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4/5
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Inside Out 2
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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Inside Out was groundbreaking and storytelling at its most powerful and entertaining and while this new story didn't pack as much of a punch to the heart as its predecessor, being back in this world was pure joy.
Posted Jun 25, 2024
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3.5/5
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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This Bad Boy might find himself back in the good books...
Posted Jun 13, 2024
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4/5
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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A Mad Max Saga is a multi-lane super-highway full of the same high-octane thrills and spills but with an over-powered engine that stalls here and there, not quite taking the same chequered flag. But did I still enjoy the ride? Yes I did.
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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3.5/5
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The Garfield Movie
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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An inoffensive, not entirely memorable, three-and-a-half-star watch...
Posted Jun 07, 2024
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4/5
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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Honestly, it's astonishing the visual effects work that Wētā FX does on these films.
Posted May 15, 2024
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5/5
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The Fall Guy
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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Honestly, I'm as shocked as you are by the fact I loved every single moment of this movie within a movie, action within a romance, comedy within the comedy homage to the magic of making movies and the movie makers who make them.
Posted Apr 26, 2024
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5/5
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Challengers
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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Swapping the sand dunes of Arrakis for the astroturf of centre court, can Zendaya do no wrong? No is the correct answer, no she cannot.
Posted Apr 18, 2024
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5/5
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Civil War
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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Civil War wields that power with such unflinching authenticity and precision it's breathtaking, as Garland delivers a film so urgent and prescient that you're left shell-shocked.
Posted Apr 12, 2024
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2/5
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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I feel like a grumpy old Gen X'er, but enough already. If you're still going to stoop to gratuitous cameos then at least give me a story to nail them to -- and some fresh ideas to colour it in.
Posted Mar 28, 2024
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4.5/5
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How to Have Sex
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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The debut film from Molly Manning Walker is one of the most effective coming-of-age tales I've ever seen, brilliantly depicting the bliss, discovery, awkwardness, thrills and horror of that special time of life where you transition from child to adult.
Posted Mar 09, 2024
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5/5
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The Zone of Interest
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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The Zone of Interest is a confronting sensory experience, but an incredibly powerful one.
Posted Feb 29, 2024
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4/5
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May December
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Engrossing, prickly and thought-provoking.
Posted Feb 21, 2024
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4/5
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Force of Nature: The Dry 2
(2024)
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Kate Rodger
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For fans of the books, this faithful feature adaptation should do the trick nicely -- the strong casting complete with the return of Bana in the central role and the brooding visceral visuals bring plenty for Kiwi audiences to connect with.
Posted Feb 14, 2024
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5/5
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All of Us Strangers
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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All of Us Strangers is a mesmerising dreamscape of a film, full of tenderness, plus a haunting and incredibly poignant contemplation on grief, identity, loneliness and love. Stunning.
Posted Jan 25, 2024
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5/5
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The Holdovers
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Please -- I beg you, make haste to your nearest cinema. The Holdovers has immediately become one of my annual must-watch Christmas movies, and it become one of yours too.
Posted Jan 19, 2024
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5/5
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Poor Things
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Amidst the seemingly absurdist insanity, every single word and scene has a purpose, is deliberate, is entirely delicious, and just so ridiculously strangely empowering and unbelievably entertaining. Emma Stone is stunning.
Posted Jan 11, 2024
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4/5
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Next Goal Wins
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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This is the straightest, almost least Taikery of the Taika films, but it still marches to the beat of his drum.
Posted Dec 01, 2023
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2.5/5
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The Marvels
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Call me old-fashioned, but even with fantasy superhero tropes I still want to care enough to follow the journey and invest in the outcomes. The Marvels lost me early and never won me back.
Posted Nov 15, 2023
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4.5/5
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Anatomy of a Fall
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Anatomy of a Fall is a slow burner of a film and deserved winner of the Palme d’Or this year.
Posted Oct 25, 2023
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5/5
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Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Scorsese is a masterful storyteller, and he likes to take his time. So, settle in for the three-and-a-half-hour-long rich tapestry of a film, and let it soak right in.
Posted Oct 20, 2023
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3.5/5
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The Creator
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Go for the delectable cinematic experience -- including the Hans Zimmer score -- but keep other expectations under control.
Posted Oct 05, 2023
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4/5
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A Haunting in Venice
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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A Haunting in Venice sits somewhere between the Orient and the Nile and should keep the Christie fans in excellent spirits.
Posted Sep 21, 2023
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1/5
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Retribution
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Liam Neeson -- try as he may to make me question my life choices, I will always remain loyal to his unapologetic gruff vulnerability on the big screen. But by crikey Liam, you're not making this easy for me.
Posted Aug 31, 2023
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5/5
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Asteroid City
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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My time inside the Asteroid City limits was simply a flawless almost spiritual cinematic experience for me.
Posted Aug 18, 2023
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5/5
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Past Lives
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Past Lives should not be missed.
Posted Aug 10, 2023
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4.5/5
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Oppenheimer
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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It's a huge historical story to tell and the fact there is still such intimacy to this film just shows the class of it.
