you live your life and respect others around that matters first and foremost. All of those underlying foundations of life are celebrated as the group congregates in their church of their dressing room.

Pryor and Smith have mined our two national obsessions to maximum effect; it's an intimate and unobtrusive movie, but one that says more about the life that matters most than any doco has done before. The Kiwi male may forever be under scrutiny, but thanks to this paean to the most testosterone-fuelled and quintessential way of life on and off the pitch, it's in very rude health.

Rating:

Latest Jurassic World trailer

Latest Jurassic World trailer

The latest full length look at Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt has just dropped.

Testament of Youth: Film Review

Testament of Youth: Film Review

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington, Colin Morgan, Taron Egerton, Dominic West, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson
Director: James Kent

The spectre and horrors of the first World War hang heavy in this adaptation of the iconic memoir of Vera Brittain which opens in time for ANZAC commemorations.

A powerful and tenacious Alicia Vikander stars as Brittain, who in the months leading to the outbreak of war, is waging her own fight to be allowed to sit the Oxford entrance exam against the wishes of her father.

Orbiting her quest for intellectual stimulation are her brother Edward (Kingsman: The Secret Service star Egerton), long time crush Victor (Merlin star Colin Morgan) and potential love interest, sensitive Roland (Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington aka Jon Snow).

As Brittain forms a relationship with Roland through a shared love of poetry across the miles, war breaks out and the effect on a generation is nothing short of seismic. But through it all, Brittain fights for her place in the world, her right to be on the battlefields and her grief at the terrible losses she suffers.

Testament Of Youth is a strong, poignant piece that shirks none of the responsibility of showing the true horrors of war on the young; stiff British upper lips quiver in the face of conscription and Kent does a sensitive job of using small moments to convey the naievete and horror in equal measure.

A tremendous Vikander outshines most on screen, imbuing her Battle of Brittain with an emotional depth and resonance from the outset, even if the script threatens to sideline such strengths. While the initial petulance and settling of Brittain into a Blue Stocking, looking for nothing more in life than a husband seems to clash with her headstrong desire to be educated and yet also be one of the boys, sections which turn her into a hopeful romantic rankle, seemingly at odds with all that's gone before and threatening to turn our heroine into a simpering girl whose only purpose in life is to conform to the social mores.

Those feelings are only compounded by the amount of screen time given to the relationship with a particularly insipid and wet Harrington as Roland, which threatens to derail the whole thing, rather than providing the strong emotional touchstone needed for the film.

In fact, Testament of Youth is a much better piece when it heads to the fields of France and leaves the aloof and dreary romance behind, and stops desperately from trying to make you connect to the star crossed lovers.

The true appalling consequences of war and human nature are laid bare in the warzone that Brittain experienced first hand emotionally and personally. It's here the cameras don't shy from the drab wet conditions, so clogged in mud and blood and lay bare the wounded, the wailing and the frightened. The film gathers its strength from its final third and it's here really that the film grips on the heartstrings.

Sadly though, the final sections see a sudden shift to pacifism that comes from left-field; granted, Brittain's seen more than her fair share of horror but the move doesn't work as well, due to the lack of connection to a weak wet romance and a cold emotionless series of scenes, which is a real shame.

While Testament of Youth looks beautiful and benefits from Vikander's presence, its central message is somewhat muddled and it loses the power that it should really pack given its material.

Rating:

New Fantastic Four trailer is here

New Fantastic Four trailer is here

The new trailer for Fantastic Four by Josh Trank has just dropped.

Take a look at the Fantastic Four trailer.

Love, Rosie: Blu Ray Review

Love, Rosie: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

From the "One time this lead would have been played by Hugh Grant" file comes this latest Brit romantic comedy, based on the Cecilia Ahern book, Where Rainbows End.

Alex (Sam Claflin) and Rosie (Lily Collins) have been best friends since they were 5 years old, but on Rosie's 18th birthday, a drunken kiss changes everything between them. Orbiting a will-they, won't-they trajectory, life and other loves find a way of setting their trajectories on other paths...

Love, Rosie follows the well-worn path of most romantic comedies; a pair of winsome leads, who try to generate chemistry by lots of stolen glances, aching near-lingering kisses and the fluffiest of situations.

It begins at a wedding with Collins' Rosie teetering on heartbreak and winds its way back through the most predictable and bland narrative fare you'd expect from the author of tear-jerker PS I Love You.

That's not to say there aren't some moments when the youthful exuberance and absurdly comic situations manage to slightly defy your expectations (Rosie's loss of her virginity providing some much needed comedy early on before the sappiness sets in), but this entirely saccharine movie knows exactly how it wants to play you and your emotions from the schmaltz-laden get go.

Claflin channels some Hugh Grantisms and looks like a dead ringer for Kris Marshall in places; but, like Collins, is blandly inoffensive as he negotiates the back and forth of marriages, mistakes and mis-timings. In among the occasional screwball interludes and saccharine minefield of babies guaranteed to get certain sections of the female audience cooing, there's the feeling that it's all too familiar to really stand out in the pantheon of rom-coms.

That, coupled with the fact that the peripherary characters that come in and out of our protagonists' orbit are so badly underwritten and cliched (probably a fault of the source material) that they never feel like a real threat or choice to Alex and Rosie's life decisions, means that Love, Rosie is as bland a romcom offering as you'd expect.

It's all perfectly pleasant and will hit its core audience squarely and perfectly, but I can't help shake the nagging feeling that it's not as sophisticated or as smart as rom-coms used to be back in the day...

Rating:

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking movies with Jack Tame

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking movies with Jack Tame

It's a quiet release week this week on the big screen but that didn't mean there was a lack of small screen entertainment.

This week on Saturdays with Jack Tame, I had a chat over Nightcrawler, Big Hero 6 and Alexander and the terribly long title.

Take a listen below:

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-big-hero-6-nightcrawler/

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-big-hero-6-nightcrawler/