Off The Screen Magazine October 2012

October 2012

The Wolf Within

We talk to Rolanda Marais, star of Wolwedans in the Skemers 3D

Beneath The Helmet

Karl Urban talks to us about his new film, Dredd 3D

Surfing the Dark Tide

Actor Luke Tyler chats with us about his role in the Halle Berry film, Dark Tide

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Contents Cover Story: Beneath The Helmet

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Features: Surfing the Dark Tide Directing the Umbrella Clara The Wolf Within Interview with a Wimpy Kid

6 11 22 27 32

Reviews: Feature Reviews Furry Good Hotel The Evil in Residence Dancing with Wolves Film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Damsels in Distress The Five-Year Engagement Dredd

36 40 44 45 46

Halle Berry with sharks in Dark Tide

Reviews: (cont’d) The Bourne Legacy A Monster in Paris Hit and Run How I Spent My Summer Vacation Theatre Feed Me Seymour!

Classically New Under the Arts Umbrella A Celebration of Dance DVD Battleship Sisters & Brothers Wrath Betrayed at 17 The Entitled Take Shelter Citizen Gangster Answer This!

Men in Black 3 Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar Wild about Harry

Rolanda Marias in Wolwedans in die Skemers

47 48 50 56 60 64

70

71 72

Editors Letter Thanks for grabbing our new issue, and happy Halloween! Since this is our Halloween issue we’ve interviewed Ronalda Marias, star of the new South African horror flick, Wolwedans in die Skemers.

We also have feature reviews for the latest Resident Evil film and Hotel Transylvania, not entirely Halloween, but hey.

Other highlights in this issue are our interviews with Zachary Gordon from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Luke Tyler from the film Dark

Tide and Geogina Thomson, director of the Dance Umbrella.

South African Mzansi Ballet star Angela Maree talks to us about her role as Clara in their production of the Nutcracker and we sit down, one on one, with the star of Dredd 3D, Karl Urban.

As you can see it’s a bumper issue so we hope you enjoy it, and be sure to pick up our next issue, coming at you first Monday of November.

Best Wishes Jon Broeke Editor

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Surfing the Dark Tide

In the new film Dark Tide South African actor Luke Tyler plays the son of a wealthy businessman who gets bullied into swimming with the sharks off the coast of Cape Town. We sat down and chatted to him about swimming with these monsters of the deep, as well as the ones that came from Hollywood to make this film.

H

ollywood stars coming to our shore is not a new thing.

Because of the favourable exchange rate and the beautiful weather and conditions in our country many Hollywood features are being shot here. One such film, making use of our beaches and shark population off the coast of Cape Town is the Halle Berry starring Dark Tide. South African actor Luke Tyler acted alongside the bombshell in this film about sharks, fear and family.

In the film he plays Luke Brady.

“Luke Brady is the son of a very wealthy, very arrogant businessman,” he says.

“Played perfectly by Ralph Brown. Luke is initially quite introverted with a focus on getting validation from his father, but as the film progresses he comes out of his shell a little more and you come to realise that he is possibly the most sensible of the lot.”

The audition process happened before the World Cup, here in South Africa back in 2010.

“I wish there was some amazing story behind how I got involved [in this project],” Luke tells me. “But it was quite a standard audition process- bar the long wait while the Soccer World Cup was on to hear any word on whether I'd gotten the role or not.”

Luckily Luke got the role. The film is directed by John Stockwell who has directed such great sea-based films as Blue Crush starring Kate Bosworth and Into the Blue starring Jessica Alba and Paul Walker. He’s also acted in a bunch of films, top of the list being Top Gun, Stephen King’s Christine and Turista.

“John is an amazingly passionate film maker,” Luke says about the director. “And likes to have an emphasis on realism, so often he'd call out during a scene "Screw the dialogue, just talk, just go!" which was a little jarring to me at first, but I soon realised that it brought a sense of freedom to the characters and I really love some of the unscripted moments we got.”

Another huge name attached to the project was Hollywood heavyweight Halle Berry. Berry plays the lead role of Kate Mathieson, a professional dive tutor who

hasn’t dived in 9 years after an almost fatal encounter with a great white. She’s talked into going back into the water by Luke’s father.

“Halle is as amazing as you'd imagine her to be and then some,” Luke praises the Hollywood star. “As gorgeous in the morning with no makeup on as every red carpet event you've seen her at. Humble, graceful, intelligent and surprisingly very funny - she was an absolute inspiration to work with for two months.”

From the sounds of it Luke had a lot of opportunities to see Halle in the morning with no makeup on. The whole cast and crew were together on a boat in the middle of the ocean for weeks.

“Shooting on a tiny little boat with a crew of 20 and a cast of 5 can get pretty claustrophobic at times,” Luke explains about the conditions of shooting the film. “Couple

“Luke is initially quite introverted with a focus on getting validation from his father, but as the film progresses he comes out of his shell a little more and you come to realise that he is possibly the most sensible of the lot.�

that with some bad weather and a couple of seasick people and things can get intense pretty quickly, but everyone on the film knew what they were signing up for before we started so the level of professionalism was impeccable. Also most of the rough-weather work you see in the film is real storm weather so you can only imagine!”

This whole film was a new experience for Luke, not only working with the Hollywood pro’s, but also with the kings of the deep, the great white sharks. Not ever having swum with sharks before everything was a first for him.

“I was scared to death of sharks,” he says. “Before we stared filming, but through the filming process I got a real education on the very misunderstood Great White Shark.

It’s one of very few animals that die when in captivity so we know very little about them.”

They got very close to the sharks too.

“We got UP CLOSE & PERSONAL I tell ya!” he tells me. “Halle even touched one of their dorsal fins as it cruised by the boat in Gaansbaai.”

This is Luke’s first film, but certainly not his last. He has several features coming out later this year and next, as well as projects on the cards. The acting bug has certainly bitten our boy.

“I'd been acting professionally for about a year before we shot Dark Tide,” he says. “So the "bug" has always been there I guess! I've also got supporting roles in Dredd 3D (out September 28th) and Barry Burke's Sleepers Wake which is showing at Toronto International Film Festival and CANNES. I’ve got some more hanging in the balance but I can’t say anything about those just yet ;)” We look forward to seeing more of this young man, and wish him all the best.

Directing the Umbrella

This marks the first year that the Dance Umbrella has joined forces with Art’s Alive to bring us even more great contemporary dance action. We sat down with Georgina Thomson, the director of the Dance Umbrella and chatted about the move and about her.

W

ith her fiery red hair and height, Georgina Thomson is adominating force, whether she’s sitting at a coffee table have discussion with you, or directing one of the most prestigious dance festivals in the country, the Dance Umbrella. I asked Georgina how she got involved with the Umbrella.

“I moved to Jo’burg from Durban in 1991,” she tells me. “The Dance Umbrella started in 1989 and I worked at Wits. When the Dance Umbrella started their initial relationship was with the Wits theatre and Wits University so, with my working at Wits, I became indirectly involved. I was a dancer. I stopped and went into arts administration and I somehow, got involved from a not-direct point of view, but a few years after that Vita, who were the people producing Dance Umbrella and various other performing arts projects, offered me a job.”

Someone so heavily involved in the dance world would have a dancing back ground, but why did she stop?

“I was trained in ballet,” she says.

“Because in the 70’s people were still very fussy about height, they were very horrible to me and said I was too tall, so I kind of moved into initially doing, Foley spectacular type of work, and then I stopped. About five-six years later I started moving into the contemporary dance. But I’d decided I wasn’t going to dance anymore, so my involvement was from an administration point of view.”

The actual Umbrella festival is only a small part of what the program is about. They also do all kinds of development work around the townships of South Africa.

“We’ve just finished one,” She says, telling me about the development programs.

“That we were partnering with Africalia, which is called the Stepping Stones Project.

Africalia is a European finding organization and we were working in Gauteng, mainly in the townships with youth groups. That came to an end last year. Now we’re partnering with Rand Merchant Bank on a very nice project called the Dance Exchange Program, which is happening in areas like Oukip in the Northern Cape, and Orange Farm in Gauteng

“There is no platform like this.

Most of the other events that show dance will only show invited work, or curated work, or commissioned, they won’t say, Come here’s a platform. I think that’s why it’s important.” which are communities that really don’t have anything. They don’t have facilities, they don’t have back up, they don’t have administrators, so we’re trying to create, especially for people who have a varied interest in being in the dance sector. The Oukip one was quite amazing because there are people there who have got the most incredible talents, and so we’ve created a very nice relationship there with Alfred Hinkel, who used to be with Jazz Art Dance Centre, he’s moved back to his home town, which is Oukip, so we’re partnering with him now to really create a nice development especially in contemporary dance, and showing the outcomes in dance umbrella.”

This is one of the pay offs for the development programs, an endless supply of new works for the Umbrella.

