At The Movies

The third film in the popular franchise sees the most famous refugee bear in the world finally get a UK passport so he can visit his beloved Aunt Lucy at the Home for Retired Bears in Peru. There he stumbles across a mystery that only he (and the Browns) can solve. Dan Slevin is the reviewer. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Estranged cousins, played by writer-director Jesse Eisenberg and Succession’s Kieran Culkin, travel to Poland to honour their beloved grandmother by taking a Holocaust tour. Dan Slevin reviews. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews three new films in cinemas: Paddington in Peru sees our favourite refugee bear visiting his Aunt Lucy at the Home for Retired Bears and stumbling across a mystery; in All We Imagine as Light, three women in modern-day Mumbai navigate challenges of love and friendship; and in A Real Pain, Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg are estranged cousins taking a Holocaust tour around Polan...

Dan Slevin reviews the winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024, an Indian drama about three women navigating love and friendship in modern Mumbai. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Biography of Robbie Williams in which the English pop star is portrayed as a performing chimpanzee (digitally created by New Zealand’s Wētā Digital). The film is directed by Michael Gracey (The Great Showman). Dan Slevin reviews. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews three new films arriving in cinemas for the summer holidays. Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel about the patriarch Mufasa and how he came to lead the animals of Pride Rock. Anora is a Cannes award winner about a Brooklyn lap dancer given a shot at a new life. And Better Man is a biography of Robbie Williams in which the pop star is portrayed as a performing chimpanzee. Go to th...

Dan Slevin reviews a prequel for the popular Disney musical franchise, directed by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins and featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Tiffany Boone. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The 2024 winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or is a comedy/drama about a Brooklyn lap dancer (Mikey Madison) who is given a shot at new life when the big spending son of a Russian oligarch falls head over heels for her. Reviewed by Dan Slevin. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris looks back on 2024, a year initially damaged by writers’ and actors’ strikes in Hollywood, and still wondering what happened after Barbie and Oppenheimer changed the rules last year. This year was a bumper year for non-American films, for sequels and prequels, for horror films, and for some reason films about 1970s television! It was also a pretty good year for New Zealand films, low...

Goodrich finds an LA father of 10-year-old twins in trouble when his wife books herself into rehab for a few months. He calls in his daughter from a previous marriage. Can he become the father he never was with her? Starring Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Mila Kunis (Bad Moms). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Problem With People follows a dying man’s wish to bring together the American and Irish sides of the family after a century-old dispute. Starring and written by Paul Reiser (TV’s Mad About You), with popular Irishman Colm Meaney (TV’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadephia). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Teachers’ Lounge is a German Oscar-nominated drama about what happens when an investigation into thefts at a school escalates out of control. Starring Leone Benesch (Babylon Berlin). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris is underwhelmed by what’s on offer before the holiday movie riches. They include The Problem With People, an American/Irish comedy about a family feud; Goodrich, a comedy-drama about blended families in LA, and, raising the level, an Oscar nominated German drama, The Teachers' Lounge. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There’s Still Tomorrow is a hugely popular Italian comedy-drama, set in Rome immediately after World War Two. Fascism may be over, but for Italian women their home is still a battleground. Can Delia get out from under the tyranny of her violent husband and take charge of her own life? Starring, written and directed by TV comedy favourite Paola Cortellesi it cleaned up at the Italian Academy Awards...

Heretic confronts two young Mormon missionaries with their worst nightmare – a man determined to challenge their beliefs in the worst possible way. Starring, of all people, Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) as Mr Reed. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris is surprised at how smart the Biggest Film of the Year™ is this year, then goes on to look at three rather smaller films. There’s a local documentary about our first Māori theatre group – Taki Rua Breaking Barriers; a rare horror outing for the usually suave Hugh Grant – Heretic; and the most successful Italian film this century – There’s Still Tomorrow. Go to this episode on rnz.co.n...

Taki Rua: Breaking Barriers tells the story of the theatre group that started out as an activist group following the Springbok Tour protests, and ended up creating a new art form. Directed by Whetū Fala, it features Wi Kuki Kaa, Jim Moriarty, Rena Owen, Briar Grace Smith and many more. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Joy tells the story of the development of IVF – the then-notorious “test-tube babies”. Featuring Bill Nighy (Living) and James Norton (TV’s Happy Valley), it stars New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) and is produced by New Zealand-born Finola Dwyer (An Education). Streaming on Netflix. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Memory sees the meeting of two troubled souls, one haunted by bad memories, the other by the loss of them. Starring Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye) and Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), it’s written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco (Sundown). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris dodges the Musical of the Year - Wizard of Oz prequel Wicked - in favour of three smaller (and harder to find) titles. These include Apple Plus’s Blitz, directed by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen, a small indie film starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard called Memory, and the real-life story behind IVF, Netflix’s Joy, starring Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie. Go to this episode o...

Blitz follows an 11-year-old boy, trying to rejoin his mother at the height of Hitler’s bombing raids on London. Written and directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) and starring Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun), Stephen Graham (Snatch) and musician Paul Weller as Grandad. Streaming on Apple Plus. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris finds himself getting picky at the end of the year as Christmas movies start to clog up the cinemas. Instead he checks out Ridley Scott’s second blockbuster in a year, Gladiator II; a French film that sees a couple stranded at the bottom of the world – Suddenly; and a New Zealand documentary directed by Warrior Queen Lucy Lawless. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Never Look Away is the story of one of CNN’s first war camerawomen, Margaret Moth. Reckless, courageous and dedicated, the New Zealander’s story is almost as exciting as the events she covered. Directed by actress turned director Lucy Lawless (Xena Warrior Princess) Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Suddenly sees two married adventurers sail round the world, but come adrift when they’re stranded on an Antarctic island when their boat is swept away in a storm. Written and directed by the award-winning Thomas Bidegain (A prophet) it stars Mélanie Thierry (Da 5 Bloods) and Gilles Lellouche (Farewell Mr Haffman). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Gladiator II sees Paul Mescal take over Russell Crowe’s (unhistoric) leather wrist-straps as Son of Maximus. Directed by the tireless 86-year-old Sir Ridley Scott, it co-stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and from the first movie, Connie Nielsen. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details