Author: James Partridge

Film Fan Deal: ‘The Godfather’ Collection. The Coppola Restoration on Blu-ray at a price you can’t refuse.

Posted by | Jun 26, 2011 |

Being an independent blog, with no affiliation to any store, Admit One can bring you great deals from anywhere when we stumble across them. And for our first post it doesn’t get much better than this – The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration on Blu-ray at Amazon UK for only £17.93. With the exchange rate the way it is right now, that’s around $35 NZD. Wow! This stunningly restored set, from master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, presents arguably the greatest mob films of all time in pristine HD picture and True HD sound. Ok, The Godfather Part III isn’t great (many saying it should ‘swim with fishes’), but the first two films are absolute masterpieces and should sit ‘pride of place’ in anyone’s collection. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando… does it get any better? UK Blu-ray discs are the same Region Code as those in New Zealand, so no multi-region player is required – which is great for PS3 and laptop owners. And if you spend over £25 at Amazon UK you qualify for free shipping! Yes! I joyfully unwrapped my boxed set last week when it arrived and I’m now arranging a ‘lads night in’ to watch the films back-to-back (while eating pasta and cannolis perhaps?) Hopefully it will stay at that price for a while, so head on over to Amazon UK to grab yourself...

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NZIFF 2011 Preview: ‘Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey’. Childhood dreams can come true.

Posted by | Jun 25, 2011 |

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey will definitely be a documentary to watch at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival, whether you’re a fan of the little red monster or not. This award-winning documentary tells the little-known story of Kevin Clash. Kevin is the 50 year old, deep-voiced, 6 foot African American man who breathes life into the 3 and a half year old, squeaky-voiced, iconic character – and brings light into the lives of millions of children worldwide. This ‘feel good’ film also serves as a tribute to anyone who never gave up on their childhood dreams and worked hard their entire lives to make them come true. Growing up in Baltimore watching Captain Kangaroo and Sesame Street, Kevin Clash dreamed of becoming a puppeteer. He started creating his own puppets at age 9 and performed shows for local kids. Despite his puppets’ outgoing personas, Kevin by contrast is very shy man; who through his artistry is able to convey his infectious sense of humour, love for life, and passion for entertaining. This film has received great reviews on the festival circuit and will defintely be a wonderful night out, for young and old alike. For me it will also be fascinating to see inside the world of a professional puppeteer, having grown up in the heyday of The Muppets and Sesame Street –  bringing back many great...

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NZIFF 2011 line-up announced! There isn’t a word to describe my excitement.

Posted by | Jun 22, 2011 |

Woah! Woah! Woah! What a line-up! I thought I was excited before, but now… trying… hard… to… form… words… The NZFF team have really outdone themselves this year. Check out the incredible films we’ll get to see in little old New Zealand over the coming months, as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival 2011. Last night was the Auckland Programme launch, which means the line-up below may differ slightly for other centres – but a majority of the films should be screened everywhere, so you can start picking your favourites now! Particularly exciting is that a selection of the films have come straight from the Cannes Film Festival; meaning that us Kiwis will be the first audiences outside Europe to see them. Nice work NZFF! And some of the films coming from Cannes have already featured on Admit One as ‘must-sees’, so our excitement levels were already through the roof. Have I mentioned how excited I am yet!?!? I have noted by each film in the line-up if it’s a ‘must see’ for me, although this only relates to the films that I’d heard of. Many more films will become ‘must-sees’, I’m sure, as I find out more about them. Admit One will feature one film each night leading up to the opening of the festival, giving you a more in-depth look at a selection of the films....

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