A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - NZFF Review

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - NZFF Review

Ultra-stylish, sleek, sonorous and sensuous, A Girl Walks Home At Night is a definite must at this year's New Zealand International Film Festival.

Set in the mythical Iranian ghost town of Bad City, this film sets out its store with its very first few shots. A James Dean-esque character lounges by a shed, as if modelling for a catalogue, before swooping in and stealing a cat and driving off in his car.

But this character is Arash, and his world is conflicted; his father is addicted to drugs, his debt to a dealer is close to being cashed in with the ultimate price to pay if the money is not forthcoming. However, Arash's world is changed when he meets up with a victim of the vamp in a veil (Sheila Vandi) who stalks the street at night - to say more would be to spoil it.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is from first-time director Lily Amirpour and her cinematic concoction is an intoxicating one.

Pristine monochrome visuals, affected with ease and afflicted with visually expressive shots are striking, leaving the viewer feeling like they're witnessing something iconic being born. The Blancanieves style aesthetic mixes with Jarmuschian sensibilities, and the whole thing's swathed in a Tom Waits glow, as the soundtrack crackles with hipsterish intent and sonorous simplicity. (In fact at times, with careful and considered direction and precisely choreographed moments, it feels like a music video, swathed in romance and cool)

Described by Amirpour as a cross between Sergio Leone and David Lynch, A Girl Walks Home At Night is like a Wild West of yore, but struck with louche expectations, rather than continual showdowns. A languid pace helps the shocks which come few and far between but renders them exceptionally effective. However, the director never loses her flair for visuals and comedy - where else can you expect to see a veiled vamp skateboarding down an empty street but this year's New Zealand International Film Festival?

Simply put, this rich vein of vamp bursts with ingenuity and charisma; it's a film that aches and deserves to be loved, it's a dreamy dance with the devil and it's spell-binding viewing.

Paper Towns: Film Review

Paper Towns: Film Review

Cast: Cara Delevingne, Nat Wolff, Austin Adams, Justice Smith
Director: Jake Schreier

The road to coming of age films is littered with many entries, each of them iconic to their generation.

But as the audience grows and yearns, their desire to get a new self-knowing and quintessential entry of their own increases.

2014's The Fault in Our Stars was such an entry into the pantheon. Author John Green cashed in on the sick-lit genre and breathed a new life into a genre whose viewers had seen it all, with two leads that sparked amid the tropes of the genre and raised the material above its intentions.

Paper Towns feels like a slight but retro entry to the field, using its MO to remind teens that sometimes life is about the journey and not the ultimate destination, as well as dishing out some life lessons that are obvious to anyone over a certain age.

This time around, it's free spirit and impulsive versus safe and steady in the story of model Cara Delevingne's Margo and Nat Wolff's Quentin. Friends from first meeting, the duo's paths intertwine but rarely intersect, but one night, the enigmatic Margo bangs on Quentin's window and begs him to come with her on an adventure one night.

But the following day, Margo disappears, and a series of clues are left behind for Quentin to decipher as to her whereabouts. So, grabbing his two best friends, Radar and Ben, the group sets out to track Margo down.

Paper Towns will in no way match the success of The Fault in Our Stars. 

Going more for cute and twee, this road trip flick occasionally meanders en route to its destination. The easy bond between Quentin and his buddies is nicely explored, but there's no real learnings here or insight into the human condition, merely an acknowledgement that leaving high school is the start of something new and your comfort zone is about to be shattered.

The film's best asset is a dusky-voiced Delevingne, who imbues Margo with a spiky free-as-a-bird-yet-troubled mentality and who impresses greatly in the early scenes. But, narratively, she's missed from the film and spends great swathes of it as a gone girl, and really the film suffers from her absence and infectious vulnerability and joie de vivre.

It's not that there's anything wrong with a sincere Wolff et al, just that the safe revelations (OMG, who knew the hot girl could have slightly geeky leanings) and bland life lessons lead to particularly unsurprising moments; while there's a minor subversion of the tropes at the end, the final result is no less surprising.

The Fault In Our Stars star Ansel Englort makes a brief cameo aimed at tipping a wink to the teens who will lap up this film, but it has to be said Paper Towns feels slight in its intentions and resonance, perfectly adequate in its execution and pitched squarely and modestly at its teen audience who will adore it.

Rating:

Win a trio of top releases from Madman Home Ent

Win a trio of top releases from Madman Home Ent

It's winter, it's cold and quite frankly, it's best you stay indoors.

But, there's nothing better than settling down with some top releases and your loved one - and to help you with that, my great friends at Madman Home Ent are offering you the chance to win with a winter warming viewing pack on Blu ray and DVD.

