Entertainment
Goodtime movie has heartfelt message
Monday 18 September 2017 | Published in Entertainment
Man – oops, girl, that was a funny movie.
Wind River well worth watching
Monday 11 September 2017 | Published in Entertainment
“Snow and silence”
American Made takes off after dodgy start
Monday 28 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
The opening scenes in American Made look as though someone saw the 2016 film Sully, also a true story about a pilot, and learned all the wrong lessons.
Dark Tower's storyline a bit too familiar
Monday 21 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
Think about if you’ve seen this before: A young boy or girl (but usually a boy), lives in a world where he just doesn’t feel right, where he doesn’t totally fit in.
Horrible, but not in the intended way
Monday 14 August 2017 | Published in Entertainment
There must have been once upon a time when a door closing ominously in the background would have made audiences afraid, or lights flickering on and off must have had people squeezing their partner’s hand in fright.
Film goers go Ape for packed opening night
Saturday 29 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
One of the hardest things to do in film is to finish a trilogy on a satisfying note.
Nolan strikes a masterpiece in Dunkirk
Monday 24 July 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
At first Dunkirk sounded like some battalion name to me when the trailer of this movie was released at the Empire Cinema.
Baby, I'm on board with this one
Tuesday 18 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
There are few pleasures in the world that match seeing the words, “A film by Edgar Wright”, appear on the title screen.
Spider Homecoming a refreshing return
Monday 10 July 2017 | Published in Entertainment
Were you surprised to hear that Marvel had tapped New Zealand director Taika Waititi on the shoulder to take the reins of the latest Thor installment? Yeah, me too. But after a bit of thought and a typical reviewer’s case of 20/20 hindsight, it seemed sensible, with a whiff of inevitability about it. Marvel have a brief but proud and wildly successful tradition now of picking directors based on their ability to establish a credible character out of incredible circumstances, and – maybe even more importantly, to tell a joke. And by that criteria, Taika, with Eagle vs Shark, Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople on his showreel, was a prime candidate for Marvel ascension. Forget about the fact that he’s never made a film not set in New Zealand before, let alone Asgard. By Marvel’s algorithms, Taika is going to do just fine. And compared to Spiderman: Homecoming helmer Jon Watts, Taika is wildly over-qualified. Watts has exactly two other feature films on his brief CV. One is called Cop Car, and the other is called Clown. Now, I’ve seen Cop Car – and that puts me in a pretty small minority. It’s a solid and occasionally very smartly put together thriller that goes into some gratifyingly dark, bleakly funny and irresolvable places before the wheels finally fall off in the home straight. For Kevin Bacon completists, it’s well worth a look. But I can’t say I saw anything in Cop Car that made me immediately think Watts would be anywhere within shouting distance of the shortlist of directors to be handed the keys of the latest installment of one of the world’s most money-printing-est franchises. Which is what the Marvel slate currently is. Naturally, I was wrong. Watts and Marvel co-head honcho and creative overlord Kevin Feige have crafted a Spiderman reboot for the ages. And they’ve done it by taking the film right back to its comic book origins. It’s set in the present day – and also in Marvel’s present, post-Civil War and years after The Avengers and The Battle of New York – but this Spidey is gratifyingly true to the kid-centric world of the comic-book character. British actor Tom Holland (The Impossible) is a convincingly adolescent Peter Parker, finding some pleasingly dorky and awkward moments for his still high-school aged hero. We were introduced to Holland’s Spidermen/Peter Parker in Civil War, and there was maybe an expectation that Spiderman: Homecoming would see the kid in the red and blue take his place on the starting team roster. But no. Parker is told by Robert Downey Jr’s Ironman basically to go back to school and look after his grades and family for a while yet. Which seems like not the worst advice in the world for a kid still too unsure of himself to ask a girl on a date. The villain of the piece is the Vulture, played, unimprovably, by Michael Keaton. Although the nod to the Keatonaissance-launching Birdman character is unescapable and fun. Keaton is perfect as he goes about sketching in the character’s back story as Adrian Toomes. This Toomes is a borderline gangster who just wants to carve himself out his own slice of the American dream and knows he’s going to have to get his hands a little dirty to do it. Done out of a lucrative salvage business by Tony Stark’s possibly self-serving co-opting of the contract on all the left-over alien technology and weaponry after the busted Chitauri invasion that was the centre-piece of
Transformers loses charm, gets complex
Monday 26 June 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
I muttered to my mate that I may not have to write a review after seeing the bumper crowd at the premiere of the latest Transformers movie on Thursday.
The Mummy is a big letdown
Monday 12 June 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
Some pasts should remain buried forever, and the subject matter of The Mummy is one of them.
Pirates of the Caribbean still under full sail
Monday 29 May 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
When I was referred to a damning review of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie from a well-known US entertainment magazine, I decided not to take a peek.
Second John Wick twice as good
Monday 22 May 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
Just the other day when things became a bit tedious at work, we entertained ourselves to a mini debate on how good an actor Keanu Reeves is.
King Arthur makes a comeback
Monday 15 May 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
I remember reading about King Arthur and his brave feats from the stash of books I oncefound in the dusty corner of our family house.
Guardians return to rescue the galaxy
Monday 1 May 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
Guardian of the Galaxy is probably the wittiest superhero franchise of all time.
Stronger than before, faster than ever
Tuesday 25 April 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
It all started with fast cars, most of them imported Japanese racing cars, and of course Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) 1970 Dodge Charger.
Action movie fast, furious and fantastic
Saturday 15 April 2017 | Published in Entertainment
The latest instalment of the Fast and the Furious franchise is totally ridiculous - in the best way imaginable.
Ghost in the Shell lacks viewer appeal
Saturday 8 April 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
Ghost in the Shell is reportedly set to lose about $100 million after a lukewarm response to its opening late last month.
Classic fairytale wows in love action remake
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
Beauty and the Beast is probably one of the most beautiful fairytales of all time.
Gary of the Pacific a total letdown
Monday 27 March 2017 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Entertainment
When Chloe (Megan Stevenson) abruptly leaves her wedding, calling the protagonist and her husband to be Gary (Josh Thomson) “gross” in the movie Gary from the Pacific, I felt the same.