“Their focus is to become choreographers,” she says about the people taking part in the program. “So they’re working with the intention of [getting their work placed]. We won’t be able to select everybody, because it’s like fifteen people, but through the process we’ll see whose creating work that’s really interesting and bring to back to Joburg to show it at Dance Umbrella. The same with Orange Farm.”

The Umbrella finds work in two different ways, the open platform, and the commissions.

“It’s an open platform,” Georgina tells me about the Umbrella. “So we send out invitations for people to apply, and they have a general application for, plus we also commission work. We watch work all the time, so if we see someone like say Gregory Mokoma who we started commissioning ten years ago, it’s a case of watching people l like that, seeing somebody young whose interesting, who can move, let’s give him a bit of money to work in a more supportive infrastructure. Our funding fundamentally pays for the production of the festival. So it pays for the theatre rental, the staff, the publicity, and we’ve added the commissioning fees in about ten/fifteen years ago. People evolve. When we started 15 years ago it was a complete open platform that had mixed bills all the time, you could do a piece [of] maximum twenty minutes, so everyone just came and played, then the choreographer said, I’m developing, I want to do a piece for half an hour [to] 45 minutes. So you work with the choreographer and say, Okay, we’ll keep up with you, and then they started working internationally, so it became more important to commission work, or invite work that you saw somewhere else and bring it here, so this is a whole evolution that keeps going.”

Any kind of dance is accepted into the Umbrella as well, not just contemporary.

“As long as it’s a new work created in Indian traditional dance, or hip hop or pantsula or Zulu, or whatever, as long as it’s a

new work that they’ve created they can come in.”

Georgina feels that the Umbrella is very important in this day and age, especially in South Africa.

“There is no platform like this,” She says. “Most of the other events that show dance will only show invited work, or curated work, or commissioned, they won’t say come here’s a platform. I think that’s why it’s important. It’s also something that’s really evolved with the artists. We always say, What do you want? We don’t say, this is it, do it. So I think on that level it’s also important, also because it’s developed a lot of international relationships with a lot of international programs. This year we had 22 international programmers coming to the dance Umbrella to watch South African work. That’s incredible. It’s been the last fifteen years we started with 2 and then 4 and then 6, and this year we had 22 which was a record.”

Well, with that kind of international interest the sky is the only limit. Let’s hope that the partnership with Arts Alive is a lasting one, and the Umbrella, and Georgina, go from strength to strength to create more wonderful dance in our country.

Vincent Mantsoe performing Skwatta in this year’s Dance Umbrella

Beneath the Helmet

The most feared law man of the 21st century hits our screens this month as Dredd 3D comes to the silver screen. Jon Broeke sat down with the films’ star Karl Urban to discuss the role, and shooting the film in our very own Cape Town.

T

he South African press very rarely get the chance to sit down with the big names from Hollywood, so when the chance came to have a one on one with the star of the Dredd 3D film, Karl Urban, I jumped at it. And I have to say he’s as cool and charming and awesome as I thought he’d be from seeing him on the screen. Once I get over my star-struckedness I ask him about the character he’s playing in the new film Dredd 3D. “Dredd’s a tough, enigmatic, futuristic law man,” he says from behind sunglasses that don’t come off for the entire interview.

“He’s a Judge. A man of few words and a whole lot of action.”

Dredd is familiar to a lot of us from the 1995 version that starred Sylvester Stallone. This film, however, is not a sequel. In fact it has nothing to do with the first film, not even being a re-make. It’s a completely different film.

“The tone of this film’s completely different from the Stallone version,” Karl says.

“It’s a lot darker, a lot grittier. Our film’s actually funny, it’s a got a lot of one liners in it, and the character of Dredd is more authentic, in terms of being a representation of what John Wagner created in the 70’s.”

There’s been a lot of talk about this film being more authentic than the other film.

The biggest reason is that Karl wears the Dredd helmet throughout the entire film. You don’t get to see his eyes once.

“I don’t think you could respectfully do a Judge Dredd movie any other way,” Karl says to me. “That’s the way the character was conceived and executed for the last 35 years and Dredd never reveals his identity, so to do anything different it just would have been an anathema to me.”

He’s still sitting behind his own sunglasses, making me feel like I may be interviewing Dredd himself. Both Karl and the director of the film, Pete Travis, have been praised for this aspect, especially by the fans of the graphic novel. You see, Dredd never takes off the mask in the graphic novel, so leaving it on in the film made sense. This was part of what drew Karl to the film. I asked him what else drew him to it.

“It was the script primarily,” he tells me. “Alex Garland wrote and action packed, character driven narrative. At the heart of the story it’s basically a two hander between a senior cop and his rookie, and I quite liked the fact that they don’t get on at the beginning of the film, but they’re forced to learn to work with each other in order to survive, and that to me was a very compelling premise for the film.”

The rookie in question was Judge Anderson, played by Olivia Thirlby. Karl had nothing but praise for her when I asked what it was like to work with the actress.

“Fantastic,” he says enthusiastically. “We had a great partnership. We would meet up every day and discuss the day’s work before we would go on set, and we just turned into a real team.”

Anderson wasn’t created for the film either. She was featured in the graphic novels, which Karl tells me when I ask.

“Oh yeah, she is,” he says. “In fact she gets her own stand-alone comic. There was a whole Anderson spin off.”

He knows this because of the research he did for the role he played.

“In the case of Dredd,” he tells me when I ask about the research for graphic novel type characters. “I got hold of every single copy of Judge Dredd that I could find, and went through the script. It was just a process of making choices. I spent three months in the gym, two and a half weeks in military boot camp and learned to ride the lawmaster motorbike, and that was it.”

The boot camp was where he was taught to use the weapons he used in the film. H used those weapons right here on our own

“Dredd’s a tough, enigmatic, futuristic law man,” he says from behind sunglasses that don’t come off for the entire interview. “He’s a Judge. A man of few words and a whole lot of action.”

shores at the brand new Cape Town Film Studio built by Anant Singh in Cape Town.

“It’s a world class facility,” Karl tells me about the studio. “It’s really wonderful to arrive in Cape Town and find this brand new studio there. We were the first to shoot there, and the South African crew was incredible. It was one of the best crews that I’ve ever worked with, and I wouldn’t hesitate to come here and shoot again. I certainly see why it’s becoming the must go to destination for producers.”

The studio held all the sets for the film, including the Mega Building where most of the action takes place, and in this day and age of green screens, all the sets they move around on, and shoot each other on, were actually built on the sound stages.

“We built it all,” he says. “We cannibalized all of the sound stages and built all the environments that you see in the film.

We also augmented that footage by shooting in real locations, particularly the Atrium was a real location, and also the few exterior shots, the motorbike chase, and exteriors of Jo’burg were comped and digitally enhanced to become Mega City 1.”

Not only was the film shot here, it features some of our home grown actors too.

Kalr had nothing but praise for them.

“They were fantastic,” he tells me.

“They all earned their place on the production and they did really great work, particularly Langley Kirkwood did a phenomenal job playing Lex, and a couple of young South African actors, the boys who you see in the film, did very good work. Very professional.

Kirkwood plays another Judge that is bought in to help Dredd, by turns out to be dirty and tries to kill him. The boys in question are a couple of punks who try to capture Dredd for a gang boss, Ma-Ma, played by Lena Headey, only to fail miserably. They are featured in one of the funniest moments in the film.

I ask Karl if he managed to see more of our country than the inside of a sound stage.

“I did see a little bit,” he tells me. “But obviously I was pretty busy, being the lead in the film you get a lot of time off, but I did. My

“It’s really wonderful to arrive in Cape Town and find this brand new studio there. We were the first to shoot there, and the South African crew was incredible. It was one of the best crews that I’ve ever worked with, and I wouldn’t hesitate to come here and shoot again.”

family came over. We had a fantastic time.

We went to one of the game parks and just had a really wonderful time.”

They managed to get up Table Mountain, something you need to do if you’re in Cape Town, and enjoyed themselves immensely.

“It’s stunning,” he told me.

Karl is leaving our shores straight away, but we’ll see him again on the screen soon. He’s got several more projects soon to be released.

“I’ve Star Trek 2 coming out next year,” he says. “I did a small cameo in Vin Diesel’s new Riddick movie and a couple of other things in the pipeline, percolating.”

Well, we look forward to seeing Bones back on the screen, and Vaako as well, and who knows, maybe there will be a sequel to the Dredd film and Karl will return to our shores. He will be welcome anytime. Even if it’s just to visit.

Clara

This month South African Mzansi Ballet brings the Nutcracker back to the Mandela at Joburg Theatre. We chatted to Angela Maree about her role as Clara in this fantastical fairy tale.

T

hose of us who know South African theatre will know the story of the Nutcracker. The story of Clara, the little girl who gets a nutcracker doll for Christmas, only for it to come alive that night to do battle with a Rat King and transport her to a magical world of dancing candy canes and Sugarplum Fairies.

