At The Movies

Join Simon Morris in the best seat in the house as he reviews the latest movies.

Hosted by Simon Morris

On air:

Sundays at 1.30pm, encore on Mondays at 12.15am on RNZ National

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Full Show: ...Going...

In the penultimate At The Movies, Simon Morris looks back over an eventful year. Apart from the usual winners and losers, he produces his personal Top Three (there seem to be four of them), his picks for the New Faces of 2025, and the traditional, annual Cate Blanchett Award for Being in Everything. Who will win this coveted award? And why has nobody in the western world heard of the biggest film of the year by a country mile? The country being China….
New episode

Full Show: The Countdown Starts

Simon Morris kicks off the first of the final three At The Movies with films all connected with some old favourites. Wake Up Dead Man director Rian Johnson's career started with the neo-noir Brick back in 2005. Jennifer Lawrence, star of Die My Love, arrived five years later in 2010’s Winter’s Bone. And Zootopia 2 is the sequel to another favourite released in 2016.
Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor in Wake Up Dead Man.

Review: Die, My Love

Die My Love is a harrowing tale of a marriage under stress, with a dream team before and behind the camera. Produced by Martin Scorcese, directed by Lynne Ramsay (We have to talk about Kevin) from a book by Alice Birch (TV’s Normal People), it stars Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) and Robert Pattinson (Twilight) with Sissy Spacek (Carrie).
Die, My Love

Review: Wake Up Dead Man

Wake Up Dead Man is another Knives Out mystery, starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. Among the star-studded list of suspects are Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Glenn Close (The Wife), Andrew Scott (Ripley) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker). Written and directed, as always, by Rian Johnson (The Last Jedi) .
Wake Up Dead Man, a Knives Out Mystery

Review: Zootopia 2

Zootopia 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the popular animated film about a city entirely populated by animals. Will the rookie police team of bunny Judy Hopps and fox Nick Wilde discover what happened to all the reptiles? Featuring Ke Huy Kwan (Everything Everywhere All At Once) as the voice of Gary De Snake.
Zootopia 2

Review: Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter sees Dame Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) shunning the English costume dramas for a gritty thriller set in the frozen North. Can she rescue a kidnapped teenager, with only her grit and determination? Directed by Brian Kirk (TV’s Day of the Jackal).
Dead Of Winter

Full Show: Star Failure

Simon Morris notes that A List stars are no longer enough to command big cinema audiences. Is it the end of the line for movies like Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, Dead of Winter, with Dame Emma Thompson, and Prime Video’s After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield?

Review: Jay Kelly

Jay Kelly is a made-to-measure comedy-drama for George Clooney, about a top star wondering what he sacrificed for his career. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Barbie), it features Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent and many more.
Jay Kelly

Review: After the Hunt

After the Hunt has ended up on Prime Video, after a promising start at the Venice Film Festival. Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) plays a Yale professor caught in a MeToo situation, when her student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses her colleague and best friend (Andrew Garfield) of conduct unbecoming. But there are more secrets being hidden. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers).
After the Hunt

Review: Now You See Me: Now You Don't

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the third in the series of tales of conjurors, robbing from the rich. This time the Four Horserman need help from three keen young magicians. Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Rosamund Pike.
Now You See Me: Now You Don't

Review: The Running Man

The Running Man is set in a world of extreme poverty where the only way out is via high-paying reality TV shows. The most popular one is The Running Man where contestants are hunted down by the general public and killed. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) has to survive 30 days. Based on a Stephen King book, it’s directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead).
The Running Man

Full Show: Blockbuster

Simon Morris remembers the golden age of Blockbuster Videos, where failed movies could recoup their costs when they went to video. This week, a sequel to one such film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, and a remake of another, The Running Man. Also this week, a sequel to a similar genre picture, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.

Review: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is the long-awaited – 40 years in fact – sequel to the cult mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. Now everyone’s favourite fake metal band reforms for a final stadium concert. Starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, with guest stars Paul McCartney, Elton John and many more. This one goes up to eleven!
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Review: Happyend

Happyend is a Japanese drama, set in the near future. Five high school rebels face the prospect of going their separate ways, while corrupt politics arrive at both the school and out in the wider world. To protest or not to protest? Written and directed by Neo Sora, son of the legendary actor and musician Ryûichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence).
Happyend

Review: Predator: Badlands

Predator: Badlands finds a young member of the Yautja (Predator) tribe hunting on the most dangerous planet in the Galaxy. His quest: to capture a beast that can’t be killed. Starring Elle Fanning as two robots, and Kiwi Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Red White and Brass) as the Predator.
Predator: Badlands

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