Entertainment - Waikato Times

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Reggae superstar tunes in to NZ

The man who produced one of the biggest hits in reggae history is set to perform in New Zealand for the first time, writes Jeff Neems.

Afloat in a sea of boredom

Some shows are dead easy to review. If I love a programme, the review practically writes itself. If I hate something ... well, to be honest, that's far more fun to write about. Coming up with fresh and inventive ways of telling you a show sucks is entertaining. The toughest reviews to write are for the shows that are neither good nor flat-out awful. They are inoffensive in every way, but also fail to entertain or enlighten much. They just kind of hang there on the screen while I periodically check my watch and try to come up with a fresh and inventive way of telling you that a show is kind of nothing-ish. The Simpsons coined the best word to describe shows like this: "meh".

Eight-hour festival will draw crowds

Christian musical festival In His Honour will be held in Cambridge tomorrow, with up to 1800 teenagers and 20-somethings expected to attend.

Movies in festival debut

Next year's Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival will include film screenings for the first time.

Beowulf updated for 21st century

The other day, I noticed a bookshop with a whole section devoted to what are called graphic novels, narratives told in visual rather than verbal terms extended comics, really, but with a degree more sophistication and wit. Ray Bradbury wrote about books without words in Fahrenheit 451, where the need to read had disappeared from society. But graphic novels do some things words cannot, and this film is the visual equivalent of a graphic novel.

Horror hotel room is out to get him

What: 1408, directed by Mikael Hafstrom (M) Movie Meter: 4/5

Burning desire to watch

Tell me a new TV show is about a spy, and I'm mildly interested. Tell me it's largely comedic in nature and I'll definitely give it a shot. Tell me it has b-movie king Bruce Campbell (star of the Evil Dead movies and lifetime holder of the Greatest Chin in the Universe crown) in a prominent supporting role and I'll set my DVD-R to record the whole season before even viewing an episode.

Waking up to a real breakfast

A Ccertain cereal may be touted as the breakfast of champions, but who'll lay claim to being champions of breakfast television, that is isn't yet clear. That's little surprise as Sunrise, TV3's meteorologically optimistic answer to One's Breakfast show, debuted only a month and the odd day ago. And while the ratings in the first few days hinted Breakfast might be having its new rival for lunch, it would be a brave tipster who'd predict on so small a sampling which programme will be toast.

O'Toole stars at his exceptional best

What a great actor is Peter O'Toole. Even when he plays a role full of liver spots, prostate troubles, wrinkles to beat the roly dog and looks at his friends and enemies through those rheumy old eyes, he is an exceptional performer.

Just the cops thanks, no God

Once upon a time, if a film actor made the move to TV it was seen as giving up. Real actors didn't work in television. And if someone say, David Caruso tried to make the move the other way, they were inevitably dismissed as "just a TV actor" (even George Clooney took years to get over this stigma).

Unlocking the lost room's mysteries

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that in my television reviewing "career" thus far, I've looked at more programmes from Prime than any other network.

Shot in the arm for Kiwi comedy

In my very first television review I went to great lengths to illustrate how rubbish most New Zealand TV comedy was, concluding that Leigh Hart's demented Moon TV was about the only thing worth watching. And now it's gone.

Hairspray: safe, clean and sanitised

Hairspray, choreographed and directed by Adam Shankman (PG)

When Calista met Sally

Just as it's hard for baby boomers to think of Sally Field much beyond her Flying Nun label - that's the 1960s sitcom that made her a household name, not the 1980s homegrown record company - it must be difficult for Generation Xers to picture Calista Flockhart in other than her Ally McBeal role.

Festival pickings for the discerning

Telecom 30th Hamilton International Film Festival, August 16 to September 2, at Rialto.

Movie a soft serving of the Simpsons

The Simpsons Movie, directed by David Silverman (PG). Movie Meter: 3/5

Fry prods gently at village goings-on

There's becoming quite a bit of Fry and Laurie back on the telly these days.

New direction for long-serving muso

Chris Thompson might not have a computer of his own, but that hasn't stopped him making a musical foray on to the internet, writes Jeff Neems.

Sailing into sleep

I may have it wrong, but the America's Cup shootout between Team New Zealand and Alinghi seems only partly about sheer straight-line speed, and a good deal more about tactics and staying awake to your rival's moves. Trying to watch from the comfort of the couch, I've discovered this week, is not entirely dissimilar: it's a matter of staying awake and not making a straight line for bed.