We all know the story because the ballet company, formally South African Ballet Theatre, now joined forces with Mzansi Productions to create South African Mzansi Ballet, has performed the show almost every year for as long as I can remember. What puts this performance apart, however, is that fact that the role of Clara is not being performed by a child, but instead by a professional dancer and member of the company. Angela Maree has been dancing for five years and is an integral part of the company. This is the first time she’s performing Clara, but she has a firm hold on who the character is.

“Clara is a young energetic and very imaginative girl,” Angela says. “One of the main characters who helps carry the story line from beginning to end. The nutcracker is her story, a fairy tale world that becomes her reality.”

Angela isn’t certain as to why the role was given to a company member, instead of a child, this time round, but she has an idea.

“To be honest, I don't exactly know why,” she tells me. “But over the years the role Clara has become more technically challenging and is no longer suitable for a none-professional ballet dancer.”

What she says is true, the technique involved in the new version of the ballet makes it impossible for a child to do the role.

Angela, however, makes it look easy. But the change of making Clara older isn’t the only change that they’ve made to this classic. The role of Franz, Clara’s younger brother, has been taken out completely, and a sister, Louise has been added. Later in the show Louise also performs the Sugarplum Fairy, connecting the beginning of the show with the end in a way that was missing in the original.

“I guess most companies try to put their own twists on productions,” Angela says

when I ask why the changes were made. “To make them new, original and exciting.”

Original and exciting it is, and challenging, even if it doesn’t look it.

“The hardest part of Clara,” Angela tells me. “Is that she never stops dancing, moving and interacting. While most characters have their resting time off stage Clara is on stage the entire ballet. She has to stay involved and in character.”

The roles not all hard work though.

“Well,” she says. “The most fun part for me, always, is just to perform and dance on stage in front of an audience, other than that it’s having everybody perform for me, as Clara, in the last act. It's really great getting to watch the company, as usually you only get to sneak a peek from the wings.”

I guarantee that the audience loves watching the company just as much. The next performance at Joburg Theatre is Don Quixote, which hits our stage in March next year, but Angela is busy until then.

“We have not yet started preparations for Don Quixote,” she tells me when I ask how preparations are going.

“Although I will be performing the act 3 pas de deux variation and coda in Knysna this week. SAMB will be doing performances in Bloemfontein and in Brooklyn Theatre in Pretoria before the end of the year. I will be going to Denmark to perform 8 shows of the Sugarplum Fairy in the Nutcracker in November.”

So very busy and travelling the globe.

We all wish her the best of luck and look forward to having her on our shores again to perform in act 3 of Don Quixote, and maybe go back to Clara for Christmas next year.

“Clara is a young energetic and very imaginative girl. One of the main characters who helps carry the story line from beginning to end. The nutcracker is her story, a fairy tale world that becomes her reality.�

The Wolf Within

Just in time for Halloween Wolwedans in die Skemers sees Sonja doing battle with a red cloak cladded evil we have affectionately dubbed Little Red Riding Hood. We sat down with Rolanda Marais, who plays Sonja and chatted to her about the role, and the running from the axe-wielding Hood.

Wolwedans in die Skemers is not a new title to a lot of South Africans. The radio drama back in the 70’s was very popular, as was the TV series that followed in the 80’s.

Now the well-known characters come to the big screen as the film gets the silver screen treatment. Rolanda Marais, best known for her role in Binnelanders, tackles the role of Sonja Daneel, a girl with a past.

“The film starts off with her on her way to somewhere,” Rolanda tells me when we meet over a cup of coffee at Mugg and Bean, Cresta. “And then she gets into a car accident, the car rolls and she loses her memory. So the characters quite interesting in the sense that you start off, for me as an actor, started off not knowing who she was.

She didn’t know who she was, so it was nice to work from there, from the point of insecurity and fear and suspicion, because she gets to this hotel and the people in the hotel are weird. They’re really odd. Slowly but surely the more she remembers, the more she realises that she’s been involved with something really bad. It kind of unfolds as the film goes along, but it’s very odd. It’s very David Lynch-y. Very Twin Peaks-y. It’s also got a lot of the Shining, a weird hotel and the weird people and strange things happening.”

The entire film was shot on location.

“We shot in Hazyview,” Rolanda says.

“It’s lovely. It’s really a magical place. The hotel where we shot, Casa de Sol, is quite eerie. It’s got lots of nooks and crannies and hallways and stuff.”

The film was written by Leon Van Nierop, the same man that came up with the original radio show. Rolanda can identify with the character she plays.

“There are a lot of things that I would have rather forgot,” she says. “Mostly regarding relationships. But I think it also shapes you into the kind of person you are, and it teaches you what to look out for in the future. The mistakes you’ve made. But I do, I remember watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and thinking that would be great, but they kept on making the same mistakes. There’s lots of stuff I would rather not remember.”

“It’s very odd. It’s very David Lynchy. Very Twin Peaks-y. It’s also got a lot of the Shining, a weird hotel and the weird people and strange things happening.”

The film is along the vein of the slasher films that were so popular back in the 90’s, but when I asked if she was scared during the shooting of the film I was surprised by the answer I received.

“No,” she laughs. “It’s nice to know that it is scary, [but] I know those people, I know the girl, I know the killer, they’re all human beings to me, just people and friends.

That’s why I’m not a director, I’m an actor. I think the director; he knows exactly what to show to keep that suspense throughout the whole movie. Someone told me when they watched it they were just like this,” she sits forward on her chair hanging onto the edge like someone frightened by the scene unfolding before them. “The whole time and it got a bit much. I said that’s the genre. I remember watching Woman in Black. That’s how I felt throughout the entire film.

Something almost happens and almost happens. It’s great.”

Even the final chase scene when her character is pursued by the eerie Little Red Riding Hood in her crimson cloak through the woods while Hood wields the trusted axe didn’t scare her.

“I just remember doing it over and over,” she tells meher reason for the fear not getting to her. “I remember the script said, ‘sy hardloop and sy strumpel’, strumpel means stumble and fall, so I had to stumble and fall, and then I watched the film and asked, ‘Where’s all the stumbling I had to do?

There’s not as many stumbles as I remember in the script’. And going through the river I had to do over and over. Luckily the river was nice and warm. Everybody thought the river was cold so they felt sorry for me. I just remember, with each scene, what the weather was like, what we happened that day. The scene when the inspectors question me in the bed, that was my very first scene. I remember I missed my flight, it was my fault, so I arrived on set, they were already 2-3 hours behind because I missed my flight, so there was no time for rehearsal or anything.”

During that scene though something was real, the axe that Hood was wielding.

“It had to be,” Rolanda says. “There were lots of close ups in the film, you can see her dragging it, so it had to be real.”

Of course the fact that the axe was real, led to an interesting shoot, especially when Hood was trying to take Rolanda’s head off with the thing.

“We had to practise it real hard. They did make a fake one, but it went like…” she makes waves with her hands and a sound like a jelly pudding hitting the ground after a fall from a table. “So they couldn’t use it. They did make it very blunt, that’s the thing with any knifes or anything, they have a way of making it very blunt, you can actually do this,” she pushes down on her palm, mimicking the knife cutting it. “And nothing will happen and it still looks sharp.”

No real danger there then. No sparks flying in terms of the axe taking off the lead actresses head. The sparks did fly in other arenas for Rolanda though. She met her, now boyfriend, on the set of the film. Director of the film Jozua Malherbe.

“It was a slow developing thing, I think, from my side,” Rolanda tells me about the relationship. “I knew him through Andrew Thompson, he was our mutual friend, and we kind of knew each other from here and there, but we got to know each other very well on the set. I just loved the way he worked with the other actors and the way he was with people, every single person on that set, from the person who made the tea, to the camera man loved him and they wanted to please him, they wanted to do good work for him.

He’s a great leader. He keeps the moral up there, and he’s damn good. Just for me the way he gives notes, and the way he speaks to you as an actor it’s phenomenal, and I fell in love. I fell in love with the person.”

Between the two of them they are very busy. Joz, as she affectionately calls him, is busy with the promotions for Wolwedans, as is Rolanda. She is also involved with a rerecording of the radio drama version of Wolwedans, which is running at the moment on Radio Sonder Grense.

“There’s such a vast difference between radio drama and film, because film is visual, the less you say the better, whereas

radio all you have is your voice, all you have is what you say, so it’s interesting to by doing the opposite.”

Ronalda is also working on a new Afrikaans TV series written by the writer of Namakwalanders and Konigs.

“It’s a phenomenal script. I’m looking forward to people seeing that. I think it’ll be out next year sometime. It’s very nice.”

We all look forward to that one, but in the meantime we’ll enjoy seeing her in Wolwedans in the Die Skemers.

“It’s nice to know that it is scary, [but] I know those people, I know the girl, I know the killer, they’re all human beings to me, just people and friends. That’s why I’m not a director, I’m an actor. I think the director; he knows exactly what to show to keep that suspense throughout the whole movie.”

