The highlights of the Northern Hemisphere blockbuster summer keep on arriving, led this week by the long-awaited Simpsons Movie. I previewed it today and I recommend that you stay through all the credits. Playing Readings, Empire Island Bay, Sky City Queensgate and Regent-on-Manners which despite the best efforts of some enthusiastic staff is complete pants.
Lindsay Lohan teams up with Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman for the inter-generational comedy-drama Georgia Rule. Love interest is provided by Dermot Mulroney and Garrett Hedlund (Eragon). Again all over town: Readings, Regent-on-Manners and Sky City Queensgate.
More after the jump
While the Film Festival dominates the screens at the Embassy, Paramount, Te Papa, the Film Archive (and partially takes over the Penthouse) there are still mainstream releases being flung to the four winds.
As a writer, Mike White has been responsible for some of the weirdest (Chuck & Buck), the straightest (The Good Girl) and the funniest (The School of Rock) films of recent times. Year of the Dog is his first film as a director and is about a decent, single, secretary (played by perennial supporting actress Molly Shannon) and her quest to replace her deceased pet. It’s a romantic comedy and the supporting cast is pretty flash: including John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard. Penthouse exclusive.
The uplifting story of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) and his quest to outlaw slavery (inspiring – or inspired by – the hymn) is told in Amazing Grace. Also starring the wonderful Romola Garai who will be here in less than a month to star with Ian McKellen in “King Lear†and “The Seagullâ€. Penthouse, Readings, Lighthouse Petone and Rialto.
Knocked Up is the story of an unlikely couple who, after a one-night-stand, are forced to deal with the pregnancy that binds them together. It’s by the team that made The 40-year-old Virgin and stars Seth Rogen (promoted from supporting actor in the previous film) and Katherine Heigl. A hoot by all accounts. Readings, Regent-on-Manners, Lighthouse Petone, Sky City Queensgate.
Finally, probably co-inciding with the Dowse’s “Making of†exhibition, King Kong gets another trot out at Queensgate at 2.30pm on Sunday.
It’s Film Festival time of year, that two and a half week period when watching three films a day becomes more than shameful self-indulgence, its almost obligatory.
Like life itself, preparing for the Film Festival is all about choices. You start with a virgin programme and then, over a period of weeks, notes are scrawled, dates are checked, friends are consulted and previews like this are read and then discarded. You check the timetable wondering whether you can leave work to, er, post a letter for a couple of hours on Friday morning; you find yourself at lunchtime checking how long it really does take to walk briskly between Te Papa and The Embassy, and you try and forget those moments during past Festivals when you come out of a disappointing but worthy Finnish drama at the Paramount and pass hordes of happy people who saw the extraordinary Japanese animation at The Embassy instead.
The whittling is relentless as the forces of time and space require choices to be made. To add an other layer of complication to your personal process here’s my list of the less obvious options, some of which I’ve been lucky enough to preview, but mostly I’m hanging out to see them like everyone else.
The rest of the preview, after the jump.
A very quiet week for openings, the calm before the Film Festival storm you might say. Slipping out a day early under cover of darkness is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (or Harry Potter 5 as it said on my ticket this afternoon). Sneak preview of my Capital Times review next week: “meh”. (Empire, Readings, Regent, Sky City Queensgate).
The only other picture opening this week is the unfortunately titled Bra Boys, which is a documentary about the famous Sydney surf gang from the suburb of Maroubra. The film is directed by one of the Bra Boys himself, Sunny Aberton, and Exec Produced by Russell Crowe who is understandably more interested in his South Sydney roots than his South Wellington origins (documentary about Strathmore anyone?). Crowe is so into this particular story that he’s slated to direct and star in a fictionalised version of it in 2009. Rialto only.
(Issue two is out now, but I have been slow. All judgments below are based on the first issue. I’m not buying another one to see if it’s improved.)
