With World Cinema Showcase in full swing in Wellington, here are a couple of flicks worth catching in the festival
environment:
Christopher Nolan's debut feature Memento, which stars Guy Pearce, is a cinematic speeding bullet about a vigilante with
no short-term memory that simultaneously plays backwards from the final scene and forwards from the beginning; a truly
unique experience, with a formula never to be repeated.
Meanwhile, gore-hounds and more demanding audiences alike will get a kick out of Ginger Snaps, already available on
video but best seen in a crowded theatre. Dark, grisly and exceedingly witty, this is the blackest movie about teenage
angst since Heathers.
Also, hope you like the new approach of sending more than one reviewer to check out the same movie - be sure to check
out both points-of-view as Emma and Noel judge Best In Show and Simon and Ian take on Dancer in the Dark.
Want something included in this e-mailer? Let me know at matt@loop.co.nz.
Enjoy!
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THIS WEEK
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (BIG SCREEN): If you've seen the trailer, you'll know what to expect - all the signs point to an orgy of bad
special effects, dismal dialogue, hokey characters and sword-swinging action. Not quite the D I remember.
SAVE THE LAST DANCE (BIG SCREEN): Runaway teen hit danced away with the U.S. Box Office for several weeks straight;
could make less of an impact here. Stars Julia Stiles of 10 Things I Hate About You 'fame'. Official site:
http://www.savethelastdance.com
SEE SPOT RUN (BIG SCREEN): Big hit in the U.S. (most probably due to the off-season dearth of alternatives), this canine
caper movie starring David Arquette and a dog with an unfeasibly large tongue promises an endless supply of
below-the-belt humour aimed at younger audiences - think Farrelleys Lite. Official site: http://www.see-spot-run.com
WORLD CINEMA SHOWCASE (BIG SCREEN): Second week of the year's first big festival features more screenings of Christopher
Nolan's sensational Memento (Friday and Saturday), atmospheric Jean Reno-starrer The Crimson Rivers (Friday and
Saturday), low-budget horror outing Ginger Snaps (Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and Joel Schumacher's pared-back
Tigerland (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). Get the run-down at http://loop.co.nz/?m=355
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NOW PLAYING
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (BIG SCREEN): Noel endured Darren Aronfsky's intense and disturbing movie about New York junkies:
http://loop.co.nz/?m=617
THE EXORCIST - DIRECTOR'S CUT (BIG SCREEN, DVD (R1)): Simon Sweetman reviews William Friedkin's vomit-drenched midnight
classic at: http://loop.co.nz/?m=582
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (WORLD CINEMA SHOWCASE): Tammy Faye Bakker comes under the spotlight and Simon Sweetman saw it
all: http://loop.co.nz/?m=633
COMEDIAN HARMONISTS (WORLD CINEMA SHOWCASE): Noel checked out a German flick guaranteed to leave not an eye in the house
dry: http://loop.co.nz/?m=603
BEST IN SHOW (WORLD CINEMA SHOWCASE): From the team what brought you the vastly under-rated Waiting For Guffman. Emma
and Noel sound off at: http://loop.co.nz/?m=596 and http://loop.co.nz/?m=598
DANCER IN THE DARK (BIG SCREEN, DVD (R1)): Simon Sweetman and Ian Pryor took a look at Danish filmmaker and eccentric
Lars Von Trier's moody musical: http://loop.co.nz/?m=619 and http://loop.co.nz/?m=597
THE TERMINATOR (DVD (R4)): Arnie's back - the original Terminator comes to DVD: http://loop.co.nz/?m=604
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FESTIVALS HEADS-UP
BRESSON RETROSPECTIVE (The Lido 8-17/06, Te Papa 15-24/06), New Zealand Film Festival Trust and the French Embassy are
bringing a retrospective by one of the 20th century's greatest filmmakers and directors, who died in 1999, to Auckland
and Wellington. For details, check out:
http://loop.co.nz/?m=546
BECK'S INCREDIBLE FILM FESTIVAL (Civic 13/04 - 05/05, Paramount 07/06 - 08/07): No longer strange but even more
incredible, the eighth year of this celebration of cinematic eccentricity includes such delights as Tsui Hark's martial
arts epic Green Snake, Danish oddity In China They Eat Dogs, Star Wars doco Starwoids and German horror thriller
Anatomie, starring Franka Potente of Run Lola Run fame. Full preview coming soon to loop.co.nz.
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AROUND THE WEB
MEOW!: Rumours of a Catwoman movie emerged in the wake of 1992's Batman Returns (for my money the best Batflick of the
lot). A decade later, it looks like becoming a reality: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=8578 and
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010402/en/film-judd_1.html
SH-WINGING INTO ACTION: Playstation's Tomb Raider hits the big screen this summer with Angelina Jolie in the title role
- full trailer now up at: http://www.tombraidermovie.com
APRIL FOOLS: A bevy of April Fools gags hit the web's move sites on Sunday... here's a couple of my favourites (and for
the record, yes, The One Ring had me going there): http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/grinchstoleeaster.html
http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/986062289
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STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW
For Hoyts session times, check out:
http://www.hoyts.co.nz/whatson.html
For Region 1 DVDs with free worldwide shipping, we think Canadian site DVD Box Office kicks arse. They have free
worldwide shipping, and they even display prices in NZ$. Did I mention free worldwide shipping?
http://www.dvdboxoffice.com
For new and Second-hand Region 1 and 4 DVDs, the Overlords of upper Cuba and Queen Streets, Real Groovy, are just that.
For the rental of Region 1 and 4 DVDs, Amalgamated Video on Taranaki St is your friend. Repeat after me: Amalgamated
Video on Taranaki St is your friend.
To buy second-hand Region 1 and 4 DVDs on-line from other New Zealanders, you can do worse than the DVDs For Sale
section at:
http://www.nzht.co.nz