Interview with a Wimpy Kid

Our favourite journal keeping 8th grader is back, but this time he’s on summer vacation and anything can happen, especially where Greg Heffley is concerned. We chatted to the star of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise Zachary Gordon about the new film.

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ased on Author Jeff Kinney’s wildly popular illustrated novels about the hapless, but loveable Greg Heffley, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been gaining success since the first film released back in 2010. The first instalment introduced us Greg Heffley, the lead character. A regular middle schooler, with more than average weird family, including a dad, played by Steve Zahn, who loves Civil War enactments, a neurotic mom, played by Rachel Harris, an insane, rock-star wannabe big brother, Rodderick, played by Devon Bostick, and a baby brother, played by twins Connor and Owen Fielding. He also has a best friend, Rowley, a momma’s boy who stands by Greg, even when he doesn’t deserve it, played by Robert Capron. The first film sees Greg and Rowley navigating 6th grade, and a nasty encounter with a piece of cheese.

The second instalment fallowed the year later, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, was just as successful as its predecessor. This time the old gang is back, but mixed into the plot is Holly Hills, played by Peyton List, Greg’s love interest. The film sees his following Roderick’s rules to try and get the girl, among other things, and includes an underwear clad run through an old age home.

Now we have the third film in the series. The gangs all here again, but this time it’s summer vacation. All Greg wants to do is sit and play video games all day, but his dad has other ideas.

“At the start of the film Greg’s dad takes away all of his video game privileges,”

Says Zachary. “And basically decides Greg should spend all his summer hanging out with him and doing outdoor stuff like camping and swimming.”

His doesn’t sit well with Greg, who fakes having a job to avoid his father. Of course the fact that Holly is a member at the country club where Greg fakes his job, doesn’t hurt, but then Roderick gets involved and hysterics ensue.

Zachary says his own ideal summer vacation would involve going to Hawaii, surfing, playing basketball and hanging out with his family as well as his friends.

Greg, however, thinks the outdoors is almost as bad as middle school and spending time with his father may be worse.

“Greg and his dad just don’t seem to have much in common. Before now, Greg’s dad Frank has always seemed more interested in his Civil War reenactments than hanging out with his son, and they are very awkward around each other.”

“Greg and his dad just don’t seem to have much in common,” Zachary says. “Before now, Greg’s dad Frank has always seemed more interested in his Civil War reenactments than hanging out with his son, and they are very awkward around each other.”

Of course the embarrassing situations of the previous two films are here too.

Especially one in the pool at the country club where Greg’s swimming trunks don’t quite get into the pool with him. There’s another moment involving a roller coaster, and I’ll leave that one to your imagination. Zachary seemed to enjoy shooting that scene though, even though he admits to being a little nervous at first.

“I went on six times in a row,” the young actor says, “It was awesome.”

Greg also finds himself in nature this time round, when his dad drags him to a camping trip as a wilderness scout. Greg hates it, but Zachary liked the experience. Especially the location where they shot.

“There are salmon and bears and woods and everything,” Zachary explains, his eyes wide with amazement. “It’s like the perfect wallpaper for your phone.”

Zachary was glad to come back to the role of Greg, regardless of the embarrassment he would no doubt face.

“Playing Greg for a third time,” he says. “I feel like I settled into it as soon as I saw the rest of the cast again. It was more like a ‘Wimpy’ reunion than coming back to work, because everyone feels like part of my family now.”

Well. With that kind of working environment, and the popularity of the films, I’m sure we have a couple more Wimpy Kid films to look forward too, and as much Zachary as we can take. Let’s see what they have in store for him on the next instalment.

Furry Nice Hotel

All the monsters you can think of have come to play in the new film Hotel Transylvania. We checked it out and decided that we’d all like to stay at a hotel like that. How about you?

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e all fear monsters. From the Wolfman, to the Mummy, to Frankenstein’s Monster, we are all afraid of them. The one I always feared most was Dracula, the king of all the vampires. But what if we’re wrong?

What if the monsters are more scared of us than we could ever be of them? Well that’s the premise for the new film Hotel Transylvania.

Dracula, voiced by Adam Sandler, has built a hotel. A place where all the monsters and creepies in all the world can come and let down their hair, so to speak. To the hotel comes Dracula’s best friends, the Wolfman, voiced by Steve Buscemi, and his dozen or so pups, Frankenstein, voiced by Kevin James, and his wife, Eunice, voiced by Fran Drescher, the mummy, Murray, voiced by Ceelo Green, and the Invisible Man, Griffin, voiced by David Spade, all hiding from human, who they’re

convinced will kill them. But there’s an ulterior motive on Dracula’s part as to why he built the hotel. He’s built it as a way to keep his daughter Mavis, voiced by Selena Gomez, prisoner so he can protect her from the humans. The same humans that killed her mother, and he fears will kill her. Thing is Mavis is about to celebrate her 118th birthday and wants to leave the hotel, so Dracula needs to figure out a way to keep her there.

Things get worse when a human, Johnny, voiced by Andy Samburg, stumbles into the hotel. Dracula now needs to keep the human hidden, especially since all the clientele would eat him given half the chance, and protect Mavis from herself, but how can he do that? Especially when she and Johnny start to like each other?

This is a wonderful animated film. The animation is wonderful and all the characters are drawn beautifully. The story is very sweet also. Every father can relate to trying to keep their child safe from the big bad world, and Dracula’s plight is understandable, even if he goes about it the wrong way. Sandler does a great job with the voice of Dracula and

“This is a wonderful animated film.

The animation is wonderful and all the characters are drawn beautifully.”

Samburg’s Johnny is like the worst possible surfer dude you can think of, completely hilarious. Gomez is also good as the daughter of this control freak, along with all the other

voices in the film. Everyone does a great job.

This is a film that all father’s and daughters should watch, father’s to teach them how to let go of their kids, and daughter’s to teach them to cut their dad’s a little slack.

People should see it to realise that monsters are people too, while monsters should watch it so they realise we’re not all that scary. Share the love.

The Evil in Residence

By Joel Kanar (www.inthekan.net)

The fourth instalment in the Resident Evil franchise comes to our screens this month. Joel Kanar checked it out to see if it’s as evil as its predecessors, or just as bad as the rest.

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fter the events of the previous Resident Evil film, Alice is captured and held in the Umbrella Corp underground testing facility.

Thankfully, with the intervention of Albert Wesker and his elite strike force, Alice begins to make her escape and destroy the facility.

Sounds short right? Well that’s because there isn’t enough in there to make a whole movie. Retribution is a shameful attempt to extend the expiry date on the Resident Evil franchise which ends on the cliff hanger that another horrific movie is in the works. There is absolutely no substance to this film whatsoever and to elude to the video game it’s based on – Retribution is just a collection of missions with pitiful mid-level flunkies and an anticlimactic battle with a foe that just doesn’t have any menace.

Retribution is a useless movie that’s primary existence is purely to suck the life out of the consumer and their wallet…so prepare to be jipped as you sit through the most painfully boring one and a half hours of your life. Under the hood, the film is just as lifeless as the un-dead enemies. Poor CGI and gimmicky 3-D effects only serve as the noxious frosting on a dull, uninspired catastrophe of a film that is populated by inane characters portrayed by inept actors.

Looking deeper, this is probably the most accurate translation of a video game into cinema – it has that ‘instant gratification’ concept hardwired into the pacing. This element, however, is precisely why the medium never translates well. There is no build up, just a series of events triggered one after the other with challenges increasing incrementally. It’s predictable, unsatisfying, and unemotional. It’s clear that Anderson doesn’t quite understand characterisation; not only has he dismissed all personality within those characters, but he has reduced them all to brainless action heroes (as can be seen in the strike force that is as incompetent as a cross-eyed chimp with a penchant for faeces flinging.

This movie should not exist, or at least not in its current format. Just as was the case

with the final Twilight movies, Retribution’s plot has been stretched thin over its running time and it shows. There just isn’t enough content to justify this incarnation and could easily have been merged with the second part. This is just commercialism at its worst, and people wonder why Hollywood is going to hell.

If there are fans of the RE movies…well, as is the case with Underworld – this one is for you. Otherwise avoid this like the plague.

“This is probably the most accurate translation of a video game into cinema – it has that ‘instant gratification’ concept hardwired into the pacing. This element, however, is precisely why the medium never translates well.”

Dancing with Wolves Opening in time for Halloween is the new Afrikaans slasher flick Wolwedans in die Skemers. We went to the cinema and checked it out.

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ne of the most anticipated Afrikaans features hitting our screen this year is the big screen adaption of the 1970’s radio drama Wolwedans in die Skemers. Written again by Leon Van Nierop, the same man that brought us the radio drama, this is a Afrikaans thrill ride with a couple of really scary moments.

Sonja Daneel, played by Rolanda Marias, is driving on her way to a job as the new receptionist at Hotel Njala in Hazyview when she’s involved in a car accident. When she wakes up she has no memory of her past or who she is. She’s taken to the hotel by the owner’s daughters, one the hotel’s manageress Adelle, played by Desire Gardner, and her sister, Maggie, played by Lelia Etsabeth. At the hotel she meets the owner, Jan, played by Andre Roothman, and his wife, Diane, played by Riana Wilkens. They take care of her until she is well enough to work.

