Andreas Heinemann

Japanese director Takashi Miike is (in)famous amongst cinephiles for his bizarre, violent re-workings of genre cinema; in this case, samurai movies. He may be mellowing in his old age, as 13 Assassins plays it remarkably straight by the standards of his own back catalogue. This has allowed him to create a wildly entertaining blockbuster that […]

My Wedding and Other Secrets (opens Thursday 17 March) is described as a Romeo and Juliet story with a Kiwi-Asian twist, based on the real-life cross cultural romance of first-time feature film writer/director Roseanne Liang (who made the documentary Banana in a Nutshell, which covered the real events that inspired this film). We spoke to Roseanne about […]

When Saw first hit the big screen, it was a big deal. Its concept was original and shocking at a time when the horror genre had become stagnant. Years later, the novelty has worn off and familiarity has kicked in as the creators show no signs of deviating from a well-worn formula. Now it’s the […]

Adapted from an old French farce but played in a way that is quintessentially British, Wild Target probably shouldn’t work given the two differing comedy styles it blends together. While this fusion isn’t entirely pitch perfect, for the most part it succeeds in being a funny and entertaining black comedy. Most of this can be […]

After an extended hiatus, the Jackass boys return to the big screen and they’re much the same as you remember. Well, Steve-o is sober now, but in regards to the type of entertainment you can expect, it’s business as usual. There are plenty of violent slapstick stunts and gags to make you laugh and wince, […]

Ah, torture porn. Filling the gap in the horror market since whenever it was that Japanese horror films ceased being relevant. This entry into the sub-genre is a pretty much a textbook example of the style, its perceived strengths and more frequently its glaring flaws. Before the carnage ensues, a minimal plot is laid down […]

Home by Christmas, NZ veteran director Gaylene Preston’s (Ruby and Rata, Bread & Roses, War Stories, Lovely Rita) film memoir about her father’s World War II experiences, opens across the country on Thursday 27 April. Watch the trailer here. A mix of archive footage, re-enacted interviews and dramatisations, it stars Martin Henderson, Tony Barry and Chelsie Preston-Crayford. FLICKS.CO.NZ: What […]

Released in 1986 The Quiet Earth was a critically acclaimed award winner in New Zealand while in America it became a cult classic – described by the LA Daily as “simply the best science-fiction film of the ’80s”. On April 15 it’s released on DVD in New Zealand for the first time. We talk with producer/co-writer Sam Pillsbury […]

During a busy day of TV guest spots, Balibo director – Robert Connolly – was kind enough to have a chat with Flicks.co.nz. Even better, he let us conduct the questioning in his tres swanky Heritage Hotel suite. There, he let us in on the behind the scenes tricks, challenges and inspirations that shaped the political […]

I’m trying to think of something nice to say about this movie but I’m drawing a blank. It really is piss poor on every possible level with its laundry list of botched attempts at humour. Gross-out comedy that is somehow both puerile and bland – check. Ham fisted acting that makes the delivery of jokes […]

Vintage Tarantino returns to the big screen and he’s brought all his trademark moves with him. His only standard technique conspicuous by its absence is a time-shifting narrative but he compensates with liberal doses of spectacularly sensationalized violence and joyously amoral humour. Brad Pitt really thrives in the latter category. He’s an actor who’s always […]

You can divide this film into two parts. On one hand there are the riot recreations and the visual style employed to put them up on screen. Conversely, you have the multiple narratives and storyline elements. The former is exceptionally well done, with frantic handheld camerawork spliced together with existing news footage to create a […]

It was inevitable that George W Bush, one of the most controversial and humorous political figures of the decade, would get his own biopic. That Oliver Stone, cinema’s great conspiracy theorist, would be the one to make it was similarly likely. The only shock is that it came out so immediately. There’s really no new […]

Philippe Claudel has always been a storyteller. The French author has written over fifteen novels (translated into over thirty languages and winner of many literary prizes), and now, in his mid 40s, he’s turned his eye to filmmaking with his feature debut I’ve Loved You So Long. The film rolls into a New Zealand general release […]

Number four in the most souped-up, turbo-charged franchise in the movie world has arrived, and it’s not deviating too far from the playbook that made it such a success up to this point. If anything, it tries to recapture those bygone glory days by re-casting Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in the roles that made […]

A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Leanne Pooley has plied her craft as a documentary filmmaker all over the world from productions with the BBC to award winning NZ features. She kindly invited Flicks into her home a few days after the premiere of her latest, The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (in cinemas April 9). She […]

It sure does seem like horror season at the multiplex lately. The Uninvited is the latest mainstream fright fest to be released and by and large it exceeds the modest expectations that its recent predecessors have established. It knows how to work around its limitations. It’s hard to deliver genuine scares when you’re weighed down […]

This right here is pretty much the definition of independent American filmmaking. You’ve got the low budget ($US13,000), small cast, concerns with the day-to-day lives of modern youngsters. And it’s shot in black and white. But while a lot of efforts like this end up looking like masturbatory film-school projects, this is a credit to […]

So the wait is over and the hype can subside because the most eagerly anticipated movie of 2009 has arrived. Based on the graphic novel considered the Citizen Kane of its field (the ‘best of the best’ for those who don’t speak movie geek) its big-screen counterpart might be closer to Ben Hur, in that […]

In 1974, young tightrope walking Frenchman Philippe Petit illegally rigged a wire between the twin towers and performed on it for an hour before being arrested. This is the story of the man himself and the clandestine operation that made a dreamer’s wish a reality, soon dubbed the artistic crime of the century. The dizzying […]

Whoever coined the phrase ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ must have had this film in mind. Hollywood screenwriters wish they could come up with something like this (literally as it turns out, as a feature adaptation is slated for the future). The documentary itself tells a tale as old as time – boy meets girl, […]