Movie Review: Cousins, Directed by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace Smith
Intensely sad, but sublimely beautiful, Cousins is a story of the psychological trauma to human life and community wrought by colonisation in Aotearoa.
Movie Reviews
Film Review: Boss Level, Directed by Joe Carnahan
Boss Level is a guilty delight of madness and adrenaline from director Joe Carnahan, spraying commentary and humour alongside its thousands of bullets and fountains of blood, while providing a unique and truly enjoyable twist on traditional action films.
Film Review: Supernova Dir: Harry Macqueen
Supernova is a powerful examination of human mortality from director Harry Macqueen, contrasting the long-lasting beauty of nature with the frailty of the human body and the love required to endure our acceptance of inevitability.
Film Review: Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
With its immediately captivating and brilliantly paced storyline, bolstered by established, fleshed-out characters and exceptional voice-acting, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is an absolute dream for fans of anime and the Demon Slayer series, while remaining accessible and wildly entertaining for newcomers to the series or genre.
Film Review: Wrong Turn (2021)
Wrong Turn stars Charlotte Vega, Matthew Modine, and Bill Sage in a bloody, brutal, and primal societal slugfest, proving over its 109-minute runtime that there’s still fresh horror in a familiar, forgotten franchise.
Film Review: Penguin Bloom Dir: Glendyn Ivin
Starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Rachel House Warning! This Australian film has all the trappings of a disease/movie of the week…a paralyzed mum, three young children, a benign dad and a bird. Fortunately the mum is played by Naomi Watts and that magpie can really act!
Film Review: Dawn Raid Director: Oscar Kightley
Featuring the music of: Adeaze, Aaradhna, Savage, Mareko, Deceptikonz The documentary of Dawn Raid Entertainment is at its heart the story of Andy Murnane and Danny “Brother D” Leaosavai’i who met at a business college and went on to found a successful Hip-Hop music production and clothing business in 1999 in Papatoetoe, South Auckland.
Film Review: The People Upstairs Dir: Cesc Gay
Starring: Belén Custa, Javier Cámara, Alberto San Juan, Griselda Siciliani (Spanish with English subtitles) Two middle class couples find plenty to bicker about until one comes up with a potentially indecent proposal.
Film Review: The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart Dir: Frank Marshall
The title says it all. Out of the dozens of hits The Bee Gees racked up over the years, 1971’s How Can You Mend A Broken Heart captures the mood of this otherwise pedestrian documentary as sole surviving Gibb brother Barry remembers his three fallen brothers.
Film Review: The Dry Dir: Robert Connolly
Starring: Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell Perhaps not the feel-good film folks may be looking for to start the new year with…The Dry brings us a world of dust, death, deceit and disillusion.