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.
NZIFF Q&A - Hayden J. Weal, director of Chronesthesia
My film is Chronesthesia and it's about love. There's stuff about time travel in it, and regret, and the fact everybody can be a positive force if they try. But mostly it's about love. Falling in it, harbouring it, being scared of it.
The reason I made this film is: I want to make feature films for the rest of my life, and I was sick of not doing it.
What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why?
I don't wanna ruin anything about the ending so I'll pick... no, that'll give something away to. I like the opening. It stands out because it's shocking.
What was the hardest thing about completing your film?
There was rarely anything easy or simple with this film. The hardest parts were knowing people were putting time and effort into something and not being paid, and finalising the cut. That was a lengthy process.
What's the most satisfying thing about your film?
Its third act. It's a biggie!
What's been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why?
There's a moment in the film that made a friend of mine emotional, and it's a character being nice toward another character. That, and whenever anyone says I'm good in it.
What's next on the cards for you?
The Chronesthesia team are planning to work together again on another feature, hopefully with some financial backing. I am on the 3rd draft right now and it's really really good.
There's no denying the electricity of Poi E: The Story of Our Song.
At its world premiere at the start of the New Zealand International Film Festival, the Civic Theatre audience was clearly in the mood to enjoy a slice of Kiwiana.
And to all intents and purposes, Tearepa Kahi's simultaneous salute to a generation growing up and to the eminence of Dalvanius Prime achieves what it sets out to with exuberance and insight.
But as a non-Kiwi not versed in the 1980s trappings of beige stubbies, A&P shows, BYC and long hot summers, perhaps some of its intricacies and significance didn't land as they should and it may not travel as well internationally.
That's not to decry what Kahi's done and the hard work that's been put into the making of the film.
It's a documentary blast of nostalgia that is extremely well-crafted with interviews from the original Patea Maori Club as well as various people offering insight like The Topp Twins, the members of the club, Taika Waititi and Stan Walker et al.
There's plenty of humour and vitality around as well in the simplicity of the interviewees from the heartland of New Zealand and Patea itself. It's fair to say the film's a celebration and does much to set the scene for the birth of the Poi E song and the growth of the club which to some degree appears to rise stronger when the local freezing works closes.
And in the centre of it all, is Dalvanius Prime, a chihuahua loving, larger than life visionary who clearly blazed a trail for Patea but who didn't come to it willingly at the start. Using archive interviews, current day footage and super 8 film stock, Kahi's crafting of Prime's story and the subsequent ripples his influence had on the music scene are vibrant and entertaining.
Audio interviews and a very first ever recording of the inception of Poi E give the film an intimate authenticity that adds both to its veracity and its cinematic vitality. Coupled with Kiwis being Kiwis on screen and the natural characters of the heartland coming through, the film's portrait builds nicely both of Prime, his influence and his legacy.
But a quick brush over Dalvanius' death seems to deny the man the full implications and explanation of his story for those non-versed with him or who didn't grow up here. Though one can understand the desire to keep this upbeat and there's no denying that 30 years on, the song's still New Zealand's legacy.
But in many ways, Poi E: The Story of Our Song is more than just a documentary piece about a song and cultural icon that's lasted over 30 years - indeed a footnote adds the club meets every Monday, and Auntie Bib says you just need to bring a plate. (An example of the disarming and charming moments infused within this film by Kahi)
There are hints of politics within and contempt for Maori and small town New Zealand that shine an unhealthy light on New Zealand in the nicest possible way, as they bubble away in the background. It's never Kahi's MO to keep this anything other than feel-good and all the audience projection and feeling of the time will come simply from the authentic way it's all been laid out.
It's hard not to feel anger when Prime's attempts to attend a Royal Gala at the Queen's behest are greeted with a resounding No from all quarters, leading him to mortgage his home. Likewise, the closing of the freezing works is presented as a harsh community reality but Kahi's at pains to show how the community (like so many around Aotearoa) rallied to the call.
Cheekily ending with a claim that many know the chorus but not the words before presenting the song's lyrics via animation and a montage of performances, Poi E: The Story of Our Song leaves with a joyous earworm in your heart and a smile on your face, even if you may be less versed in some of the more nostalgic moments.
As well as the NZIFF screenings, Poi E: The Story of Our Song hits nationwide cinemas August 4th
Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass, the director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, once again joins Damon for the next chapter of Universal Pictures Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA's most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows.
For Jason Bourne, Damon is joined by Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel and Tommy Lee Jones, while Julia Stiles reprises her role in the series.
Frank Marshall again produces alongside Jeffrey Weiner for Captivate Entertainment, and Greengrass, Damon, Gregory Goodman and Ben Smith also produce.
