The Dead Lands: Blu Ray Review

The Dead Lands: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Transmission Films

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.

Rating:

Avengers: Age of Ultron: Film Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron: Film Review

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Elisabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner
Director: Joss Whedon


Peace in our time, existential angst and a lot of setting up for Phase 3 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe are the big issues explored in the latest Avengers' movie, helmed by Joss Whedon.

Following on from events in Manhattan where the Chitauri invaded under Loki's malevolence, the film begins with a raid on a fortress to secure Loki's Sceptre.

But when Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark and his hubris tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program by using the tech from the sceptre, things go badly awry, birthing the villainous Ultron (James Spader) and threatening the safety of the universe due to his malign God complex.

Foregoing his usual style of quippiness and ditching his lighter touch in favour of a darker psychological movie with character in amid the chaos, The Avengers: Age Of Ultron strives to make the superhuman gang a little more exposed to their human foibles with the introduction of fan-fave, the insidious and devious Ultron (brilliantly brought to life by James Spader, whose tones swing between outright disdain and anger at a moment's notice).

In fact, the whole movie feels darker and broodier in tone to previous outings, with more emphasis on the relationships and the human scale of the team providing the, at times, underdeveloped drama.

From the fractious dynamic of the apple pie Captain America squaring off against the cocky and cocksure Tony Stark to the burgeoning will they / won't they of Romanov and Banner's Beauty and The Beast relationship - and a surprising turn of events for Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye (who was a relative blank slate in the previous film). New additions to the fold include Aaron Taylor-Johnson's lightning fast Quicksilver and Elisabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, who both harbour a resentment and connection to Stark's military past.

This mournful movie isn't perfect though it has to be said; at times, Whedon feels constrained from his customary quip and wit - and the one inclusion of it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Equally the film's "Coulson moment" lacks the resonance of the first time around in The Avengers, even if it does come with a self-referential line for the character involved. A scene where Hulk and Iron Man go at it reeks of 9/11 allusions, right down to the dust and cuts on victims' faces and it packs a power that's nervously divisive. It feels as if ironically Whedon is more a puppet within the road map that Marvel's laid out rather than free-wheeling.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say this doesn't feel like Joss Whedon film in many ways (which, I admit, I respect it for).

There's a quiet dissonance throughout the at times dour The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, a feeling of endings and of set up for pay-offs further down the franchise, which may lead some to feel latest Avengers' film isn't quite the air-punching blockbuster and calibre of the first, with some probably feeling a little too much time is given to semantics and discussion about whether you should or shouldn't enact the Avengers' equivalent of the Patriot Act as well as delaying pay-off until the ominously titled Captain America 3- Civil War.

Still, at least Marvel's offered up an old school good guys vs the bad guy scenario in this transitional piece rather than the usual Infinity Stone MacGuffin fuelling the action (but still rely on the same style endings as befits all their films); there are some impressive action sequences and the usual space to let them breathe; and the end where the broken team reacts to their own ideologies, their fracturing and a different future is mapped out is an intriguing one.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will still be incredibly popular, though I suspect this darker, more introspective and slightly over-long piece won't be raved about in the same breath as the previous entry, but it may serve a long tail life; it's a film to be appreciated and applauded for Whedon's refusal to repeat the formula the second time around and proffers up a tantalising, if not entirely gripping or engaging, peek at what lies ahead for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rating:

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.