NZIFF Q&A - The 5th Eye co-directors Abi King-Jones and Errol Wright.

NZIFF Q&A - The 5th Eye co-directors Abi King-Jones and Errol Wright

The 5^th Eye

Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones – Director / Producer and Director / Editor

Our film is The 5^th Eye and it's about the Waihopai Three, the War on Terror and the GCSB - New Zealand’s role as the ‘little finger in the fist’ of the Five Eyes global spy network.

The reason we made this film is:

After witnessing the courage, conviction and sacrifice of those who seek justice – of whistleblowers and other rule-breakers – we knew it would be a hard slog, and didn’t know what we’d find when we got there, but knew we had to take the journey to see (much like the Waihopai Three!).

What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why?

The verdict being announced in the Waihopai Three trial for its singular, spine-tingling momentousness.

What was the hardest thing about completing your film?

The massive amount of material we had to navigate through and the complexity of the edit. Also, making a film over several years with limited resources and the stress that comes with that.

What's the most satisfying thing about your film?

Seeing untruths laid bare and truths brought to light, whilst being taken along for the ride by the Waihopai Three as they recount their daring and hilarious misadventure / mission to the spy base.

What's been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why?

Adrian Leason (upon seeing the film for the first time and quoting Darryl Kerrigan): “This one’s going straight to the pool room…” If the star of the film is happy, we can rest easy.

What's next on the cards for you?

Sleep and reintegrating with humanity after two years spent in front of the edit machine - we’ve only just finished the film and delivered it! (Insert crying-happy-face here). Enjoying the NZIFF and bringing The 5^th Eye to the people.

Get the details of The 5th Eye at the NZIFF here.

Love Song: NZIFF Review

Love Song: NZIFF Review

The Girlfriend Experience star Riley Keough and Jena Malone take centre stage in this moving and quieter piece about female friendship.

Former college friends Sarah and Mindy have not seen each other for years. Keough's Sarah is estranged from her partner and struggling to cope with their child growing up. When Malone's Mindy comes to stay, an emotional whirlwind that is actually needed in Sarah's life.

With her carefree attitude and desire to shake Sarah out of the funk, the pair freewheel (with a kid in tow) and have fun. But as quickly as she came, Mindy is gone, leaving Sarah aflutter and something stirred up deep within after neglect from her husband and years of friendship.

Until 3 years later, when Sarah's invited to Mindy's wedding...

Director So Yong Kim's created a subtle film that may have a sedentary start that revels in its intimacies, but it's all the better for it as it builds time to pull the lyrical nature of this friendship together.

Keough has a presence that's magnetic and a style that says so much with so little; in terms of her facials, her less is more approach pays off immensely as this restrained tale plays out. But equally, Malone's joie de vivre and signal sending vitality adds much to the proceedings as well, which border on the ambiguous throughout and work all the better for it.

Dividing the film into two distinct parts helps immeasurably to continue proceedings and the addition of extra people to the cast give it a propulsion which is needed. But it does rob proceedings of the nature of the relationship of the pair that we've become so invested in. And the stakes feel a little more contrived and difficult to invest in in the second part of the film.

Perhaps it's So Yong Kim's comment on how life divides us and how complications ensue and abound while we're not looking.

While the observational almost detached tone can take a little getting used to, the honesty of the bond and the veracity of what's being explored on screen is as deep as you'd expect.

A final sequence leaves wondering whether tears shed are of regret or of joy and that's one of Love Song's true successes; thanks to its innate authenticity and its smartly observed intimate moments, this quiet film speaks at volume for the pair. Its minimalism pays off but only if you're willing to let the more lyrical edges wash over you and concentrate on the quite stunning turns delivered by Riley Keough and Jena Malone.

Like Crazy: NZIFF Review

Like Crazy: NZIFF Review

Blending the Tuscan sun with two unpredictable women who break out of psychiatric care should be a formula for both comedy and life-affirming.

But what Italian Paolo Virzi's managed with Like Crazy is a film that suffers a case of tonal dysfunction as much as its leads do.