Based on characters created by Robert Ludlum, the film is written by Greengrass and Christopher Rouse.
Jason Bourne hits cinemas July 28th To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com and in the subject line put BOURNE AGAIN. Please include your name and address and good luck! Competition closes July 28th and is exclusive to New Zealand only!
Cast: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Dean Norris
Director: Atom Egoyan
The past weighs heavy in this drama about former Auschwitz survivor Zev Guttman (wonderfully portrayed by Christopher Plummer), who's sent to find the blockfuhrer who murdered his family.
The problem is that time is against Zev, as he's suffering from dementia. Armed with a letter and help from a fellow Auschwitz survivor and nursing home inhabitant, he sets out across America to track down the man responsible for such misery - one Rudy Kurlander.
Remember is a film that packs an emotional sucker punch in its midst, but a film that's anchored by Plummer's frail and relatable turn as Zev, the survivor.
With his usual gravitas and dignity, the frustration he feels at his body giving out and his dementia taking hold is masterfully played and sensitively handled by Canadian director Egoyan.
The central piece of the film, a thrilling confrontation between Dean Norris's cop and Plummer's frail Zev crackles with electricity and underlying tension. To say more is to spoil the reveal, and reveals are certainly something Egoyan piles on carefully in this film. It almost threatens to topple everything over at one point, but because of the careful way the crafting is done, the ultimate result is one of tragedy and pathos.
Mostly though, Remember succeeds because of Plummer; his gradual piecing together of what's going on as this road trip of mistaken identity continues is nothing short of something that draws you in. From his frailties to his moments of strength, Plummer's Zev is the guide to lead you on this journey - and it's all the more enticing because of his partnership with Egoyan.
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
Director: Paul Feig
"I ain't afraid of no ghost" goes the rallying cry from Ray Parker Jr's iconic theme.
But based on the online furore resultant from Paul Feig's first look Ghostbusters trailer, it appears many were fearful of an all female cast taking on the mantle of Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson's characters.
So in its newest iteration, it's all about the nostalgia and the ladies when Manhattan is under siege from a phantom menace. Enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates (Wiig and McCarthy respectively) discover an increase in activity in New York - and coupled with nuclear engineer and loose cannon Jillian Holtzmann (Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon) and subway worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), they set out to save the day.
Thirty years on from their first appearance, the Ghostbusters are back for a new generation.
While large swathes of this film are bathed in the same kind of nostalgia that JJ Abrams executed with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and indeed the film struggles to etch out its own identity), there's no escaping the fact this 2016 Ghostbusters is essentially the same film as 1984 Ghostbusters, but with the original group appearing in various cameos (as well as others from the series).
It's hard not to read into the furore that's surrounded the film's inception when the script throws in such meta- lines like "Ain't no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts" (from an online commenter on one of the group's uploaded videos) and a Melissa McCarthy put down about reading comments late at night, but for the most part, director Paul Feig wallows in what made the original Ghosbusters so much fun - silly goofiness in between some paranormal moments.
The team gels solidly but never spectacularly together throughout, and while McKinnon manages some zany moments, her antics have a tendency to stick out within the group.
Certainly, Wiig and McCarthy channel earnest into the ineptness of the group and their estranged friendship and Jones' street-smart Patty fits in as she brings something of value to the group. There's certainly no tokenism here and there's never any sign that all of this has been retro-fitted to an all female lead cast - and the very fact that even has to be mentioned decries the state of Hollywood in 2016. It's not a film that makes smart commentary about women in the 21st Century - nor should it. It's a film that has a simple brief and sticks to it.
Essentially, Ghostbusters 2016 is a kids' movie, a family outing for all, that may have benefited from a burst of extra humour (a lot of the laughs come from Chris Hemsworth playing dumb as receptionist man-candy Kevin) over its 2 hour run time.
There are certainly moments towards the end that feel flat and dialogue that chugs rather than flies, but it's more a script issue than an ensemble problem. It culminates in a Godzilla CGI Spooktacular/ Avengers portal mash-up that may lack some stakes and a series of cameos that start to stand out, but it certainly never lacks any reverence for its source material or a reason for being.
Much maligned it may be, and while it's a case of setting expectations to a lower end of the spectrum, there's nothing offensive about this reboot. Many may be afraid of this, but to be frank, the 2016 version of Ghostbusters is silly, disposable fun in a world that just takes itself too seriously sometimes. Maybe if they get the sequel that's hinted at in a post-credits scene, there's work to be done, but for now, this reboot is fine.
It’s a film about exploring the unknown, like our prehistoric ancestors banging rocks together. Three characters engage their own processes (scientific, artistic, esoteric) for confronting different landscapes of ruin.
