Reviews

Netflix thriller The Perfection is imperfect but watchable batshit excess
You’re not likely to see where the escalating insanity is heading
22 May

The Hummingbird Project probes into sticky, sharply topical ethical quandaries
The film is low-boil Soderbergh-lite.
20 May

It’s not the best John Wick film, but Parabellum is still a bloody good time
Don’t worry. It still dazzles.
16 May

Flat Netflix comedy Wine Country’s characters would make hospo staff call in sick
The stellar cast couldn’t save this comedy from falling flat.
15 May

Thank you, Detective Pikachu, for being a videogame movie that doesn’t suck
Could videogame movies be evolving?
13 May

Film is indivisible from whānau in Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
An exploration of family alongside a celebration of creativity.
09 May

New to Netflix, Prospect is an above-average sci-fi Western gem
A lot more to offer than just being an exercise in trope regurgitation.
08 May

Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare drama All is True rings false
Shakespeare scholars will not be pleased.
06 May

Zac Efron is stunning and charming in Netflix’s sadly boring Ted Bundy pic
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’s worst offence is being boring.
06 May

Netflix doco Knock Down the House captures rise of AOC and much more
Political doco includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among its four subjects.
02 May

We loved the absolute hell out of rom-com Long Shot
Rogen and Theron are funny as all hell.
02 May

The Chills doco proves enthralling, emotional, and at times bleakly comical
Also conveys a real New Zealand-ness in both personality and place.
01 May

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir delivers a fun European feel-good trip
Proves optimistic and full of enough feel-good humanity.
01 May

Spoiler-free Avengers: Endgame review – “good luck bettering this”
Both a victory lap and unexpected nostalgia trip.
24 Apr

Netflix’s Someone Great tepidly tries to cross Broad City with Blue Valentine
“Easily the best thing about Someone Great is its cast.”
24 Apr

Curse of the Weeping Woman might be the last Conjuring Universe film I see
This could have made for a rich, elegant, atmospheric horror flick.
18 Apr

Dame Judi Dench can’t save spy drama Red Joan from increasing boredom
Judi Dench, please save us!
15 Apr

Soldiers Without Guns depicts a true—and truly incredible—story of peace
The film comes at tragically perfect time.
15 Apr

Amandla Stenberg proves an excellent choice for WWII drama Where Hands Touch
A love story darker than a Grimm’s fairy tale.
15 Apr

The Hellboy reboot is an utter stinker
A desperate misfire.
11 Apr

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is a colossal disappointment
Barely elicited a couple of chuckles out of me.
09 Apr
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