Leading the pack and re-teaming with her director from Human Capital, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is the brash Beatrice, a woman who's at the Villa Biondi recovery centre but who lords it up over others and believes she's entitled to more and entitled not to be there. When punkish newcomer Donatella Morelli (Micaela Ramazotti, the film's centre and more fragile of the two) checks into the Villa, Beatrice love-bombs her into a friendship.

But more out of interest in a new thing, rather than interest of a fellow human being, Beatrice betrays the trust of the Villa to break out, dragging along the damaged Donatella with her. But Donatella has her own tragic agenda to follow...

La Pazza Gioia aka Like Crazy is Girls, Interrupted.

While the wackier edges and throwaway comments about madness seem more attempts at gallows humour, the tonal meshing of comedy with poignancy don't quite gel as they should. Tedeschi's larger than life delusions may add a sense of boorishness to proceedings, and she's never really anything more than a caricature later on in proceedings.

And certainly her breakthrough feels forced rather than natural, a tacit admission perhaps from the script writer that redemption needs to come - but registers as feeling unearned. With her Ab Fab Patsy like edges, she certainly gives the story the OTT life it needs, but never feels fully formed. (Interestingly fellow residents at Biondi are former inmates of such institutions, giving scenes a veracity and a sadness that lingers).

Fortunately, Ramazotti's character is more easy to grasp on to. Served up with pathos and tragedy, the broken Donatella is a more realistic being. It's understandable to see why she's swept along by Beatrice's folly despite her early reticence, and Ramazotti underplays every scene she's in, even if the coincidences are piled a little too high in the narrative stakes.

Ultimately, Like Crazy is a road trip that even visually mocks Thelma and Louise in its latter stages, but attempts at poignancy at the end feel contrived and so lose some of their effect. It's understandable what this road trip was trying to do - but its final destination doesn't quite merit the journey.

I, Daniel Blake: NZIFF Review

I, Daniel Blake: NZIFF Review

That I Daniel Blake is book-ended with the voice of its titular hero is no shock.

But that its ending and beginning convey such a dichotomy of feelings is equally no surprise.

The Palme D'Or winner from Brit socialist director Ken Loach is riddled with his usual concerns and stylistic touches. This time tackling the failings of society from two singular viewpoints, Loach has once again exacerbated the increasing common human condition in a world where the state is failing those around them, and they in turn are losing their grip on humanity.

Dave Johns is the ordinary everyman widower and Newcastle resident Daniel Blake stuck in a swirling vortex of increasing lunatic bureaucracy, swimming against a tide of pencil pushers and call centre bound helpers who seem determined to break his spirit.

Set against a backdrop of a council estate where grey is the default colour setting, and recovering from a heart attack and facing the prospect of his benefit being stopped, Daniel finds he is out of touch with the world after spending umpteen years working as a carpenter.

Now faced with online forms, the incessant tide of red tape and a lack of human compassion, Blake's trip to a job centre sees him help a just-moved-to Tyneside Londoner Katie ( Hayley Squires) whose facing similar issues with benefits agencies.

A burgeoning friendship grows between the pair, but the forces of the world are conspiring against them - and despite rallying cries to each for support, this is a battle that only the state can appear to win.

Blessed with a quiet determination and a rallying fanfare for the common man and decency all round, I, Daniel Blake is a study of society teetering, albeit one that's peppered with Loach's masterful eye for humour in the absurdity of life.

Much like 2014 NZIFF entry Still Life with the wonderful Eddie Marsan, I, Daniel Blake presents a salutary look to the solitary man, doing the decent thing when the world around him conspires against him.

You'd have to be a complete Loach virgin to not know where the story is going, but its strength lies in its central performance; Johns is very much the man we all aspire to be. A good neighbour, a friend when in need and a thoroughly decent bloke, the gradual beating down of the man is the film's rallying cry and it's all the more tragic for it.

It would be easy to milk I Daniel Blake for easy wins, and Loach never takes that approach; the impending pathos of the situations as they unfold proffer unsettling parallels in the world we all currently find ourselves in. Granted, there's the protestor toward the end who unleashes a mouthful at the incumbent Tory UK government, but Loach's strength at this point is how incredibly restrained this tirade is - and how the audience would be baying for more as it plays out.

