So firstly I suppose I should start my apologising for the length of time in between movie-related posts. Let's be honest... Sex and the City 2 hardly counts! A few things have jolted me out of my not-really-imposed non-retirement. Firstly I've finally spent a few days back at home and not running around the country of across the Tasman Sea. Second was this lovely lady telling me to get off my lazy butt and write. I suppose mostly though it is that [thirdly] I've just noticed Cemetery Junction has just released here in New Zealand and I really do feel it deserves a mention, even if only from me.
Be not afraid; for although Ricky Gervais has burned us all with such artistic and comedic triumphs as Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying this one is a true gem of British comedy.
I hadn't expected much to be honest. I knew that it was Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant who had penned and directed the film, and I... actually that was it. I wasn't super excited given their past efforts on the silver screen, but I was prepared to give it a chance.
I'm so glad I did. It's funny, it's sweet, it's charming and it's oh so English. It's good quality writing around a really simple and lovely story. Throw in some lovely young actors and actresses, all doing a very good job and you've got yourself a top-shelf film. The best news is actually that Gervais and Merchant both act as only minor parts leaving the film to speak for itself and stand on its own two feet.
It's a beautiful decade, it's a wicked soundtrack, gumboot loads of laughs and one or two leather jackets.
With all the better elements of the Office and Extras comedy (less the cringe factor) and an ending which made it's way swiftly towards An Education territory, this really is worth watching. If you've liked bits of some of these films then I suggest you give this a try: An Education, A Single Man, Calendar Girls, Kinky Boots...
You getting the idea? Good. Now go and watch this film. It's in cinemas right now!
__________
4 and a half pints of bitter.
P.S. Those of you on Twitter you can follow me here.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
When the Rain Stops Falling
The opening paragraph from the NZ Herald review for When the Rain Stops Falling says what I will attempt to for the rest of my ramble below when it says:
God, this is bleak - fabulously so. An excellent production of a near-brilliant epic, it piles aching misery on tragic crisis on disturbing horror. Australian playwright Andrew Bovell pushes past family melodrama to find something so dark it makes Arthur Miller's characters seem self-indulgent and screechy.
So yes, this play is bleak. Brilliantly and upliftingly so. For many people that will make the one hour fourty-five minutes of uninterrupted drama quite a daunting prospect. I can understand why, but I can't agree. I've said many times before that the reason I prefer to go to theatre productions is to be challenged and pushed. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of musicals and comedy, and I'm not just looking for depression, but there can be joy and redemption in tragedy. There's something so moving, raw and personal in seeing the trials and tribulations of group of strangers played out on stage. The human condition laid bare, your world forgotten for a few hours. You emerge with a fresh perspective on your own existence whether you see side-splitting comedy or wrist-slitting drama.
The silo, under the guidance of Shane Bosher, always stages engaging and challenging productions. When the Rain Stops Falling is no exception.
The play spans a number of years and generations and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the characters stories will overlap in some way, but it will take you most of the length of the play to figure out the who's and how's, in what is in many ways as much a whodunit as it is a drama. Once you do figure out who is who, your reward comes in the smaller details of the costume and hair & make-up design as well as a myriad of almost unnoticable ticks, tells and clues from the actors.
The acting here is actually the key. With cast members playing the same characters at different points in their lives, sometimes on stage with "themselves" at the same time, the play would have fallen flat had it not been for superb performances from all of the actors involved. I'll say it again, they are fine, fine performances from every cast member.
In terms of the technical aspects of this play, it's one of the more complex I've seen in a long, long time. Falling props, digital projectors, snow, a fractured stage and a table and chairs requiring legs of different lengths are but a few of the tools and potential trip-wires the cast and crew have had to work with. Much like a jigsaw puzzle though, every piece seems to fit and the overall pictures will only work if each one is in it's right and proper place.
You can expect to laugh, but not often. You can expect to be confused, in fact going in with this belief should help to sharpen your senses. But most of all you can expect to enjoy theatre at it's best. Go and enjoy this beautiful view of an ashen world; the reward outweighs any doubts you may have.
__________
five fried fish
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Marriage of Figaro - NBR New Zealand Opera
There's something so comforting about a Mozart opera for both ardent fans and the uninitiated. It's the comfort in knowing that there will be something there that you recognise, some song you will have heard or hummed in the past. It's the comfort that you're not going into something completely blind!
While I consider myself relatively well versed in the craft, I must admit I went into Figaro having not heard or seen it before, and without doing any research. Understandably (or at least I think so!) I didn't know what I'd recognise, what to look forward to. No Queen of the Night Aria, no Nessun Dorma, what would I know?
