Fifteen films to see before 2017
The New Zealand landscape features in unexpected places in films still to arrive in 2016, writes James Croot.
With a somewhat disappointing Hollywood blockbuster seasn finally over, Kiwi cinemagoers can look forward to a more eclectic range of movies heading our way over the next four months.
While we’re unsure that the world needs another Blair Witch, Underworld or Dan Browninspired sequel, we’ve selected a score of titles we’re really excited about seeing before 2017.
Sully (September 8)
A dream-team pairing of director Clint Eastwood and actor Tom Hanks dramatise the incredible 2009 tale of United States Airways Flight 1549 and ‘‘the Miracle on the Hudson’’. Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney and Anna Gunn co-star.
Pete’s Dragon (September 15)
Most Kiwis will have already heard about this one. Shot in our own backyard, this reimagining of the 1977 Disney story about a dragon and his boy has been earning rave reviews in both the US and United Kingdom.
The Secret Life of Pets (September 15)
Already a huge hit in America (with a sequel already announced), animation fans of all ages have been champing at the bit to see this one since the first teaser trailer was released a year ago. The vocal cast includes Steve Coogan, Kevin Hart, Louis CK and Albert Brooks.
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (September 29)
A tale that seems like the perfect vehicle for the offbeat, Gothic sensibilities of director Tim Burton. Ransom Riggs’ 2011 source novel focuses on a boy who is struck by family tragedy but uncovers an abandoned orphanage on a Welsh island.
The Girl on the Train (October 6)
Billed as the next Gone Girl, Paula Hawkins 2015 psychological thriller gets the big-screen treatment with Emily Blunt in the lead. She plays Rachel Watson, whose post-divorce life is only brightened by seeing a seemingly happy couple on her commute each day.
Deepwater Horizon (October 6)
Kiwi audience favourite Mark Wahlberg stars in this dramatic retelling of the events of April 2010 when the eponymous offshore drilling rig created one of the world’s biggest environmental disasters. Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell and John Malkovich co-star.
Doctor Strange (October 27)
Marvel’s latest piece of their cinematic universe puzzle introduces the brilliant but arrogant Dr Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose life is turned upside down by an encounter with a sorcerer. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen and Rachel Mcadams.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (November 10)
Perhaps inspired by our own Peter Jackson’s work on the first Hobbit movie, Ang Lee has used high frame-rate technology to present what has been described as an ‘‘immersive dramatisation of war’’. Starring Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, it’s the story of an Iraq War veteran and the contrast between the realities of war and others’ perceptions of it.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (November 17)
Just when you thought you’d seen the last of the wizarding world of Harry Potter in cinemas, Warners return to JK Rowling’s tales of muggles and magic with this prequel set 70 years before our hero entered Hogwarts. Eddie Redmayne takes up the wand.
The Founder (November 24)
Such is the buzz surrounding Michael Keaton’s performance as Mcdonald’s creator Ray Kroc that the film was shifted into a prime awards-season release date. Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson and Nick Offerman co-star.
Their Finest Hour and a Half (November 24)
From the writer-director of An Education, comes this World War II comedy about a British film crew who attempt to boost morale by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg. Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy star.
Star Wars: Rogue One (December 15)
Already heavily hyped as well as the target of internet scuttlebutt, this eagerly anticipated adventure focuses on the events leading up to the events of the original 1977 movie. Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed and Ben Mendelsohn are among the cast of franchise newbies.
The Light Between Oceans (November 3)
Otago and Marlborough take their place in the limelight in this adaptation of ML Stedman’s 2012 novel about a couple who rescue a baby girl who washes up on their Western Australian island. Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz star.
Moana (December 26)
Disney’s latest animated adventure has more than a little Kiwi influence to it. Taika Waititi is one of five screenwriters, while Jemaine Clement and one-time resident Dwayne Johnson are part of the vocal cast of this Mauifocused action-adventure.
Allied (December 26)
Casablanca-set romantic thriller about a spy assassin and a French spy who fall in love during a mission to kill a German official. Robert Zemeckis directs, while Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard star.
The Giant, Warner,
Been looking for a decent contemporary rock album lately? You might just find it here.
Young the Giant have been criticised in the past for having a bit of an identity crisis, due to their melting pot of modern rock sounds.
Sure, there’s a bit of cherry picking in Home of the Strange, the Orange County band’s third album, but it’s a dynamic album that keeps your interest from beginning to end.
It’s clear the fivesome have an affinity for David Bowie. Not least because they mention him directly in songs, but some moments, such as the chorus in dance-rock track Elsewhere, sound very inspired by The Thin White Duke.
The boogie-rock track, and others like it (Nothing’s Over) are balanced out with a lot of raw, Black Keysesque attitude, especially in Mr. Know It All.
The album also has dash of youthful, Panic at the Disco energy, particularly in songs Silvertongue and the album’s title track.
At about the halfway point, the album takes a gentler turn with the acoustic guitar and rain sounds in the Blind-melon-reminiscent Titus Was Born, and the mandolin and wind chimes in Art Exhibit.
What pulls all the different influences together effectively is frontman Sameer Gadhia, whose vocal sounds just as good during the gentler moments as in the full-blown, showman rock moments.
Home of the Strange isabitofa modern rock mixed-bag, but it’s a delicious one, uplifting and wellproduced. – Hannah Mckee