But the ultimate victory of I Daniel Blake is the central performances of the duo. Theirs is a relationship that basks in earnestness, that tries to weather the incoming storm and that provides a quiet poignancy as the denouement rumbles around.

Make no mistake though, this is a polemic of the common man through a prism of Loach - a warning and tribute of what a little dignity can achieve and a harkening back to a time when neighbours were to be treated with open arms, not viewed with suspicion and mistrust.

Jim: The James Foley Story: NZIFF Review

Jim: The James Foley Story: NZIFF Review

Most people know the name James Foley.

And that's largely due to the way he was taken from this world; beheaded, in an orange jump suit by a masked captor in 2014.

But director Brian Oakes' documentary about the titular field correspondent aims to flesh out more of the man whose life will be unknown to many. However, this is a doco of two halves; the first concentrates on giving us the back-story of a brother who caused concern to many with his life choices and exacerbated fears when he was captured in Libya.

The second half becomes a piece about being a hostage, by using those who were with James when he was taken in Syria by IS to share their story and recollections of the man.

And to be frank, while parts of Oakes' doco run the serious risk of deifying Foley thanks to his damned good decency, there's no denying the ultimate resolution of the piece which uses some of the most intimate of moments ever committed to film will undoubtedly leave you emotionally wrecked.

That's due in large parts to Oakes' creation of a film that takes its time to paint a portrait of a man whose sole MO was nothing but the greater good. Be it in his desire to help document a hospital's attempts to save children being shelled by their own government forces or by putting other captors first when in the direst of situations, it's clear that Foley was a good man, whose selflessness was didn't go unnoticed by others.

Using archive footage, interviews with the Foley family, access to emails sent by hostage negotiators and in the latter parts reconstructions, Oakes' desire is clearly to provide a legacy for his friend. Which is in itself no mean feat - and understandable given a) that the brutality of the man's death was the reason he achieved global notoriety and b) that in the face of such tragedy, some kind of good has to emerge.

In fact, one colleague, talking of Foley's selflessness, decries the fact his death gave him a face on the stage and he'd likely be horrified that it were not those of the innocent civilians caught up in the conflicts in Syria and Libya being discussed.

But what emerges is the collective guilt of the family (natural perhaps) over the wait to get any information and Oakes takes a swing at the US Government for not doing more at a brisker pace, given the others in Foley's captivity are freed. Yet, it's a weak shot that has no repercussions and even a cursory glance over Wikipedia shows Oakes leaves out the information over a botched rescue attempt as if to further fuel the fire and hint at a simmering sore that lies exposed.

While it's clear that Jim: The James Foley Story wants to leave a picture of a man who made a difference, its moving testament is not in the construction of the film, or the casual way interviewees address their director (leading to questions of whether professional distance has been maintained) but purely in the demonstration of what Foley was and what a difference he made to those around him.

In the wake of the tragedy and horrific end that befell him, Oakes' sole desire is to have friends and family attest to his virtues, and one assumes this emotional outtake is what Oakes wants us to take away from the film - a sense that while men can do horrific evil still in this world, there is still an overbearing good that cannot be snuffed out.

Tomorrow: NZIFF Review

Tomorrow: NZIFF Review

It's hard to imagine anyone leaving the New Zealand International Film Festival screening of Melanie Laurent's Tomorrow feeling anything other than inspired.

The doco's galvanising cry is to try and save the planet ahead of us all being wiped off the face of it in a forthcoming extinction event. The film-makers would have us believe that potential demise of the human race is a when not an if, and Laurent's wake up call came when Nature magazine published research into this in June 2012.

So, along with a small crew, they go globe-trotting in a style much like Michael Moore recently espoused in Where to Invade Next to see what ideas could be adopted at a local level and within people's communities to ensure that change comes.

Activists with communal gardens, experts with opinions on how to make a difference and an ease of directorial nous make Tomorrow upbeat and will see it succeed locally with audiences already attuned to the realities of wanting to do more.

