Rnz: At The Movies

Simon Morris is underwhelmed by what’s on offer before the holiday movie riches. They include The Problem With People, an American/Irish comedy about a family feud…. Goodrich, a comedy-drama about blended families in LA, and, raising the level, an Oscar nominated German drama, The Teachers' Lounge. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There’s Still Tomorrow is a hugely popular Italian comedy-drama, set in Rome immediately after World War Two. Fascism may be over, but for Italian women their home is still a battleground. Can Delia get out from under the tyranny of her violent husband and take charge of her own life? Starring, written and directed by TV comedy favourite Paola Cortellesi it cleaned up at the Italian Academy Awards.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Heretic confronts two young Mormon missionaries with their worst nightmare – a man determined to challenge their beliefs in the worst possible way. Starring, of all people, Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) as Mr Reed. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place).Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Simon Morris is surprised at how smart the Biggest Film of the Year ™ is this year, then goes on to look at three rather smaller films. There’s a local documentary about our first Māori theatre group – Taki Rua Breaking Barriers, a rare horror outing for the usually suave Hugh Grant – Heretic – and the most successful Italian film this century – There’s Still Tomorrow. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Taki Rua: Breaking Barriers tells the story of the theatre group that started out as an activist group following the Springbok Tour protests, and ended up creating a new art form. Directed by Whetū Fala, it features Wi Kuki Kaa, Jim Moriarty, Rena Owen, Briar Grace Smith and many more.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Joy tells the story of the development of IVF – the then-notorious “test-tube babies”. Featuring Bill Nighy (Living) and James Norton (TV’s Happy Valley), it stars New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) and is produced by New Zealand-born Finola Dwyer (An Education). Streaming on Netflix.

Memory sees the meeting of two troubled souls, one haunted by bad memories, the other by the loss of them. Starring Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye) and Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), it’s written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco (Sundown).

Simon Morris dodges the Musical of the Year - Wizard of Oz prequel Wicked - in favour of three smaller (and harder to find) titles. These include Apple Plus’s Blitz, directed by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen, a small indie film starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard called Memory, and the real-life story behind IVF, Netflix’s Joy, starring Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie.

Blitz follows an 11-year-old boy, trying to rejoin his mother at the height of Hitler’s bombing raids on London. Written and directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) and starring Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun), Stephen Graham (Snatch) and musician Paul Weller as Grandad. Streaming on Apple Plus.

Simon Morris finds himself getting picky at the end of the year as Christmas movies start to clog up the cinemas. Instead he checks out Ridley Scott’s second blockbuster in a year, Gladiator II, a French film that sees a couple stranded at the bottom of the world – Suddenly - and a New Zealand documentary directed by Warrior Queen Lucy Lawless.

Never look away is the story of one of CNN’s first war camerawomen, Margaret Moth. Reckless, courageous and dedicated, the New Zealander’s story is almost as exciting as the events she covered. Directed by actress turned director Lucy Lawless (Xena Warrior Princess)

Suddenly sees two married adventurers sail round the world, but come adrift when they’re stranded on an Antarctic island when their boat is swept away in a storm. Written and directed by the award-winning Thomas Bidegain (A prophet) it stars Mélanie Thierry (Da 5 Bloods) and Gilles Lellouche (Farewell Mr Haffman).

Gladiator II sees Paul Mescal take over Russell Crowe’s (unhistoric) leather wrist-straps as Son of Maximus. Directed by the tireless 86-year-old Sir Ridley Scott, it co-stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and from the first movie, Connie Nielsen.

Jason Reitman’s comedy focuses on the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the debut of the famous television variety show Saturday Night Live. Dan Slevin reviews.

Dan Slevin reviews a documentary about the legendary screen composer, John Williams, and his seven decade career in Hollywood.

Dan Slevin reviews Music by John Williams, a Disney+ documentary about the legendary film composer; Australian animated tragicomedy, Memoir of a Snail, and Saturday Night, a comedy about the birth of the entertainment juggernaut, Saturday Night Live.

Oscar-winning Australian animator Adam Elliot’s latest feature is a tragicomedy about twins separated after the death of their father and their eventual recovery. Reviewed by Dan Slevin.

On At the Movies, Dan Slevin reviews three films in which change can be welcome or unwelcome but inevitable all the same. In Head South, a Christchurch teenager discovers New Wave music and a way forward to the rest of his life. Here is a simultaneously experimental and sentimental film about the multiple generations of people who pass through a simple suburban Pennsylvania living room. And in A Different Man, a New York actor with a facial disfigurement is offered a miracle cure – but will it make him happy?

Sebastian Stan stars as a struggling New York actor with a face deformed by rapidly growing tumours caused by neurofibromatosis. He is offered a miracle ‘cure’ but will the transformation make him happy? The film also stars Adam Pearson, an actor who has the same condition. Dan Slevin reviews.

An experimental and sentimental drama shot from a single point-of-view in a single location but presenting people and events over many decades. The stars, screenwriter and director of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Eric Roth and Robert Zemeckis) are reunited (and Dan Slevin reviews it).