News & Opinion

Spotlight on Catherine Martin: the Baz-tastic costume and production designer
The insanely fabulous costume designer makes Baz Luhrmann’s films instantly recognizable.


A soaring and heartful telling of Dame Whina Cooper’s life, Whina is a triumph
A powerful portrait and also a breathtaking picture of nearly a century of social history.


The best movies and shows coming to Prime Video this July
July sees Chris Pratt-starring revenge-heavy thriller series The Terminal List and plenty more.


Our fave dysfunctional adopted superhero family is back in a new season of The Umbrella Academy
They’re even more dysfunctional than before – if that’s even possible.


Retrospective: As Batman Returns turns 30, here’s why it’s still the best bat-movie
The true benchmark for quality cinematic bat-themed crime-fighting was established 30 years ago


Netflix doco Halftime offers a slice of J.Lo’s life – if a carefully constructed one
Superbowl rehearsals reveal tireless star power that is far from as effortless as it seems.


How to watch creepy British mystery series The Midwich Cuckoos in New Zealand
The creator of The Night Manager returns with an uncomfortably spooky mystery series.


A masterful Oscar Isaac brings uneasy charisma to Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter
“While it’s a much more controlled type of masculine turmoil, there’s certainly an echo of De Niro’s Taxi Driver performance”.


Music biopic performances: the worst, the best and the rest
We’ve chosen five eerie, perfectly precise evocations of music legends…and five not-so-hot imitations.


All is revealed about funny, fascinating Nude Tuesday in six-part podcast series
Tim Batt finds out about every aspect of this utterly unique and brilliant bit of filmmaking.


Spiderhead offers cerebral sci-fi thrills—and a fun villainous role for Chris Hemsworth
Consider it “weekend viewing” rather than “future classic.”


Phil Tippett is Frankenstein and Mad God is his painstaking, visionary monster
The Old Gods are dead: long live a potato with human teeth, in Tippett’s apocalyptic stop-motion feat.


The thrillingly gory The Quarry blurs the line between video game and interactive movie
Is it a game or an interactive movie? Either way, horror fans are gonna love it.


Retrospective: Willow and the fantasy images it seared into memory
With a new live-action series coming, and a key sequence by Mad God’s Phil Tippett, it’s the perfect time to revisit Willow.


Brutal British comedy genius Julia Davis tells us about subtitling Nude Tuesday
“I imagine it’s not going to be for everyone, my subtitles,” the brilliantly bleak comedian tells us.


Spotlight on Jennifer Lopez: don’t be fooled by the flops that she got
Jenny from the Block always maintains her star charisma, even when her movies aren’t so great.


Bawdy absurdist comedy Nude Tuesday is silly, raucous and sometimes surprisingly moving
“Where to start with Nude Tuesday? To say the film is audacious would be an understatement.”


Pixar’s promising Lightyear quickly nosedives into disappointment
Pixar’s latest effort is a disappointing experience, though not a disaster.


NZ tickets for Thor: Love and Thunder now on sale
Taika Waititi reunites with star Chris Hemsworth to continue the Asgardian’s humble journey.


How to watch up-close and personal J-Lo doco Halftime in New Zealand
If you’re a fan, you can unwrap this gift right now.


Marvel fandom is a key to inner power in enthusiastic teen series Ms Marvel
Are this show’s sweet specificities going to melt away favour of cameos and people doing zoomies in the air?
