Reviews MOVIE REVIEWS Movie Review: The Fall Guy Movie Review: Origin is stunning Movie Review: Late Night with the Devil Movie Review: Godzilla x Kong Load more THEATRE REVIEWS Theatre Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Theatre Review: Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko Theatre Review: ‘The Effect’ is dazzling Theatre Review: The Phantom of the Opera (Rotorua) Load more DANCE REVIEWS Dance Review: WHENUA Dance Review: I Don’t Wanna Dance Alone Dance Review: Yānum Dance Review: The Bloom Load more BOOK REVIEWS Book Review: ‘Yellowface’ is a darkly humorous polemic against exploitation Book review: The Twist of a Knife is an engrossing murder mystery Opinion: Books to read over the holidays – 2022/23 Review: ‘In Amber’s Wake’ is an intriguing story of tortured love Load more ALL REVIEWS Movie Review: The Fall Guy Review: Chris Isaak enthrals the generations in Auckland Theatre Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Theatre Review: Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko Theatre Review: ‘The Effect’ is dazzling Movie Review: Origin is stunning Dance Review: WHENUA Movie Review: Late Night with the Devil Theatre Review: The Phantom of the Opera (Rotorua) Movie Review: Godzilla x Kong Theatre Review: The Sun and the Wind Dance Review: I Don’t Wanna Dance Alone Dance Review: Yānum Theatre Review: The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward Movie Review: Dune Part Two Movie Review: The Convert Movie Review: The Great Escaper Dance Review: The Bloom Theatre review: Hyperspace Theatre Review: Pring It On Movie Review: Force of Nature (The Dry 2) Movie Review: Priscilla Movie Review: Iron Claw Movie Review: The Holdovers Movie Review: Wonka Movie Review: Godzilla Minus One Theatre Review: The Clay Cart Theatre Review: Heartbreak Hotel Movie Review: Next Goal Wins Movie Review: Hunger Games – Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Movie Review: Saltburn is a flawed masterpiece Dance Review: Love/Love/Love/Love/Love Review: Dr Drama Makes a Musical Movie Review: Loop Track Theatre Review: The Welkin Theatre Review: The Music Man delivers a great night out Film Review: Dumb Money Review: 360 ALLSTARS Theater Review: Bunga’s Paradise Theatre Review: Switzerland just sparkles Theatre Review: Émilie is an elegant piece of theatre Movie Review: Blue Beetle is disappointing Review: NZ Opera and Black Grace’s (m)Orpheus Theatre Review: Mike and Virginia Movie Review: Scrapper Theatre Review: I Want To Be Happy Theatre Review: Things That Matter Theatre Review: Losing Face Movie Review: Asteroid City Dance Review: Tomo at TAPAC Movie Review: Meg 2 – The Trench Book Review: ‘Yellowface’ is a darkly humorous polemic against exploitation Theatre Review: Basmati Bitch Movie Review: Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning 1 Review: Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Crystal’ Review: Peepshow (Club Remix) Review: ‘Prima Facie’ is not to be missed Review: Indian Ink’s new play ‘Dirty Work’ Review: King Lear Review: Cosi Fan Tutte is an opera for our time Review: Hamilton really is as good as they say Review: ‘Kinky Boots’ is more than a fun night out Theatre Review: Relatively Speaking Theatre Review: Witi’s Wahine Dance Review: Stage of Being Movie Review: The Portable Door Review: Wicked the Musical Dance Review: Tunnelling Wormholes is a treat Review: ‘My Year with Lorraine’ is a delight Review: Rangitoto is a play of a bygone era in New Zealand Review: The Heartbreak Choir is the perfect balm for a country battered by a cyclone Movie review: The Son is a compelling and emotional film Review: ‘The Whale’ is a hard watch but remarkable Review: My Old School is an ethics lesson Movie Review: Is M3GAN a horror movie or a parody? Movie Review: Operation Fortune is entertaining but you’ll guess the ending! Book review: The Twist of a Knife is an engrossing murder mystery TV Review: Christmas with the Campbells is an adults only comedy Review: Night and Mortar is a delightful piece of dance theatre Review: The Lost King is quirky and fun Review: ‘Snowflake’ is an emotional look at family strife Review: ‘Emily’ is a melancholic tale about the Brontë sister Review: ‘In Amber’s Wake’ is an intriguing story of tortured love Review: Why I walked out of the movie ‘Bones and All’ Review: Di and Viv and Rose is exceptionally good Review: The First Prime Time Asian Sitcom is part rage, part satire Theatre Review: North By Northwest is a tribute to Hitchcock’s genius Review: ‘Black Adam’ is big on effects, thin on plot Review: ‘Mrs Harris Goes to Paris’ is a film with a lot