Rnz: At The Movies

Lilo and Stitch – the latest in a string of Disney animated films remade in live action. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian 6 year old who wishes for a best friend and gets Stitch an anarchic alien who lives for trouble. Look out for cameo appearances from the stars of the original animated version. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Tarrac is an Irish-language feelgood tale of an amateur team of women rowers who enter the semis in County Kerry. Can they beat the 20 year jinx? And will they pronounce the name of the sport? It’s naomhóg rowing, by the way… Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Bob Trevino Likes It, sees Lily Trevino saddled with this year’s worst father, Bob. Let down once again, she searches the internet for another, better Bob Trevino – and finds one. Based, astonishingly, on a true event in writer-director Tracie Lymon’s life. Stars John Leguizamo (John Wick) and Barbie Ferreira.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris looks at three different films with one thing in common. They all feature “chosen families” - an Irish rowing team in Tarrac… an extended family of sisters, neighbours and a mischievous alien in Lilo and Stitch… and Bob Trevino Likes It – where a lonely young woman is let down by her real father and finds a better one online. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Salt Path is the story of real-life couple Raynor and Moth Winn who set out to walk the gruelling track around Devon and Cornwall after they lose everything in a bad investment. Based on Raynor’s best-selling book, it stars Jason Isaacs (the last series of White Lotus) and Gillian Anderson (Sex Education). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

La Cocina is one day in the life of popular restaurant The Grill. Although it’s set in New York, it’s based on a 1961 English play and it’s written and directed by Mexican Alonso Ruizpalacios. Stars Raúl Briones and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning seems to imply this is Tom Cruise’s last hurrah in the franchise. Though never say “final”. This features old hands Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, newer hands Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff and very old hand Rolf Saxon, last seen in the very first Mission Impossible. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris tests the two methods of movie financing – betting a few dollars on small films like Mexican art-film La Cocina and English real-life memoir The Salt Path… or taking a huge plunge on a blockbuster like Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Wedding Banquet is a remake of the 1993 crowd-pleaser, written and directed by Ang Lee. This one stars Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Joan Chen (Twin Peaks).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Lies We Tell tells the story of an heiress whose shady uncle plans to get hold of her fortune by forcing her to marry his son. It was a big winner at the Irish Film Awards, including best actress for star Agnes O’Casey (Small Things Like These).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris checks out two films based on well-known material - just not well-known by him! Irish film Lies We Tell is a 19th century thriller, The Wedding Banquet is a remake of one of Ang Lee’s first films. He also previews the upcoming French Film Festival Aotearoa. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Fergus Grady, Director of the French Film Festival Aotearoa, previews this year’s programme – a star-studded affair featuring Sarah Bernhardt, Charles Aznavour, Marie Antoinette, the Count of Monte Cristo, Laure Calamy, two films about art thieves and the story behind Ravel’s “Bolero”!Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The Accountant 2 sees the return of Ben Affleck as the eccentric, former criminal accountant who sets out to avenge the murder of his best friend. Also stars Jon Bernthal (The Amateur) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power). Directed by Gavin O’Connor (Mare of Easttown). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris has one of those weeks where you need to do your own research. Looking up the minor villains that make up Thunderbolts*…. Brushing up his knowledge of Kiwi household name Marlon Williams…. And struggling to remember an eight-year-old thriller about an autistic accountant. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Thunderbolts* are the B-Team you summon when Marvel superstars The Avengers are unavailable. Ironically, or not, it’s proving a big hit after a few Marvel misfires. Starring Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua (Two Worlds) is a documentary about the Kiwi alt-country star and his journey to make his first album entirely in te reo. Spoiler alert: that album went on to top the New Zealand charts first week out. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris goes off the beaten track this week, including two features found on streaming services – Netflix’s Havoc and Prime Video’s My Old Ass. He also finds a surprising number of self-funded New Zealand movies this month, including romantic comedy The People We Love. He talks to director Mike Smith about the pros and cons of independence.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Independent film The People We Love is that very rare thing, a Kiwi romance. Writer-director Mike Smith (TV’s My Life Is Murder and Siege) wonders we’re so reluctant to make such a popular genre, and how to negotiate the perils of the indie film-maker. The People We Love stars Neill Rea (Brokenwood Mysteries) and Alison Bruce (Tinā).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Prime Video’s My Old Ass and Netflix’s Havoc have one thing in common – neither was exactly what their trailers promised. The first promises more of TV favourite Aubrey Plaza (White Lotus) than it delivers, while the latter offers rather more Tom Hardy (Venom) than anyone asked for. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews three new films in local cinemas: In Sinners, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler tells a Southern Gothic horror story with Michael B. Jordan playing identical twins; in Warfare, Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza collaborate on what’s been described as the most authentic modern war film ever, and in Small Things Like These, Cillian Murphy plays a family man troubled by the secrets being kept by his community.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details