Despite the shocking and inexplicable decision to omit Patrick Keiller’s Robinson in Ruins from this year’s Film Festival (a disaster applicable only to me I think) the actual line-up is as good as everyone says. At least I think it is from surveying about 20 out of the 160+ titles in the programme — hardly […]
For this year’s World Cinema Showcase preview I started with a list of all the films I wanted to see and then realised that I had used up my entire world limit. So, forgive me if these briefs are brief but this year’s Showcase is as heavyweight as it’s ever been (and runs for three […]
All over the world it is volunteer organisations like the Wellington Film Society that keep the flame of film art alive so that cinephiliacs like me can get a decent palate cleanser every Monday night after a weekend of Hollywood tosh. I can’t recommend Society membership highly enough. Your membership fee equates to around three […]
In 1969 John Wayne won his only Academy Award for his portrayal of the irascible one-eyed US Marshal Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, hired by young Kim Darby to avenge the murder of her father. Now the ever-surprising Coen Brothers have brought us their interpretation (back to Charles Portis’ original novel, with evidently no reference […]
I understand that New Zealand is proportionally the biggest market in the world for dance movies — the Step Ups, Stomping the Yards, dance battle films are huge here — so I wonder whether that will hold true for a psychological drama set in the world of classical ballet. Black Swan is Darren Aronofsky’s follow-up […]
While lots of Wellingtonians are off holidaying in remote parts of the country (huddling under canvas, finding sandbags to keep the creek out, hoping the caravan doesn’t blow away) Circa Theatre have kindly brought the camp site to those of us who stayed at home — in the form of Dave Armstrong’s new play The […]
It’s that time of year when the serious Oscar contenders start rolling out. The plan is usually to release a film between the Golden Globes (or the Oscar noms) and the Academy Awards night, maximising the attention before your films turn into losers (as most of them will). So, it’s going to be a busy […]
This weekend, film fans, you can watch the new animated Yogi Bear movie in two different formats, compare the two and then have an erudite discussion of the related strengths and weaknesses of the new “re-booted franchise” versus the beloved, barely 2D, original. Or, you can watch a drama about female circumcision. Tough call. Dan […]
A New Year brings with it several resolutions and one of those is that I will return to regular contributions here at The Wellingtonista. So, until I collapse under the strain, every Thursday I’ll present a quick rundown of what’s opening at local cinemas. This week Disney offers us an animated 3D “adventure”, Tangled (previously […]
The Black Caps™ may be pants (technical term) but there’s at least one reason to look forward to the Summer cricket season: the Wellington Firebirds have signed Aussie superstar Brett Lee as their second overseas player for the year. According to the Wellington Cricket website, Lee will play the second half of the HRV Twenty20 […]