At The Movies

This week on Short-Cuts Dan Slevin takes a look at The first Star Wars film to hit cinemas in seven years. A documentary on the first deaf actor to win an Oscar and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert YouTube channel packed with highlights from its 11-year run. This week on Short-Cuts, Dan Slevin takes a look at: IN CINEMAS The Mandalorian and Grogu (Favreau, 2026). The first Star Wars film to arrive in cinemas in seven years, spun off from the hit Disney+ series about a mysterious bounty hunter who unexpectedly finds himself caring for a powerful alien child with a striking resemblance to a certain Jedi master. PAID STREAMING - DocPlay Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (Stern, 2025). A documentary about the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award, directed by deaf filmmaker Shoshanna Stern, exploring both Matlin’s groundbreaking career and the deaf experience of the hearing world. FREE STREAMING - YouTube The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ended this week, and the show’s YouTube channel is packed with highlights from its 11-year run, a fitting chance to celebrate Colbert and speculate about what comes next. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dan Slevin reviews three new films: Vie Privée, a Paris thriller starring Jodie Foster; Words of War, with Maxine Peake as assassinated Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya; and Finding Emily, a British rom-com featuring Angourie Rice. Vie privée (A Private Life) trailer HERE Words of War trailer HERE Finding Emily trailer HERE Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dominic Corry joins Jesse Mulligan to give his reckons on Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Obsession, and Guru, which is playing as part of the French Film Festival Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kate Rodger reviews the latest releases on The Big Screen: David Lowery's psychological thriller Mother Mary starring Anne Hathaway, French Film Festival drama The Great Arch with Claes Bang as the architect behind Paris' Grande Arche, and Karl Urban in video game sequel Mortal Kombat II. Mother Mary Trailer HERE La Grande Arche Trailer HERE Mortal Combat II Trailer HERE Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kate Rodger reviews: Devil Wears Prada 2, reuniting Streep, Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci back at Runway; The Weed Eaters, a cannibalistic NZ horror about very bad munchies; and Greenland 2: Migration, Gerard Butler's post-apocalyptic follow-up. Greenland 2: Migration trailer HERE Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer HERE The Weed Eaters trailer HERE Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nights’ screen critic Dan Slevin reviews Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, tracing the band’s rise from East End pubs to stadiums; The Young Pope, the timely Jude Law papal drama; and Battletruck, a Kiwi post-apocalyptic cult classic. On this week’s edition of Short-Cuts, Nights’ resident screen critic Dan Slevin reviews: IN CINEMAS Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition — A documentary tracing the band’s journey from East End pubs to global stadiums, blending their story with fans, including Javier Bardem. PAID STREAMING — Neon The Young Pope — Not new, but back on Neon. A timely drama about a brash American pope, starring Jude Law and Diane Keaton. FREE STREAMING — YouTube Battletruck — A classic New Zealand post-apocalyptic film where rival clans battle over diesel in a broken future world. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Film Critic Dominic Corry reviews Mortal Kombat II and The Great Arch (part of the Architecture and Design Film Festival) as well as fish and chip shops! Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Michelle Langstone reviews three new films: Peter Hujar's Day, reconstructing a lost conversation with the legendary photographer; Chelsea Preston Crayford's debut feature Caterpillar; and Apex, starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton. Peter Hujar's Day Trailer: https://youtu.be/Rzp8uw-t-eA Apex Trailer: https://youtu.be/kgv8jf_8dm0 Caterpillar: https://youtu.be/YhzyWBFBSBI Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nights' Screen Critic Dan Slevin takes a look at The Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival, touring nationwide. Also streaming: Bait on Prime Video, a dark comedy from Riz Ahmed, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre on Kanopy. Nights’ Screen Critic Dan Slevin takes a look at the IN CINEMAS - Nationwide Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival, which opened in Auckland last night and runs across 13 towns and cities nationwide until 21 June. Dan reviews four of the films; Nuvola, The Great Arch, Googie and Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture. PAID STREAMING – Prime Video Bait is a six-part comedy drama from Riz Ahmed, who also stars. It follows an Asian-British actor whose failed James Bond audition triggers a spiral of personal, professional and psychological fallout. It’s dark, funny and strange, featuring a voice performance by Patrick Stewart as a severed pig’s head. FREE STREAMING – Kanopy The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a classic human drama about three men who strike gold in Mexico and quickly discover how greed unravels their pact to share it equally. It’s a tense, richly told story of ambition and mistrust, and a multiple Academy Award winner. