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Pretty Good

An Exercise In Nonsense

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The Dark Horse (2014) Director: James Napier Robertson Watched: 6/3/18 Rating: 6/10 A troubled chess wiz, Worthy bipolar showing, Humane true story. Clichéd mentor film, Against-the-odds, poverty, Gang life exposé. Comes alive with kids, Teaches us Maori ways, Chess/life metaphors. Chess games to feel for, Characters we will cheer for- Or 'tis vice-versa? Formulaic- but not trite; Somewhat contrived feel-good film. Haiku Sonnets are comprised of 4 3-line haiku plus a couplet of either 5 or 7 syllables, adding up to 14 lines, the same number of lines found in a sonnet. (5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 5-7-5, 7-7/5-5) #HaikuSonnet #PoemReview #BrainGames #Competition #Mentor #NewZealand

This is the one inspired by an earlier documentary on the life of Genesis Potini, a Maori chess champion. We've seen this movie before: a passel of dead-end kids going nowhere until an unlikely teacher shows up and molds them into a symphony orchestra, ballroom dancers or a brilliant chorus. But who cares? It's a great story, particularly because the teacher is saving himself as well. Success depends heavily on execution, and this is very well executed indeed. So: a champion player when very, even too young, Genesis Potini was eventually crushed by the pressure to the extent that he has long been in and out of mental institutions. Now out again, and promising to stick to his meds (he's not violent—just erratic), he persuades local social workers to let him try to give their no-hopers some useful direction by teaching them to play chess. The dialogue is in English, but it is an English seriously damaged by local slang, heavy accents and mumbling. But that matters little: the narrative drive overcomes it, and as I've said, we've seen this before. It's very well worth seeing again in this new New Zealand version.

Behind the beautiful cinematography, engaging and detailed performances, and deftly-paced editing is a master work of a screenplay. A wholly empathetic protagonist, with his wellbeing so delicately balanced, bombarded by obstacles. The stakes continue to rise, the subplots interweave seamlessly, with the whole story building to a perfectly weighted, moving, climax. Once filmmakers could be just "good" or "interesting" and pull a crowd to the cinema to see their kitchen-sink dramas. The new Golden Age of television has put paid to that. We get great storytelling and interesting ideas pushing boundaries all the time, delivered on-call to our living rooms. if filmmakers are not making blockbusters, or special effect laden sensual experiences, then the stories must be wonderful and totally captivating to get a crowd in the car and front up with the ticket price. There's no place to hide...This film is a great reminder of why there is still a place at the cinema for a low budget, domestic drama, they just need to be this good!

I'm a huge fan of Cliff Curtis which is the main reason I wanted to see this movie. Once again, as Genesis Potini, his portrayal of a real human being who shows love, conflict and courage in facing adversity, reveals the heart of this extraordinary man. Wayne Hapi as his brother Ariki, is an amazingly charismatic 'unknown' actor whose performance matches C.C's as a tough but tragic Father/brother/survivor trying to do his best for his son. Everyone involved in this movie has got to feel proud of their involvement in enlightening people to feel empathy towards this misunderstood world of gangs, psychosis and modern families. Amazingly, this often sad, bleak movie showed genuine hope and joy in being alive.