Sean Baker’s Anora, which won the Palme D’or at Cannes, the first American film to do so since Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, may remind audiences of Pretty Woman. But it’s more subversive and explicit take on the subject of sex work.
Conclave is a Devilishly Fun Papal Thriller. Elections in 2024 have been decisive and disappointing. Globally far-right parties have surged in popularity. The last-thing you might want to do is sit through a two hour pulse pounding procedural thriller.
Heretic is a beautifully unsettling psychological horror film by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, one that relies on flawless performances, excruciating pacing, and razor-sharp writing to create an atmosphere of dread that crawls beneath your skin and permeates relentlessly throughout the 111-minute runtime.
Gladiator II: A Rehashed Sequel that’s Equally Empty and Epic.
Two new films open on Halloween in New Zealand. The Red is a horror film about a giant zombie kangaroo while Here, made by many of the same folks who brought you Forrest Gump, is just horrible.
Christine Jeffs returns after a 16-year hiatus with a thoughtful film that addresses accountability, responsibility, transparency, bureaucracy and humanity. And it was shot in Auckland!
The Joker is back! Despite intentions to the contrary, the 2019 film has a sequel. That’s what happens when a film makes over $1 billion. Everyone wants more.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of Loading Docs, an initiative dedicated to platforming emerging and established filmmakers from Aotearoa to produce resonant documentary shorts that challenge and inspire.
The question on everyone’s lips as we left Auckland’s IMAX cinema last night was…”what did we just see?”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: A Mildly Amusing Pastiche