Thankfully it didn't take long to set minds at ease; about 0.75 seconds into the overture you can breath a sigh of relief when you recognise the little ditty featured here in this NBR New Zealand Opera clip:
After that you will find three or four notable arias which you will have heard on the radio, in advertising, or in those dreadful packs of the "1024 best classics".
[At this point you may be asking which I'm referring to the company by the full name 'NBR New Zealand Opera'. Well as you can imagine it's quite expensive to stage an opera and the people at the National Business Review have been long time name sponsors. I dare say they are responsible for the very fact that we even have a national opera company! So credit where credit's due - thank you NBR!]
As for the performance itself, I daresay this is one of the finest that the company has staged. I don't believe I'm alone in this view as I was thrilled to see the Aotea Centre full to bursting point.
Many reviews will resort to, or even begin with, comments on the set and lighting to mask bad performances. I however have decided to mention this up front because the first thing you see when you arrive is a collosal wooden wall which functions as the curtain for our performance. Essentially a ranch slider, it is a masterpiece of set design, drifting to reveal or cover sections of the stage as required and allow for set changes behind it. The walls and floor also slide during the performance allowing for characters to remain on stage and the very rooms around to them to expand or contract depending on their importance to the scene. The lighting too is excellent particularly when it comes to the sun and the moon that stream into the many rooms that our story takes place throughout.
The soloists are all very, very fine singers and are gifted with an excellent sense of comic timing - after all opera is as much slapstick as it is drama. I thought all were superbly cast and carried their roles strongly, but I would like to pay particular compliment to the two sopranos. Nuccia Focile played the part of the Countess and her vocal control was immaculate. Most people don't realise that the harder thing in opera is not singing loudly, but singing softly and still achieving a clarity and tone that allows the audience in the very last row to hear. I believe Miss Focile is off to The Met shortly and imagine that this review was a large part of their decision to cast her. Emma Pearson as Susanna was spot on and, though her singing was better, reminded me in many ways of Rachel Griffeths in the film Very Annie Mary.
The orchestra were a well oiled machine, as always, and the chorus continue to grow from strength to strength, though admittedly this is not an opera that allows them much time to shine.
Clever costumes and an overwhelming sense of fun round off a splendid night out and I would encourage you all to get along to see it. My friend who accompanied me had never been to a live opera performance before and loved it. Trust me, you'll never find a better composer than Mozart to introduce you to the art.
__________
Full marks from me
[I have amended this score, removing half a mark after a friend and member of the chorus admitted to me just now that someone forgot to wear their hat on to the stage.]
[After careful consideration I have decided to restore one quarter of a mark because if this chastisement for failure to wear a hat is indicative of the NBR New Zealand Opera's expectations and desire for greatness, then my own hat, had I indeed remembered to wear it, would be off to them.]
While I consider myself relatively well versed in the craft, I must admit I went into Figaro having not heard or seen it before, and without doing any research. Understandably (or at least I think so!) I didn't know what I'd recognise, what to look forward to. No Queen of the Night Aria, no Nessun Dorma, what would I know?
Thankfully it didn't take long to set minds at ease; about 0.75 seconds into the overture you can breath a sigh of relief when you recognise the little ditty featured here in this NBR New Zealand Opera clip:
After that you will find three or four notable arias which you will have heard on the radio, in advertising, or in those dreadful packs of the "1024 best classics".
[At this point you may be asking which I'm referring to the company by the full name 'NBR New Zealand Opera'. Well as you can imagine it's quite expensive to stage an opera and the people at the National Business Review have been long time name sponsors. I dare say they are responsible for the very fact that we even have a national opera company! So credit where credit's due - thank you NBR!]
As for the performance itself, I daresay this is one of the finest that the company has staged. I don't believe I'm alone in this view as I was thrilled to see the Aotea Centre full to bursting point.
Many reviews will resort to, or even begin with, comments on the set and lighting to mask bad performances. I however have decided to mention this up front because the first thing you see when you arrive is a collosal wooden wall which functions as the curtain for our performance. Essentially a ranch slider, it is a masterpiece of set design, drifting to reveal or cover sections of the stage as required and allow for set changes behind it. The walls and floor also slide during the performance allowing for characters to remain on stage and the very rooms around to them to expand or contract depending on their importance to the scene. The lighting too is excellent particularly when it comes to the sun and the moon that stream into the many rooms that our story takes place throughout.
