Conchords season II
For a good time, call Kerry on (04) 801 4205
The Wellington City Council would like to hear from you tonight. Like, seriously. According to their ads in the paper, they even want you to stop watching Coronation Street long enough to call them up and tell them what you think about them. Or to be specifically quoting their old news story (one of the things I would complain about first would be how hard it is to find current news on their site):
Do you have views on the city’s future? Then call our hotline, talk to the Mayor or Councillors and tell them what you think. Wellington City Council is running the hotline … 7.00pm to 9.00pm – phone (04) 801 4205) to canvas views from residents about what they value about the city, what level services should be funded and what services could be reduced.
As always, we have some suggestions:
- Get the trolley buses running more often because we value them,
- The ‘service’ of building roads and bypasses and flyovers that we don’t actually need can get scrapped. Or moved to Hamilton cos that city totally needs a bypass.
- How about along with the rubbish collection we think about having a green/compost collection? It works in San Francisco…
What would you say if you called? And also, you’re going to call, right?
Cinephilia: Opening This Week
As Oscar night approaches another of the expected heavyweight contenders goes into cinemas: Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road reunites Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time since Titanic (still the highest grossing film of all time fact-fans) in a story of a middle-class 1950s couple dissatisfied with the American suburban dream. Based on (what I understand to be) an awesome novel by Richard Yates. Playing at Lighthouse Petone, Regent-on-Manners, Readings, Penthouse and Sky City Queensgate.
Roadshow will be hoping that Clint Eastwood lightning will strike twice at the Oscars and are using that rare tactic, the sneak preview, to launch his new film (and his last as an actor) Gran Torino. His last performance was in the multi-award-winning Million Dollar Baby in 2004. You can see Gran Torino early at Empire, Readings, Penthouse and Sky City Queensgate. (Eastwood’s other new film Changeling opens on Feb 12)
For those inclined toward the crappier end of the market there’s Bride Wars, a "comedy" starring Anne Hathaway and the woefully-managed Kate Hudson. Please note that I totally have an open mind about this film – I just don’t have any hope or faith: Empire, Regent-on-Manners, Readings, Sky City Queensgate.
The Penthouse keeps it classy with a biggish-budget French WWII movie called Female Agents about some young French women enlisted into the British Special Forces and sent on a suicide mission to rescue a British geologist. True story apparently. Meanwhile the Paramount’s eclectic run continues with a Czech comedy-drama called Beauty in Trouble. It’s by one of my favourite filmmakers, Jan Hrebejk who made the fantastic Divided We Fall from 2000. Also at the Paramount, for just a few sessions, is a surfing movie called Bustin’ Down the Door.
All of the above will be reviewed in next week’s Capital Times (and online at Funerals & Snakes), although I may draw the line at the surfing flick.
Summer daze
We admit it: we’ve been slack. Normal blogging service will gradually resume as we re-emerge from the rum-induced inebriation heat-induced torpor of summer, but things are taking a while to crank up again.
Some of us have been out of town on summer holidays, enjoying all the clichés of the Great Kiwi SummerTM: beaches, jandals, boats, sunburn and ill-advised sexual liaisons. But some of us have stayed put, and frankly, why not? Even if (like many Wellingtonians) you don’t have a car, with a Snapper card and Shanks’ pony it’s not too hard to get to a whole range of beaches. Here’s a little Flickr photoset of the Wellington coast this summer, showing people doing all those sorts of things that we’re supposed to have to leave town for. Erm, except the sex (and we wouldn’t be surprised if that was just around the corner, too).
We, for one, welcome our new Webstock overlords
There’s less than a month to go now until the greatest conference ever, and since the Wellingtonista is always keen to show off the best parts of our city, we made a Beginner’s Guide to Wellington for those who are coming in for it from out of town. Even if you live here, there might be something of interest on the list for you, so do have a read, and when you see us at all those places, do feel free to say hi and buy us drinks.