The reason we made this film is:
In a really general sense to understand the world around us, and to frame it as an experience in a movie cinema to share with other mammals.
What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why?
Seeing the devastation humans have inflicted on the seabed of the Chatham Rise. It’s just a completely new vision of how poorly we behave on this planet.
What was the hardest thing about completing your film?
We approached the film as explorers ourselves. We started out with an open brief to discover images, ideas and new thoughts that bring our diverse characters and processes together. So just resolving a central idea was the hardest part. It meant a lot of exploratory editing, re-concepting, reshooting. There was nothing particularly typical about our workflow, and in a lot of ways we had to invent a process for making the film cohere together on it’s own terms.
What's the most satisfying thing about your film?
The feeling that we’ve made something unique, something that offers an audience a different kind of experience in a cinema.
What's been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why?
That the film gives you a ‘really strong sense of being a human on the planet’. That’s right on what we had hoped to achieve. To weave together really different human activities to somehow arrive at a feeling of human searching, fallibility, history, optimism. Just… the human yearning to understand.
What’s next on the cards for you?
We go our separate ways again. We last made a film together 10 years ago (Minginui, which screened in the AIFF ’05). So we’ll get together again in 2025 and see where we are at.
On an Unknown Beach will have its World Premiere at NZIFF on Fri 29 July 8.30pm at Event Cinemas Queen St, Auckland.
Rating: M Released by Universal Home Ent The Coen Brothers return to Hollywood with Hail, Caesar!
In a playful ode to Hollywood past, it's the story of Capitol Pictures head Eddie Mannix (a brilliant Josh Brolin) and how his life plays out over one day inside the studio system.
Mannix is a fixer, and his skill-set is needed when George Clooney's Baird Whitlock, the star of the studio's prestige picture, Hail, Caesar (The Tale of The Christ) is kidnapped. With only a brief ransom note purporting to be from The Future, Mannix is racing against the clock to ensure the production's not shut down and Capitol Pictures isn't plunged into anarchy and infamy.
Hail, Caesar! is The Player through a Coens-shaped prism.
Brolin's is hands down the star of the film, the thread that ties together what are essentially a series of well-executed cameos that occasionally threaten to overwhelm the thinnest of narratives to the casual viewer.
Talk of communism that echoTrumbo, the death of the movies with the advent of television and a long debate about spirituality sit alongside a brilliantly executed dance number with Channing Tatum channelling Gene Kelly. It's a flick of polar opposites in many ways, and as light a feast as the Coens have ever served up to us.
And yet on the surface, the film is a frothy ode to 1930s era surroundings; a film that revels in its gloriously recreated ethics and which delights in its re-staging of motifs you'd recognise from the pantheon of Hollywood's finest. A water set dance number with Scarlett Johansson oozes with panache and prestige but sits at odds with the drama that's unfolding around it; and while Mannix's push to solve everyone's problems is the main drive of the film, the zigzagging and meandering means the journey to the end is nothing short of occasionally frustrating.
Thankfully, some of the motifs of the latest Coens' film stays with you after the lights have gone up and once the thrill of Clooney playing Charlton Heston and Brolin playing a version of a real life Hollywood fixer has washed over you, the themes begin to surface and the perception that it's a patchwork pastiche of a collection of cameos and scenes subsides.
In its own perverse way, it's escapism of the purest level, as the studio's desires to detract from the depression and the threat of the Cold War are recreated for us to behold.
Hail, Caesar! is something more than a love letter to Hollywood though; it's an iceberg of a film, an under the surface look at the politics and ideology of the times with a few dance numbers thrown in and talk of the H Bomb to distract you. It's a smoke and mirrors kind of film that is as frothy as it comes and dawdles on its way, lacking some of the tightness and pay-off you'd expect, but works thanks to grizzled Brolin's determination and whose arc sees him being tempted outside of Hollywood as he deals to the daily concerns. (Something many of the time would have faced with the impending demise of Hollywood, a threat we know never came to pass but whose image would be tarnished with the problems).
Not every journey is as successful and some off camera resolutions feel forced, slight and narratively cheating. Of the cast, Ehrenreich is perhaps the revelation as Hobie Doyle, a John Wayne-esque simpleton of a hillbilly chosen for his looks, his lassoing ways and his sex appeal. The scenes where Ralph Fiennes tries to direct him are a joy to behold, dripping in frustration and working against the clock.
Ultimately, Hail, Caesar! may not at initial sight be among the Coens' finest efforts, but thanks to its cohorts of cameos, its perfect casting and spot-on recreations as well as its scratch-the-surface message, it's still a cinematic sweet treat, if you're willing to forego and forgive its excesses and flimsinesses.