of charm Review: You really should go see the gay rom-com BROS! Review: Halloween Ends doesn’t really slay Review: I Get So Emotional Baby Review: What They Said (dance) Review: Don’t Worry Darling is a great thriller Review: The play ‘Po’ Boys and Oysters’ is an absolute gem! Review: ‘The Made’ teaches us how to be human by making us laugh out loud Review: Macbeth the opera is somber and satisfying Review: The Wasp is a taut and darkly comic tragedy Review: ‘Ticket to Paradise’ is a sweet film Review: ‘Skin Hunger’ is an emotional and hilarious look at grief Review: The Campervan is a funny yet dramatic takedown of the patriarchy Review: ‘The Writer’ dives deep into power dynamics and the human psyche Review: ‘Lancaster’ is a frank and emotional story of the wartime bomber Review: Pacifica the musical is a show we can all be proud of Review: ‘Dawn Raids’ is not to be missed Review: ‘Quant’ is a sweet simple exploration of the designer’s life Review: Tröll is a play that reminds us we are all kids at heart Review: ‘Nope’ the movie is brilliantly flawed Review: ‘What We Are Made Of’ is an affirmation of the human spirit Review: Sadness is at the heart of the doco ‘The Princess’ Review: ‘Ancestry’ is a beautiful fiction about a real family Review: ‘Jesustown’ is an emotional journey to redemption Review: ‘Kaha’ is a beautiful piece of dance theatre Review: Long Day’s Journey into Night is a poetic tragedy Review: The Wedding Singer is a sassy and fun musical Review: The Black Phone is spookily good Review: Scenes from a Yellow Peril is hilarious, edgy, and deliciously dangerous. Review: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ is phenomenal Review: Nobody Has To Know Review: ‘Featherhood’ is a story of redemption through love Review: Haute Couture is very French and very sweet Review: Downton Abbey – A New Era is light but joyful Review: Daybreak Estate is a thought-provoking piece of dance theatre Review: The Secrets of Dumbledore is full of action Review: Vivid Dreaming is definitely vivid and at times unsettling Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once is great in the middle Review: A clever take on Little Shop of Horrors Review: Fierce Fairytales puts a colourful twist on some favourite stories Review: Is Channing Tatum’s new movie a Dog? Review: The Batman is very long, very gloomy, but is it watchable? Review: Cyrano is an odd film Review: Grand Horizons proves families are deliciously weird and it’s ok Watch: Red Rocket is gritty and quirky Watch: Moonfall is terrible but watchable – go figure! Watch: Belfast is a feel good movie about the Troubles Listen: The Intoxicating Mr. Lavelle is a wonderful 18th Century romp Watch: The 355 is an action-packed movie Watch: Can Lady Gaga save House of Gucci? Read: Silo’s ‘Break Bread’ is innovative virtual theatre Read: The Deep is a riveting story of a family at war with itself Read: Fresh Water for Flowers is a must-read Watch: Ride the Eagle is funny and mysterious Read: Dakota of the White Flats is a delightful romp of an adventure Read: Inflated Rebel is inspired, raw, and searingly beautiful. Watch: Jennifer Hudson is a knock-out in ‘Respect’ Watch: Stillwater is a believable drama Read: ‘The Author’s Cut’ is a mix of stories highlighting the light and dark in humanity Watch: Why did ‘Coming Home in the Dark’ upset me? Watch: The Justice of Bunny King is all about inequality Read: ‘All the Young Men’ is a testament to courage and tenacity Watch: Waiting for Anya shows we are capable of redemption Read: Madagascar the Musical will make you move it move it! Read: The Life of Galileo and the value of truth and reason Read: In Bono Veritas is a bit covert and a lot of laughs Read: Magnificent Remains is a dream Watch: Fast and Furious 9 is preposterous fun Read: Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream is wonderful Read: Klara and the Sun is intriguing but underwhelming Read: Moby’s new album Reprise is wonderful Read: New music La Roux, Jonas Brothers, Lana Del Ray Read: Giselle is a sensual and colourful exploration of the human soul Watch: A Quiet Place Pt 2 is one hell of a scary movie Watch: Those Who Wish Me Dead is on fire Read: Single Asian Female is achingly funny and honest Watch: Land is an uplifting and emotional film Watch: The United States vs. Billie Holliday Read: Meremere and the power of the human spirit Watch: Voyagers is a taut psychological thriller Watch: Six Minutes to Midnight is a classic spy thriller Read: The sublime beauty of The Monotone Era Read: The Haka Party Incident is a play every NZer should see Watch: The Courier is a competent spy thriller