Stuff Sampler: What to watch, read and listen to for your historical drama fix

Chris Pine is Robert the Bruce in Netflix's Outlaw King.
Chris Pine is Robert the Bruce in Netflix's Outlaw King.

OPINION: However historically inaccurate it was, there's no denying that Braveheart was a braw, bravura slice of kinetic cinema.

Over three hours, Mel Gibson brought to blue-streaked and bloody life the tale of William Wallace, infusing it with memorable action scenes, a double love story, striking visuals and James Horner's haunting score. Few Hollywood movies have been like it since.

But 23 years on, there are not one, but two projects that are attempting to take audiences back to 14th Century Scotland.

While former Shortland St star Anna Hutchison's narrative sequel Robert the Bruce is currently scheduled for release in 2019, first out of the gate is fellow Bruce-focused tale Outlaw King (streaming on Netflix from November 9).

Stephen Dillane is involved in another game of thrones in Outlaw King.
Stephen Dillane is involved in another game of thrones in Outlaw King.

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Starring the Mid Canterbury police's favourite actor Chris Pine, it opens with Edward I (Game of Thrones' Stephen Dillane) seizing power over the northern land. He demands fielty from those, including Pine's Robert, who have claims to Scotland's crown, and as a reward for "having the courage to stand up to me and the good sense to stand down", Edward offers him his goddaughter Elizabeth's (Lady Macbeth's Florence Pugh) hand in marriage.

Although the widowered Robert believes the deal will heal his fractured country's differences, he is shocked when his father (Braveheart veteran Robert Cosmo) utters these dying words about Edward, his former brother-in-arms. "I fear I've made a grave mistake."

So when his Dad's death sparks a royal attack and the news comes through that Wallace has been captured and killed, Robert decides to take action.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission
PLAYSTATION / YOUTUBE
Astro Bot Rescue Mission

As much as David Mackenzie's (Hell or High Water) mud and sword-filled tale follows a similar dramatic path to Gibson's (romance, rebellion, nasty royals), there's also a clear Game of Thrones' influence about proceedings. The tragedy afflicted Bruce brothers bear a striking resemblance to the Stark clan, while there's a dash of nudity and a climatic casualty-filled battle.

But something about Outlaw King never truly convinces or compels. Whether it's the 22-minutes shorn from its debut at September's Toronto International Film Festival, the deliberately murky visual palette, or the overwhelming sense of narrative deja vu it's a little hard to tell.

Pine is a solid enough leading man, but you never get the same sense of passion that flowed from every action and line of Gibson's Wallace (although that could also be down to the fact that Robert was a very different kind of character).

A brave attempt, but Outlaw King lacks the Oscar-winning epic's heart. - JAMES CROOT

BACK IN LOVE WITH VIRTUAL REALITY

With 20-plus studio albums to his name, Richard Thompson is still going strong at the age of 69.
SUPPLIED
With 20-plus studio albums to his name, Richard Thompson is still going strong at the age of 69.

I've been chasing a technology high I experienced two years ago - without any level of success.

That is until a couple of weeks ago.

When PlayStation launched its virtual reality helmet in 2016, it's fair to say I was sceptical, but excited. 3D TVs had already fallen into the technology abyss, largely because when we get home, we don't want to put glasses on to slob out in front of the box.

Throwing on the initially cumbersome helmet, my mind was singularly blown, as I got to don the cowl made famous by Adam West. In a single move, I became Batman, completely immersed in the world of Arkham from the confines of my front room.

In the years since, VR has largely concentrated on the gaming gimmick side, ignoring the potential it offers to enhance and open doors to worlds for those who'll never have them.

It may sound idealistic to say those in an underprivileged school could all be given head sets and the chance to experience an African safari, but the price of VR means it's still an exclusive experience.

But there are encouraging signs the technology is moving forward - even if the price in New Zealand shows little movement.

The technology high I was after, has largely been delivered by cute all-ages platformer, Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

This game, where you have to rescue your kidnapped buddies, more than justifies the immersive technology as it forces you to crane your neck around, look for wayward chums and pluck them into the safety of your virtual bosom.

It's once again offered hope that VR is starting to mature, to move out of its gimmick cycle and starting to think seriously about what the potential is - if price points just dropped a bit more, the long-overdue VR Revolution could finally happen. 

