Pamela Anderson has moved to a trailer park, and is loving it. The 43 year-old was only meant to live in the mobile home temporarily while her Malibu home was being renovated. But now she wants to stay, reports People. “The boys and me love the trailer park, it’s a special community, we’re happy here. It’s the most beautiful place, it’s where I take my motorcycle, my surf board. There are firemen with their children, surfers, all sorts. The children are so happy. I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone.” Good on ya, Pammie!
Theatre
Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare’s greatest lovers brought to life in the glorious timeless classic about the beauty, intensity, and fragility of young love in a hostile world. Paul Simei-Barton of The New Zealand Heraldwrote that the presentation “puts the directorial statement very much in the foreground and, as is often the case with heavily conceptualised productions, director Willem Wassenaar has some hits and misses.” But “the production scores a sensational hit with an electrifying performance from Brooke Williams, who creates a compelling Juliet for our times ... But as the play grinds towards its tragic conclusion the contemporary flavour feels at odds with Shakespeare’s complex meditations on destiny, freedom, and the paradox of a love that both threatens and heals the structure of society. Romeo’s poetic declarations of love are delivered with a casual irony that makes his actions appear inexplicable. As a result the passions of the star-crossed lovers seem rather insipid ... But if the interpretations do not always strike a chord, it is a great pleasure to see a superb cast intelligently wrestling with the text.” Theatreview’s Tamati Patuwai, however, said: “This interpretation is an absolute joy to experience ... Wassenaar’s treatment of Romeo and Juliet illuminates all the lyrical genius and brilliance that Shakespeare will always be known for ... Clear artistic poetry from set to costume (Nic Smillie) to subtle lighting textures (Nathan McKendry) and sound design (Thomas Press) ... all been woven together with some of the most joyful, slick performances I have seen in a long time.”
When and where Until August 14. Maidment Theatre, Auckland.
Skin
Written by Starring Sam Neill, Sophie Okonedo, Tony Kgoroge, Alice Krige, Ella Ramangwane , Jonathan Pienaar
True story drama about Sandra Laing, an African child born in the 1950s to Afrikaners unaware of their black ancestry. Thus begins Sandra’s 30-year journey from rejection to acceptance.
The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw: “This quietly intelligent drama ... finds a new way of dramatising race, class and society in apartheid-era South Africa, and it boasts fine performances by Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, and Alice Krige ... Sandra becomes marginalised from her own existence, unable to believe in herself as black, white or anything else. But her quiet courage is moving and this has the painful clarity of something drawn from real life.” ***
ViewLondon, Matthew Turner: “Powerful apartheid drama with a strong script, intriguingly complex characters and terrific performances ... direction is assured throughout, refusing to succumb to the usual manipulative cliches ... As a result the film feels more naturalistic and the various scenes of family conflict are all the more devastating ... but what makes the film stand out are the fascinatingly complex characters.” ****
Time Out New York, Kevin B Lee: “The story is too rich in incident for Fabian, whose episodic TV-movie approach speeds through Laing’s lifetime of abuse. Okonedo hardly varies her mopey, stoop-shouldered victim posture throughout the 30-plus years of her character’s life ... Unable to probe the complex relationships engendered by a biracial society, Skin simply becomes an example of colourless, by-the-numbers apartheid cinema.” **
Dinner for Schmucks
Comedy about businessman Tim, who brings along amazingly dense Barry to his boss’ monthly dinner party where guests are challenged to bring along the dumbest person they can find, for the amusement of the group. But Tim finds his life spiralling out of control with a series of personal and professional disasters as his new ‘friend’ accidentally paves a path of destruction. Remake of French comedy The Dinner Guest.
Variety, Peter Debruge: “Barry’s appeal is a question of taste, really: either such a goofy caricature never grows old, or he proves unbearable from the moment he first appears onscreen ... the writers take plenty of liberties in the adaptation ..., but they still manage to hit an impressive number of the original’s key points along the way ... a veritable who’s-who of comedic talent, boasting formidable cameos.”
The Hollywood Reporter, John DeFore: “Though not as guffaw-rich as previous efforts by the talents involved, it comes close enough to the mark to please their fans, spelling strong box office appeal if not comic edge ... some redeeming moments of soul ... Even in its free-for-all climactic sequence (where, inevitably, curtains go up in flames and the mighty are brought low), the action never reaches the point of stimulus overload.”
Village Voice, Dan Kois: “Barry seems like a close cousin to Brick … whom Carell played in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy … Dinner for Schmucks is funny, sure. How can it not be, with good comic actors like Carell and Rudd ... Even if some bits fall flat … any movie starring that many talented comedians, knitted of the funniest stuff in a reported 900,000 feet of film, is bound to have its share of laughs.”
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Written by Starring Sakda Kaewbuadee, Jenjira Pongpas. Subtitled
World-cinema drama/surreal comedy by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Palm d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Uncle Boonmee, suffering from acute kidney failure, contemplates the reasons for his illness and treks through the jungle with his family, including his deceased wife and long-lost son in non-human form, to the birthplace of his first life.
The Daily Telegraph, Sukhdev Sandhu: “ ... a film to inspire ... a fabulous weave of magic ... It’s barely a film; more a floating world. To watch it is to feel many things – balmed, seduced, amused, mystified. It’s to feel that one is encountering a distinctive metaphysics far removed from that on display in most contemporary cinema ... There are many elements of this film that remain elusive and secretive. But that’s a large part of its appeal ... a film about what it means to take care of others, and of the importance of caring and of being cared for.” *****
The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw: “ ... a visionary film in the director’s characteristic style: mysterious, dreamlike, gentle, quiet, magical. It has elements that are at first glance absurd, and at second or third glance ... But they are beguiling and beautiful as well ... it all has something sublime and visionary about it, with a spiritual quality I can’t remember seeing in any film recently. Uncle Boonmee offers pleasure and heartbreak in equal measure.” *****
Time Out London, Geoff Andrew: “Apichatpong Weerasethakul has enjoyed a spectacular rise to international stardom as a world-class auteur in the last decade ... Certainly the film ... again confirms him as one of the most distinctive film-makers at work today. Many sequences have a brooding lyrical beauty, the film’s rhythms are at once elastic and mesmerising, and the narrative features disconcerting shifts that may mystify viewers unfamiliar with his earlier work.” ***
