At The Movies

Simon Morris looks back in 2021, a year where much of the time we relied on streaming services for our movie hit. It saw the return of the big blockbusters, an Academy Awards ceremony dominated by diversity, and a busy year of New Zealand made films and TV.

Simon Morris looks at three films that are all out of the ordinary - an adaptation of a sci-fi book that's defied filming, an animated musical set in Latin America and a biopic of an eccentric Victorian cat-lover.

Encanto is set in an exotic Latin American town, where all the Madrigal family but one have magical powers. Can Mirabel save the town when the powers start to fade? Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, Moana).

Simon Morris looks at three films that play with fantasy in contrasting ways. French film Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and another french film Petite Maman.

Simon Morris looks at three films about stories - one based on an early tale of chivalry, one that smuggles adult concerns into a children's animated movie, and a horror film that taps into indigenous American myths and legends. The Green Knight tells one of the earliest recorded stories of King Arthur and his nephew Gawain 's perilous quest. Features Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) and Alicia Vikander (Ex machina), directed by David Lowery (Pete's Dragon). Ron's gone wrong is an animated feature about what happens when Barney finally gets his coveted B*Bot, only to find it's a faulty version called Ron. Stars Zach Kalifianakis (The hangover) and Olivia Colman (The Crown). And Antlers tells the story of an Oregon teacher concerned about one of her pupils. What's Lucas got hidden at his home? Stars Keri Russell (Waitress) and Jesse Plemons (Power of the Dog). Produced by Guillermo del Toro.