Movies

Toy Story took more than four years to create and changed animated filmmaking forever.

From Frankenstein to the cold-blooded assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, milk is a long way from human kindness in movieland.

Jay Kelly joins the list of recent releases with all star-casts that failed to trouble the box office, destined for straight-to-streamer status.

The restrictions of making a feature film in 10 days for just $10,000 was ironically creatively freeing, say two Kiwi filmmakers.

India's prime minister was among many who paid tribute to the "iconic film personality".

For those who grew up with the whistle of a shepherd and the shuffle of a determined collie on a Sunday evening, the project arrives steeped in nostalgia.

David St Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel return as the legendary spoof British rockers - but despite an array of cameos and a bigger budget this remake fails to fire.

After reading Die My Love in his book club, Martin Scorsese knew it had to be made into a film. Now it's rewriting cinema's portrayal of womanhood and postpartum depression.

In this comedy - a massive hit in its native France - two robbers try and blend in on a "special" holiday.

A desperate young man kidnaps a wealthy pharmaceutical executive believing that she’s an alien sent to enslave the people of planet Earth.

The competition still has much time to take shape, but there are a few frontrunners emerging.

In Cork in the early 1990s Stefan Klincewicz spotted a flaw in the Irish national lottery and put his prodigious mathematical mind to exploiting it.

“For the longest time, I was hoping and expecting it to happen organically and now it feels like intervention is required.”

The Internet Movie Database would not exist without 1980s video technology, says founder Col Needham.

Eleanor the Great features that 96-year-old force of nature, June Squibb, but all the heavy lifting is being done by Scarlett Johansson in her directorial debut.

The best friends still can't really come to grips with how big their story tied to the Pike River tragedy really is. "We're two ordinary women who had no choice but to fight."

Friends and family of the 29 men who lost their lives in the Greymouth mine disaster gathered for the NZ debut of the film starring Robyn Malcolm and Melanie Lynskey.

Actress Diane Keaton has died at age 79. Details were not immediately available and Keaton's loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson said.

Keaton shot to fame in the 1970s as Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather films. She was known for starring roles in films including Father of the Bride, First Wives Club and Annie Hall, which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1978.

"Impeccable filmmaking. Terrific film. Take tissues," says New Zealand filmmaker and documentary expert, Dame Gaylene Preston.

This small budget Netflix film, starring and produced by Cillian Murphy, has an ending shot that is simply dazzling.

The deep bond forged by two women who lost loved ones in the Greymouth mine explosion inspired a special off-screen friendship.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s eagerly awaited new action thriller One Battle After Another is the latest film shot in the old-school but high-res format.

One Battle After Another is that rare thing - a movie which just about everyone agrees is really, really good.

The Hollywood director has been present in the film space for many years but the emergence of AI and its power has him somewhat scared for the future.

If you like kangaroos, big city weathermen being accepted in a town with virtually no weather, cute kids and lovable adults, then this likable Aussie outing will hit the mark.

Prime Minister received a standing ovation when it premiered at Sundance earlier this year, but some critics say there are glaring oversights.

Sumptuous looking and with a dream cast, Julian Fellowes' latest aristo outing nevertheless serves up the more of the same clunky plotting and tin-eared dialogue.

New Zealand film lovers are in for a treat this October - a chance to catch some of the most exciting short films coming out of China.

How to Make a Killing, this year’s Laure Calamy comedy, is a classic example of the French farce - a soufflé built around a Swiss watch.

The Roses is a gentler remake of the pitch-black 1980s divorce comedy The War Of The Roses and stars Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch turn out to be worthy successors.

Relay, about a reluctant whistleblower, is well written, has a creditable cast and a smart idea at its heart.

Friends and family can finally stop pestering Jacinda Ardern about where they can watch her award-winning documentary.

The romantic action movie features stars of the moment Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz.

Writer-stars Tim Key and Tom Basden have made a funny, touching film with characters you'll fall in love with.

One hundred years since actor Richard Burton was born, this film tells the tale of how he emerged from a Welsh working class town, and the man who helped him on his way to international stardom.

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a French film about a fan of the great novelist, who goes to England as part of an Austen residency and soon her life starts to echo an Austen romance. But which one?

Eddington, set in New Mexico during the dark days of the 2020 pandemic, shows a country losing its mind.

The Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters is the streamer's most-watched original film.

This may fall slightly short of the original, but it remains a fun comedy very much worth seeing. In a packed theatre.

Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has revealed which of his movies he thinks is the best –and it’s probably not the one you’d expect.

A Missouri care home announces the death of Hollywood stuntman Ronnie Rondell, who featured on the cover of Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here.