The titles are:

The Loft: In this tense psychological thriller, five friends conspire to share a secret penthouse loft in the city – a place where they can indulge in their deepest fantasies. But the fantasy becomes a nightmare when they discover the dead body of an unknown woman in the loft, and they realise one of the group must be involved. Friendships are tested, loyalties are questioned and relationships crumble as the group is consumed by fear, suspicion and murder.

The Last Five Years: THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY LOVE STORY. In this adaptation of the hit musical, The Last Five Years is a musical deconstruction of a love affair and a marriage taking place over a five year period. Jamie (Jordan), a young, talented up-and-coming Jewish novelist falls in love with Cathy (Kendrick), a Shiksa Goddess and struggling actress.Their story is told almost entirely through song. All of Cathy’s songs begin at the end of their marriage and move backwards in time to the beginning of their love affair, while Jamie’s songs start at the beginning of their affair and move forward to the end of their marriage. They meet in the center when Jamie proposes...

Black Sails Season 2:  Season Two begins where we left off… With the Walrus crew stranded and the Urca gold in Spanish hands, Flint and Silver must join forces to survive. Meanwhile, back on Nassau, a prize of immeasurable value is smuggled onto the island, forcing everyone toward the ultimate judgment: are they men, or are they monsters?

To enter, send me an email to the addy below with the title JULY IS FOR MADMAN and put your address details in too.

Email here darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com - editor's decision is final (ie me) and good luck!

Cartel Land - NZFF Review

NZFF Review - Cartel Land

The insidious damage done by drugs is given the on the ground treatment in this doco.

It starts like something out of Breaking Bad with mysterious figures, bandanas over their mouths, brewing up crystal meth in the desert under the cover of dark. As the camera watches the swirls of the drug rise up above, a voice intones "We are the number one meth cooks in Mexico" and at once captures the conflict in a nutshell.

Director Matthew Heineman had unprecedented access to both sides of the conflict in this; and it shows through an electrifying doco that very calmly plants itself in the middle of the drug cartel issue and never sways.

Following both Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American who runs the Arizona Border Recon and Dr Jose Mireles, a Mexican based physician who leads the Autodefensas, a vigilante style group determined to wrest control back from the cartels and the government itself.

It's not a film that flinches from the horror the cartels inflict on those around them either; shots of a trio of heads, the victims of crossing the cartel are gruesome in the extreme, a reminder that this war is very real and this justice is disgustingly shocking. Posing questions of what would you do if the drug lords came for your town, the cameras follow the self-appointed Autodefensas and its Lee Marvin-esque leader Mireles as the townships embrace him, his group's position and the chance to claw back power.

Heineman is thick in the fray of the conflict; when the bullets fly, his cameras are there; when the Autodefensas believe they've tracked down two men who are responsible for a series of atrocities, they are there on the raid - and they're also there to capture the raw emotion of the victims of the cartel, and the anger that threatens to bubble up as justice catches up to the wrong doers.

In many ways, Cartel Land is an electrifying modern day portrait of a Wild West scenario, with sides squaring up to each other; rather than using talking heads, Heineman's insistence on filming a live document makes it all the more powerful. If it weren't a documentary, you can imagine Hollywood coming a-calling as this explosive piece of film-making leads to its shocking denouement.

Along the way, there's corruption, surprises and pathos; while it's probably fair to say that Cartel Land works better when it follows the Mireles story rather than Foley's patrolling the borders, it's only because Mireles' tale is set in the heartland of the conflict. It's a place where retribution and revenge are insidious and strike when least expected, leading the viewer to wonder who is actually winning this never-ending war. No-one appears right, and the innocent soon crumble to the daily pressure of experience, and the growing power of revolution.

Plus the final scenes of the doco are incredible, sending everything you've just watched into a tailspin and give you an urgency to experience it all again through new eyes.

Newstalk ZB Review: Magic Mike XXL, Kingsman and Focus

Newstalk ZB Review: Magic Mike XXL, Kingsman and Focus

This week, it was abs, spies and conmen.

First up Jack and I discussed Magic Mike XXL, before moving onto Kingsman: The Secret Service and finally Will Smith in Focus.

Take a listen below, and don't forget to tune in weekly on NewsTalk ZB on Saturday mornings.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-magic-mike-xxl-kingsman-focus/

NZFF Q&A - Ever the Land from Sarah Grohnert

NZFF Q&A - Ever the Land from Sarah Grohnert

Tell us about your film at the film festival
EVER THE LAND is an immersive documentary that portrays Tūhoe’s journey of building New Zealand’s first Living Building as their tribal headquarters over the course of achieving their historic settlement in 2014. The film was three years in the making and it weaves together a unique insight into the most sustainable architecture in the world alongside exploring the relationship between Tūhoe and their land through the ebbs and flows of everyday life and intimate access to the settlement process. We have the World Premiere in Auckland on the 18th July, followed by the Wellington premiere at Te Papa on the 28th July and some further screenings around those dates.