She also gets the attention of Ryno, played by David Louw, the tour guide at the lodge and local womaniser, who is sleeping with Adele, but has the heart of virtually everyone at the hotel, including Maggie.

Things heat up when Sonja and Ryno start getting closer while she’s trying to discover her past, which leads her to the discovery that her mother, played in flashbacks by Ilse Roos, was killed just before Sonja left for the hotel. This discover, and the untimely death of Jan leads everyone in the path of a cloak wearing killer. The deadly, axewielding Little Red Riding Hood.

There were parts of this film that I really enjoyed, and parts that made me shudder, not in a good way. The cinematography is great. The use of light and shadow is very effective, especially in the scenes feature Little Red Riding Hood. I loved the helicopter shot at the beginning of the car on the road, which the director told me was a

“There were parts of this film that I really enjoyed, and parts that made me shudder, not in a good way.”

homage to the opening scene from The Shining, it is awesome. The directing is good too. The scary moments where Hood flits across the screen behind the actor, are truly frightening, and work well within the slasher genre. Hood is wonderful. They way Hood moves and uses the axe and carries itself, not giving anything away, is great. The performances are good too. I especially liked Marais as she went through the list of emotions from confusion to fear, to happiness, all with equal believability. I loved Etsabeth as well, she is great and creepy and frightening and wonderful.

The film falls on the script though, as so many South African films do. Why did everything have to happen in the last five minutes? Every twist and revelation happens right at the end, leaving the audience no time for the revelation to have any impact. It’s just twist, twist, twist, end credits, and it’s all rather disappointing. It’s a real pity in what could have been a real challenge to the bigAmerican slashers of the part. Red Riding Hood has the potential to be South Africa’s Jason Vorhees, or Ghost Face. So watch the film if you will, but definitely go and buy a Red Riding Hood cloak for Halloween. Oh, and an axe.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Starring Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron and Devon Bostick Directed by David Bowers

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he kids from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are back in their third instalment.

Summer holidays have just started and Greg (Zachary Gordon) has to try and figure out what he’s going to do all summer. More accurately, he needs to figure out how to trick his parents into letting him play video games all day every day when all they want to do is get him outside into the sunlight. Add to that the fact that Roderick (Devon Bostick) is giving his grief as per normal, and his ploy to get the girl he’s in love with, Holly (Peyton List), to write her phone number in his year book didn’t exactly work out, she wrote the whole thing except the last two digits, can Greg’s

summer be a success, or will he have the worst summer ever, as he fears?

I liked the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I thought the characters where interesting and the story was sweet. I didn’t even mind the second instalment, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, feeling that the introduction of List as Holly was great, and the ever growing storyline of the brother’s finding common ground and working together, and sometimes in opposition to each other, was good, but this one falls short of the mark.

There’s nothing new here. The jokes are done, and not especially funny anymore, and the cute factor that the stars Gordon and Capron had in the first two films is gone. The writer had better pull something out of the hat for the next instalment, if they’re going to do another one. Let’s hope not.

Damsels in Distress

Starring Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody and Analeigh Tipton Directed by Whit Stillman n her first day at Seven Oaks College describe it. It’s the kind of film that you’re Lily (Analeigh Tipton) meets Violet entirely sure what you’re supposed to think (Greta Gerwig), Heather (Carrie during it, and even less sure after it’s over.

MacLemore) and Rose (Megalyn There are some very funny moments, though Echikunwoke), three girls with a very unique the comedy is very dark and off-beat, but perspective of their world, who then take Lily again, you’re not sure if it’s supposed to be under their wings. As Lily finds out more funny or not. Whether it’s a biting satire, or if about the girls, and their work at the college the film maker is completely serious. It’s a in the Suicide Centre, as well as the way they little disconcerting. The performances are view the world, she begins to think like them. interesting as well, especially Gerwig as Violet.

Especially Violet, whose views on dating are She talks, a lot, throughout the film, but never very interesting. Things get bad though when actually says anything. She has some of the Violet is dumped and the girls need to try and most interesting dialogue I have ever heard in discover if their ideas, including tap dancing as a film, especially because it’s completely a therapeutic course for the depressed, are meaningless. If you like odd films that make really of any good at all, especially when the no sense and leave you wondering what you other girls, especially Lily, begin to face were watching in the first place, then check relationship troubles of their own. this one out. If you prefer your films to make This is a very interesting film. I say sense, then pick something else. that because I can’t think of another way to

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The Five-Year Engagement

Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and Chris Pratt Directed by Nicholas Stoller

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veryone is thrilled when Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) get engaged. They seem like the perfect couple, but when Violet is offered a job in Michigan, they decide to push back the wedding and move there from San Francisco so she can take it. This is difficult for Tom, a chef on the cusp of getting his own restaurant. Things get more complicated when the two start pulling away from each other, Violet smothered in her work at the University, and Tom by his new friends and

sudden penchant for hunting with a crossbow.

Soon it looks like the perfect couple perhaps aren’t so perfect at all, and maybe they won’t survive their five-year engagement.

I haven’t laughed so much in a film for a long time. This is one of the funniest films I’ve seen all year. The writing is smart and tight, and very funny, especially the sister when they fight in the Elmo and Cookie Monster voices. The performances are good

by Segel, Blunt and Rhys Ifans, who plays Blunt’s boss at the university. Of course all the jokes are below the belt, but they are delivered with such an honestly that it doesn’t come across as rude. If you like comedies I highly suggest seeing this one.

Dredd 3D Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey Directed by Pete Travis

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n a future, post-apocalyptic world people live in Mega cities. Huge cities that are big enough for 30 million people, but house 300 million. Crime is rife in these cities and so a new police force has needed to be made to deal with it. Hence the Judges are formed. A group that can dispense justice on the spot, even execution. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is one of these Judges. On a regular day he is ordered to evaluate a rookie Judge, Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), as they go to investigate a triple homicide in one of the mega structures in the city, but when they have caught the guilty culprit and are about to take him in for questioning a gangster known as Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) locks down the building and calls on all those inside to bring her their

heads. Now they have to fight their way through the building, dispensing justice as they go, at the barrel of a gun.

This is a re-imagining of the comic book character Dredd, not a sequel to the 1995 version by Sylvestor Stallone. This version is darker, far more violent, and absolutely awesome. Any fan of the comic is going to love this film. Especially Urban who kicks ass and takes names in such a coo way you’d think he was Dredd, and had been doing it all his life. I especially liked the slo-mo effects, when time slows down because of the drug the person has taken. It’s very cool. This film was shot entirely in Cape Town, and it looks fantastic. The buildings are great, the city itself looks amazing, and the action is heavy and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. One of the must see films of the year.

The Bourne Legacy

Starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton Directed by Tony Gilroy

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unning concurrently with the Bourne Supremacy, the Bourne Legacy takes a look into the adventures of the other members of similar projects that were running while Jason Bourne was on the run.

When Alex Cross (Jeremy Renner) is almost killed by the people he works for her goes on the run to try and discover why they want him dead. Not only that, but he needs to get his hands on a certain drug, something they’ve been giving him for months, or else risk losing his mind and reversing to the very low IQ’d man that he was before this experiment took place. To that aim he finds and saves Dr Marts Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a woman that is being hunted by the same men that are trying

to kill him. Together they must outrun the bad guys, and save Cross’ mind.

This is another in the line of adrenaline pumping, action filled Bourne movies, but this one is lacking. I didn’t feel the connection to the characters in this film that I felt for Bourne in the other three films, even though the performances by Weisz and Renner are good. Also, the fact that this was a Bourne film, but didn’t actually have Bourne in it, bothered me. Even though Bourne was mentioned constantly throughout the film, and characters from the other three films are featured, in cameos, I would have liked Bourne to have, at least, a cameo himself. Just to make this a true Bourne film. Judge for yourself whether or not you agree with me.

A Monster in Paris 3D

Starring the voices of Jay Harrington, Vanessa Paradis and Adam Goldberg (English version) Directed by Bibo Bergeron

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et in 1910 in Paris, two friends, Raoul (voiced by Adam Goldberg) and Emile (voiced by Jay Harrington), find themselves in the laboratory of a scientist that Raoul delivers goods too. Since the scientist is away they decide to look around, and accidentally cause an explosion that grows a flea from the monkey that lives at the laboratory to seven feet tall. The flea now jumps around Paris until he hears the singing of Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), a popular singer in Paris, and the secret love of Raoul. Because of the ingredients used to create the explosion that created the flea, it seings beautifully, and though she’s afraid at first, Lucille takes the flea in when she hears it sing.

As soon as Raoul and Emile find out they aid Lucile in hiding her new friend from the

Commissioner, who wants to use his killing of the creature to hide his misgivings as a leader.

This is a fascinating animated film.

