The Critic's Conundrum

Local film critic Dominic Corry has written a pretty good piece on something that's been on my mind - and no doubt others in the same occupational shoes - for some time now: should we treat NZ films any different to films produced elsewhere? The answer is obviously no, and has been for me ever since I started reviewing films in a professional capacity. But the fact is we're such a small country, and these words don't have to travel very far before someone in the industry takes it personally and starts crying/moaning about it. And as such, it's left me with a complete lack of desire to review anything locally made (plus the fact there's so little that's being made that I actually want to watch *oooh buurrrn*). I shouldn't be affected by it but I'm only human and it's a reality I've often come to wrestle with. It's the same deal with any creative field - whether it's music or art - if your friend's band sucks hard, what are you going to say? "Sorry, you guys are crap"? (tip: "It's not really my thing", or "You guys are tight" seem to work okay to deflect the bad taste they might leave in your mouth).

Anywho just go read Dom's article, it sheds much-needed light on the NZ film critic-vs-NZ films issue and the role of the film critic. For the record I have not seen Sione's Wedding 1 or 2.

"Payback's a nag, ain't it?"

If you've ever wanted to make your TV viewing more family-friendly and clean up all the potty-mouthed language that goes on in today's home entertainment, TV Guardian is here for you! Check out this demo video (the substitute words are ridiculous, thus absolutely - unintentionally - hilarious): Visit Badassdigest for more on the contraption.

End-of-Week News Round-up

Howdy, it's been kinda hectic being back at work, hence the lack of blogging action lately, so I think it's time for another End-of-Week News Round-up post... some interesting film-related bits and pieces from the past week in case you missed 'em.

GENERAL NEWS

• In a recent interview with Men's Journal, Mark Wahlberg said he could've stopped 9/11: "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did." The actor has since apologised for his "irresponsible" comments.
• The upcoming The Expendables sequel will be rated PG-13 because that's the way Chuck Norris wants it. I didn't care for the first film (which was rated R18 for graphic violence here) but still, really lame.
• Quentin Tarantino's revealed his best and worst films of 2011. As usual there are some pretty weird, crappy, WTF choices (The Three Musketeers? Green Hornet??) along with the year's favourites (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Midnight in Paris).
• A massive (and hilarious) technical flub ruined a screening of Scorsese's Hugo, forcing patrons to watch the movie with ads playing on top of the film... more here.

CLIPS

• Trailer: Side by Side - documentary produced by Keanu Reeves investigating "the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation." Looking forward to hear filmmakers like James Cameron, Steven Soderbergh and Christopher Nolan discussing the medium and where it's heading.
• Mash-up: "Hello" - Lionel Ritchie's hit ballad sung like you've never heard before.

DVD RELEASES

• A few Universal titles that were meant to come in Feb have now been delayed until March: Midnight in Paris, The Art of Getting By, Another Earth. I'm hoping Midnight will get a Blu-ray release, the initial order form showed no sign of this.
• Two of David Lynch's best films are coming to Blu-ray from Madman: Lost Highway, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
• TV watchers take note: acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones and mini-series Mildred Pierce - just watch them and thank me later! 

Random Stuff #26

While everyone's currently busy live-blogging the Golden Globes, I've only got time at the moment to marvel at these two things: (1) a VHS toaster and (2) a clip from the live-action Filipino version of He-Man: Masters of the Universe...

Trailer Mash-Up: The Lion King Rises

Audio from The Dark Knight Rises trailer + The Lion King = primo mash-up.

Random Stuff #25