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Afternoons film critic Kate Rodger joins Jesse to give her hot takes on The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Apex. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On Short-Cuts Dan Slevin reviews: Exit 8 Japanese film where a man is stuck in a looping subway puzzle, Greyhound & Finch – Tom Hanks in WWII naval thriller + post-apocalyptic road trip with a robot and One Life staring Anthony Hopkins as Nicholas Winton who saved hundreds of Jewish children. On this week's edition of Short-Cuts Nights resident screen critic Dan Slevin reviews: IN CINEMAS Exit 8 - A Japanese man on his way to work is trapped in a mysterious loop while trying to escape the subway. Solving the puzzles will lead him to Exit 8 but any failure takes him all the way back to Exit 0. PAID STREAMING Greyhound (2020) & Finch (2021) - Two Tom Hanks-led films: Greyhound is a tense World War II naval drama following a rookie commander navigating U-boat attacks in the Atlantic, while Finch is a post-apocalyptic road story about a dying inventor building a robot to care for his dog as they journey across a ravaged America. FREE STREAMING – Māori+ One Life - the superb drama starring Anthony Hopkins as Nicholas Winton, who - as a younger man played by Johnny Flynn - saved hundreds of Jews from Nazi-occupied Prague. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Michael, the Jackson biopic starring his nephew Jaafar; The Time Traveller's Guide to Hamilton Gardens, opening the Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival; and Sgt. Haane, Tearepa Kahi's 28th Māori Battalion ANZAC story. Michael Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-YAcjaLuSI The Time Traveller's Guide To Hamilton Gardens Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3PQESNEwY Sgt. Haane Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-qino7ZNg Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Afternoons Critic Dominic Corry on whether 'Michael' really is the worst bio-pic of all time. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Three new films: The President's Cake, an Iraqi Cannes winner set during the Gulf War; The North, a quiet Scottish Highlands reunion story; and Thrash, Netflix's hurricane shark film with Phoebe Dynevor. The President's Cake Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIhlE3lfu6w Thrash Trailer: https://youtu.be/hzyOsNyDkbM?si=enPHvbm9g-xaNzmF The North Trailer: https://youtu.be/-SG46PKUCfQ?si=pB6YT76CZaADXVAU Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nights resident screen critic Dan Slevin reviews: Fuze, a WWII bomb evacuation in London that masks a diamond heist; Blind Panic, a New Zealand thriller about a blind woman and an ex-con, both targeted by a crime lord; and the 90s classic crime thriller Heat, starring Robert De Niro. On this week's edition of Short-Cuts Nights resident screen critic Dan Slevin reviews: IN CINEMAS Fuze, an unexploded World War II bomb in central London sparks an evacuation that turns out to be cover for a diamond heist staring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James, directed by David Mackenzie. PAID STREAMING Blind Panic, a NZ thriller about a blind woman and an ex-con on home detention whose paths are crossed by a local crime lord. FREE STREAMING – TVNZ+ Heat, Michael Mann’s 1995 masterpiece featuring Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Afternoons critic Dominic Corry joins Jesse Mulligan to discuss Fuze and The Mummy, both are in theatres next week. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Film critic Dan Slevin reviews three new films: Undertone, a Canadian horror about a podcast host driven to paranoia by eerie recordings; You, Me & Tuscany, a rom-com with Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page; and Solo Mio, about a groom honeymooning alone in Italy. Undertone Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6uDeBYDHu4 You, Me & Tuscany Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09kuFgvohIU Solo Mio Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvTpQDdZY0k Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nights resident screen critic Dan Slevin reviews last year’s Caméra d’Or winner at Cannes, the Iraqi Oscar entry The President’s Cake, the Paul McCartney documentary Man on the Run, and MTV Rewind, a site recreating the experience of endless music videos. Nights' resident screen critic Dan Slevin joins Emile Donovan with his picks for the weekend. Tonight, Winner of the Caméra d’Or at Cannes last year, as well as the Iraqi entry in the Best international Feature category of the Oscars, The President’s Cake; the documentary about Paul McCartney rebuilding his life and music in the immediate aftermath of leaving the Beatles in 1970, Man on the Run and MTV Rewind, a website that recreates what it was like to watch an endless stream of music videos. [picture id="4JQDTQ8_The_Presidents_Cake_jpeg" crop="16x10" layout="full"] Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Critic Kate Rodger shares the best picks for the school holidays, her take on The Drama and reacts to the Emmy nods for Prime Minister. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kate Rodger explores dark comedy, The Drama, school holiday option Super Mario Galaxy and reflects on ten years of Hunt For The Wilderpeople The Drama movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmKcUa4Xxk Super Mario Galaxy Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX9kXRRJlPw Hunt For The Wilderpeople: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tICv8QH3oM0 Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details