★★★★½ - STUFF  - Why this French dramedy is one of the best movies of the year -  Any hopes St Denis’ College des Francs/Moisins’ new deputy principal Samia Zibra (Zita Hanrot) had of the academic year getting off to a quiet start are dashed by lunchtime. A playground fight breaks out in the…

★★★★ - STUFF  - Powerful, timely and heart-wrenching, The Australian Dream is a must watch -  He was one of the greatest players of modern AFL. The North Ballarat Rebel who announced his talents with six-goals in an under-18 grand final, before going to play 372 games for the Sydney Swans. Over…

★★★★★ - REGIONAL NEWS  - One of the best films of the year -  To generate empathy for a character who some would label an inhuman brute is no easy feat, but director and screenwriter Sam Kelly does just that with grace and sensitivity. Savage pulls together some of the most fleshed-out characters…

★★★★ - DOMINION POST  - Heartfelt and engaging Kiwi gang movie is a stunning achievement -  In late 1980s Wellington, Damage is the hugely feared sergeant at arms for the notorious Savages gang. But gang leader Moses' grip on power is beginning to slip, as Moses maybe takes a little too much of…

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER - Emerging actors Jake Ryan and John Tui headline Sam Kelly’s debut feature, set in the world of New Zealand street gangs -  New Zealand is, quite bafflingly, viewed as some kind of magical wonderland, covered in lush greenery and populated by happy hobbits. In reality, New…

★★★★★ - NEWSHUB  - An extraordinarily immersive big-screen spectacle -  Here it is, the most talked-about film of 2020. Tenet storms into cinemas with the heavy weight of Hollywood and movie-making resting on its big-budget blockbuster shoulders and on a mission to save the industry from…

★★★★★ - THE GUARDIAN   - Supremely ambitious race against time makes for superb cinema -  It’s up to the mighty Christopher Nolan to take the heroic, morale-boosting gamble and open his big new film in cinemas. Tenet is a gigantically confusing, gigantically entertaining and gigantically gigantic…

★★★★★ - STUFF  - a damn near perfect piece of film-making -  In Pennsylvania, as in 20 other American states, a woman under the age of 18 must get a parent's written consent before she can have an abortion. It's a callous and cynical law, that forces young women from all walks of life, for…

★★★★★ - LONDON EVENING STANDARD  - An electrifying, Oscar-worthy drama -  When friends recommend a “difficult” movie I sometimes/rarely/never watch it. Life’s too short. Luckily, Eliza Hittman, the director of this prize-winning abortion drama, knows audiences don’t want to be lectured. Her film,…

★★★½ - STUFF  - It was supposed to be a simple job. Former pizza delivery driver Freddy (James Rolleston) and his feckless mate Marvin’s (Samuel Austin) criminal careers were to start with a dual dairy robbery and cake collection for their boss. However, the boys’ desire of ultimately getting…

★★★★ - FILMINK  - New Zealand has been killing it at the cinema over the last few years. While it’s a little too easy to attribute that solely to the rising star of cringe, maestro Taika Waititi, that still wouldn’t account for everyone else who’s been bringing their A-game of late. Madeleine Sami…

★★★★ - STUFF  - Someone a lot wiser than me (and frankly, who isn't?) once said, “íf there truly is a god, and he likes us, then he would let dogs live longer”. Anyone who's ever been owned by a dog understands that exactly. Dogs do have a way of transforming us, even as they are moulting and…