Originally French the film has been redubbed into English, but still contains the same French style of animation. The big eyes, larger heads and beautiful scenery are typical of French animation. I enjoyed the differences in the characters. From Raoul’s lanky long arms and legs, to Emile’s short stocky appearance, there was a definite different in each of the characters that I loved. The story is completely mental. The singing flea is very odd, but shows the metaphor of the film, as in “who’s the real monster, the man or the creature?”, very well. The music was also lovely, but, just because this is an animated film, doesn’t mean it’s for the kids. They will enjoy the pictures and the songs, but the moral is for adults, and some of the scenes are a little scary.

Hit and Run

Starring Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Bradley Cooper Directed by David Palmer and Dax Shepard

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hen Charlie’s (Dax Shepard) girlfriend Annie (Kristen Bell) gets a job in Los Angeles he decides to drive her there and move to LA. This wouldn’t be a problem for most people, but Charlie is in the witness protection program and going back to LA puts his life in danger, even so, he gets in his souped-up car and they leave. It’s at that point that the trouble really starts.

Annie’s ex, Gil (Michael Rosenbaum) is convinced that Charlie is going to kill her so he follows her, but not before contacting the people that Charlie testified against, his exbest friend Alex (Bradley Cooper), who wants to find Charlie in the worst way. Now Charlie

and Annie are heading straight towards Alex, and a confrontation that will change everything.

I enjoyed this Fargo-esque film. There are some really funny moments, as well as some really great car chases, which are two things that I enjoy in films. Shepard and Bell are good in their roles as the star-crossed lovers, especially after she discovers that she knows hardly anything about this man she thinks she loves. Rosenbaum is back in comedy mode as the complete tool Gil, who just doesn’t know when to let go, and Cooper is great as the somewhat unhinged Alex. A special mention needs to be made of Kristin Chenoweth who plays Bell’s boss in the film.

She is in for such a short time, but she steals each scene that she’s in. If you enjoy well written comedies, with a dark twist then this is the film for you.

How I spent my Summer Vacation

Starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez and Daniel Giménez Directed by Adrian Grunberg A car races at 100 miles per hour towards the US/Mexico border. In the car are two men dressed as clowns. The clown in the back seat has been shot, the one driving (Mel Gibson) launches the car at the border wall and crashes through into Mexico, only to be captured by the Federali’s and have his money stolen by them. He’s then sent to a Mexican prison that’s run by a gangster, Javi (Daniel Giménez Cacho), which is more like a slum than a prison, and makes friends with a ten year old boy (Kevin Hernandez), who is in real danger in the prison, and not just because there are prisoners all around. The driver now

has to figure out a way out of the prison before the people he stole the money from find him, or worse happens.

I enjoyed this film. The story is interesting with plenty of plot twists to keep the viewer interested for the entire film. The performances are good, especially by Gibson as a man without a name who’s playing more angles than a triangle player in an orchestra, and Hernandez as a kid driven by revenge, and fear, trying to protect his mother in a place where children should not live. If you like crime action, with a little drama thrown in, then this could be the film for you.

Feed Me Seymour!

Photos by Jan Potgieter

The UJ Arts centre played host to a production of Little Shop of Horrors this month.

Choreographed and directed by Owen Lonzar this is a horrifying musical treat.

Matthew Counihan as Seymour

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like most musicals. From Cabaret, to Fiddler on the Roof, to Cats, to Phantom of the Opera, I am a fan of all kinds and stories of musicals, but one of my favourites, mainly because I love the music, is Little Shop of Horrors, so I was

thrilled when I learned that UJ Arts and Culture was going to do a performance of it, but also hesitant since, as one of my favourites, my expectations are very high.

Gladly they did not disappoint.

Seymour Krelborn, played with nerdish glee by Matthew Counihan, is a young, shy, nerdish man working at Mr Mushnik’s flower shop in Skidrow, the part of the city that houses those that can’t afford to live anywhere else. Seymour is treated badly

by Mr Mushnik, played will comb-over abandon by Luciano Zuppa, and is secretly in love with his co-worker, Audrey, played with squeaky-voiced aplomb by Musa Mboweni.

She, in turn, is in love with him, but thinks she’s better off with the insane dentist she’s dating, Dr Orin Scrivello D.D.S, played with nitrous-oxide infused madness by Ricardo Pizzi, even though he hits her. Things change for our hero when he finds a very unusual plant. He dubs the plant Audrey 2 and puts it in the store window to attract customers, which it does, and soon business is booming, but everything has its price, and the price of success when it comes to Audrey 2 is blood, and lots of it. When the plant is small little cuts on Seymour’s fingers is enough to

Luciano Zuppa as Mr Mushnik

Ricardo Pizzi as Orin Scrivello D.D.S

appease, but as the plant grows, its hunger grows with it, and Seymour needs to find other ways to feed it, especially when the plant starts talking to him and demanding to be fed. Soon Seymour finds himself embroiled in murder mayhem and a scheme to take over the world, not exactly what he had in mind when all he wanted was to impress Audrey 1.

I find it difficult to critique these UJ shows. The reason is that while some of the

actors in the shows are professionals, the majority of them are students at UJ, who aren’t even studying acting, and just doing the shows for fun. The problem for me is how do I judge people who are doing it for fun, instead of making a career out of it? Well, the answer is, I try not to. I try to focus more on the show as a whole rather than breaking it down to the individual performances, but the performances are important too, so this is the dilemma. In this performance the professionals were very good. Counihan was funny and nasal and very sweet as Seymour, and Zuppa was Jewish-ly amusing as Mr Mushnik, a relatively good guy, trying to get ahead on someone else’s work. The nonprofessionals gave a valiant effort in their roles as well. Mboweni tried very hard to control the very specific accent and incredibly difficult songs that Audrey has to perform.

Pizzi enjoyed himself tremendously in the role of the dentist, and has a lovely voice to boot.

Audrey 2, voiced by Lonwabo Ganelo and

Matthew Counihan as Seymour and Musa Mboweni as Audrey

controlled by Mandisi Ngcatshe, was also very good, especially the voice which was deep and gravelly and perfect for the character. Even the staging, done by Owen Lonzar, was good.

The cast made good use of the props and moved around the stage well, showing clearly what was the shop, what was the street, etc.

All in all, this was an enjoyable performance. Was it the best Little Shop of Horrors I’ve ever seen? No, but the music was good the performers enjoyed themselves and it was a lot of fun. I just felt it was a pity that there were only 30 people in the auditorium.

Shame on you South Africa, you really need to get out there and support the arts. Please.

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Classically New Photos by John Hogg

This month South African Mzansi Ballet brings us Nutcracker, but with new and vibrant choreography. We checked it out at its opening night at the Mandela at the Joburg Theatre.

Angela Maree and Michael Revie

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will admit that I wasn’t exactly enthused when I found out that the newly formed South African Mzansi Ballet was going to perform the Nutcracker. I have seen the production dozens of times, and thought it was going to be the same old tired re-run of the classic that I didn’t really want to see again. Thankfully, I was completely mistaken. The production is wonderful, and I was lucky to be allowed to see it.

The story remains the same, mostly.

It’s Christmas Eve and Clara’s parents are holding a party. All her friends and family are there and she’s very happy. She’s even happier when her sister, Louise and her boyfriend announce that they are engaged to be married. There’s much joy and celebration.

Then Clara’s uncle Drosselmeyer arrives and brings with him magic and entertainment, including a giant dancing princess and Clara’s favourite gift, a Nutcracker. There’s more joy and excitement as everyone dances and the boys make nuisances of themselves, until the party is over. Clara is sent to bed, but she leaves the nutcracker down by the Christmas tree.

Late that night, after everyone else has left, Clara sneaks downstairs to retrieve the nutcracker, but comes face to face with rats, who are trying to steal food off the table.

Drosselmeyer appears and chases the rats away, before he shrinks Clara down to the size of the nutcracker and he comes to life. Clara finds herself in the middle of a great battle between the nutcracker and his troupes and the Rat King and his rat army. At a pivotal moment, when the Rat King has the Nutcracker on the ropes, she saves him, allowing him to defeat the King. As a reward she is taken off in a magical carriage, along with Drosselmeyer, to a faraway kingdom.

There they are treated by dances from around the world as they watch, and sometimes participate. After the dancers from around the world are done the Sugar Plum Fairy, who looks just like Louise, her sister, and her escort, who looks just like Louise’s fiancé, arrive and dance for her. After they’re done the word begins to turn for Clara and she finds herself waking up o under the

“At first I was reluctant, and confused, as to why they’d decided to use a company member to play Clara, instead of the traditional little girl, but by doing it they added an entire new dimension to the production that I never realised was missing.”

Christmas tree back in her house. It had all been a dream This was the most wonderful version of Nutcracker I have ever seen. At first I was reluctant, and confused, as to why they’d decided to use a company member to play Clara, instead of the traditional little girl, but by doing it they added an entire new dimension to the production that I never realised was missing. It was wonderful to see Clara involved in the dances, not only during the party, but during the dances at the castle at the end as well. To see her dancing with the Candy Canes was great.