In the summer in the city
1. Have you registered for Webstock yet? Only 33 more sleeps left to go and we are very very excited!
2. Have you checked out the programme for Summer City yet?
Wellington City Council’s three-month festival of outdoor activities. Events include music festivals, extreme sports, cultural celebrations and children’s entertainment. This year, Summer City’s music performances focus on Wellington bands.
There’s a giant display of info about it at the corner of Manners & Cuba Malls, or you can read their event info PDF (because Summer City is not accessible for everyone?)
3. Brenda has emphasised again why she was nominated for Best Contribution to the internet, with this revealing photo of the portrait of former mayor Mark Blumsky, standing outside Mermaids Strip Club. Nice one!
Comings and Goings
The start of each year often sees a shake-up of the bar and restaurant scene, and with the Current Economic ClimateTM one might expect a few more closures than usual. Let’s not dwell on such morbid speculation, and look at a few closings and openings that we do know about.
While discussing the demise of Temperance (which didn’t reopen this weekend, despite DB’s threats assurances), Blair mentioned that the Courtenay Arms had been replaced by something called "The Kiwi Pub". It doesn’t look quite as dire as I had feared, and its light, airy feel is more beach café than six-o’clock swill. It’s still nostalgia-by-numbers, though, presumably aimed at the backpacker market, and despite the odd decent beer on the list, the Society Of Beer Advocates is not impressed.
Across the road, New Orleans will open its new Allen St location in a a couple of weeks, in the space long left vacant by the unlamented Play. I hope it lasts longer than its cursed Lambton Quay incarnation, and while it’s presumably aiming at a different demographic, its Cajun cuisine will have stiff competition from Sweet Mother’s Kitchen around the corner.
For sooth o’er yonder hills doth joust
Imagine our delight to find that this weekend there is a jousting carnival in Upper Hutt.
Harcourt Park, Saturday and Sunday 10th and 11th January, Upper Hutt.
As they said in days of yore, be there or be-eth square.
O Temperance, O Mores
So, in accordance with rumours that have been floating around for a few months now, The Temperance is closing. So long: we hardly knew you.
But things aren’t so simple. According to the article, it’s more of a stoush between the head leaseholder (Dominion Breweries) and the operator (Andrew Gibson): the receivers have been called in, but it is expected to reopen by this weekend. Apparently, the Queensgate Mall of pubs was actually turning a profit.
Oh. And here were we thinking that this was a sign that Wellingtonians had some taste after all.
Cinephilia: Opening This Week
Following the flurry of Christmas and New Year releases (all of which are still playing), there are only two new titles to report this week. Firstly, The Tale of Desperaux an animated adaptation of a supposedly beloved children’s book. Matthew Broderick plays a noble little mouse with enormous ears who teams up with a kitchen-loving rat (Dustin Hoffman) to rescue a lonely Princess (Emma Watson) – sounds a bit like Dumbo meets Ratatouille. The rest of the voice cast is similarly prestigious including two gentlemen probably on the the Academy long-list for Best Actor this year: Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor). Playing at the Empire, Regent-on-Manners, Readings Courtenay and Sky City Queensgate (does anyone go there?).
Frank Miller is a hero to comic book aficionados everywhere. He created The Dark Knight Returns, 300 and Sin City (and co-directed the Sin City movie along with Robert Rodriguez). Now he has both hands on the wheel of another comic book adaptation, Will Eisner’s The Spirit and the promotional material makes it look like a long-lost cousin of Sin City. US reviews have not been kind but you can check it out at either Readings or Sky City.
The Paramount‘s Summer "Best of" series continues: Adam’s Apples, The Edge of Heaven, I‘m Not There. and Lars and the Real Girl get a second chance and they’re also raiding the vault with rare opportunities to see West Side Story, The Conversation, Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and North by Northwest.
Along with a rundown of all the Christmas releases, Desperaux and The Spirit will be reviewed next week at Funerals & Snakes (and in the Capital Times on Wednesday).