Stan Walker's World Tour of NewZealand

Big surprise here, didnt know what to expect.
Have to admit Whenua Patuwai, (runner up in this year's X-Factor NZ), was a major attraction for me, as he was for many others according to the booking office.
Whenua sounded a lot better on stage than he did on TV, I think he's come on heaps since then, incredible voice, powerful for someone still quite young.
His bracket of songs was well received, certainly he's not short of a fan base, even had a couple of teenies rush the stage to give him a hug. Half time......
Then it was Stan.... searchlights, showband, backing group, dance troup, it was all on, fantastically constructed show.
Stan himself doing the moves with a great hip-hop gangsta dance team, doing his popular numbers and more.
The backing group did a bracket, and I particularly liked Troy Kingi and his acoustic guitar work.
11 out of 10, and I'd go see it again.

Roger Fox 40th Anniversary Tour

A real treat for the audience that pretty much filled downstairs at Palmerston North's Regent on Broadway,
a two and a half hour non-stop jazz concert superbly crafted by Roger Fox.
While knowing the Fox Big Band was always worth a listen, I went mainly to hear guitar guest, Mike Stern, and that was really nice stuff, upper fretwork on an electric Fender or look-alike, mellow softer harp tone, but got a further shot to the fabulous with the other two guests.
Joey Defrancesco was billed as a hammond organ exponent, which was pretty good, but I thoroughly enjoyed his faultless and expressive "flugelhorn", (he called it), like a bugle, but bigger horn and mellower, fuller, plaintive sound.
Brenda Boykin was a sweet surprise for me too, not being all that familiar with the jazz scene, strong, powerful, accurate, story-telling, as only a negress could do.
The local men from Wellington Jazz Orchestra did trombone and sax solos with accuracy and aplomb, and the evening wouldnt have been complete without a trombone lick from the Master himself.
Top show, I could go see it again. 11 out of 10.

Movie: Elysium

Set in 2154, all the wealthy folks live on a space station while the hoi polloi battle out their existence down below, and the main theme's about equalising things.
Some say Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to District 9 didnt quite make it, but I think it did, one of the better sci-fi's of late.
The slum theme was recognisably so, very realistic, in fact realistic real, those scenes filmed in Mexico.
Easy to follow plot, but again as getting more common in movies, some of the dialogue garble difficult to follow.
Matt Damon's one of my favourite action heros, and Jodie Foster looking gorgeous here.
As with District 9, Jackson/Weta Workshop had a hand in.
9 out of 10.

Movie: Pacific Rim

Contrary to Lone Ranger, the Dompost movie critic thought this movie was great.
I found it tedious, crash bang action start to finish, predictable plot, and rah, rah, America victory parade.
When the noble commander got up to make his climax battle pep-speech, I was waiting for him to say something like, "We will not go quietly into the night, we will not go without a fight". But no, it was something pretty lame and forgettable.
Del Toro did do a great job of the robot action, and I have to admit the camera work was awesome, but I've had enough of looking down the throats of scary monsters.
2 out of 5.

Movie: The Lone Ranger

Here we go again, the Dompost movie critic panned this movie, I thought it was great.
I think it helped having watched it as a kid on TV, the corn was brilliantly re-presented. The critic really stiffed Arnie Hammer, for doing what he was supposed to do.
The standouts were Silver (the horse), and Tonto Depp, what a great actor/entertainer he is.
The critic lamented no story and poor dialogue, but nothing about it bugged me, a full of surprise start to finish romp between serious and parody.
The William Tell overture for the final sequence topped it off for me.
10 out of 10.

Movie: Oblivion

Great expectation on this one despite mixed reviews.
Tom's a great actor, no disputing that. The tech and action was spec, and the story good.
I know how it finished, but gee, I lost the thread in the last tantalising quarter, so I dont quite know how it got there.
Wasnt helped by not being able to translate from gaming/texting gibberish, the plot critical bits the girl said.
S'pose thats what happens after 60 years in suspended animation.
Actually, I missed what Morgan Freeman said about that helmet the free people were wearing too, that enabled them to avoid detection by the Drones.
3 out of 5, top movie that never quite got there.
Maybe I should go see it again.
I mean what happened to Jack II in the 3 years after his scrap with Jack I.
When Jack I arrived back with the medi-pak to treat the girl, Jack II wasnt where he was left trussed up by Jack I.
Jees........???
Maybe I've just got too old, and pointlessness is the name of the game these days.

Movie: Django Unchained

Django passes the lasting impression days after test with flying colours, another glorious, gorious, Tarantino.
Superb acting by Samuel L Jackson, De Caprio, and Christoph Waltz, really made the movie, while Jamie Foxx completed his spoof role to perfection.
Its quite a long movie, and the reprieve granted Django with the escape from the mining co. slave train was an almost un-necessary add-on, I think us punters would have gone home happy with an earlier splatter wind-up back at the estate.
But never mind, top movie.
Morricone's objection to his treatment over the score is an interesting sideshow. After hearing so much about the Django theme, I was waiting for something that didnt quite happen for me, nothing instantly everlasting like the themes from the spaghetti's or the Kill Bills.
5 out of 5.