T H U R S D A Y 1 8 O C T O B E R -
W E D N E S D A Y 2 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8
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The Wellington Film Society takes a break for Labour Day, but returns, Embassy, 6.15pm Monday 29 October,
with a halloween special:
DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (Harry Kumel, Belgium 1971) R16.
Stranded in a palatial seafront resort hotel in out-of-season Ostend, newlyweds Stefan and Valerie find themselves in thrall to the hotel's only other guests, the
Countess Elisabeth Bathory (Delphine Seyrig) and her surly but sultry companion. Tension within the young couple - Valerie is pressurising Stefan to inform his disapproving mother
of their marriage - is exploited by the countess when she rouses Stefan to ecstasy with an account of her ancestor's unquenchable thirst for blood. Three young women, meanwhile,
have been found murdered in nearby Bruges, their bodies drained, and the hotel concierge can't get past the fact he remembers the countess staying at the hotel 40 years previously,
and she hasn't aged a day. There are neither fangs nor longueurs in this sumptuous blend of lesbian vampire flick and European art movie. The casting of Seyrig, trailing memories of
Marienbad, is inspired, and her swooning performance bewitches the entire cast. Kumel casts his own spells with alternating blue washes and red dissolves, and skilful location
work that doesn't allow you to see the join between hotel exteriors and interiors - in Ostend and Brussels respectively.
- Nicholas Royle, Time Out.
Anyone can join the Film Society in the 30 minutes before the film starts, or immediately on line.
Nga Taonga Sound and Vision. This week in the Main Cinema: Siapo Cinema: Oceana Film Festival 2018. Includes:
Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa's HIBISCUS AND RUTHLESS (NZ 2018),
and several shorter films. For the complete Festival schedule click here.
As always, check out Nga Taonga's calendar of screenings for full details.
Film Festivals to note:
Terror-Fi Film Festival - 2018. Roxy 31 October - 4 November. Click on the link for details and bookings.
If your festival is not listed here, please advise the Cinemaster
This site relies on the various cinemas having their own websites up to date to access their screening times.
The paragraphs describing the films starting this week are in most cases adapted from the linked reviews.
If you are looking for a new web host, by using Host Bee, linking from their graphic at the foot of this page, the small commission we receive will help offset the cost of
running this website.
For comments and movie news, contact the Cinemaster at filmster@gmail.com.
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s t a r t s t h i s w e e k!
HALLOWEEN [2018] -
Director David Gordon Green has taken on the challenge of modernizing Halloween for audiences today. This new version scrubs away the convoluted mythology from various
sequels and carries on after the series' creative high-point. A love letter to the original picture and entertaining on its own terms. Thrilling, atmospheric, and brutally violent,
Green delivers exactly what fans want from the series and then some.
Also Empire, Readings, Monterey and Coastlands.
MY HERO ACADEMIA: TWO HEROES -
Undoubtedly a welcoming side story for fans who have invested countless hours into the anime. For the freshly initiated to the series, director Kenji Nagasaki presents a
coherent launching pad, condensing Deku's journey from powerless underdog to All Might's superhuman protege.
Also Reading Courtenay.
A STAR IS BORN [2018] -
For all the reasons that a fourth iteration of A Star Is Born shouldn't and wouldn't work in 2018, it's an extraordinary surprise that this new version packs such a wallop.
It never shies away from big emotions or stirring romance, mixing old-Hollywood sweep with modern-day sophistication. Between Bradley Cooper (as a filmmaker and lead actor)
and Lady Gaga (as a big-screen lead), the title applies to both of them.
Also Penthouse, Empire, Roxy, Lighthouse, Readings, Monterey and Coastlands.
KING OF THIEVES -
As well as being a natural for the big screen the story is based on real events. Five old lags and a young 'un, who knows about computers, pulling off "the largest burglary in English legal
history". Writer Joe Penhall and director James Marsh avoid the temptation of accentuating the age handicap. The script is smart and witty, neither patronising nor soft centred.
Although reminiscent of Ealing Studios in the Alec Guinness era, there is nothing fuddy about this duddy.
Also Empire, Roxy, Readings, Lighthouse Petone, Monterey, Coastlands and Shoreline.
THE SEAGULL [2018] -
Playwright Anton Chekhov's oft-tread comedy of manners may not instantly scream 2018 movie remake, but Broadway and film director Michael Mayer, with a strong assist from
playwright-screenwriter Stephen Karam, has fashioned a new screen version that's an enticing, amusing and passionate showcase for its top-drawer cast led by a once-again
superb Annette Bening.
Advance screening this weekend.
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