At The Movies

Does 'Wuthering Heights' live up to all the hype? What's the story behind local new release 'Mārama'? Get the latest on both films with critic Kate Rodger. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nights' resident screen critic, Dan Slevin is back with more movie and TV recommendations. His picks this week are Space 1999, We Bury the Dead, Death by Lightning and This Is New Zealand. Nights' resident screen critic, Dan Slevin shares his picks of the week with Mark Leishman. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews Is This Thing On?, Bradley Cooper’s comedy drama starring Will Arnett as a stand up comic navigating divorce and co parenting while rebuilding his career; the anime Scarlet, where a grieving medieval princess on a quest for revenge is pulled into a mysterious realm between life and death; and Shelter, a tense thriller starring Jason Statham as a reclusive islander forced to conf...

Nights’ resident screen critic Dan Slevin is back for the first Short-Cuts of 2026. He’s got one pick playing in cinemas, one streaming and one you can watch for free. Watch the trailer here: It Was Just An Accident Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Thanks for joining RNZ 'at the movies'. We're making this podcast the new home for all the movie reviews appearing on RNZ National. Join us to hear our great cast of New Zealand’s best reviewers discuss the latest releases from must-see blockbusters to indie gems. BYO popcorn! Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In the very last At The Movies, Simon Morris looks back on 24 years of movies – a quarter century that started with the first Lord Of The Rings, and an Oscar for Russell Crowe, and ended with two of the biggest films of the year, both made in New Zealand – The Minecraft movie and Avatar: Fire and Ash. But mostly he picks some (very) idiosyncratic favourites over the years, including the world’s sm...

In the penultimate At The Movies, Simon Morris looks back over an eventful year. Apart from the usual winners and losers, he produces his personal Top Three (there seem to be four of them), his picks for the New Faces of 2025, and the traditional, annual Cate Blanchett Award for Being in Everything. Who will win this coveted award? And why has nobody in the western world heard of the biggest film...

Simon Morris kicks off the first of the final three At The Movies with films all connected with some old favourites. Wake Up Dead Man director Rian Johnson's career started with the neo-noir Brick back in 2005. Jennifer Lawrence, star of Die My Love, arrived five years later in 2010’s Winter’s Bone. And Zootopia 2 is the sequel to another favourite released in 2016. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz...

Die My Love is a harrowing tale of a marriage under stress, with a dream team before and behind the camera. Produced by Martin Scorcese, directed by Lynne Ramsay (We have to talk about Kevin) from a book by Alice Birch (TV’s Normal People), it stars Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) and Robert Pattinson (Twilight) with Sissy Spacek (Carrie). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Wake Up Dead Man is another Knives Out mystery, starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. Among the star-studded list of suspects are Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Glenn Close (The Wife), Andrew Scott (Ripley) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker). Written and directed, as always, by Rian Johnson (The Last Jedi) . Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Zootopia 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the popular animated film about a city entirely populated by animals. Will the rookie police team of bunny Judy Hopps and fox Nick Wilde discover what happened to all the reptiles? Featuring Ke Huy Kwan (Everything Everywhere All At Once) as the voice of Gary De Snake. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dead of Winter sees Dame Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) shunning the English costume dramas for a gritty thriller set in the frozen North. Can she rescue a kidnapped teenager, with only her grit and determination? Directed by Brian Kirk (TV’s Day of the Jackal). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris notes that A List stars are no longer enough to command big cinema audiences. Is it the end of the line for movies like Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, Dead of Winter, with Dame Emma Thompson, and Prime Video’s After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Jay Kelly is a made-to-measure comedy-drama for George Clooney, about a top star wondering what he sacrificed for his career. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Barbie), it features Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent and many more. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

After the Hunt has ended up on Prime Video, after a promising start at the Venice Film Festival. Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) plays a Yale professor caught in a MeToo situation, when her student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses her colleague and best friend (Andrew Garfield) of conduct unbecoming. But there are more secrets being hidden. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers). Go to this episode on rnz...

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the third in the series of tales of conjurors, robbing from the rich. This time the Four Horserman need help from three keen young magicians. Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Rosamund Pike. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Running Man is set in a world of extreme poverty where the only way out is via high-paying reality TV shows. The most popular one is The Running Man where contestants are hunted down by the general public and killed. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) has to survive 30 days. Based on a Stephen King book, it’s directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more detail...

Simon Morris remembers the golden age of Blockbuster Videos, where failed movies could recoup their costs when they went to video. This week, a sequel to one such film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, and a remake of another, The Running Man. Also this week, a sequel to a similar genre picture, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is the long-awaited – 40 years in fact – sequel to the cult mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. Now everyone’s favourite fake metal band reforms for a final stadium concert. Starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, with guest stars Paul McCartney, Elton John and many more. This one goes up to eleven! Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more detail...

Happyend is a Japanese drama, set in the near future. Five high school rebels face the prospect of going their separate ways, while corrupt politics arrive at both the school and out in the wider world. To protest or not to protest? Written and directed by Neo Sora, son of the legendary actor and musician Ryûichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more deta...

Predator: Badlands finds a young member of the Yautja (Predator) tribe hunting on the most dangerous planet in the Galaxy. His quest: to capture a beast that can’t be killed. Starring Elle Fanning as two robots, and Kiwi Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Red White and Brass) as the Predator. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A Little Something Extra is a hugely popular comedy from France. Two jewel robbers hide out from the cops among a party of holidaying people with disabilities. They find it harder than it looks to fit in. Starring, written and directed by Artus, it’s one of the highest-grossing movies ever at home. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris returns to a group of rather specifically targeted movies. From the recent International Film Festival, a very French farce about two crooks hiding out at a camp for people with disabilities…. And an equally Japanese film about high school rebels. And the latest Predator film seems to be changing the formula. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson’s adaptation of Ibsen’s classic play about a frustrated, ambitious and manipulative woman who goes to great lengths to support her husband’s career. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews a comedy about a low-level angel (Keanu Reeves) who tries to save a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) in present day Los Angeles. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details