Comic-book comes to life
The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies 7pm, Three Peter Jackson ends his second Tolkien-inspired trilogy with an all-action spectacular that also neatly brings the six-film Rings cycle back to the beginning of The Fellowship. While the last film’s cliffhanger is brought to an all-too brief conclusion, the resulting fallout builds to an epic, climatic battle that will leave fans of swords and sorcery more than satisfied. The Tree of Life 8.30pm, Maori TV A more than two-hour meditation on life, the universe and daddy issues, Terrence Malick’s fifth film in 38 years won awards at Cannes on its debut in 2011, but also led to many walkouts and refund demands across the globe. It’s likely most of the latter were lured in by the promise of Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, but never made it past the half-hour mark, unable to cope with Malick’s trademark editing style, constantly moving camera and an overdose of operaticscored heavenly imagery. However, what those early bailers miss is a film that blossoms into a compelling tale of nature versus nurture, which boasts one of Pitt’s finest performances and imagery that will take root in your brain for days afterwards. It’s a mostly 1950s-set tale about a young boy, Jack O’Brien (Hunter McCracken), wrestling with his sense of identity – should he take on the character traits of his caring, loving mother (Jessica Chastain), or be more like his strict, disciplinarian, self-made businessman father (Pitt)? Monday, 8.35pm Prime From the inventive credit sequence, involving scientific notes and experiments, to the ingenious comic-book style framing and editing (photos come to life, the screen is fragmented into two or three different shots), Ang Lee helped breathe new life into what was fast becoming a laboured genre in 2003.
Rather than following a formula, Lee creates his own, breaking the filmic rules to create one giant 137-minute comic that will appeal to both teens and adults.
Hulkamaniacs might struggle with the lack of action in the first hour, but, by taking the time to create three-dimensional characters, Lee turns what could have been your standard popcorn movie into something far more substantial.
Credit must go to Lee’s longtime collaborator James Schamus, whose story provides enough mystery and depth to keep the grown-ups intrigued without dragging the action to a halt.
Throw in Danny Elfman’s What Next? 8.30pm, TVNZ1 Over five nights, multi-media personalities Nigel Latta and John Campbell, as well as a group nicely balanced score and its arguable Hulk was the best comic-book movie since Michael Keaton hung out with a butler called Alfred.
However, while Eric Bana’s bland Bruce Banner works in the of forward-thinking Kiwis look at how the decisions we’re making today will shape our future. What Next? asks New Zealanders what we should do with the Supplied context of the movie, it probably helped ensure he didn’t get too many more leading man roles (And if you think the Hulk is scary take a look at the dishevelled state of Nick Nolte). - James Croot Neil Young Journeys 8.35pm, Prime The late Jonathan Demme directs this 2011 documentary which follows the legendary singer as he returns to his birth Canadian province of Ontario to revisit his old haunts and to perform in Toronto’s vintage Massey Hall. ‘‘A feast for Neil Young lovers and initiates alike,’’ wrote Christian Science Monitor’s Peter Rainer. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 9pm, Maori TV OK, so it’s basically a 1984 movie that seeks to undo everything that happens in The Wrath of Khan, but there’s still plenty of action and another hissable villain in the form of Christopher Lloyd’s Kruge. Plus, there’s a brilliant piece of audience misdirection that surely inspired Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs seven years later. Despicable Me2 7pm, Three Steve Carell returns as former supervillain Gru in this blockbusting 2013 animated sequel which sees him recruited by the Anti-Villain League to track down an elusive criminal. As well as teaming up with a new partner – Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), he also has help from preschoolers’ favourite characters – the Minions. ‘‘Smartly calculated to deliver squeals to kids and amusement to accompanying adults,’’ wrote The Globe and Mail’s Liam Lacey.