A writer reluctantly inherits man’s other best friend in this New York-set tale, starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray and Bingo the Great Dane.

Director Miki Magasiva says the achievement is a "huge milestone" and he's still overwhelmed by the continued success.

Australian actor Dacre Montgomery returns to the screen with gothic horror Went Up the Hill and finds himself healing while filming in Canterbury during lockdown.

Freakier Friday is a bubbly, quippy, Disney Channel-style blend of bright colours, battle-of-the-generations comedy and a Chappell Roan soundtrack.

The French are famously keen on the psychological dramas of le maître Alfred Hitchcock – most of their top directors have at least one such film on their CVs.

Do you stick with a classic franchise you've seen a million times? Or would you dare to opt for a disaster movie mid-air?

Adam Sandler's return as the eponymous golfer is a breezy and intermittently funny comedy that sticks to the playbook of every decades-later sequel.

"There are moments when you feel trapped by the life that you are on as if it is a commuter train ride in and back every day and you go in, you give the best of yourself to your work and you come home tired in the evening."

Marvel's first family is back on the big screen with a retro aesthetic, a star-studded cast and a hunger to wipe the superhero movie slate clean.

In Matthew Rankin’s film Universal Language a heartbroken man goes home to Winnipeg in snowy Manitoba – but it’s not what you might expect.

Rebel Wilson stars in this misfire about a society wedding which is saved from terrorists by one of the bridesmaids – a secret agent on her day off.

Auckland film buffs decry "weird" and "offensive" AI-generated video of Russell Crowe screened before movie.

Kiwi Shayni Couch lost her husband in a Basejump gone wrong while she was pregnant. A new documentary follows her journey to return to the site where he died.

Man’s best (super)friend has prime placement in the new Superman movie, and the pooch’s path to the cinematic spotlight may be worth a movie itself.

Opinion - No mode of cinema has ever felt more craven and creatively bereft than live action remakes of animation - these abominations are anti-cinema and anti-art, writes Dominic Corry.

Doc Edge has screened the documentary, despite a request from the Consulate-General of China in Auckland to not do so.

The image of the long-haired, long-limbed young woman in a bikini swimming above an outsized great white shark is not a new one.

Eye patches aren’t just for pirates and villains. In Elio, Disney/Pixar introduces a young hero with a patch – and breaks old stereotypes in the process.

There’s an impending natural disaster. There are two countries going to war. There’s a rich, arrogant billionaire tech bro who wants to rule the world. This sounds like a job for Superman!

An investigation by The Observer found some of Raynor Winn's claims about her husband's illness and the events that led to the couple losing their home were misrepresented. The author says the article is "highly misleading".

Although his father once threatened to break his legs for dancing, Ahmad Joudeh fought for a life where he could perform in peace.

Over ten million French cinema-goers can't be wrong, this latest French-made version of the Alexander Dumas classic novel is a swash buckling winner, writes Simon Morris.

Dom Corry takes his twelve-year-old niece Maddy along to check out the latest iteration of the Karate Kid franchise.

It’s another big year for women’s rugby, so it’s fitting that a documentary about its grassroots is now out.

Have you ever heard of a movie trailer so popular that it forced a studio to re-release a 23-year-old film?

Celine Song's Materialists asks can you find love if you already know all the angles?

The new local feature film Kōkā is a story "infused with aroha" says its proud Ngāti Porou director.

Materialists may star Hollywood heart-throbs, but it's not quite what it appears. Director Celine Song talks about making a rom-com that shows the reality of modern dating.

The remake of How To Train Your Dragon sticks close to the blueprint, but is missing one elusive ingredient - originality.

My list for the year thus far managed to miss a couple of great remakes of classics by Ang Lee – The Wedding Banquet – and Homer – The Return. I thought Firebrand was a good picture of a forgotten Tudor and Bird was a reminder of how good Andrea Arnold is. My biggest regret is the shortage of decent comedies. Is Sean Baker the 21st Century’s Billy Wilder? Maybe. The competition isn’t particularly fierce yet.

World-renowned mountaineer Mingma Tsiri's quest to bring back the dead from the world's highest peak is documented in a new film.

The pioneering documentarian says he made his latest film Separated was driven by a “feeling of growing horror” at the United States' government's immigration policies.

Aussie horror flick Dangerous Animals is the latest in the ever popular shark attack oeuvre, Dominic Corry looks at some of the best post-Jaws movies.

The pair, who both starred in the 2024 film It Ends with Us, have been locked in a legal battle for several months, with a trial set for next year.

