Creamerie comedy rises to the top
A Kiwi comedy collective has risen to the top of its game with a new series, writes
All it took was 30 days. Just a month to wipe one-half of the population off the Earth. Eight years on and the remaining residents of Hiro Valley are living in seemingly perfect harmony.
Sure there might not be any men any more, but judicious use of the pre-virus sperm bank supplies is ensuring repopulation is possible (although only girls have a chance of a live birth).
Like everything else, that’s run by Wellness and its charismatic leader Lane (Tandi Wright). Being bloke-free has enabled them to provide free education and healthcare for all, as well as mandatory menstruation leave. That’s the seemingly utopian backdrop to TVNZ’s new acerbic, sci-fiinfused black comedy (streaming now on TVNZ OnDemand, as well as screening on Monday nights on TVNZ2).
But while most of the populace are content with their way of life, three disparate dairy farmers each have their own reasons to want change. Jamie (JJ Fong) is desperate to have another baby, Alex (Ally Xue) rails against all the ‘‘rules’’ (‘‘guys’’ is now a trigger word and weekly orgasms are more than encouraged) and Pip (Perlina Lau) is struggling to climb the Wellness corporate ladder.
The latter is definitely not helped by Alex’s outrageous behaviour, especially the most recent incident involving a very public flaxseed and spinach smoothie ‘‘assault’’ on Lane. That earned Alex a five-day
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Steven Spielberg’s 2001 homage to Stanley Kubrick is set in a futuristic, post-climate change society. It follows the Pinocchioesque adventures of a child-like android programmed with the ability to love.
Blade Runner
In Ridley Scott’s 1982 film, Harrison Ford tracks down genetically engineered replicants, which are visually indistinguishable from adult humans, in a dark, dystopian 2019 Los Angeles.
Children of Men
Before he went on to wow the world with Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron helmed this excellent 2006 sci-fi adventure starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine. Set in the near future, it’s about an infertile human race and a man who must protect a rare, pregnant woman.
Demolition Man
The closer we get to its 2032 ‘‘bliss-recorrection’’ and accusatory looks from the crowd towards the other two.
Fortunately, that didn’t stop Jamie ‘‘winning’’ the winter population lottery and a chance at pregnancy. However, she is doubly dismayed when she discovers that there’s not only another hurdle to overcome, but Alex has taken pre-meditated steps to ensure her time-out is much shorter than the authorities had planned.
When Jamie and Pip arrive back home to find her missing, they begin a frantic search to ensure she and, more importantly, others don’t come to any harm. However, the first person they run into is certainly not who they would ever have expected.
Despite the premise, initial aesthetics and the presence of the luminous Wright, this is no dystopian drama akin to the underrated, sadly shortlived
Instead it’s an at times anarchic, kind of anti
that’s not for the easily offended.
Our main trio are messy, complicated, straight-talking women and those unfamiliar with the production team’s previous shows and
could be in for either a hilarious surprise, or rude shock. Fans of the work of Fong, Lau, Xue and director Roseanne Liang (hotter than hot right now thanks to her brilliant Chloe Grace Moretz-starring action setting the more hilariously prescient this 1993 actioncomedy becomes. Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock shine in this tale about a cryogenically frozen 90s cop who is thawed out when his arch nemesis (Wesley Snipes) sets about causing havoc in the more peace-loving future.
The Lobster
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2015 romantic-dramedy is a triumph of shifting tones. Colin Farrell plays a singleton who, according to the rules of the prevailing society, has just 45 days to find a partner, or be turned into a beast.
The Matrix
Almost 22 years since its debut, the Wachowskis’ narrative still takes some getting used to. Part Alice in Wonderland, part 12 Monkeys, part Terminator, this is one science-fiction movie that threatens to overload your mind with What Ifs? And How Comes? Keanu Reeves is the man who is movie who also serves as one of
four writers, will be delighted to see them tackle another genre and network prime-time with their sensibilities and subversiveness intact.
It is also great to see a production that gathers together allowed a glimpse behind the veil and is horrified by what he sees.
Minority Report
In this 2002 movie, Tom Cruise plays Captain John Anderton, a specialist in PreCrime – the policing tool used in mid-21st century America to help prevent felonies before they happen – through the use of psychics.
Planet of the Apes
Despite Wellington’s Weta wizards and Andy Serkis combining to create a terrific reboot trilogy, nothing compares to the shock and awe of Franklin J Schaffner’s 1968 original. Charlton Heston is a large numbers of our deep bench of phenomenally talented female actors/comedians for something that isn’t a sketch comedy. As well as those mentioned earlier, look out for Kim Crossman, Rachel House, Brynley Stent and Sara Wiseman.
From the faux Wellness advertisements to the Goop-y titan, while Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter convey amazing emotions under all that incredible makeup.
Robocop
What could have been a mindless, bloody actioner, is instead a hilarious, subversive delight thanks to the sensibilities of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. This 1987 tale is as interesting for its frightening look at the potential future use of robotics in policing, as it is for its mocking of America’s obsessions with consumerism and conservatism.
Soylent Green
I’m not sure what’s more leadership of Wright’s Lane and farming-influenced ‘‘dirty talk’’ involving silage, delivers full-bodied and flavoured adult humour with no trace of cheese. disturbing – that this Charlton Heston thriller is nearly 50 years old – or that its 2022 setting is now so close. Set in a world where the greenhouse effect is in full swing, this is a sci-fi-infused police procedural with a sting in its tail.
Wall-E
Charming and endearing 2008 tale about a small waste-collecting robot, left behind to clean up our mess, that embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. Provides proof of the enchanting power of musicals and silent films, even in this modern age.
Zombieland
Director Ruben Fleischer’s , allaction 2009 undead-fest is a guaranteed crowdpleaser. Pointof-view shots, witty on-screen graphics and variable film speeds add to the film’s cartoonish nature, and the story is filled with memorable characters like Jesse Eisenberg’s phobia and irritable bowel syndrome-plagued hero and Woody Harrelson’s live-action version of Yosemite Sam.