Chasing Ice

Posted 4:49pm Sunday 5th August 2012

[FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW] National Geographic photographer James Balog was a climate change skeptic before he saw for himself the immense recession of glaciers he had photographed on separate occasions. This moment of realisation led Balog to set up the extensive “extreme ice survey” (EIS) Read more...

Film Festival Picks!

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 29th July 2012

The New Zealand International Film Festival opened on Thursday night with Wes Anderson’s latest gem, the super-cute Moonrise Kingdom. Running from 26 June to 19 August, the film festival marks an annual academic slump in Sarah Baillie’s calendar – three weeks of not much study and lots of sneaky Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Shadow Dancer

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012

British spy thriller Shadow Dancer has just the right amount of thrill, a good sprinkling of snooping, and not too much dramatic music, eavesdropping, or complicated spy networks. Collette, a young mother and member of a family heavily embroiled in the IRA, gets caught dropping a bomb in the London Read more...

Film Festival Preview: Undefeated

Posted 10:46am Sunday 22nd July 2012

A “sports documentary” which is about much, much more than sport, Undefeated is a heartwarming story of personal relationships, struggles, and American football. Before coach Bill Courtney arrived at Manassas high school, their football team had been on a losing streak for as long as anyone could Read more...

Must-sees at the World Cinema Showcase

Posted 5:04pm Sunday 22nd April 2012

The World Cinema Showcase is back in town, and boy are there a lot of good movies to be seen! The baby version of the New Zealand International Film Festival, the WCS is running from April 19-May 2. The great thing about film festivals, apart from being able to go to the movies in the middle of the Read more...

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Posted 4:26pm Sunday 25th March 2012

Martha Marcy May Marlene is not the full name of the young woman in this film – thank goodness. Her real name is Martha. Marcy May is the name given to her by Patrick, the leader of the cult she has been living with for the past two years. Having fled the cult community, disoriented and distressed, Read more...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Posted 4:53pm Sunday 4th March 2012

Director: Tomas Alfredson Based on the novel by John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an impressive adaptation of this Cold War-era spy drama. The film tracks George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a retired agent of the “circus” (the British intelligence unit) who is called back in to dig out a Read more...

Chalet Girl

Posted 4:04am Monday 3rd October 2011

Director: Phil Traill (1/5) This story is a clichéd gem. Kim (Felicity Jones) is a washed up pro skateboarder who spends her time working to support her lazy yet loving father at the local fast food joint. After a casual but ‘fateful’ discussion with a co-worker, Kim Read more...

Miss Representation

Posted 11:10pm Monday 22nd August 2011

Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, (5/5). Before you stop reading because you think this film looks like it’s only for crazy feminists, wait! It’s not. Miss Representation is a film that every person in the world should watch. An exploration of the impact of the negative portrayal Read more...

Film Festival

Posted 4:38am Thursday 4th August 2011

The New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off this Thursday and runs until the August 21. Critic’s film editor Sarah Baillie gives a run down of our top ten picks for the festival. Make sure to head along, it only comes once a year! Project Nim   Perhaps it is just because I Read more...