Movies

La Cucina is one day in the life of popular restaurant The Grill. Although it's set in New York, it's based on a 1961 English play and it's written and directed by Mexican Alonso Ruizpalacios. Stars… Audio

The Salt Path is the story of real-life couple Raynor and Moth Winn who set out to walk the gruelling track around Devon and Cornwall after they lose everything in a bad investment. Based on Raynor's… Audio

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning seems to imply this is Tom Cruise's last hurrah in the franchise. Though never say "final". This features old hands Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, newer hands… Audio

Simon Morris tests the two methods of movie financing - betting a few dollars on small films like Mexican art-film La Cocina and English real-life memoir The Salt Path… or taking a huge plunge on a… Audio

Marlon Williams: Nga Ao E Rua (Two Worlds) is a documentary about the Kiwi alt-country star and his journey to make his first album entirely in te reo. Spoiler alert: that album went on to top the New… Audio

Thunderbolts* are the B-Team you summon when Marvel superstars The Avengers are unavailable. Ironically, or not, it's proving a big hit after a few Marvel misfires. Starring Florence Pugh… Audio

Simon Morris has one of those weeks where you need to do your own research. Looking up the minor villains that make up Thunderbolts*…. Brushing up his knowledge of Kiwi household name Marlon… Audio

The Accountant 2 sees the return of Ben Affleck as the eccentric, former criminal accountant who sets out to avenge the murder of his best friend. Also stars Jon Bernthal (The Amateur) and Cynthia… Audio

Civil War director Alex Garland collaborates with that film's military advisor - and real-life Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza on the story of a platoon of Navy SEALS having a bad day in Ramadi. Audio

Ryan Coogler writes and directs a Southern Gothic horror film featuring gangsters, vampires and the Klan, reviewed by Dan Slevin. Audio

Dan Slevin reviews three new films in local cinemas: In Sinners, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler tells a Southern Gothic horror story withMichael B. Jordan playing identical twins; in Warfare… Audio

Dan Slevin reviews an adaptation of Claire Keegan's 2021 novella about an Irish family man prompted to confront his community about the secrets that they have been keeping (starring Oscar-winner… Audio

Grand Tour starts out like a Merchant Ivory passage to Southeast Asia about a man running away from the prospects of a wedding, before turning into a very strange travelogue. Directed by Portuguese… Audio

Queer sees Daniel Craig (No time to die) shake off Double Oh Seven in an adaptation of a book by William S Burroughs (Naked Lunch) about an American writer hiding out in Fifties Mexico who falls in… Audio

Simon Morris realizes people go to the cinema for different things. Some go for the humble "movie", some for the elevated "film", some for the even more pretentious "cinema". Which are this week's… Audio

The death of a Unicorn sees a father and daughter (Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega) hit a mysterious entity on the way to a weekend with an unscrupulous pharmaceutical family. An entity with the ability to… Audio

Mickey 17 is Bong Joon Ho's (Parasite) unique take on science fiction, in which a lowly worker is regularly killed doing dangerous jobs, only to be revived to die another day. Stars Robert Pattinson… Audio

Spit sees low-life criminal John Spitieri (Gettin' Square) return after 20 years for his own movie. Can Spit conquer the bad guys, bond with his young nephew, get his new Syrian mate safely employed… Audio

White Bird is a spin-off from the movie Wonder, in which young Auggie's tormentor learns a lesson from his grandmother, a survivor from the Nazi occupation of France. Stars Dame Helen Mirren and… Audio

Simon Morris looks at life after the glitter of the recent Oscars, in particular three more modest films, all coincidentally connected to earlier hits. Sci-fi comedy Mickey 17 is the belated followup… Audio