Thanks to a hi-tech inflatable raft and a support crew, 'Yak' can once again paddle down a raging river.

Kōkā is a New Zealand road movie featuring two very different women, writes Simon Morris.

Pike River follows the real-life fight for justice by Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse who lost loved ones in the 2010 mining disaster.

You’ll either go to Anderson’s idea of a '30s-style thriller because of Anderson, or you’ll stay away for the same reason.

The new Lilo & Stitch's formula is simple: remove everything that could possibly offend anyone, replace the personalised hand-drawn animation with expensive, photo-realistic CGI, add in a little slapstick and a Bruno Mars song.

As a film adaptation of her best-selling memoir screens in cinemas, Raynor Winn reflects on her “gruesome” but life-changing 1,014km coastal trek with husband Moth.

A few years on from The Idol, The Weeknd's newest project seems hell-bent on ruining whatever's left of his audience goodwill.

Is it really the 'final reckoning'? We can but hope, writes film critic Simon Morris.

The NZ Film Commission says the win shows our film sector's reputation for celebrating indigenous storytelling and exceptional leaders.

As Tom Cruise's muscular action franchise reaches its ostensible conclusion – although let's face it: if this one does well, they'll totally come back – it's worth taking stock of the journey taken to get here.

First reviews are saying the movie more than lives up to its steamroller hype with one critic calling its action sequences “astonishing” and "just insane".

For her debut feature documentary about indie folk singer Marlon Williams, Ursula Grace Williams (no relation) wanted to show an artist living his real yet extraordinary life.

If you like the John Wick genre of movie-making, new Netflix offering Havoc might spark joy, says Simon Morris.

The deeply private musician pulls back the curtain on his personal life in a moving new film that tells the story of his bid to reclaim his reo.

The Black Panther director's latest film is such a fresh take on standard genre tropes that you feel like you are watching something brand new.

For once, the marketing hype is real: Warfare, the latest A24 thriller, is one of the most realistic depictions of modern military combat committed to screen.

After the first Smell-O-Vision film was dissed by critics in 1960, the idea of adding aromas to the cinematic experience seemed a bit silly - but at an upcoming screening of Nosferatu, Wellingtonians will give it a go.

The Correspondent tells the true story of an Australian journalist and the war on journalism.

A film about how cats and humans coexist at a Japanese shrine is enchanting international audiences.

‘Haumi e, hui e, SHREKIE’: Grassroots launch proves Shrek a game changer for Indigenous nations.

More than 100 films and digital works from 86 indigenous nations will be screening at the Māoriland Film Festival on the Kāpiti Coast.

Cartoonist and co-writer Tom Scott looks back on the making of one of Aotearoa's most successful films of the 1980s.

Veteran director Mike Leigh returns with his most confronting character yet.

Has any movie managed to alienate everyone like Disney’s remake of a classic children's fairytale?

Netflix spent $500m on this film, yet couldn't afford a decent wig.

Filmmaker Allan George (Ngāti Kahungunu) shares a deeply personal story with animated short Mirumiru.

The veteran English filmmaker tells Culture 101 that the world continues to offer up great stories to tell.

Despite plenty of thespian firepower, William Tell misses the mark, writes Simon Morris.

Watching movies at home on the sofa might be easy, but it's no match for watching them on the big screen, film buffs say.

The film has a stripper as the lead character. Those in the adult entertainment and sex work industries point out what the film did and didn't do well.

The 97th annual Academy Awards is here - check out who took the big awards.

Men seemed to rival women in red carpet fashion with many adventurous outfits that went far beyond the tuxedo.

Underneath all the warm fuzzies and grand gestures, romantic comedies can hide a dark truth about unrealistic expectations.

Prime Minister premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week and the reviews are mixed.

The romantic chemistry between Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as a young couple threatened by serious illness is off the charts.

Timothée Chalamet shines in his portrayal of the protean Bob Dylan in director James Mangold's A Complete Unknown.

Tinā takes viewers on an emotional ride through the life of Mareta Percival, played by Anapela Polataivao.

From primal screams and mystery men to Kiwi music and cows, we take a look back at some of the late auteur's weirdest happenings.

The animated film Flow is destined to be a classic that audiences will return to year after year, writes Dan Slevin.

When 130 cardinals gather in Rome to elect a new pope, intrigue and politics aren't very far behind, writes Dan Slevin.

Queer, Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara, and Superman - the flicks we can't wait to see in 2025.

Paddington's latest adventure doesn't quite hit the same mark that the unequivocal masterpiece Paddington 2 did, but it still tugs at the heartstrings, Dan Slevin writes.