News & Opinion
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is mythology, not biography – and it’s all the better for it
Luhrmann’s “subtlety is for cowards” approach still impresses, and Austin Butler is a sensation.
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.
It can’t commit to a tone, but lush musical Cyrano has its heart in the right place
Peter Dinklage sing-speaks his feelings to us, in Joe Wright’s epic imagining of the 19th century play.
Retrospective: singing the praises of the original West Side Story, one of the great films of all time
An eminently rewatchable movie that positively explodes with emotion. Even if you don’t like musicals.
From Cher to Lady Gaga and Alana Haim: great female musicians who rock the big screen
Licorice Pizza’s star isn’t the first woman in music to bring her stage bravado boldly into a big-screen role.
Spielberg’s West Side Story reboot feels like a simulation from Ready Player One
Spielberg has directed his first musical – an old-fashioned film with dazzling sets and dynamic camerawork.
Filled with pretentious theatre kid energy, tick, tick…BOOM! still offers explosive musical moments
Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda is still stuck on legacy, in this passionate musical memoir of Jonathon Larson.
Diana: The Musical is such a profound failure, you could almost mistake it for satire
Yep, it’s a stage musical about Princess Diana. Is it good? Is it even a good idea?
You’ll never see another movie like improbable, one-of-a-kind musical Annette
It’s something of a miracle that Annette exists at all.
Musical icons Sparks tell us about their Cannes-winning musical Annette
“We didn’t want this to be sort of a traditional Broadway musical.”
In The Heights breathes new life into the old-fashioned cinema musical
“They don’t make musicals like they used to.” Adam Fresco reckons they just did.
Watch the first 8 minutes of In The Heights
Already called the US’s “movie of the summer”, this hip-hop musical might just warm up our Kiwi winter.
Hamilton is magnificent, and the streaming event of the year
At last, some good news! Hamilton has arrived and it is magnificent.
Iconic NZ songs narrate inner lives in Daffodils – but this is where it runs into trouble
Rose McIver and George Mason are admirable, but it’s a frustrating film.
