Latest from Entertainment Reviews

Book Review: Rugby Shorts

Mark Lynch does love his rugby. I remember once when Lynch and I and a few stragglers went to see the Waratahs play the Stormers in Sydney.

Book Review: Having a Ball

To state the bleeding obvious, we can be a nation of blunt-ended rugby fanatics. As 1987 All Blacks captain David Kirk quips in his foreword of Ian Grant's book <i>Having A Ball</i>, "it's part of the rhythm of life, and long may it remain so".

Book Review: The Cup

Dan Cleary is one clever guy - actor, writer, producer and someone who doesn't mind poking the borax.

Book Review: Jungle Rock Blues

Book Review: Great Gardens Of Italy

When the sumptuous <i>Great Gardens of Italy</i> series recently screened here, you couldn't help but notice quite a few shots of its host, British garden guru Monty Don, staring pensively out at the scenery, chiselled chin on hand.

Album Review: Haydn, String Quartets

Movie Review: The Smurfs 3D

The Smurfs themselves are as delightful and loopy as ever, so - despite undergoing a digital makeover - this Smurf adventure is still designed to appeal to younger and less discerning members of the family.

Movie Review: Midnight in Paris

Four films set in London, one in Barcelona and he's just finished shooting in Rome: that Woody Allen sure gets around.

Album Review: Wild Bill Ricketts, West Wind

More percussive sorcery, soul jazz wizardry and seductive sounds from the south Pacific courtesy of human metranome Will Ricketts (aka Wild Bill) from the Phoenix Foundation, and many other bands.

Concert review: Def Leppard, Vector Arena

Album review: Worn Copy - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

The vinyl reissue is something of a victory lap for contemporary musicians – and if there’s any artist from the last 10 years who could claim to having ‘won’ at music, Ariel Pink’s a likely contender.

History Made: Bo Diddley in Melbourne

Bo Diddley was the originator – without him there’d be no Beatles, Mick’n’Keef, no Pistols, no rap. Big call? Yes. Is it true? Absolutely.

Gig review: Fabulous/Arabia, Kings Arms

You knew this was going to be fun. With 60 per cent of the band in dinner jackets and the salty whiff of yacht rock in the air, Fabulous/Arabia are jovially enjoying a glass of bubbly on stage before kicking things off.

Gig review: Black Dice, Kings Arms

It is on rare occasions like this that a quiet Auckland Wednesday night turns into an explosion of energetic noise.

Gig review: Bachelorette in Dunedin

This particular Bachelorette performance was always going to be weighted by sentimentality.

Book Review: The Kindness Of Your Nature

Linda Olsson's novels sell in mega-numbers overseas. There are many places in this tender, loving story where you can understand why.

Book Review: Late For Tea At The Deer Palace

When the stone deer was placed in position in the pool in front of the Chalabi home in Kazimiya, near Baghdad, locals immediately named the palatial home the Deer Palace.

Book Review: Wishing For Snow

Minrose Gwin clearly had a miserable time of it. Her father, Al the airman, only stuck around long enough to witness her birth, then fled to parts unknown, never to be seen again, although, to be fair, he did send Minrose a birthday present every year.