The soloists are all very, very fine singers and are gifted with an excellent sense of comic timing - after all opera is as much slapstick as it is drama. I thought all were superbly cast and carried their roles strongly, but I would like to pay particular compliment to the two sopranos. Nuccia Focile played the part of the Countess and her vocal control was immaculate. Most people don't realise that the harder thing in opera is not singing loudly, but singing softly and still achieving a clarity and tone that allows the audience in the very last row to hear. I believe Miss Focile is off to The Met shortly and imagine that this review was a large part of their decision to cast her. Emma Pearson as Susanna was spot on and, though her singing was better, reminded me in many ways of Rachel Griffeths in the film Very Annie Mary.
The orchestra were a well oiled machine, as always, and the chorus continue to grow from strength to strength, though admittedly this is not an opera that allows them much time to shine.
Clever costumes and an overwhelming sense of fun round off a splendid night out and I would encourage you all to get along to see it. My friend who accompanied me had never been to a live opera performance before and loved it. Trust me, you'll never find a better composer than Mozart to introduce you to the art.
__________
Full marks from me
[I have amended this score, removing half a mark after a friend and member of the chorus admitted to me just now that someone forgot to wear their hat on to the stage.]
[After careful consideration I have decided to restore one quarter of a mark because if this chastisement for failure to wear a hat is indicative of the NBR New Zealand Opera's expectations and desire for greatness, then my own hat, had I indeed remembered to wear it, would be off to them.]
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Sex and the City 2
My old mate Edmund Blackadder once said to his lady queen
If that is true, then Sex and the City 2 is all that remains of what was once a whole case of pencils, trampled brutally underfoot by a hoard of charging, drunken women, their lead now but a fine dust blowing away in the slight autumn breeze.
If one were to look for a point to this film (though why one would bother is beyond me) I think the closest thing you would find would be that it acts as a two and a half hour commercial. For UAE tourism, for Moët, for dozens of shoe and dress designers, though strangely without any stand-out shoes or dresses. It is, in short, painful.
The actresses are not old, but not young. They exist in that strange middle ground where they can no longer play sexy, smouldering young women (or even middle-aged women) but they're not yet old enough to bemoan their fate as the aged and forgotten. As Suzie Salmon might say, they're in the in-between.
The one-liners aren't as razor-sharp, nor as shocking. In fact, they can all pretty much be summarised as:
Any one of three plain women: "[Insert statement here.]"
Samantha (the slut): "I'd like to [insert your statement here]."
Yes. All hilarious stuff. Willy jokes. Boob jokes. Orgasm jokes. How we laughed. By "we" I of course mean those women in the audience still drunk enough to ignore the many short-comings of the film. Ahahaha short...comings. Get it? [If you didn't, then 10 points to you. If you did get my hilarious orgasm-double-entendre, then a further question must be asked - was it funny? If you say yes, rush out and see this film. If not, 1000 points to you.]
The first 15 minutes of the movie were the best. They were hideously offensive to most gay men, I counted no less that 742 stereotypes, but they were the best. How could they not be - Liza was there! Yes Liza Minnelli rides in to save the day with a fun, albeit hardly musical, version of Single Ladies.
NB At this time I would like to put in the disclaimer that the first 15 minutes might not have actually been the best in the film, but after 15 minutes I'm pretty sure that my Moët/anaesthetic was starting to run low... as was my patience.
Please don't make me go on. I really did find this film dreadful. A poll of the six women I work with who saw it with me revealed that not one, not a single one enjoyed it.
I doubt I'll convince any women reading this not to watch the film. But now that I've posted this I will be able to say I told you so!
__________
1 Star (Liza)
This is an outstandingly hilarious post on the same "film".
"Madame, life without you is like a broken pencil; pointless."
If that is true, then Sex and the City 2 is all that remains of what was once a whole case of pencils, trampled brutally underfoot by a hoard of charging, drunken women, their lead now but a fine dust blowing away in the slight autumn breeze.
If one were to look for a point to this film (though why one would bother is beyond me) I think the closest thing you would find would be that it acts as a two and a half hour commercial. For UAE tourism, for Moët, for dozens of shoe and dress designers, though strangely without any stand-out shoes or dresses. It is, in short, painful.
The actresses are not old, but not young. They exist in that strange middle ground where they can no longer play sexy, smouldering young women (or even middle-aged women) but they're not yet old enough to bemoan their fate as the aged and forgotten. As Suzie Salmon might say, they're in the in-between.
The one-liners aren't as razor-sharp, nor as shocking. In fact, they can all pretty much be summarised as:
Any one of three plain women: "[Insert statement here.]"
Samantha (the slut): "I'd like to [insert your statement here]."