Tell us the best moment you had making this film
It’s impossible to narrow it down to a single moment. Every moment spent in and around Te Urewera and with the Tūhoe people was an invigorating experience for me. It truly is a different world out there, everything feels so real, present and alive and I revelled in all my encounters and the sense of adventure and freedom that accompanied me throughout the period of filming. Some of the best moments were had simply sharing a cup of tea with Tūhoe, listening, laughing and being touched by their openness, warm-heartedness and integrity to their land. And then, spending time in the bush, in the depth of Te Urewera…well, that is something else.The sense of aliveness and bliss in incredible.

Tell us the worst moment – and the one thing you left out of this film
I can’t think of anything I filmed that I wish I hadn’t.  If I had to pick a ‘worst moment’ that wasn’t filmed however, I’d pick myself running around the streets of Wellington on the day of the Tūhoe settlement: it was pissing down swimming pools and I was carrying a tripod, camera and sound gear all  by myself, trying to make it to the Beehive in time for the settlement ceremony. It was so packed that I had initially decided to place myself at the inner city Marae where crowds of Tūhoe were to view the ceremony live on the screen. But then the live streaming connection broke down just as the powhiri began and that’s when I decided to pack up quickly and run over to the Beehive and squeeze in afterall. Man, that was a nightmare actually…this once in a lifetime moment, one I had tried to plan for and anticipated for weeks…and then…I found myself soaking wet, nearly missing it all. You gotta laugh at yourself though and I did. And I managed to capture some of it afterall.

Tell us what this film means to you – and why people should see it.
This is my first feature film and despite having already worked in the film industry for 15 years, this is far and wide the most fulfilling project I ever had the opportunity to be part of. The film means a lot to me because of the trust, ahora and support that Tūhoe showed me in capturing this historically important period for the iwi and the building of such an iconic landmark. Te Uru Taumatua is a place for everyone to come to, not just Tūhoe but people from all over New Zealand and the world. It’s a new beginning, an inclusive beginning and a beautiful example of something that plays a part in everyone’s life: a sense of connection with place, a true foundation for a sustainable future for our children and many more generations to come. I think the film gives an opportunity to slow down, and reconnect with parts of ourselves that are essential to being and feeling human. What Tūhoe together with the late legend of NZ architecture, Ivan Mercep,  have achieved with this building and their settlement is inspirational and uplifting and simply fascinating to watch.

Tell us one of the films you wish you were seeing at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival?
I’m really looking forward to watching ‘The Tribe’, a Ukranian film shot with an entirely deaf cast about a gang at a Kiev boarding school. There are no subtitles and no narration and I absolutely love this sort of bold film-making. The trailer looks awesome and states that  'for love and hatred you need no translation’. Yes, yes, and yes. I’ll be at the edge of my seat.

NZFF Q&A - Jason Howden, Deathgasm

NZFF Q&A - Jason Howden, Deathgasm

Tell us about your film at the film festival

DEATHGASM is a balls-out, Heavy Metal Splatstick horror/comedy. It involves two Kiwi Metalheads who inadvertently bring about the demonic apocalypse. They then have to save the world, the only way that a Metalhead knows how: caving in skulls and shredding tunes on tricked-out guitars.

Tell us the best moment you had making this film

I'm not going to lie, it was the first gore shot. It was filmed at the end of the night, and we were running out of time. So it had to be a one take wonder. We set up the appliance on to the actor and rolled the camera. The whole crew was crowded around in nervous anticipation, then I called action. It looked amazing! One on the best throat slits I've seen in years. There is always an unpredictability with horror, you are shooting fluids into the air, and can never fully control where they land. Much like shooting porn, I presume.

Tell us the worst moment – and the one thing you left out of this film. 

I left out all the insanely complex gore gags that I couldn't have shot without a few million dollars! 

Every film I've worked on, there have been times so painful that you feel like you've been dragged from a tow bar through broken glass then kicked in the taint. I think Deathgasm went really smoothly in comparison thanks to our dedicated cast and crew.

Tell us what this film means to you – and why people should see it.
Deathgasm, is the fulfillment of a long held dream of mine. The story is loosely based on my teen years, growing up in Greymouth, West Coast. Deathgasm is the only NZ feature narrative in the NZIFF this year, which makes me incredibly proud.

Metal and Horror fans should definitely make the pilgrimage, but I think there is something for most cinema lovers, comedy, a sweet love story. Deathgasm has been accepted into dozens of prestigious festivals around the world, now it's time for the homecoming tour!

Tell us one of the films you wish you were seeing at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival?

Without a doubt: I Am Thor. It's a documentary about Jon Mikl Thor, who many fans of heavy metal horror will be familiar with. He was a bodybuilder and Metal musician who starred in the 80's cult classics Rock N' Roll Nightmare and Zombie Nightmare. It looks incredible.