Film

Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors, adapted by Riwia Brown from Alan Duff’s novel of the same name was, at the time of its release in 1994, the highest grossing film at the New Zealand box office. A position it held for nearly a decade, until the release of Whale Rider. Centring on the Heke family, Tamahori’s film provides an uncompromising insight into the Maori experience of inner city living, alcoholism, and domestic abuse. Jake the Mus (Temuera Morrison), on account...

Winner of this year’s Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Dina follows its title character as she prepares to get married to her fiancé Scott, who works as a greeter at Walmart. They are both on the autism spectrum and each struggle with it in different ways. For the most part, though, they lead fairly normal lives. Scott enjoys rock music and Dina has a liking for the Kardashians. As the film progresses we learn about the hardships that Dina...

By Jim Mackney Alfred Hitchcock, born in Leytonstone on the 13th of August 1899, came to be known as the “Master of Suspense” and was a true filmmaking auteur. He is known for a distinct visual style now known as "Hitchcockian" where the camera mimics a person’s gaze, forcing the audience to undertake a form of voyeurism, and for using the narrative principle of a MacGuffin; a plot device in the form of a goal, desired object, or other motivator that...

Many of us, including myself, have visited tribal villages while on holiday to an African country. It is a fairly normal activity and the kind of display that opens I Am Not a Witch. So called witches are penned within a primitive Zambian settlement and are tied to ribbons to prevent them from leaving, while a guide tells tourists about their customs and beliefs. Elsewhere a young girl called Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) is blamed for suspicious activity and is accused...

On the surface The Snowman looks like one of those films that could only be good. With an acclaimed director, a strong cast, interesting source material, and even Martin Scorsese in an executive producer role, what could possibly go wrong? Based on the novel by Jo Nesbø of the same name, the film follows detective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) as he investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around a sinister-looking snowman near her home. He...

By Michael McNulty Alan Clarke is a name not heard often enough.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that of his filmic output only two were theatrical releases.  Clarke instead made a name for himself producing teleplays for the British small screen.  But, whilst the screen may have been small, Clarke’s films certainly were not.  They are some of the most radical, ferociously intense and scathingly honest ever to be broadcast on television.  From Scum to The Firm, so...

A-list star George Clooney hit back at Donald Trump and his claims that "coastal elites" look down upon the rest of the US. Clooney, being a Hollywood actor, would fall under Trump's catch all phrase. However, in an interview with the Daily Beast recently, while promoting his new film "Suburbicon" he didn't pull any punches as he replied to the President's incendiary comments. He said... "Here’s the thing: I grew up in Kentucky. I sold insurance door-to-door. I sold ladies’...

By Michael McNulty Boy, Taika Waititi’s sophomore feature, before collaboration with Jermaine Clement on What We Do in the Shadows secured him as co-creator of the best vampire mockumentary of all time and last year’s success with Hunt for the Wilderpeople put him at the helm of Marvel’s latest Thor instalment, is a coming of age story as playful and funny as it is tender and sad. Set in the tribal lands of the Te Whanau-A-Apanui, in the Bay of...

From the outset it is clear that The Ritual has ambitions to be more than just another tired and predictable horror film. Following the death of their friend Robert (Paul Reid), a group of university friends, now in their early thirties, forgo the traditional boys holiday and instead go on a hiking trip to Sweden as their late friend had suggested. Luke (Rafe Spall), who was present when Robert was killed, is still troubled by guilt and has recurring nightmares...