Posted Jul 27, 2023
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4.5/5
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Barbie
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Girl power, woman power, a feminist war-cry wrapped up in a pink bow and full of real heart and seriously lols; it's a Barbie World, and you should be in it.
Posted Jul 19, 2023
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3/5
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No Hard Feelings
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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While it's a predictable been-there-done-that comedy with some eye-rolling ridiculous moments, I somehow did find myself genuinely guffawing more than once and JLaw brings it whatever the role.
Posted Jun 29, 2023
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3/5
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Indiana Jones and Fleabag, together, in the final chapter of Harrison Ford's Indy? That headline had me frothing at the bit for this Dial of Destiny and while they didn't disappoint the film itself unfortunately did.
Posted Jun 21, 2023
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4/5
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The Flash
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Turns out it's worth the wait.
Posted Jun 12, 2023
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2.5/5
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Fast X
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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There's nothing much left in the tank. Cars and humans are entirely indestructible, our heroes time and time again emerge from certain incineration without a scratch or blister -- the sheer ridiculousness matched only by my sheer boredom.
Posted May 24, 2023
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5/5
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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[Vol. 3] totally sticks the landing, bringing this beloved slice of the Marvel franchise to a nourishing close, dancing across the finish line to the tune of another blockbuster soundtrack and reminding me how much I just adore going to the movies.
Posted May 04, 2023
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4/5
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Cocaine Bear
(2023)
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Kate Rodger
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Shocking nobody -- this is not a family night out at the movies with the kiddiewinkles but by crikey it's a fun welcome distraction for the grown-ups.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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4/5
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The Whale
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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While the film itself isn't necessarily a sum of all its incredible acting parts, The Whale is an emotionally affirming story which -- once again it seems -- feels like just what we need right now.
Posted Feb 08, 2023
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4/5
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Babylon
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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As a movie monument to movie-making itself, Babylon served me up some unforgettable moments and his grand finale catapulted me out of the cinema.
Posted Jan 19, 2023
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4.5/5
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The Fabelmans
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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This film is Spielbergian in its every frame and horizon but this film is owned by Michelle Williams in a luminous, layered, career-best Oscar-worthy performance.
Posted Jan 12, 2023
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5/5
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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As a self-confessed crazy cat lady, Puss purred his way into my cinematic affections long ago and I just loved him jumping back onto my lap again.
Posted Jan 05, 2023
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4/5
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The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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There are so many layers here... but rather weirdly I didn't feel the same deep connection with this story and its band of characters as I had with Billboards. Farrell and Gleeson though? I could sit in a cinema with them for days.
Posted Dec 29, 2022
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4/5
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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Johnson is a master storyteller and knows how to spin a hugely entertaining yarn with a handpicked classy cast. Glass Onion doesn't live up to the cinematic perfection of his first Knives Out but there's plenty of onion goodness here to savour.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
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5/5
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Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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Avatar: The Way of Water was a quite simply a magnificent way to wind up the cinematic year and celebrate the singular joy of the big screen experience with an Avatar as good if not better than its predecessor.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
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4.5/5
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Strange World
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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I was so very pleasantly surprised at just how great this film was, brimming with adventure and colour and love and a genuinely unexpected trajectory.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
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5/5
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She Said
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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The true story is so well-known, it's a testament to the telling of it that my visceral emotional reaction as the closing credits rolled was so explosive.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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As a tribute to the Black Panther -- the late Chadwick Boseman -- Wakanda Forever is incredibly moving. It also has some astonishing women dominating the big screen in the best possible way.
Posted Nov 17, 2022
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4/5
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The Wonder
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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This film's slow-burn pace --which won't work for everyone -- had me entirely hooked. [Florence Pugh is] as mesmerising here as she's ever been, delivering on this haunting, unsettling, and engrossing story.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
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2/5
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Black Adam
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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Not a fresh thought to be found, but with enough flash, rattle and roll to maybe entertain the younger fan.
Posted Oct 27, 2022
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4.5/5
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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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To call this film 'feel good' is quite simply a disservice. Enjoy the upgrade to feel great and do yourself a favour. Plan a delicious evening at the pictures, dress up, have a glass of bubbly and let Mrs Harris steal your heart.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
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3.5/5
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Don't Worry Darling
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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There's no question this is an open-and-shut case of Styles over substance, but Pugh's phenomenally ferocious femme grabs the story by the throat and does not let go.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
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2/5
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Ticket to Paradise
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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Bad rom-coms are my kryptonite and more often than not I find them mostly all bad. So the fact that Ticket to Paradise -- despite the Roberts-Clooney collective -- sent me screaming into the hills should shock absolutely nobody.
Posted Sep 23, 2022
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3.5/5
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Punch
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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The narrative here suffers from a patchy surge and ebb which sucks a little of the drama out but there's no questioning the heft and weight of this emotional, very personal and incredibly important story.
Posted Sep 14, 2022
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2/5
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Beast
(2022)
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Kate Rodger
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An eyerollingly silly script and a less than convincing performance from a rogue CGI lion ate away at all my enjoyment.
Posted Sep 01, 2022
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