When I saw the first issue of Uno on the shelves at the supermarket, I was hoping it would be the Wellington equivalent of Metro – on a good day, not all “Why your kids’ school will give you cancer and never let them buy a house” Listeneresque. But it’s not. It’s really, really not. Instead it turns out that Uno is every bit as advertising-copy driven as the Wellington Guide – without the advantage of at least being Welly exclusive. I suppose I should have known better give that Wellington’s official villain of 2006 is on the cover. After the jump, more reasons not to waste $9.95.
A quiet week this week for cinema releases (at least until Wednesday).
Returning from April’s World Cinema Showcase are Wordplay, well-regarded documentary about the New York Times crossword (very limited sessions at the Lighthouse in Petone only) and Aussie mockumentary Razzle Dazzle about the world of kids’ dance competitions (Lighthouse Petone and Penthouse).
For the school holidays the Paramount has a daily 11.00am screening of another Aussie flick, The Silly Billies Save The Circus. When I was at the Paramount we had two live visits from The Hooley Dooleys who I kind of considered to be the Wiggles you have when you can’t have The Wiggles. It looks like The Silly Billies are what you get when you can’t get The Hooley Dooleys.
Also at the Paramount this week, a children’s movie of a different kind, All The Invisible Children: an anthology movie supported by Unicef featuring seven short films about the plight of children around the world. Directors include Ridley Scott, Spike Lee and John Woo.
Oh, and on Wednesday, pretty much everywhere, the new Harry Potter opens: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
School holidays start on Monday and Hollywood is doing its bit to turn your kids’ brains to mush with Transformers, an enormo-budget extravaganza about cars that turn in to robots (or the other way around). Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Michael Bay, Transformers should give the boys plenty of bang for your buck (while the girls get to swoon over current heart-throb Shia LaBeouf). Playing all over town including Readings Courtenay Central; Sky City Queensgate; Embassy; Regent-on-Manners.
Sensible-shoe wearing girls may well get more out of the latest incarnation of teen detective Nancy Drew, this time starring Julia Roberts’ niece Emma. A slightly smaller release this one, at Readings Courtenay Central and Sky City Queensgate only.
After the jump: Heartbreak Hotel, Starter for Ten, Francesca and Nunziata and The Iron Giant.
It’s as if the gurus in Hollywood know that here in Wellington the Film Festival approaches and they’re trying to get the popcorn material out of the way before it is overpowered by more cerebral delights. Actually, that can’t be true, pretty much every week is like this…
The latest in the seemingly endless series of Will Ferrell sports movies in which our the star improvs himself a feature film while playing an emotionally stunted man-child is Blades of Glory and the sport this time is – Ice Skating! Figure Skating to be exact. Ferrell is joined by Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jon Heder as the two pair up to be the first all-male Olympic Ice Dancing champions (Readings and Sky City Queensgate).
After the jump: Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Paris je t’aime, Eden and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
UPDATE: How Much Do You Love Me? is also playing at the Lighthouse in Petone.
This week’s blockbuster is the third installment in the Pitt/ Clooney/ Damon/ Soderbergh smug-fest, Ocean’s 13. This time the 11 from the first picture are joined by Ellen Barkin and Mr Hoo-Haa himself, Al Pacino. Diminishing returns? You be the judge at Readings, Sky City Queensgate, Penthouse or Empire Island Bay.
More down-to-earth is the messed-up Aussie no-budget romance Puppy (Paramount), described as a “weird and wonderful journey”. Another messed-up romance starts Thursday at the Paramount: How Much Do You Love Me? stars Monica Belluci as a prostitute who gets paid 100,00 euros a month to live with a lottery winner – until the money runs out. Also starring Gérard Depardieu.
Bridge to Terabithia, Pierrepoint, Scenes of a Sexual Nature and Off the Grid – after the jump.
Once again, I had left my book at home somewhere, so it was another gold card restaurant that was needed. Since my other sister decided to gatecrash our party, a total discount venue, rather than a two-for-one mains was desireable. And because it was cold and I was lazy and didn’t feel like walking anywhere, somewhere on the bus route home was needed – preferably somewhere that I could get a big plate of heartiness at. Medina was decided upon, as it seems to have beaten the curse that made other restaurants in its location at 18 Cambridge Terrace close down very rapidly. The review is after the jump.