★★★★ - STUFF  - Enlightening, heartrending doco lifts the veil on 'NZ's secret cult -  Lifting the veil on “New Zealand's secret cult” and its apparent fall from utopian ideal to Animal Farm-esque nightmare, this enlightening, heartrending, rage-inducing documentary follows former members as they…

★★★★★ - STUFF  - Hilarious and heartrending, this might just be the best movie of the year so far -  A dramedy that should surely earn Emma Thompson a flurry of nominations during the upcoming awards season, at the very least, it also provides more evidence as to why Australian Sophie Hyde (52…

★★★★ - STUFF  - Jordan Peele's latest is so good it's worth watching more than once -  In the present day, not too far from Los Angeles, there is a horse ranch. Haywood's Hollywood Horses is a family business, run by generations of Haywood men, ever since great, great, grandpa Haywood was filmed…

★★★★ - FLICKERING MYTH  - The more ludicrous everything gets, the more you don’t want to get off the ride -  Aboard the titular bullet train (a high-speed Japanese train) are several distinct assassins looking to kill someone, rescue someone, or obtain a briefcase. Admittedly, the who’s connected…

★★★★★ - STUFF  - One of the sweetest and most enjoyable films of the year -  Look, I know the New Zealand International Film Festival is around in Wellington and everywhere else over the next couple of weeks. But that doesn't mean you should stop noticing the films that are out on general release.…

★★★★½ - STUFF  - Haunting, heartbreaking doco on a life lived in the public glare -  “She’s been through the worst they can throw at her,” a royal commentator notes of the British’s press treatment of the woman born Diana Frances Spencer early on in this engrossing, enlightening and heartbreaking…

★★★½ - STUFF  - Brilliant cast and top stunt co-ordination save cartoonish caper -  Here's an idea. Close your eyes and try to imagine what would happen if you took the funniest and most kinetic scenes out of – in no order at all – Kill Bill 2, Smokin' Aces, Seven Psychopaths, John Wick and Lock,…

★★★★★ - STUFF   - A moving and rewarding film with an incredible 12-year-old star -  The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin in its original Irish) is set in 1981. A young girl – Cait – has been sent to the countryside to live for a while with her mother's distant cousin and her husband. Cait's parents…

★★★½ (3.5/4) - OBSERVER  - One of the Most Faithful Literary Adaptations in Years -  A strong, satisfying film welcomes movie audiences into the world of the marsh. Adapting a beloved novel for the screen is a tricky endeavor, particularly one that has captivated readers so thoroughly as Where…

★★★★★ - GUARDIAN  “Deeply moving tale of rural Ireland already feels like a classic”  A silent child is sent away to live with foster parents on a farm in this gem of a film from first-time feature director Colm Bairéad. This beautiful and compassionate film from first-time feature director Colm…

★★★★½ - STUFF  - British golfing folk hero's tale brilliantly brought to life -  He was the shipyard crane-operator from Barrow-in-Furness who became a sporting legend. The 46-year-old who rewrote the record books at the 1976 British Golf Open. His 63 shocked officials, fellow players and the…

★★★★★ - STUFF  - A must see Kiwi movie 15 years in the making -  If you look at James Cook's first map of New Zealand, from the voyage of 1769 and 1770, you might not immediately notice one of the most remarkable things about it. I've known since primary school that Cook made Bank's Peninsula…