At The Movies
Join Simon Morris in the best seat in the house as he reviews the latest movies. At The Movies also plays at 1.30pm on Sunday afternoons on RNZ National.
Episodes
Night Always Comes sees Vanessa Kirby (The Fantastic Four) as a struggling woman who desperately needs $25 thousand to buy her flat. She just has 12 hours to pull it off. A Netflix thriller, it’s directed by Benjamin Caron (TV’s Andor and The Crown).
Relay is a thriller in which a modern Robin Hood uses primitive technology to dodge detection by high-tech bad guys. Directed by David Mackenzie (Hell Or High Water) it stars Riz Ahmed (The Sound Of Metal,), Lily James (Yesterday)and Sam Worthington (Avatar).
Simon Morris wonders what you gain, or lose, when you cast a film with people who have to do an accent? This week he looks at three films set in America, but starring English, Australian and Irish actors. These include The Naked Gun, with Liam Neeson, Relay with Riz Ahmed and Sam Worthington, and Night Always Comes with Vanessa Kirby.
The Naked Gun sees Liam Neeson take the role of Leslie Nielson in the remake of the Eighties cop spoof. Co-starring Pamela Anderson, it’s written and directed by Akiva Schaffer (Saturday Night Live) and produced by Seth McFarlane (American Dad).
Eddington is a satire about the year of Covid 19, with Joaquin Phoenix as an anti-mandate sheriff at odds with the Mayor, angry protest groups and conspiracy-nut influencers. Directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary), with Pedro Pascal (The Last Of Us) and Austin Butler (Elvis).
Nobody 2 sees the return of that most unlikely of action heroes, Bob Odenkirk (TV’s Better Call Saul). His family demands that he take time off beating up bad guys to take a holiday. But trouble seems to follow him. With guest villain Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct).
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is, surprisingly, 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?
Simon Morris welcomes two films from two festivals, both offering some originality. From the International Festival comes Ari Aster’s Covid thriller Eddington, while from the French one comes the popular romcom Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. Meanwhile, life goes on with another sequel – Nobody 2.
Mr Burton is the story of a directionless schoolboy in wartime Wales called Richie Jenkins. He is taken under the wing of his teacher, borrows his name and becomes Wales’s greatest theatrical star. Starring Toby Jones, Lesley Manville and in a star-making role – literally – Harry Lawtey as Richard Burton.
The Friend sees a grieving New York writer find herself the unwilling recipient of her dead friend’s pet – a gigantic Great Dane called Apollo. Starring Naomi Watts, Bill Murray and a gigantic dog called Bing. And the city of New York.
Freakier Friday sees Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in the sequel to 2003’s body-swap comedy Freaky Friday. Now they find themselves in the bodies of two new teenagers, on the eve of another wedding and another rock concert. Look out for plenty of Freaky cameos!
Simon Morris looks at three films starring strong contenders to follow Dame Maggie, Dame Judi and Dame Helen. Lesley Manville features in Mr Burton, Naomi Watts shines in The Friend and Jamie Lee Curtis (Lady Haden-Guest in real life) is in Freakier Friday.
Riviera Revenge is another popular comedy from French comedy master Ivan Calbérac (The Tasting). A long-married couple’s lives are upended when some 40-year-old letters prove the wife had a brief affair on the Côte d’Azur. The husband plans belated vengeance!
Together features real-life husband and wife Dave Franco and Allison Brie as a couple who find themselves getting closer than they intended, with horrific consequences. Co starring Damon Herriman (Charles Manson in Once upon a time in Hollywood).
When Fall Is Coming is a Hitchcock-style thriller about a woman who finds herself accused of planning to murder her own daughter to get custody of her grandson. She enlists an unlikely ally to clear her name. Directed by the versatile François Ozon (Potiche) it features French theatre star Hélène Vincent.
Simon Morris looks at three films that aim at very specific audiences – horror film Together, and from France, an elegant mystery thriller called When Fall Is Coming, and a traditional French sex farce, Riviera Revenge.
Dan Slevin reviews two new films in cinemas: In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first family of the Marvel Cinematic Universe defend Earth from a planet eating supervillain; The Life of Chuck is a moving adaptation of a Stephen King novella; and Dan interviews film critic Richard Scheib about his new book, A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic.
Dan Slevin reviews a moving adaptation of a Stephen King novella about life, death and mathematics.
Dan Slevin interviews film critic Richard Scheib about his new book - a comprehensive survey of films about plagues and contagion.
The first family of the Marvel Cinematic Universe defend Earth from a planet eating supervillain – reviewed by Dan Slevin.
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