Angela Maree, who performed Clara, was wonderful. She has a wide eyed innocence that plays well with the role. Add to that her amazing technique and you have a fantastic performance.

Every single one of the dancers on the stage were wonderful, especially the drunken Aunt at the Christmas party, played, with relish, by Sarahjane Sowter, and Michael

Revie’s performance of Drosselmeyer, which was wonderful. It was great to see a Drosselmeyer who is dancing on the level of the company members on the stage, and not just doing a character performance.

Another mention must be made of the rats. They were children dressed as rats when Clara first came down to retrieve the nutcracker, but after Drosselmeyer has shrunk Clara they are company members dressed as rats. It works really well to emphasise the fact that Clara has shrunk and it is very clever.

I also loved the changing of the lighting during the dancing in the castle. Each dance, from the Spanish to the Chinese and even the Waltz of the Flowers, had a different lighting scheme and each one added to the

ambience of the dance. It was truly magical.

The highlight of the show though, had to be grand pas de deux by Shannon Glover, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Jonathan Rodrigues as her escort. The two were so amazingly “on” that night that neither could put a foot wrong.

It was beautiful and magical and completely took my breath away.

This is what ballet can be in South Africa, and what it should be. A fantastically choreographed show, performed beautifully by wonderful dancers. I am very happy to be doing this work at this time in South African dance, and just want to say to SAMB, this is now what your audience expects. Please don’t let us down.

Front front to back: Lindé Wessels, Claudia Monja, Shana Dewey, Nicole Ferreira

Under the Arts Umbrella Photos by John Hogg

This year marks the first year that the Dance Umbrella joins forces with Arts Alive. We went to a few of the performances in this dance festival.

Laura Cameron in Beauty Tips

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his year Arts Alive and the Dance Umbrella have combined forces to bring you the Arts Alive Dance Umbrella 2. This is the first year that the two groups are working together, but it’s going to be a normal thing now, at least for the next three years. The Dance Umbrella will now be in September, instead of its normal time of February, and it will be working with Arts Alive to bring even more interesting work to our stages. I managed to catch just a few of the works that are being presented for this instalment.

Skwatta, choreographed and performed by Vincent Mantsoe, is based on the idea of squatter camps. The work, according to the program, compiled with information provided by the choreographer, reflects on the poverty, friendly neighbours and laughing or smiling acts which are portrayed in every corner of this manmade hell. I’ve got to be honest, I don’t see it. Mantsoe arrives on the stage wearing a cloak that makes him look like the Grim Reaper. He then jumps around the stage for thirty minutes, without doing any real dance steps. No real kicks, no real turns, it’s a little too contemporary for my tastes. The music is beautiful though. Four pieces, two with an African feel, one a haunting violin piece, and one a Nina Simone smooth jazz piece. I will say that he has an intensity on the stage that captures your attention the moment he steps on it, but this is a dance festival so I expect dancing. Maybe I just don’t understand the dance form, judging from the standing ovation he received I must be the only one though.

Beauty Tips, choreographed by Kristin Wilson and performed by the Tshwane Dance Theatre, focuses on the way people are trying to make themselves more beautiful by medical means. By plucking, dying, nipping, tucking, etc. expecting their lives to be better because of what they do to their appearance.

The performance makes a strong case that you can’t change anything, no matter how much you try. According to the program this is a multi-media piece using projections, dance and animations, except no one told the dancers they needed to dance. There is even less dancing in this one than in Mantsoe’s piece. The dancers, and I use the term loosely because they could have been mannequin positioned on the stage, did nothing besides mimicking what was projected onto their bodies. This is not dance, this is experimental art and belongs in an art gallery, not on stage at the Dance Umbrella. While the message was well brought across and good, I need dance to be represented at a dance festival, otherwise you don’t get my vote.

Not Alpha, Just Etc, choreographed by Liyabuya Gongo and performed by Xola Willie, Liyabuya Gongo and Laura Cameron has no write up in the program, but, using my keen observations while they danced, I assume it has something to do with adultery and how it destroys all the relationships

and lives of those involved. If I am wrong I apologise, but that’s what it looked like to me. Finally some dancing, and good dancing at that.

Gongo has a raw passion in her dancing, and her choreography, that captures the attention, however, there is slight lack of control that concerns me. I know it was part of the performance, walking the fine line between control and throwingyourself-around, but even throwing yourself needs to be controlled. Willie gives a lovely strong performance as the man caught between two women.

He portrays the emotional tug-of-war beautifully. Cameron is as talented as she is lovely. She gives a polished, controlled, riveting performance and works well with Willie.

Out of the three performances of the Umbrella that I saw Not Alpha was the highlight, and not just because it had dancing in it, but because that dancing was good.

Maybe I’m not the right person to critique the Dance Umbrella being from a classical ballet background, but I am of the firm belief that a dance festival needs to feature dance. Raise your hands if you’re with me.

Laura Cameron and Xole Willie in Not Alpha, Just Etc.

A Celebration of Dance Photos by John Hogg

South Africa Mzansi Ballet is busy this month.

Not only are they opening their new performance of Nutcracker, but they are also performing a new season of Celebration 4. We went along to the opening night to check it out.

Angela Maree and Michael Revie in Carmina Burana.

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n September 5th the Mandela at Joburg Theatre played host to South African Mzansi Ballet’s performance of Celebration 4. This production is a mixture of several pieces that showcase the company and the talents of the dancers within, not only as dancers, but as choreographers as well.

The show opens with the dancers on stage and the sound of rain falling from the heavens. This is the opening for Iain MacDonald’s Serenity. A lovely new piece choreographed by MacDonald for this performance.

We move on to a Duet, Harlequinade.

A lovely, playful classical ballet pas de deux performed by Lauren Summerly and Carlos Santos.

The third piece is a second duet. The Flames of Paris, starring Shannon Glover in a French flag sash, and Michael Revie. The pas de duex is fiery and riveting.

The first act ends off with Shannon Glover’s work, Amakhonokhono. An African inspired piece danced by the company with a trio of African drummers on a raised platform, drumming behind them, and a lovely African motif painted onto the backdrop. The performance is strong and captivating.

The second half of the performance is Carmina Burana, choreographed by Kitty Phetla to the opera of the same name. This is an hour long feast of different and interesting choreography, somewhat different to what South African Ballet Theatre usually performs, but right up the alley for Mzansi Productions.

It’s nice to see the coming together of the classical style of SABT along with the more contemporary style of Mzansi coming together so well. A bright look into the future of the company.

This is the kind of show that should be getting the headlines for this company. Shows that feature new works, choreographed for the company, even by the company members, that show off the capabilities of our dancers.

It’s always nice to see them performing the classics, like Swan Lake and Giselle, but the new work is what we want now. We want to see them being themselves and dancing as

“This is the kind of show that should be getting the headlines for this company. Shows that feature new works, choreographed for the company, even by the company members, that show off the capabilities of our dancers.” well as they can. However, I did have one or two issues with this performance.

Firstly though, the highlights.

I loved the choreography of MacDonald’s Serenity. It’s a lovely piece to a lovely piece of music, and I look forward to the next piece he choreographs.

Amakhonokhono is also beautifully choreographed, making great use of great dancers. Harlequinade is playfully performed and an absolute joy to watch. And Revie, in the Flames of Paris pas de deux, is one of my favourite dancers in the entire company.

When he jumps he simply floats across the stage and it’s spellbinding.

The orchestra and the live choir, sitting in the gallery of the Mandela, giving the audience a truly dynamic surround sound experience, was wonderful. The music is haunting, and when performed well it really transports you. Nicholas Nicolaidis is an exceptional singer as the soloist for this

Nicole Ferreira and Jonathan Rodrigues in Serenity

production. He has such an ease when he sings that just takes your breath away. Truly wonderful.

But for every silver lining there is a cloud, and there are a few low points in the production. I felt that the dancers should have been more together for the group pieces. It bothered me a little that in almost every single piece there was one dancer that was either a fraction of a second in front or behind the others. It was an unnecessary distraction that took away from the beauty of the pieces.

I would have liked a few more drummers for Amakhonokhono. It’s a little, silly thing, but it would have made the drums stronger, which in turn would have raised the impact of the piece.

The SAMB dancers in Amakhonokhono

While I loved the choreography and performances in Carmina Burana, after about 30 minutes it becomes a little tedious. The inventiveness and originality of it all just doesn’t go the distance, which is a real pity, because there are some really lovely moments in the performance. Especially the Pas De Deux and a Solo, which was performed beautifully by Phetla, Revie and Angela Maree.

While there are a few issues, in my humble opinion, this is a great show, and if the company can keep heading on this path we are all looking forward to a fantastic era of dance in South Africa.

