New Zealander filmmaker James Napier-Roberston has proven that he’s an artist willing to push the envelope and extend himself in dramatic ways. His new film, Joika, is a true story of Ballet in the pursuit of excellence that plays out like a taut psychological thriller – and you won’t be able to look away. A […]
Movie Reviews
‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’ – Review
Veteran filmmaker Renny Harlin turns up the horror as he takes audiences into a backwoods nightmare with The Strangers: Chapter 1, which is a creepy and suspenseful sight that will surely make you shudder. After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a […]
‘The Moon Is Upside Down’ – Review
The New Zealand cinema industry is on a roll at the moment with some fantastic film and television work coming to screens, and one of the more intriguing and thought-provoking releases to arrive on screen is actress-turned-director Loren Taylor’s The Moon Is Upside Down. Three women – a duped mail-order bride, a numbed anaesthetist determined […]
‘Boy Kills World’ – Review
Three. Two. One. FIGHT! Moritz Mohr’s Boy Kills World is ready to crash into cinemas, and this is a full-on rush of action-anime-cartoon inspired glory that goes for it in every possible way, and the result is a pure cult film in the making! “Boy” (Bill Skarsgård) vows revenge after his family is murdered by […]
‘Back to Black’ – Review
As a chart-topping singer-songwriter, the late, great Amy Winehouse was an utterly one-of-a-kind talent who truly shone in her all-too-brief 27 years and produced two of the greatest albums of modern times. Now, her story is brought to the screen with music and pop, and audiences will find themselves entranced by Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to […]
‘The Lie’ – Review
The tragic disappearance and murder of Grace Millane shocked the world and would cause a country to mourn and seek answers as to why a beautiful young woman would suddenly just be taken. Much has been written and reported by the media on this infamous case, and now director Helena Coan brings to life the […]
‘The Fall Guy’ – Review
We’re currently in a new golden age of action cinema thanks to a mad group of maverick stuntmen turned filmmakers at 87North, and their rambunctious energy and thrill to entertain has led to The Fall Guy, a blockbuster that’s big on action, laughs and romance and that makes for the perfect cocktail of cinematic fun […]
‘Abigail’ – Review
2024 is turning out to be a stellar year for horror genre fans, and four months in, we’ve already been treated to some solid scares. Now, it’s time for some good’ ol vampire fun with the arrival of Abigail, which promises ballerinas, blood, and plenty of bite. A group of would-be criminals kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter […]
‘Challengers’ – Review
Acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino brings the energy and switches things up with his striking romantic-tennis-psycho drama Challengers. This film has a hell of a pulse that will have you turned on and sweating hard with its passion that moves with absolute force. Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), a former tennis prodigy turned coach, is married to a […]
‘Civil War’ – Review
At the moment, the world feels like a fraught and turbulent place, and celebrated writer/director Alex Garland captures the zeitgeist of that energy with Civil War, his unique science-fiction take on a new millennium American-civil war, and the whole experience will take you by surprise. In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists […]