STACK NZ Mar #82

NEWS EXTRAS

GO, GO POWER RANGERS! S inger turned actor Becky G. calls Power Rangers “a cool of the long-running ‘90s TV show, Becky G. plays Trini, aka The Yellow Ranger. “Trini is a badass, she says. and a credible teen dynamic. “It’s important for it to be real,” agrees Becky G. “These characters are dealing with issues that teenagers deal with. It’s genuine. It’s an imaginary world but there’s so much heart to it.” It's Morphin time - Becky G. talks about the big screen reboot of the kidsTV series. Words Scott Hocking

coming of age story" – albeit one in which the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of five teenaged superheroes that discover strength in unity, and consequently their own identities. It’s this journey of self-discovery that defines all five characters – ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary in order to defeat an alien threat and the villainous Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). In this big screen reimagining

With its multicultural cast, Power Rangers celebrates

“She's a loner who's constantly moving around with her parents.

diversity, but not as a means of satisfying political correctness. “We all come from different cultures and backgrounds and

When she meets these other incredible people, they bring out the best in her.” Keeping things real was the mission statement for director Dean Israelite, whose previous film, Project Almanac , featured a young ensemble cast

that’s the story of our characters as well,” she confirms.

Power Rangers is in cinemas on March 23

BROKEN BRITAIN

Ken Loach on the award- winning , I, Daniel Blake .

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ken Loach’s seminal debut Cathy Come Home – and the radical filmmaker's latest film I, Daniel Blake suggests things haven't gone much better for England's poor in the last five decades. “They are both stories of people whose lives are seriously damaged by the economic situation they’re in,” Loach agrees. “It’s been an idea we’ve returned to again and again but it’s particularly sharp in I, Daniel Blake . Certainly politically the world that this film shows is even more cruel than the world that Cathy was in.” I, Daniel Blake , which last month won the BAFTA for Best British Film, tells the story of the titular character (played by Dave Johns), who becomes mired in an uncaring bureaucratic system when he becomes jobless after a suffering a heart attack. Loach says: “If we look hard enough, we can all see the conscious cruelty at the heart of the state’s provision for those in desperate need and the use of bureaucracy, the intentional inefficiency of bureaucracy, as a political weapon: ‘This is what happens if you don’t work; if you don’t find work you will suffer’. The anger at that was the motive behind the film.” Adam Colby

REID RELUCTANT TO BE PIGEONHOLED

N adia Reid’s sophomore album Preservation finds the acclaimed Kiwi singer-songwriter in a rockier mode. However, she insists that is not a case of trying to distance herself from the ‘folk’ tag she is usually associated with. “I don’t think about ‘genre’ at all when I am writing or recording,” Reid says. “I think when people reference me as a folk artist, it’s because these songs have storytelling qualities, and they are truthful. I don’t mind being called a folk singer, I like it. But I want to be able to push the boundaries as time goes on.” Nevertheless, she admits she has enjoyed experimenting with electric guitar on Preservation ,

which, like her debut, was recorded with Ben Edwards at his Sitting Room Studio in Lyttleton. “I write mostly on acoustic guitar but I play electric for some of the album, which is an exciting progression,” Reid says. “I’m about to buy an electric guitar and I feel excited. It opens up new sounds.” Reid is also looking forward to taking the album on the road in March. "For this tour in NZ, I am playing with a full band; it’s nice to honour the record like this, and play it the way it sounds on record." John Ferguson

I, Daniel Bake is out on DVD/Blu-ray on March 22.

Preservation by Nadia Reid is out on March 3.

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