Simon Morris
Review - Minamata
Minamata is the true story of a campaign by a Life Magazine photographer against a Japanese toxic-waste scandal in the Seventies. Starring Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy and opera singer Katherine Jenkins. Video, Audio
Review - Poppy
Poppy is a New Zealand feel-good film about a young car mechanic with Down syndrome who's determined not to let her disability slow her down. Directed by Linda Niccol (Second hand wedding) and… Video, Audio
At The Movies for 2 June 2021
Simon Morris talks about the importance of charm in a film - you can’t find an audience if there’s no-one they like in your film. And he finds three films that all depend on their likeable central… Audio
Poppy: A story ten years in the making
In the movie business, very few things come easy, but the New Zealand film Poppy had more than its fair share of hurdles before the finish line. Video, Audio, Gallery
French Film Festival director Fergus Grady
French Film Festival director Fergus Grady picks some of the highlights of this year's programme. These include Antoinette in the Cevennes, the biopic De Gaulle and the thriller Only the animals. Audio
Review - A Quiet Place Part II
A Quiet Place Part II returns to the alien invasion hit, featuring blind monsters with very sharp hearing. Written and directed by John Kasinski and starring Emily Blunt, with Cillian Murphy. Video, Audio
Review - No Man's Land
No Man's Land is yet another attempt to bring back the Western, as trouble on the Texas border leads to a ride to redemption.Featuring Andie McDowell and Frank Grillo, written by star Jake Allyn, and… Video, Audio
At The Movies for 26 May 2021
Simon Morris welcomes the French Film Festival Aotearoa after a two year break. It couldn't come at a better time, with a batch of formulaic fare currently in the cinemas. Audio
We disappear - an album over 30 years in the making FINAL
Wellington is famous for its rock and roll mavericks - people who rocked for a while then moved to other fields. Legendary drummer, the late Bruno Lawrence quit Blerta and the Crocodiles to become one… Audio
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Those Who Wish Me Dead sees Angelina Jolie return to the action genre as a fire-fighter trying to protect a child who witnessed a murder. Featuring Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones), Nicholas Hoult… Video, Audio
Litigante
Litigante is a sharp character study by Colombian director Franco Lolli. A mother and daughter - played by Lolli's real life cousin and mother Carolina Sanin and Leticia Gomez - argue over work… Video, Audio
The woman at the window
From Netflix, two contrasting films about movie fans - The woman at the window puts Amy Adams in a deliberately Rear window predicament, while The Mitchells vs The Machines interrupts Katie’s trip… Audio
At the Movies for 19 May 2021
Simon Morris sees parallels between the current war against Covid and the Second World War - both featured strong representation of women in their movies, for a start. Like this week’s quartet. Audio
Review - Locked Down
Locked Down - the first post-Covid romcom. Paxton and Linda (Chiwetel Ejiafor and Anne Hathaway) are locked in a flat together, despite being technically separated. Can a disastrous Zoom call, a… Video, Audio
Review - Son of the South
Son of the South is the true story of Bob Zellner, born into a Ku Klux Klan family and who became one of the first white volunteers for the civil rights movement in Sixties Alabama. Produced by Spike… Audio
Review - James and Isey
James and Isey is another example of New Zealand film-maker Florian Habicht's (Kaikohe Demolition) unique view of a documentary. Here he talks to a mother and son about Mum's upcoming 100th birthday.
…At The Movies for 12 May 2021
Simon Morris counts down to a few bigger movies on the horizon, but makes do with a few smaller ones while he waits. Audio
Review - Wrath of Man
Wrath of man sees star Jason Statham (The Meg) and director Guy Ritchie (Snatch) reunite in a violent thriller about revenge, greed and a man who bears a grudge. Featuring Eddie Marsan (Vice), Andy… Video, Audio
Review - First Cow
First Cow tells the story of two friends attempting to get by on the western frontier of 1820s America. They're offered a risky way to make their fortune, involving someone else's cow. Video, Audio
Review - Land
Land is the debut of star Robin Wright (Wonder Woman) as a feature film director. She plays a woman alone in the wilderness with her own reason for wanting to be left alone. Video, Audio
