Rebecca Barry Hill

Much of what goes on in this delightful French comedy drama by Marc Fitoussi remains unspoken, told through body language, humorous subtext and knowing glances. Ultimately it’s about yearning, the frustration of routine, and the tantalizing glimpse of life in another place, with another person. But what’s most appealing is its originality. Just when you […]

Reading Jonathan Tropper’s novel on which this film is based was oddly comforting, yet not particularly life-changing. An ordinary guy with an ordinary family (sort of), is forced to confront the reality that none of them are happy. If that sounds grim, it’s not. Tropper’s rare gift is to make the tragedies of life tolerable […]

What’s not to love about Jon Hamm? The Mad Men star continues to get away with Draper-like behaviour (of the family-friendly variety) in this unconventional true story, told in a conventional way. Hamm plays real-life sports agent J.B. Bernstein, who travelled to India to produce a reality TV show competition to get young Indian cricketers to give […]

If you’re planning to watch Transcendence simply to see Johnny Depp as nature intended (no wigs, crazy makeup or prosthetics) you might be disappointed. As Will Caster, a scientist who becomes a ghost in the machine, Depp’s performance, largely portrayed as the equivalent of a Skype call, is about as electrifying as your new iPad mini. Still, […]

It’d be easy to turn down yet another helping of behind-the-scenes restaurant fare. But that would be a shame. Spinning Plates is really nothing like its screechy reality cousins. Instead, it’s a gentle, inspiring and sentimental look at the passion, creativity, family, community and love surrounding three very different American restaurants. Those hoping for insight into the […]

Ron Woodrof loved his cocaine, his women and his rodeo. He was also somewhat of a sado-masochist – perhaps that explains why he failed to notice himself wasting away. Enter Matthew McConaughey, whose 17kg weight loss playing the unlikely medical activist hasn’t weakened his on-screen presence. If anything, it has given him the wily, taut look of […]

“A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” might have come from Mary Poppins but it’s a line that could also be applied to Walt Disney films in general. So it’s a welcome surprise to find that Saving Mr. Banks, with its sweeping soundtrack, emotional family backstory and Mickey Mouse motifs, is smart enough not to overdose […]

Katharine Hepburn once said that while watching Meryl Streep you could see the wheels turning in her head. That’s a rare distraction, but it invades Streep’s otherwise impressive turn as a pill-addled matriarch in Tracy Letts’ adaptation of his Pulitzer-Prize-winning play. Streep so inhabits the complex Violet in August: Osage County that it’s virtually impossible […]

A fascinating commemoration that clocks in at more than two hours, this part-performance, part-documentary is nonetheless forced to race through five decades of material at quite a pace. There’s only a smattering of info on the National Theatre’s previous life at the Laurence Olivier-directed Old Vic location before it launches into excerpts from its famously […]

You realise the pop culture machine must’ve gone a bit loopy now we’re making films about reality TV stars. But Welshman Paul Potts, the 2007 winner of Britain’s Got Talent, is a surprisingly worthy subject. Whether Kiwis and opera fans care as much about him as European viewers is one thing but if not, they may […]

Bridget Jones may be dead but Mr Darcy is well and truly alive in this incredibly silly, not-terribly-literary but very funny comedy. The Jane Austen theme park setting – in which guests are promised to enjoy a romance with one of the suitors while pretending to live within the claustrophobic social rules and courting rituals […]

Kiwi director Andrew Adamson has a gift for the fantastical, what with the huge success of the Shrek and Narnia films. With Mr. Pip, he shows sensitivity for epic, emotional drama too. Faithfully adapting the moving Lloyd Jones award-winning novel Mister Pip, this is a fairly earnest retelling of one girl’s life-changing encounter with a mysterious teacher, who reads Charles Dickens’ Great […]

Shakespeare as you’ve never seen it before sees the Montagues and Capulets as white-trash Kiwi families feuding in a trailer park (a “boganised” Waipu camp ground). It’s also the musical version, a mad pop, hip-hop and rock opera that will defy expectation, with weird and wonderful art direction, plenty of visual gags – including a […]

It couldn’t be, could it? A sequel that surpasses the original? The Retired and Extremely Dangerous crew are back – well, most of them – and this time they’re older, wiser and funnier. So is the film. Loosely adapted from Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner’s graphic novel, Red 2 has a better story, punchier action scenes and […]

Much Ado has been done on the small screen several times, and cinema audiences were treated to a memorable traditional version with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in 1993. But none are as cool as this. Joss Whedon’s contemporary take on Shakespeare’s classic comedy, shot in black and white with a sexy vintage wardrobe, has a […]

Giselle is among the most theatrical ballets, a ghostly love story requiring the dancers to tell much of the story through facial expression – or perhaps it just felt that way in the hands of such experts. The Royal New Zealand Ballet production toured the country last year, confirming the company’s New York imports Ethan Stiefel […]

A contender for feel-good comedy of the year, The Way, Way Back treads a similar path to Jim Rash and Nat Faxon’s other Oscar-winning film, The Descendants, with memorable characters, heartfelt themes and a great cast. This isn’t quite as nuanced or complex as the George Clooney drama, sticking to a crowd-pleasing formula, broad humour and familiar coming-of-age […]

“The weirdest love stories are always the best ones,” says Emile Hirsch’s character, Diego in Twice Born. Weird may not be the best way to describe this sweeping romance, set in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Rather, it’s an intriguing tale, driven by the desire to have a child, that takes place between flashback scenes […]

Set in London, this geriatric comedy drama stars Terence Stamp as a shy, grumpy pensioner who is reluctantly inspired by his beloved wife (Vanessa Redgrave) into joining a highly unconventional local choir led by Gemma Arterton. Read more and find movie times. Retire to another cinema if you don’t fancy giving your tear ducts a […]

Ballet documentary following six young dancers (aged nine to nineteen) over the course of a year as they face injury and personal sacrifice on their way to compete in one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world… read more. First Position is a documentary about ballet but it’s also a story of youth, […]

The Rolling Stones weren’t always in the public favour, as this raw and entertaining biopic reminds us. Before they were a global institution, they were cocky teens who played blues covers. Then they became idols whose music and swagger tapped into the youthful dissatisfaction of the 60s. As the footage shows, they caused carnage wherever […]