A good stab at a classic
SUPPLIED A gleeful celebration of cheesy science fiction, Kiwi writerdirector Christian Nicholson’s low-budget 2016 action-comedy will appeal to anyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. Set around an Armageddon-esque festival, it offers nods to everything from classic Star Trek to Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and 1950s B-movies. It’s the story of three ‘‘ordinary guys’’ who find themselves not only watching a hoary old sci-fi flick, Space Warriors in Space, but trapped inside it. Sir David Attenborough narrates this new, seven-part follow-up to the 2001 series about our oceans. Filming took place over more than four years, involving 125 expeditions across 39 countries. More than 6000 hours of underwater dive footage was captured. This week’s premiere episode, One Ocean, takes us on a journey that includes the depths of New Zealand waters. The AC/DC frontman hosts this six-part series in which he talks about touring with some of music’s greatest rockers. Those featured include Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, The Police’s Sting, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot, and this week’s guest – The Who’s Roger Daltrey This 2016 BBC documentary sees Chris Bavin, a greengrocer by trade and a carnivore by nature, wanting to know if he can keep meat in his diet and stay healthy. He teams up with top scientists to put meat under the microscope and examine it as never before. They follow 40 volunteers on a groundbreaking study to find out exactly how much meat is good for us. A performance by Kiwi music superstar Lorde is likely to be the highlight of this year’s edition of New Zealand music’s big awards night. Hosted by Jono& Ben‘ s Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce, the show will also feature songs by SWIDT, Theia, Teeks and Devilskin.– James Croot
Today’s audiences do love a good ensemble cast.
Murder on the Orient Express (M) 114 mins YOU’RE walking a tricky line when adapting a novel written in the 1930s and most recently filmed four decades ago. No one would dare mess with Agatha Christie’s plotting, of course, but that means you’re hamstrung by how she has constructed her story. Since Murder on the Orient Express is about a group of strangers stranded on a stationary snowbound train while a murder investigation unfurls, this means a lot of exposition and some wordy interrogation. Not exactly what today’s cinema audiences go to the pictures for.
I don’t know whether Kenneth Branagh gave these quandaries much thought when directing this largely un-updated rendition (character names, accents and time period are all intact), but Branagh cast himself as Hercule Poirot - ‘‘probably the world’s greatest detective’’ - so he clearly felt he could deliver what today’s audiences want. I’m not convinced he has, but at least with fine effort put into production design so sumptuous you can almost feel the velvet, and some stunning camerawork which amply circumvents the challenges of filming in cramped sleeper cars (I have never seen an overhead shot used to such thrilling and practical effect), Branagh has at least made (if you’ll forgive the pun) a good stab at it.
But, as the poster boasts, today’s audiences do love a good ensemble cast. So although none gets as many lines or minutes of screen-time as you (or they) would like, Dame Judi Dench brushes up alongside Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe and Star Wars‘ Daisy Ridley, with Johnny Depp (very different from how we’re used to him in playful Jack Sparrow times – perhaps this is the post-acrimonious-divorce Depp) and a gracefully ageing Michelle Pfeiffer lending considerable star-power. There is even an exciting cameo by Ukrainian ballet star Sergei Polunin, whose smouldering looks make him a perfect suspect in any whodunit.
Largely faithful, the plot feels as old-fashioned as you’d expect of one written in between two World Wars, so Branagh has constructed little bursts of action to break up the talk – although following Poirot’s train of thought, even with the flashbacks, is still a bit confusing. It could be all the accents everyone is putting on. He has also seemingly reimagined Poirot as someone who chuckles through Charles Dickens’ novels and has a love interest. What on earth would Christie say?
Murder on the Orient Express’ biggest draw is probably its opportunity for wish fulfilment for anyone who’s ever played those murder-mystery dinner games or dreamed of living the (early 20th century) high-life on a train across Europe. – Sarah Watt