Review: Does The Father deserve its Oscar nods? Watch: Judas and the Black Messiah is a must-see movie Watch: Cousins is a beautiful and emotional film Watch: Supernova is a dull film Read: Te Whare Kapua is full of heart Watch: The Little Things has some curious twists Read: Two Ladies is a searing indictment on politics and misogyny Watch: High Ground is a stunning film Read: Barry Gibb’s album Greenfields is stunning Watch: Ammonite may make you drop your popcorn Watch: Blithe Spirit is good fun but at times a little flat Read: Modern Māori Quartet’s ‘Garage Party’ is the perfect way to end the year. Read: Six60 bare their souls in a new doco Watch: Let Him Go is slow but intense and surprising Watch: Made In Italy is cute but not a must-see movie Read: Every Brilliant Thing is edgy, scary, and totally wonderful! Watch: Baby Teeth is a coming of age flick with a dark undertone Watch: I Am Woman does Helen Reddy proud Watch: Baby Done is cute and fun but it won’t change your life Read: I Am Greta exposes the hypocrisy around climate change Watch: Dead is a spooky comedy Watch: Savage the movie is gritty and emotional Watch: This Town is entertaining but lacks an emotional punch Watch: The King of Staten Island will make you fall in love with a loser Read: The critics have badly misunderstood Netflix’s Hollywood Read: The show Babble shines a light on how we overuse technology Read: Snow White is an exciting and innovative piece of ballet Read: The Book of Mormon shows how odd and funny we all are Watch: Is Military Wives worth the wait? Read: Emilia is powerful, funny and full of energy Read: Comedian Steve Lyons is ready for the big league Watch: Guns Akimbo is a live action video game Watch: Is The Invisible Man a sight for sore eyes? Read: A dog’s day afternoon in Ponsonby Read: Yas Queen is funny, charming, and a bit naughty Read: Is Cats the movie good? Read: Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a sumptuous delight Read: Bellbird is a kiwi film with real heart Read: Terminator Dark Fate is a rehash but it’s still good Read: Jojo Rabbit is a comedy and a warning Read: Half of the Sky might make you reevaluate your own family dynamic Read: State Highway 48 has a great cast but a few plot problems Read: American Idiot will rock your world Read: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is happily entertaining Read: Contemplating Lana Del Ray’s Norman F..king Rockwell Read: Don’t bother being starry eyed about the flick Ad Astra Read: Downton Abbey makes a graceful debut on the silver screen Read: Fun and food at Mrs Krishnan’s Party Read: Booksmart is a coming of age film worth a look Read: Orchids is uplifting and beautiful Read: The film 2040 offers an inspiring vision of the future Read: Once the musical soothed my grumpiness Read: Yesterday has great music and a cute story Read: War Horse is story-telling at its best Read: Little Woods reveals America’s dystopian future is already here Read: The Heels are Alive celebrates drag and trans performance Read: Wild Rose is a wild ride Read: Delicious Oblivion is a star attraction Read: X-Men Dark Phoenix is pretty whacky Read: Rocketman is a stunning fantasy film Read: An Iliad is visceral and mesmerising Read: Rhys Nicholson is one of the best comedians around Read: Top End Wedding is the kind of Aussie film we need to see Read: Austen Found needed a bit of structure Read: The Audience is a fascinating look at the woman behind the majesty Read: Uther Dean deserves a bigger audience Read: 5 Star Comedy Preview was non-PC gold! Read: Phill Jupitus is a master of the tall tale Read: The Aftermath is ok but needs an emotional infusion Read: Daffodils is a beautiful yet suburban film Read: Stan and Ollie is a delight Read: At Eternity’s Edge is both incredible and awful Read: Fahrenheit 11/9 is the must-see film of our age Read: Beautiful Boy is a film very close to home Read: Bohemian Rhapsody shows the music is bigger than the man Read: The Black Eyed Peas new album is mostly meh Read: Book Club sells it’s veteran cast short Read: Interlude in Prague is the right movie for our times Read: Betrayal is at the heart of the new Whitney documentary Read: Leave No Trace is a masterful piece of filmmaking Read: Mary Shelley is a gothic delight Watch: The Elixir of Love is magical and mischevious Read: Upgrade is a well made action film Read: 20th Century Women might leave you confused Read: Two Hearts is the must see show of the Comedy Festival Read: James Malcolm’s comedy is laden with sex Read: Kingsman – The Golden Circle is a worthy sequel Read: Victoria and Abdul Read: I Am Not Your Negro