Armed with ecological activist Cyril Dion, who does most of the on-screen interviewing, there is no denying the directors have the self-awareness and smarts to realise that audiences are already saturated with pieces trying to make a difference.

So by presenting a wealth of information with a clarity of vision vastly helps the genially presented documentary hit its message home.

It could probably stand to lose a little of its baggier run time toward the end and one senses there was an excess of material available, but by dividing the film up into chapters and keeping each section engaging, as well as injecting proceedings with a blast of humour, the inspiring simplicity of it all is quite simply inspiring.

It would be nice to see some talking heads from the governments tackle some of the reasons why things like major community gardens aren't more readily available and why land can't be freed up for others to use, but Tomorrow goes a long way to presenting solutions rather than just showcasing problems.

One senses it's a people powered documentary and loathe to get bogged down in the endless cycle of denial from the major corporations, but with a weight of evidence piling up, it would have been good to have seen the film-makers had tried to reach out for some reasons. Instead, Tomorrow's more interested in helping start some kind of people fuelled revolution.

From intercropping to better recycling, these are all solutions that are proffered and have proven to have worked in other parts of the world.

That alone is Tomorrow's major difference; a compulsive and compelling desire to show that each person can simply make a difference and Laurent and Dion never lose sight of that agenda.

Granted, there's no denying there's an agenda at heart here, and some may decry the liberal leaning intentions, but given there's also no denying the vastness of the problems being faced, perhaps Tomorrow with its non-didactic and digestible approach is a lot smarter than we all believe.

Win a copy of In Your Eyes

Win a copy of In Your Eyes

To celebrate the release of In Your Eyes, starring Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David, you've got the chance to win yourself a copy of this festival film that did well in Tribeca.

About In Your Eyes

“In the frozen East Coast winter, Rebecca is withering away in a life of cocktail parties and lonely nights as the sheltered, soft-spoken wife of a successful doctor. \

Across the country in sun-drenched, arid New Mexico, charismatic ex-con Dylan is struggling to find his footing and a fresh start. 

When these polar opposites realise they share an inexplicable connection, a unique metaphysical romance begins.”

The film is rated M and is on home retail now




To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put EYES. 

Please include your name and address and good luck!

Competition closes July 28th and is exclusive to New Zealand only!

Newstalk ZB Review - Ghostbusters, Weiner and Embrace

Newstalk ZB Review - Ghostbusters, Weiner and Embrace

This week at the Newstalk ZB reviewing coalface, I took a look at the Ghostbusters reboot and two films from the New Zealand International Film Festival, Embrace and Weiner

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-ghostbusters-weiner/

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-ghostbusters-weiner/

Suburra: NZIFF Film Review

Suburra: NZIFF Film Review

The NZIFF's first blistering and searing film has arrived in the form of a dramatic look at corruption in Italy that's soaked in style and oozes character.

Based on the novel by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo of the same name, it's an intricately lurid crime story that seizes you by the throat midway through and never lets go.

A politician, prostitutes, drugs, land grabs, power-plays, bribery, blackmail, turf wars, a government in crisis and the priesthood.

These are all familiar tenets of the Italian drama world and the fact Suburra embraces them to create an initially disparate web of threads shouldn't be the reason to dismiss it outright. As the story plays out against a backdrop of 7 days before the "apocalypse" arrives, the film's intricacies are brought together by a commanding cinematographer and a sense of sickening dread.

From the politician whose Icarus like hubris demands punishment to the son saddled with his father's uncontrollable debts, every frame reeks with someone fighting against the tide and the fact they could lose their soul at any moment.

There are real consequences for all in this film, and while the women ultimately feel like objects more than people, the film's all the better for embracing the tropes under the helmship of Gomorrah TV series director Stefano Sollima.

While the spiritual crisis alluded to is a thread that falls flat despite its portentous introduction and book-ending scene, what plays out in between with the Mafia and the interlaced narrative is nothing short of stunning.

Sprawling corruption, bathed in a synthesiser OST and filmed against an unending backdrop of rain are a potent concoction that deliver on flair after initially looking like it'd flounder under its own self-imposed epic feeling.