Yes. All hilarious stuff. Willy jokes. Boob jokes. Orgasm jokes. How we laughed. By "we" I of course mean those women in the audience still drunk enough to ignore the many short-comings of the film. Ahahaha short...comings. Get it? [If you didn't, then 10 points to you. If you did get my hilarious orgasm-double-entendre, then a further question must be asked - was it funny? If you say yes, rush out and see this film. If not, 1000 points to you.]
The first 15 minutes of the movie were the best. They were hideously offensive to most gay men, I counted no less that 742 stereotypes, but they were the best. How could they not be - Liza was there! Yes Liza Minnelli rides in to save the day with a fun, albeit hardly musical, version of Single Ladies.
NB At this time I would like to put in the disclaimer that the first 15 minutes might not have actually been the best in the film, but after 15 minutes I'm pretty sure that my Moët/anaesthetic was starting to run low... as was my patience.
Please don't make me go on. I really did find this film dreadful. A poll of the six women I work with who saw it with me revealed that not one, not a single one enjoyed it.
I doubt I'll convince any women reading this not to watch the film. But now that I've posted this I will be able to say I told you so!
__________
1 Star (Liza)
This is an outstandingly hilarious post on the same "film".
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time
OK mate. Just repeat after me, "think Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a rip-rollicking ride, fun times, bit zaney, bit of action, bit of comedy. It won't be crap."
I repeated that to myself over and over going into the screening. "Pirates. Rip-rollicking. Fun. Zaney. Action. Comedy. Not crap".
It started off as much I'd thought, Bruckheimer and Disney. What could go wrong? In truth, not too much did go wrong. Not much went right, but the film's a bit of fun.
Did it have a great story? No.
Did it have amazing dialogue? Noooooo!
Special effects? No really.
Action? Meh.
Acting? Huh?
Charm? A little.
The problem was that I had to keep repeating it back to myself during the film. "Pirates. Rip-rollicking. Fun. Zaney. Action. Comedy. Not crap." It tries so desperately to emulate the success of the Pirates trilogy but... without Johnny Depp! Yeah I know right?! Not going to happen.
I've never really been much of a Jake Gyllenhaal fan/stalker. He's done some good stuff (Brokeback Mountain and Zodiac for example) but I've never been wowed by him. Nor have I found him drop dead gorgeous. In this film however, I'm prepared to acknowledge... he looks gooooood. He's just not a leading man yet. Maybe one day.
Gemma Arterton however... well let's just say I had a hard time believing that hers is a face so beautiful that legends were told in the room next door, let along in distant lands. Hardly Helen of Troy. Also hardly Helen of Mirrem.
The saving grace in terms of humour, entertainment, acting and my self-respect for attending was Alfred Molina. The man is a revelation and the film is the richer for having him there. Not the same number of lines, and certainly not the same salary, but definitely the Captain Jack of this Pirates.
So it was a little bit crap, butPirates er... Prince of Persia is pretty zaney, pretty rip-rollicking and a perfectly alright way to spend a couple of hours.
__________
I'm forced, I feel, to mark this one out of ten and score it with a full 6 pack!
I repeated that to myself over and over going into the screening. "Pirates. Rip-rollicking. Fun. Zaney. Action. Comedy. Not crap".
It started off as much I'd thought, Bruckheimer and Disney. What could go wrong? In truth, not too much did go wrong. Not much went right, but the film's a bit of fun.
Did it have a great story? No.
Did it have amazing dialogue? Noooooo!
Special effects? No really.
Action? Meh.
Acting? Huh?
Charm? A little.
The problem was that I had to keep repeating it back to myself during the film. "Pirates. Rip-rollicking. Fun. Zaney. Action. Comedy. Not crap." It tries so desperately to emulate the success of the Pirates trilogy but... without Johnny Depp! Yeah I know right?! Not going to happen.
I've never really been much of a Jake Gyllenhaal fan/stalker. He's done some good stuff (Brokeback Mountain and Zodiac for example) but I've never been wowed by him. Nor have I found him drop dead gorgeous. In this film however, I'm prepared to acknowledge... he looks gooooood. He's just not a leading man yet. Maybe one day.
Gemma Arterton however... well let's just say I had a hard time believing that hers is a face so beautiful that legends were told in the room next door, let along in distant lands. Hardly Helen of Troy. Also hardly Helen of Mirrem.
The saving grace in terms of humour, entertainment, acting and my self-respect for attending was Alfred Molina. The man is a revelation and the film is the richer for having him there. Not the same number of lines, and certainly not the same salary, but definitely the Captain Jack of this Pirates.
So it was a little bit crap, but
__________
I'm forced, I feel, to mark this one out of ten and score it with a full 6 pack!
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