If not, it's frustratingly going to be consigned to history's technology box as a coulda, woulda, shoulda that never fully embraced its potential to be the game-changer it rightly deserves to be.

I wasn't initially a fan of Taskmaster (TVNZ OnDemand). It seemed pointless as a concept - a group of people challenged to do silly things for points to win a pretty poor trophy at the end of it. But seven series in, I'm hooked on the UK comedy show thanks to a mix of banter, lateral thinking and general joie de vivre.

Attitude's Crips in Cars (YouTube) is billed as "The social experiment that celebrates differences". Bringing together two people in a car and just watching them chat, this polished mini series, with the likes of Jack Tame and Oscar Kightley, has as much heart and humanity as it does unexpected humour.

Normally, I avoid trailers like the plague. They give away spoilers, ruin the best parts of the film and generally damage the final product. 

But the trailer for the upcoming animated Spider-Man Into The Spider-Versehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0 ) is just delightful; it'll be a festive treat for those who've become jaded with superhero fare. It packs the right amount of self-assurance and self-deprecation as it introduces Miles Morales as the "one and only Spider-Man." Like a female Doctor Who, it's about time Miles Morales got his time in the cinematic sun, and this looks like being a blast. - DARREN BEVAN

ZEIT-BITES: TV DINNERS ARE GETTING FANCY

Hungry for some good telly? Peckish for shows you can really sink you teeth into? 

Have I got a smorgasbord of TV delights to whet your appetite! 

For starters, tuck into a visual breakfast in bed with Tasty's short cooking clips on You Tube. Their POV cooking guides are so mouth watering, you can't just have one. You'll want to gobble the lot! 

Don't forget to leave room for your main! Tickle your savoury taste buds with Ugly Delicious, the Netflix show that tucks into the cultural background of our favourite dishes for an intellectual foodie repast. 

Keep things piping hot on the 'Flix with the final season of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and brand new foodie travel show SaltFatAcidHeat. There's nothing more delicious than following these great chefs on their wild wanderings.

For the less erudite, but no less adventurous palate, there's Vice TV's globetrotting rapper-gourmet-fronted F... That's Delicious. Not just the most honest name in food shows, but also one of the most warm - it's always great to have good company at dinner! 

Once you've eaten all your veges, you're allowed dessert - everyone's favourite dish. Netflix is serving up some of the sweetest treats these days. 

Start with Sugar Rush, the cooking competition show equivalent of a 3-year-old on two cans of red bull and bag of Squirms. Then take a slice of Zumbo's Just Desserts. For the Kitchen Catastrophes out there, try Nailed It. You'll feel so much better.  

Marvel at TVNZ's Extreme Cake Makers, drool over The Great Kiwi Bake Off and stuff yourself with all the Choccywoccydoodahs you like.

But my absolute favourite on-screen sweets are The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell. A bizarre blend of gothic confections, retro flavours and kitchy cuisines, McConnell's concoctions will leave you utterly, gloriously replete. - Kylie Klein Nixon

IN PODS WE TRUST

I often have people tell me that they just don't "get" the podcast phenomenon and would rather just listen to music.

The beauty of pods is that you can listen to them anywhere, anytime. They are portable, on demand and a time-shifted medium: you can listen to a podcast one hour or five years after it has launched. The podcast archive of Desert Island Discs from the BBC runs into the thousands and has content from as far back as 1942.

I do a lot of my listening as a secondary activity, whether it be while walking, running or commuting in the car. My favourites for multi-tasking are the celebrity relationship advice podcast Anna Faris: Unqualified or interview pods like WTF with Marc Maron or No Filter with Mia Freedman.

I love the intimacy that comes from listening in my ear buds.. They don't know it, but all my favourite podcast hosts (Ira Glass, Roman Mars, Sarah Koenig, Michael Barbaro, Phoebe Judge) feel like old friends. I reckon Phoebe Judge (from Criminal and This is Love) and I could happily chat for hours over a few G and Ts.

Podcasts offer content that I can't get anywhere else. Storytelling, investigations, in-depth interviews and political analysis from all ends of the spectrum. I'm currently getting my US mid-terms intel from the ever reliable The Daily from the New York Times. I'm backing this up with the progressive Pod Save America podcast presented by former Obama staffers who break down the week's news, and The Briefing Room from the BBC on what's at stake and why the November 6 mid-terms matter.