Ultimately though, the compelling Suburra grips intensely and delivers cinema that shows everyone involved fighting for their very existence, both literally and morally.

The Sopranos it ain't, and in 2 and a quarter hours it delivers bravura cinema that is as tense and exciting as it is delivered with flair. It's a desperate scrabble for all, whether they're jostling to get to the table and be an equal player or plotting their next step up the ladder.

Suburra is relentless in its execution, and as the web pulls tighter and the story becomes more taut it's difficult not to get sucked into this world that never once loses focus on the singular players, their motivations and the increasingly sickening feeling that misdeeds will deliver disastrous consequences on them but results that prove emotionally rewarding for the audience.

NZIFF Q&A - Sam Hamilton

NZIFF Q&A - Sam Hamilton

My film is Apple Pie and it's about:

Apple Pie is a new experimental feature-length art film shot on super 16mm celluloid film over 3 years in Aotearoa NZ, Samoa and USA featuring Samoan dance artist Ioane Papali’i and twenty other performers, artists and friends.
A constellation of ten meditative, poetic and tenderly political cinematic evocations that chart their way through a series of relational correlations to objects of our solar system. 
Drawing together an ecology of influences, Apple Pie weaves its way through a audio visual tapestry of relationalist meditations, political mythologies, photonic sculptures, atomic choreographies and ceremonial homages to the world, and what it means to be a part of it, to engage with it, to listen to it, to embody it and be embodied by it. 

The reason I made this film is:
It is the by-product of a process. Like taking a walk in a garden. It’s the shell of existential agency.

What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why?
Mmm. I feel like this film consists of nothing but moments that have been teased out of their isolation to form slabs of light and sound. If you think of these elements as the architectural materials of a cinematic building, the only moment that matters is after you - as significant other of the film - have walked through its door, walked up to the window and stand there and just stare into space.

What was the hardest thing about completing your film?
Physically it would be spending a week sitting atop a mountain out in the Oregon high plain desert filming throughout the freezing nights and then being cooked alive during in the shadeless desert days while trying to catch some sleep. Punishing, but fun. 

What’s the most satisfying thing about your film?
Only the audience can know this.

What’s been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why?

I have had a lot of people offer me very kind and loving feedback about the work, but I think the one that really means something to me is the feedback about the one rather long shot where "nothing" happens, and how painfully boring it is, until you break through something invisible, and suddenly it's purely ecstatic, then again it's boring, and then you break through yet another invisible boundary into pure ecstatic overwhelming sensorialism, even though nothing has actually happened. You have brought these things into being yourself. 

What’s next on the cards for you?
Dancing. Eating. Laughing.

Get details on Apple Pie here.

NZIFF Q&A - Hayden J. Weal, director of Chronesthesia

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.

Thanks for having me!! 

Get the details of Chronesthesia film playing at the NZIFF.

Poi E: The Story of Our Song: NZIFF Review

Poi E: The Story of Our Song: NZIFF Review

Director: Tearepa Kahi

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

Win a double pass to see Jason Bourne

Win a double pass to see Jason Bourne

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!

Remember: Film Review

Remember: Film Review

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.

Ghostbusters: Film Review

Ghostbusters: Film Review

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.

NZIFF Q&A - On an Unknown Beach

NZIFF Q&A - On an Unknown Beach

Our film is ……On an Unknown Beach. 

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.

Hail, Caesar: Blu Ray Review

Hail, Caesar: Blu Ray Review

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.

Rating:

Trumbo DVD Review

Trumbo DVD Review

There's nothing Hollywood loves more than a tale about the wronged getting final justice.

So, coupled with the fact that this tale takes that and wraps it up in the past of one of its own, and you could see how Trumbo would be a shoo-in for awards season with its prestige veneer and stand-out performance by its lead.

Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston plays Dalton Trumbo, an American screen-writer and heavyweight of the industry in this biopic which follows Trumbo's ostracism from the Hollywood community because of his political beliefs.

In 1947, Trumbo was put on the Blacklist and ultimately jailed for his beliefs, before entering the Hollywood community again under a veil of secrecy.

