At The Movies

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 details

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

Bugonia is a black comedy about an executive (Emma Stone) kidnapped after she’s mistaken for an alien . Aziz Ansari’s comedy Good Fortune stars Keanu Reeves as a fallen angel. Hedda is an adaptation of Ibsen’s classic play starring Tessa Thompson. 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

Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone (in her fourth collaboration with director Jorgos Lanthimos) star in a black comedy about a desperate young man who kidnaps a wealthy pharmaceutical executive believing that she’s an alien sent to enslave the people of Planet Earth – reviewed by Dan Slevin. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews a biopic about rock star Bruce Springsteen and the creation of his introspective masterpiece Nebraska. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews three new films: Robert Sarkies directs Pike River, a film about the aftermath of New Zealand’s worst modern workplace tragedy; Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is a biopic about rock star Bruce Springsteen and the creation of his introspective masterpiece Nebraska; and in cinemas (soon to be streaming on Netflix), Frankenstein is Guillermo Del Toro’s epic passion project, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic horror about a mad scientist who believes he can breathe life into a dead flesh with disastrous results. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews Guillermo Del Toro’s epic passion project, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic horror about a mad scientist who believes he can breathe life into a dead flesh with disastrous results. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Robert Sarkies directs a film about the aftermath of New Zealand’s worst modern workplace tragedy – reviewed by Dan Slevin. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews a horror sequel set in a snowy Christian youth camp. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Channing Tatum plays an escaped convict who hides out in a toy store – reviewed by Dan Slevin. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews a five-part Apple TV documentary series about the legendary director Martin Scorsese. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews two new films in cinemas: In Roofman, Channing Tatum plays an escaped convict who hides out in a toy store; Black Phone 2 is a horror sequel set in a snowy Christian youth camp; and on Apple TV, Mr. Scorsese is a five-part documentary series about the legendary director Martin Scorsese. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Australian-New Zealand co-production Went Up The Hill is a ghost story with a twist. Jack returns home for his mother's funeral, where he meets her widow, Jill. And it seems mum is reluctant to leave the family home. Starring Vicky Kriep (Phantom Thread) and Dacre Montgomery (TV's Stranger Things) it's directed by New Zealand-born, Sydney based Samuel Van Grinsven. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Eleanor The Great sees a grieving 90-year-old woman - played by June Squibb (Thelma) - impersonate a Holocaust survivor with the best of intentions, she thinks. But it all gets away from her. Also starring Chiwetel Ejiafor (12 Years a Slave) and Erin Kellyman (28 Years Later). The directing debut of Scarlett Johansson. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

French favourite Miss Violet sees a woman with a mysterious past arrive in a rural village to take over the local school in the 1880s. But she runs into resistance from village parents who think of education as optional only. Written and directed by Éric Besnard (Délicieux). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris checks out three female-led films, and wonders if the Bechdel test for substantial female characters in movies still applies. From the USA, Eleanor The Great, starring June Squibb and directed by Scarlett Johansson…. From France, Miss Violet fights for free, secular education…. And from New Zealand, Went Up The Hill, a ghost story in which two people are haunted by one (female) ghost. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details