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Battleship

Sisters & Brothers

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson Directed by Peter Berg lex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) is a perpetual screw-up, living in the shadow of his brother (Alexander Skaarsgard). Both are naval officers and heading out on a major naval exercise, along with officers from all over the world, but when four objects crash into the ocean and the ships that the brothers are on are sent to investigate they run straight into trouble. The objects turn out to be alien ships, and now they have to fight to survive, and save the very world.

This is a great Friday night, popcorn film. The action is impressive, as are the alien ships, which look a lot like the Transformers.

The acting is what you would expect from an action film like this, but there are several very funny moments, most offered by Kitsch and Liam Neeson, Kitsch’s commanding officer, and the father of his girlfriend, which leads to some interesting confrontations. All in all good fun.

Starring Jay Brazeau, Amada Crew and Leena Manro Directed by Carl Bessai mockumentary look at what it really means to be a sister or a brother. The film follows several different characters and their siblings, there’s Louise (Gabrielle Miller) whose brother, Jerry (Benjamin Ratner) is schizophrenic. Nikki (Amanda Crew) who has just agreed to follow some stranger down to LA, and is accompanied by her sister, Maggie (Camille Sullivan). Sarah (Kacey Rohl), a girl who thought she was single child until her sister from India (Leena Manro) arrives, and Justin (Cory Monteith) a famous Hollywood star whose brother (Dustin Milligan) comes back from Africa.

I’m not a fan of the mockumentary style, or the comic book style of transitions, but this wasn’t a bad film. It has a good moral in the end, but it’s a bit of a chore to get to it.

If you like the actors, Monteith or Crew, from their previous work, check it out, otherwise skip it.

Wrath

Betrayed at 17

Starring Louise Janelle Bartlett, Bianca Bradey and Jazz Cohn Directed by Jonathan Neil Dixon hen four friends, travelling through the Australian outback, one of them the pregnant Caroline (Rebecca Ratcliffe), come across a woman, Leah (Stef Dawson), they try to help her, but by doing so they get themselves involved in a frightening chase between Leah and a man with a high powered rifle. As they run for their lives, from him and his sons, Caroline begins to unravel the secret that pushed these men to kill, and the lengths they’re willing to go to keep it.

I didn’t love this film. The premise is good, and some of the action scenes are quite compelling, keeping you glued to the screen, but only for a short time. It can’t keep up the pace and you find your mind wandering.

Better to skip this title and pick one of the Hills Have Eye’s titles.

Starring Alexandra Paul, Jake Thomas and Katie Gill Directed by Doug Campbell hen jock, Greg (Andy Fischer-Price) does an incredibly stupid thing and tapes himself having sex with Lexi (Amanda Bauer) he has no idea what the results will be, but when his ex-girlfriend, Carleigh (Katie Gill) gets her hands on his cell phone and send the video to the entire class Lexi freaks out and get hit by a car, dying.

Now Lexi’s mom (Alexandra Paul) and her brother (Jake Thomas) want to find out what happened to the girl, and Carleigh is desperately trying to cover her tracks, leading to violence, and murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The acting is great from the entire cast, especially Gill as the somewhat unhinged Carleigh. The story is tight and compelling making you want to see what’s coming next, and really becoming part of it. A great piece of film and a good recommendation for a Saturday night.

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The Entitled

Citizen Gangster

Starring Kevin Zegers, Victor Garber and Laura Vandervoort Directed by Aaron Woodley aul (Kevin Zegers) is desperate for money. He can’t get the jobs that he needs, and his mom’s medication is costing more than they can afford. To fix the problem he decides to kidnap three rich kids (Laura Vandervoort, Dustin Milligan and John Bregar) along with his girlfriend, Jenna (Tatiana Maslany) and her friend, Dean (Devon Bostick), but when things go wrong and someone gets killed things start spiralling out of control quickly.

I loved this film. The writing is what makes it so good, something along the lines of Usual Suspects, you don’t know everything until the credits role. Add that to good performances by Zegers and Bostick especially and you have a winning combo. Definitely one to watch.

Starring Scott Speedman, Kelly Reilly and Kevin Durand Directed by Nathan Morlando ddie Boyd (Scott Speedman), a World War II vet struggling to make ends meet, out of desperation, he robs a bank. He’s successful and gets a taste for the theatricality of it, so goes on a robbery spree, ending in his being caught and thrown into jail. It’s at this point that the trouble really starts. In prison he meets Lenny Jackson (Kevin Durand), another bank robber, and the two join forces to create the Boyd gang. They head off on a crime spree which soon leads to murder and mayhem.

Based on the true life events of the real Eddie Boyd, this is an interesting film. The cinematography and period costumes are spot on for the period and work well within the film. The acting is great, especially by Speedman and Reilly, who are wonderful as the husband and wife. I would have liked a little more in terms of the citizen part, only explained at the end of the film, otherwise an enjoyable watch.

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Take Shelter Starring Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain and Shea Whigham Directed by Jeff Nichols hen Curtis (Michael Shannon) begins having dreams pointing towards something very bad that’s going to happen, resulting in the end of the world, he begins acting strangely. His change in behaviour is noticed by his wife (Jessica Chastain) and she begins to fear that her husband is losing his mind. Curtis has the same fear, but there’s something he fears more, what if the dreams are true? What if the end is truly coming?

I was interested to watch this film when I first heard the premise, but though it’s high on ideas, it’s low on delivery. The film is slow paced, and while the horror moments are frightening, especially the birds attacking the car, they are few and far between, not having the impact that they should. I was also confused as to why the little girl was deaf, when there’s no real reason for it. Not my cup of tea.

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Answer This!

Starring Christopher Gorham, Arielle Kebbel and Nelson Franklin Directed by Christopher Farah aul Tarson (Christopher Gorham) is a Michigan University student that’s been studying for longer than he should have been. He’s a TA in his father’s class, but is floundering while trying to write his dissertation to become a junior professor. His father gives him an ultimatum, he needs to finish or else leave the University. To take his mind off things he enters a pub trivia contest, and meets Naomi (Arielle Kebbel), a freshman in his father’s class. As things heat up between the two of them, and the contest gets into full swing Paul begins to question what he’s doing with his life, and where’s he’s headed.

I enjoyed this film. It has some very funny moments, and I’m a fan of Gorham ever since his Jake 2.0 days, but it could have been funnier or a little more heartfelt. It’s lacking a bit, but a good evening’s entertainment.

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Men in Black 3 Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Jay (Will Smith) and Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) are back. This time Jay has to travel back to 1969 to stop a big bad guy, Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) from killing Kay, something he’s travelled back in time to do, and in doing, stop an invasion from destroying Earth. While he’s there he meets up with the younger Kay (Josh Brolin) and learns things about him that he couldn’t have imagined.

This is the best Men in Black yet. It’s funny and touching and as full of action as the other two.

The story is great, which is satisfying, since the fear of repeating things done in the last film is great. Smith is funny again as the wise-cracking Jay, but special mention must be made of Brolin whose portrayal of the younger Kay is great, mirroring Jones in all three films. Good fun indeed.

Wild about Harry Starring Danielle Savre, Skye McColeBartusiak and Tate Donovan Directed by Gwen Wynne After the death of their mother Madeline (Danielle Savre), her sister Daisy (Skye McCole-Bartusiak) and their dad (Tate Donovan) moves from D.C to Cape Cod for them to begin again, and for their father to open a furniture business with a new partner, Mr Gibbs (Adam Pascal). Everything seems wonderful to start off with, they both make an impression at high school, Madeline even sparks the interest of two guys, jock, pretty boy Sam (Corey Sevier), and the more introverted loner Spoke (Josh Peck), but when she sneaks into a gay bar with her new friends she sees something that’s going to change her life forever.

I really enjoyed this film. It’s heartfelt and moving and a thoroughly enjoyable watch. The performances by all the actors are great, but a special mention needs to be made of Savre as Madeline, a girl trying to deal with information that changes everything she thinks she knows about her dad, and Peck as the boy that loves her, no matter what. It’s especially nice to see the Nickelodeon alum branching out into more dramatic roles, and succeeding. One I would definitely recommend.

Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar Starring the voices of Adrian Petriw and Kelly Sheridan Directed by Zeke Norton Princess Tory, the princess of the far away kingdom of Mirabella, is tired of having to behave as a proper princess all the time.

Keira, a popstar, is performing in Mirabella, but is tired of all the hard work that goes into being a popstar. When the two meet they very soon come up with a plan to swop lives, just for a short while, so the popstar can see what it’s like to be a princess, and the princess can see what it’s like to be a popstar, but unknown to them Keira’s manager is planning on stealing Mirabella’s most valuable item, which could destroy the whole kingdom. Will Tory and Keira discover his plan in time to stop him and save the kingdom?

This is a Barbie film, and strickly for girls under the age of 13, but the story is cute, the classic tale of the Prince and the Pauper where they realise that the others life is not all wine and roses, and the singing and songs are catchy and enjoyable. If you have a little girl who wants to watch it, it’s not a major chore to watch it with her.

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