Predominantly known for his comedy films like Austin Powers and Meet The Fockers, director Jay Roach heads down the traditional path for the genre, choosing to recreate a myriad of scenes and moments from Trumbo's life.

Consequently, the almost made for TV film occasionally feels like it's too choppy and frenetic with the areas it decides to land on; it's an odd idea and rather than simply concentrating on one particular time-span or thread, there are parts which feel massively underdeveloped and characters which go to waste. Chief among these is Trumbo's long-suffering wife Diane Lane, who simply shows to offer support before crumbling. Granted, by concentrating solely on the domestic stress of dealing with the idealistic approach to the Red Menace and Trumbo's exorcism the film would have felt over-blown, but there are plenty of dramatic fruits to be successfully mined here.

Thankfully, it's Cranston's actorly portrayal of the clearly witty and urbane Trumbo that helps propel the film along. He's clearly having a ball with his pronounced intonations delivering lines that are of a Noel Coward withering nature ("I'd say go on, but you will" just being one of the examples) He delivers the film's script with a dazzling theatricality that's called for that helps elevate the rather average ideas and execution from its own intentions.

There are moments when Trumbo becomes a film of characters and impersonations - chiefly Helen Mirren's harpie horrible Hedda Hopper and Dean O'Gorman's double-take Kirk Douglas - but it's in the execution of the spoken word and the recreation of the era that Trumbo excels. (Plus John Goodman's appearance adds a great deal of vim in the back as movie mogul Frank King, a peddler of B grade trash that Trumbo finds himself writing for)

Perhaps the criticism for this tale is that the choice of canvas is too wide and given the bath-dwelling Trumbo's a rich source for the plucking, it could have paid dividends in its final fight back against his vilification.

While Trumbo gained two Oscars writing under nom-de-plumes or selling the work to others as it was the right thing to do, the moment when he's welcomed back among his own, unfortunately lacks quite the emotional punch that it needs to resonate.

All in all though, Trumbo is a small triumph; had it chosen to hone in a little more on some key moments in his bath-dwelling life, it could have soared a lot higher than it actually does.

NZIFF Preview - Nuts!, Under The Sun, A Perfect Day, The Lure

NZIFF Preview - Nuts!, Under The Sun, A Perfect Day, The Lure

The pull of the New Zealand International Film Festival is just days away, and with it, the promise of good times out of the rain and inside the warmth of some of the nation's finest cinematic establishments.

And treats are certainly in store, as well as some of the more eye-popping elements currently on offer.

One of those slightly more out there propositions is Nuts!, the animated story of American entrepreneur J R Brinkley. Renowned for his ability to improve fertility by grafting goats' nuts to the scrotum, Brinkley became a populist hero and made his fame and fortune. But as ever, The Man didn't like it and came hunting for him.

Nuts!

It's hard not to root for Brinkley in this tale, and the mix of animation, stock footage and talking heads spin a great yarn as the story takes a deeper edge. There's pathos and misdirection as well as some sadder elements - if anything Nuts! has charm aplenty as the web is spun. Don't be too surprised if the simplicity of execution gets you wound up in the story and you find yourself feeling slightly aggrieved when this is over.

Equally aggrieving, but for distinctly other reasons, Under The Sun is a monumental expose of how North Korea's propaganda machine continues to rumble on.

Russian film-maker Vitaly Mansky travelled to Pyongyang to make a film about a school girl who was about to become a fully vested citizen, but what Mansky ends up capturing is a film about control and a peek behind the curtain look which is unlikely to do much to change many people's views about North Korea and its machinations.

Under The Sun

The rub with this film is the breakdown between the filmmaker and those allowing them to do the filming - shots reveal officials fussing over takes and asking them to say something more positive or re-do shots. It's heartbreaking in many ways, because the anti-Japanese sentiments, the way the children are brought up and the continual cycle of manipulation is all caught so matter of fact by Mansky's camera. Shots of routines, workouts, bleak winter days and children fidgeting nervously with their hands and fingers while extolling propaganda in class give the whole thing a downbeat sheen.

