NZFF

I have a number of obsessions; you guys normally only get to hear about one though, so consider yourselves lucky.
Another one is NZ films. This week I've watched Event 16, a low-budget NZ Scifi movie set in Wellington. You get to see Wellington in the past, present and future -- very cool.
If you see this in your video store, give it a go.

Will do, and I'm always keen to hear about peoples obsessions! Yachting, Astronomy, Tales of survival- Shackleton being my favourite. Your interest in NZ films will have you off to see 'Out of the Blue' about the Aramoana massacre then?
That's across the harbour from me. Most people I know knew someone involved in one way or another.The film has been said to be a 'must see'.

Will do, and I'm always keen to hear about peoples obsessions!

With my nickname, do you care to hear about some of mine??

Seriously tho, sometimes (unlike NZ Idol) the NZ film industry actually turns out some quality product... although for a time when I was in high school, there was a bit of a running joke about 'The Road'... as the directors back then seemed to have a penchant for showing long shots of an empty road disappearing into the horizon (kinda like cowboys riding into the sunset)... the joke being that NZ only had one road and it appeared in every NZ movie ever made

My obsessions= LOST. I love that show and have been following it since episode 1.

I have recently seen Series 3 episodes 1 and 2 which have only been released in the states this week and last week.... it just gets more and more intriguing!

Yeah, Codge, I'm thinking of waiting until the Aromoana story comes out on DVD, because I can't think of anyone who I could go to the movies with:) This is an ongoing problem, when I mention a movie people tend to run away. Dunno why...
A perfect introduction to NZ film is the Roger Donaldson collection, which you can probably get at your video store. In includes 2 films, Sleeping Dogs and Smash Palace.
I first saw Sleeping Dogs at the movies when I lived in Auckland, 1979. The scene where the police suddenly appear on Queen Street freaked me out, as this was long before we ever saw baton-weilding police in real life.
My kids accused me of forcing them to watch Smash Palace, but they enjoyed Sleeping Dogs. Smash Palace is well-worth watching, though, mainly because of Bruno Lawrence.
Both these films completely ignore the 'cringe factor' which a lot of local films have suffered from. They were a bit of a risk at the time, using kiwi accents and real kiwi blokes/sheilas.
One of the things which attracts me to local movies is the local accents and places. This makes it somehow more immersive, one step closer to reality, compared to hollywood accents and places I'll probably never see. Other people react differently -- they accept an american accent more readily, but I guess this is what we are used to.
Somehow, though, when the villian looks and sounds like my Uncle Bill it is scarier:)
HCP -- another very important scene for a local film is the child in the bath. It's like its a legal requirement or something. It still happens, look at Whale Rider.
PS When do we get to see the next Lost, Trolly? I didn't get to see the first series, because my partner thought it was too scary, but I've since become an addict, I may have lost her, but I have found Lost...

Howdy,

Speaking of Aromoana, Peter Jackson's "The Feebles" premiered the same day the shootings took place. The movie met with a really, really, cool reception that night, I can tell you.

Most chilling NZ movie has got to be "Bad Blood" (1981), the manhunt for Stanley Graham on the West Coast in 1941.

And I still haven't seen "River Queen" but note it's now out on DVD.

To turn the discussion back to a (television) SF theme, nothing surpasses Joss Whedon's "Firefly" series. Have the entire series on DVD (and the movie "Serenity"). Way, way Cool!

Don't even get me started on Firefly. My most prized possession at the moment is the Serenity ornament, which sits on my desk.
I try to watch an episode every day, but sometimes I can't stop at just one...
I swear, I've even posted to alt.tv.firefly.

And I still haven't seen "River Queen" but note it's now out on DVD.

My Mum draged me along to that one, I personally didn't like it at all, it was all dark and bad qualitly filming IMO.

My favorite tv shows would have to be startrek and the new Dr Who series that played this year and last year (this years season just finshed, I hope theres a season next year )

James