Shandelle Battersby's week of it

Footrot Flats celebrates it's 25th birthday with a re-release of the animated feature in cinemas today. Photo / Supplied

MUSIC

With the World Cup just around the corner, it's a good time to get patriotic and head along to some local gigs.

Head Like a Hole put their messy break-up behind them and have recently released their first album in 11 years, and they bring their howling, growling Blood Will Out tour to Auckland's Bacco Room tonight, supported by blistering two-piece Cairo Knife Fight.

Wellington trio TrinityRoots are also back together and play the Powerstation for the first time on Friday, and Luger Boa and Black River Drive storm the stage at the Kings Arms tomorrow and the Kentish Hotel on Saturday.

Or, for something entirely different, 1940s all-American musical revue band In the Mood will perform more than 50 hits on Saturday night in Auckland and Sunday night in Hamilton, accompanied by a 13-piece big band orchestra, singers and swing dancers.

TV

The last of the recent Sunday Theatre features telling New Zealand stories is Rage, screening this weekend.

This time, the turbulent 1981 Springbok tour is the backdrop. Young Maori policewoman Carol falls in love with student protester Des while working undercover. Their relationship turns out to be as doomed as the tour as Carol is forced to reveal her true identity in order to save his life.

Elsewhere on telly, this year's winner of New Zealand's Next Top Model is revealed live on TV3 tomorrow night, at the World show for New Zealand Fashion Week, and Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal travels to Iceland with Bear Grylls for a special edition of Men vs Wild, screening on Discovery Channel, Sunday at 6.30pm.

MOVIES

Billy T James pops up at the movies again this week - or at least his voice does, as pie cart owner Pawai in New Zealand's best animated feature (actually still our only animated feature) Footrot Flats: A Dog's Tale.

The film celebrates its 25th birthday with a re-release in cinemas from today. Murray Ball's iconic characters, which began life in a newspaper comic strip, were painstakingly drawn on to 3000 frames by hand after a long writing process with fellow cartoonist Tom Scott.

Other famous voices to appear include John Clarke as Wal, Peter Rowley as Dog, Rawiri Paratene as Rangi and Fiona Samuel doubling up as the brassy Cheeky and the sweet Pongo.

With its memorable music by Dave Dobbyn, the film is a slice of our movie history. It screens at 14 Event Cinemas around the country for a limited two-week season until September 14.

Or...

Go for a stickybeak at the beautifully renovated Auckland Art Gallery, which is open to the public on Saturday from 11am to 10pm and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

A special visitor's programme for the first two weeks includes plenty of entertainment for the whole family, including musical and cultural performances, street theatre, fashion, talks and presentations.

- TimeOut