Woman’s Weekly New Zealand – July 29, 2019

REVIEWS

FILM

FILM

78 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly

THE LION KING

RATING PG

I was certainly feeling the love

as I watched this remake of the

original 1994 Disney film. The

beloved story sees Simba flee

his home after the death of his

father, only to return years later

as an adult ready to reclaim his

throne. While there was some

fears over a reboot, this version

has turned out to be a visual

masterpiece. The original was

always going to be hard to

beat, so no matter how you feel

at the end, just sing Hakuna

Matata for the rest of your days!

Cassie Birrer

AAAAB

A NEW SERIES

EXPLORES

THE RUSSIAN

REVOLUTION

F

eaturing a fascinating

fusion of documentary

and drama, new series

The Last Czars tells the story

of how the great Romanov

dynasty came to an end in 1918

after an almost 300-year rule.

The six-part saga, which is

available on Netflix, weaves

together interviews with

historians and scripted scenes

with actors. The cinematography

is truly beautiful, as are the

costumes, and many critics have

compared it to The Crown.

Actress Susanna Herbert, who

portrays Empress Alexandra,

says The Last Czars tries to give

more background information.

“In The Crown, you sometimes

wished you knew a bit more

about the context between the

scenes, and I hope that this

plugs that gap. The show is

driven by the drama, with the

historians popping up and

explaining amazing details.”

Entertainment

Weekly

S

he might have been born

in South Africa, but New

Zealand has definitely

claimed stand-up comedienne

Urzila Carlson as one of our own.

Since moving here in 2006,

the funny 43-year-old has been

a regular on local comedy show

7 Days, published her own book

and been on numerous comedy

tours across the country. Now,

Urzila’s star is set to shine even

brighter with the launch of

new series Have You Been

Paying Attention?.

“There is not one negative

thing I can think of about being

a comedian,” tells the mum-of-

two. “You’re making people

laugh, maybe after they’ve

had a hard week and that

is the biggest gift you can

give someone. This is another

show that I know will make

Kiwis laugh and people will

have fun watching.”

The Kiwi quiz show sees Urzila

and radio star Vaughan Smith

compete

against

each other,

alongside

three rotating

guests, each week

as they’re asked about

current events. And

Urzila may have the inside

edge as she has already

starred in the Australian

version of the series.

“I know it’s an amazing

show and I think Kiwi

audiences will love it!”

she gushes. “It’s the best

show I’ve ever worked

on, and I say work in a

very light way because

it’s a show that’s nice to

just hang out. It’s like

a quiz night – chilling

with mates but getting

paid for it.”

The Last Czars is

streaming on Netflix

DOWNFALL

A dynasty’s

TV

Urzila’s all fun and games!

Susanna and Gavin

Mitchell bring the

Romanovs to life.

Have You Been Paying

Attention?, TVNZ 2,

Wednesdays at 7.30pm.