There can't be many who didn't suspect life in North Korea was like this, but as we revel in day-to-day freedoms that we take for granted, the prompt from one official to get the child to "say something cheerful" is a depressing note - mainly for the children's future who have to be brought up in this world.

Staying in a world that's been hit by problems, A Perfect Day's aiming for black humour in the Bosnian conflict.

A Perfect Day

The Spanish film features Benicio del Toro and Tim Robbins as part of a group of aid workers trying to move a corpse from a well in a conflict zone. It's an easy task in theory - take out the thing that's corrupting the surrounding well-being of the people (an allegory not lost on the viewers) but the amount of red-tape and problems it poses for del Toro's Mambru and Robbins' B would be funny if they weren't so ludicrous.

Fortunately, director Fernando Leon de Aranoa mines the gallows humour to reasonably exasperating effect throughout; and while the idea that Olga Kurylenko's top ranking aid official would head out among them stretches credibility somewhat, the flashes of the horrors of war that are interspersed throughout ground the film in a horrific reality that never quite goes away.

The one day to go storyline for del Toro's Mambru may have been done before with the likes of M*A*S*H but not once does A Perfect Day's sedentary pace through conflict lose any of its resonance as it seeks not to lecture but to present a sobering reality that aid workers have to face.

The Lure

Sobering reality is perhaps the last thing on the mind of The Lure, a veritable melange of the deranged, body horror, love story and pop video all meshed into one fever dream of lurid trashiness.

When aquatic sirens Silver and Golden are discovered at a water's edge, they're immediately shipped out into a sleazy club that's every bit the salacious joint you'd expect in the Incredibly Strange section (even if it does channel Lynchian elements of the Black Lodge in parts).

When one mermaid falls for the guitar player in their band, all hell threatens to break loose in this Polish first time filmmaker's quest for infamy.  The Lure may slightly struggle to piece it all together in the final strait, but with committed performances, a soundtrack and a chutzpah that deserves commendation for presenting large swathes of dialogue as choreographed pop songs, there's lots to admire in the enticing fishy tale The Lure.

Life, Animated: NZFF Review

Life, Animated: NZFF Review

If Disney Pixar's latest Finding Dory is a parable about living with disability, Life, Animated is a tale of how Disney helped one family and their son rise above their debilitating problem.

Director Roger Ross Williams has already snagged a Sundance directing prize for the doco about Owen Suskind and it's not hard to see why.

Meshing animation, Disney favourites and fly-on-the-wall aesthetics, it's the tale of 23 year old Owen Suskind who at 3 years old stopping talking and being able to form sentences, muttering only gibberish to his family and leaving them in heartbreak.

Diagnosed with regressive autism, Owen's parents Ron and Cornelia despaired as they lived in a world which didn't have the insights we do today and struggled to find a way to connect back to the son who early footage shows was just a normal kid.

But Owen's way back to the world and his parents' way to meet him was through a chance discovery of what Disney's animated films had given him... and it's here that a Life, Animated review veers too closely into spoilers to deprive you of some of the uplifting moments and lows that ensue.

What Ross Williams has done has helped shed light on a moving story of both those living with autism and those around them - but without sugar coating any of it. Based on father Ron's book, we see the pain of the parents (the line where his father decries the fact that his son simply disappeared is heartbreaking of itself), the anguish of the brother who will have to assume the mantle of protector and we witness the joie de vivre of Owen as he negotiates his life and touches of TV series The Undateables.

Meshing family footage and candid honesty as well as some beautiful animation from Mathieu Betard and Olivier Lescot, Life Animated is nothing short of heartwarming but never manipulative.

Providing a glimpse into the world of autism from Owen the subject itself, this is a coming of age story that revels for the most part in restraint. There can be no denial the final scenes leave you empowered (as a moment from the Lion King rams home the point), but it's the wonder of Owen and the simplicity of Ross Williams' construction of the piece that make you marvel.

If Ron Suskind's book Life Animated is the number 1 special needs biography, it's fair to say that this feel-good piece will bring the subject to a wider audience and will succeed in sending crowds off into the cold nights with a warm undeniable glow.