Download any of these pods now and find your own listening world. - KATY ATKIN

'OLD FARTS' BLOWING IN THE WIND

Colin Hogg is a music journalist, reviewer and columnist, as well as a documentary filmmaker and author. Sam Hunt: Off the Road is his tenth book.
SUPPLIED
Colin Hogg is a music journalist, reviewer and columnist, as well as a documentary filmmaker and author. Sam Hunt: Off the Road is his tenth book.

Neil Young couldn't have put it more succinctly when he wrote "rock and roll is here to stay, it's better to burn out than fade away".

Almost three decades on and the music industry, of which he is still a vital part, has changed but many of the icons of the baby boomer generation, who in another era would have been called old farts, are still stubbornly refusing to burn out.

Chicago Plays The Blues, is various blues greats such as Buddy Guy, with cameos by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

There's a lot of spit and polish but little of the raw, sexiness and raunch the the Rolling Stones became famous for. To paraphrase Austin Powers —"does it make you horny, baby"? No.

Two veterans who are still dancing to their own tune are British folkie Richard Thompson and the late Jimmy LaFave.

Thompson's 13 Rivers  is a surprisingly energetic, bare bones outing with keen lyrics, which are the antithesis of the stunted emotionalism of a lot of pop music.

LaFave's Peace Town couldn't be a more stunning or appropriate farewell from an artist who flew under the commercial radar but whose songs didn't just tug at the heart strings, they played them.

As he observes his own mortality and impending death (he died aged 61 from spindle cell sarcoma in May, 2017) there's a quiet dignity and immediacy that lingers long after the songs have faded away. - MIKE ALEXANDER

WHAT TO READ

Colin Hogg, media renaissance man, has a new book out this month about his old mate, New Zealand's "last outlaw poet". Sam Hunt: Off the Road, is a sequel, of sorts. Hogg, then a music journalist, accompanied Hunt on a tour of the North Island back in the late 80s. Angel Gear: On the Road with Sam Hunt was the result. Since then, Hogg's written other books with road trips as their foundation: Going South (2015), was a pilgrimage with a friend in ill-health, back to the region where they'd first met; The High Road, released last year, was a tour through the US in search of easy-to-access cannabis. 

Ahead of the book's release, we asked Hogg a few crucial questions. 

Remind readers how you and Sam met.

We met properly in hazy circumstances backstage at the Gluepot the night my only son (I have five daughters) was born in 1986. I was supposed to be reviewing the show, but the word got around about the baby boy and I was bought so many drinks I was in no state to deliver and ended the evening socialising with Sam and Minstrel (his dog) instead.

Your last book together, Angel Gear, was written in 1989. Why a sequel, why now?

We'd always said we'd never doing it, but after years of denying it, I think I felt there was something to say about Sam's life after the life of fame and all that. And about being older. And about male friendship, which seems to have been a theme in my last few books. The stars – and the publisher – aligned. And we needed something to do.

What are three major life lessons you've both learned in that time?

No sudden changes of lifestyle, no unnecessary travelling or changes of address, try and remember to eat dinner and keep in touch with your mates. I've lost a few I should have kept in touch with better. Sam, I think, has learned to keep his life simple and – in its way – remarkably pure. Is that 3?

Tell us something about Sam readers would be surprised to learn.

Although he is rightly famous for his fabulous memory, which contains hundreds of line-perfect poems, he has never been able to remember to send me a birthday present. This year, he actually remembered the date, but then forgot the gift. I give him something every year. He sends me reminders.

Your favourite road trip song, snack, pit stop destination, stretch of highway?

A couple of books back I wrote Going South, about a road trip I took back home to Southland with an old pal who was dying of cancer. Despite the circs, it was a lot of fun, soundtracked by one song that will always take me back to it, though its title is a bit inappropriate. It's by Baby Bird and it's called Drug Time, a very catchy, cautionary song. For a coffee and a bacon and egg pie, I favour a place north of Wellington at Sanson called Viv's Kitchen. Classic old-school. I like the roads of Otago and Southland, the ones I grew up with. Pretty much all of them.

The best books you've read this year, and the worst?

I'm loving a novel called A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles. Brilliant. Did not like Paul Theroux's new one, Figures in a Landscape. Ruined by an unlovable personality, something you've got to watch out for. - BRITT MANN

Sam Hunt: Off the Road, by Colin Hogg. Harper Collins NZ, $49.99

 

 

Sunday Star Times