I’m Thinking of Ending Things is another trip into the mind of the pathetic man, but Charlie Kaufman finally finds universality in one man’s fantasy. Mild spoilers for I’m Thinking of Ending Things below. You can mark the exact point at which one-time wunderkind Charlie Kaufman went from being a critic’s darling to a difficult … Read more
Away tries to be a space drama and a family drama, but fails massively at both. There’s a good reason why outer space is such a popular setting for fiction: the stakes are so obvious. Just off camera, just off the page, is an endless void that can kill your protagonists if a single thing … Read more
Deep in the wops, three children are caught in a pastoral New Zealand nightmare. The Tally Stick begins like a waking dream, a horrifying free fall where time stretches out before snapping sickeningly back into place. The car containing the four sleeping children left the earth … It’s April 1978. It’s dark, and the weather … Read more
The second instalment of Patrick Gower’s On… series is about the one issue that has touched all of us this year. But the documentary seems almost as fascinated by Gower himself, writes Sam Brooks It seems strange, on the day that Auckland comes out of a lockdown, its second, to be watching a documentary about … Read more
The Silence of Snow has a rare and aching truth to it, writes books editor Catherine Woulfe. I could pick Eileen Merriman’s writing anywhere, especially the way she’s been writing lately. She has struck on a particular minor key that rings across each page, clear and sharp and quick. It makes you want to listen … Read more
Sick of dating shows? The Dog House is a matchmaking show with none of the drama and all of the feels. I like to schedule my crying jags for Tuesdays at 8.30pm. A bawl isn’t guaranteed: sometimes just a trickle of salty sadness runs down my cheek, other times happy tears flow. Either way, it’s … Read more
Looking for a family friendly drama to enjoy this lockdown? TVNZ’s new teen series Mystic might be the perfect choice. Out in the television galaxy, somewhere between the giddy orbit of Paw Patrol and Riverdale, lies a dark void where young adults wait patiently for their next favourite series. While there are plenty of TV … Read more
With a TV like the Samsung Q950TS it’s possible to set up your living room like a cinema, but ultimately it shouldn’t matter what screen you watch your favourite films and shows on, says Henry Burrell. Despite writing about technology for a living I have never been that fussy about TVs. As long as the … Read more
Kids will love Jonathan King’s graphic novel The Inkberg Enigma, according to actual kids Max (eight) and Iggy (six). In a sleepy fishing town, there’s something strange going on behind the scenes. Luckily two plucky kids called Miro and Zia are here to investigate. It’s The Inkberg Enigma, a new graphic novel for young readers, … Read more
The second season of the female-focused anthology series is as much a portrait of a disintegrating marriage as it is a crime story, writes Catherine McGregor. This review contains mild spoilers for episodes one and two. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they say, but we all know it’s not actually true, not … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Three’s mainstay 7 Days, and finds a show that is still worth the watch, but needs to change. The first joke of 7 Days in 2020 is a mask joke, followed up by a ball gag joke. Dai Henwood then chides host Jeremy Corbett with this scorcher: “It’s always something sexual with … Read more
Glow Up NZ is the latest reality franchise to hit New Zealand screens, and Tara Ward discovers a show with plenty of heart. “An online makeup revolution is sweeping the world,” host Megan Papas tells us in the opening moments of Glow Up NZ, TVNZ On Demand’s new reality competition about the wonders of makeup artistry. … Read more
A review of Rat King Landlord, the new novel by activist and satirist Murdoch Stephens, by Josie Adams, who lives with a rat. This is the first book I have finished in four years. The last book I read was Sisterhood of Dune, because I am no longer capable of entering new literary universes and … Read more
A new season of reality series Selling Sunset just landed on Netflix. Tara Ward finds that if you set your expectations low, you won’t be disappointed. If you threw Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Million Dollar Listing and The Hills into a reality TV juicer, you’d pour out a long, tall glass of Selling Sunset. … Read more
An adventure story that splits the difference between action-packed intrigue and touching melancholy, Sam Brooks reviews Lizard’s Tale, which has just won the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction. When you think of settings for a children’s novel, the dawn before the dusk of the Second World War in Singapore is probably … Read more
Odessa To’o on Selina Tusitala Marsh’s picture book Mophead, which was just named the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. I almost didn’t read this book because of the title. Mophead. Instantly recognisable as an insult for anyone with big hair, even though I’ve never been called it myself. The kids at my primary school … Read more
Catherine Woulfe reviews Upstream on the Mataura, a memoir by Gore flyfisherman Dougal Rillstone chronicling his journey along the Southland river. Dougal Rillstone is some guy you’ve never heard of, who grew up in Gore and is in love with a river. He also loves to fish for trout. He’s in his 70s. He fishes … Read more
This Town is being billed as 2020’s feel good Kiwi comedy movie, but Amanda Thompson finds it a gentle romcom with a heart of surprisingly confronting darkness. Movies about rural New Zealand are going to be funny, either intentionally or unintentionally. It’s a funny place and we’re funny people, and New Zealanders are so good … Read more
The Crazy Rich Asians author creates froth that may in fact be genius, says Sam Brooks. Kevin Kwan’s first novel Crazy Rich Asians had the kind of success every populist author dreams of. It became a beloved bestseller, which turned into a slightly less beloved trilogy, which then turned into a blockbuster movie that was … Read more
With Sprigs, Brannavan Gnanalingam delivers a great New Zealand novel, writes Uther Dean. Since 2011 Brannavan Gnanalingam has pumped out Major Work after Major Work. Every two years brought another book: Getting Under Sail; You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here; Credit in the Straight World; A Briefcase, Two Pies and a … Read more
Finding it hard to focus in this era of remote work and pandemic-induced anxiety? A scaled-down tablet and keyboard set-up might be the productivity hack you’re looking for, writes Henry Burrell. As a writer who works from home, I have been slowly building a home office set up that puts me into the best workflow … Read more
Taylor Swift’s surprise album is a step away from noisy popstardom and into the quiet woods, writes Sam Brooks. I spent most of quarantine dreading the kind of art that would come out of it. I was expecting movies shot on Zoom, TV shows about unlikely flatmates being stuck together, and plays about how we … Read more
A new sketch show on Comedy Central has heralded a new era for Pacific voices. But it’s not all big laughs and dick jokes – it’s much more sophisticated than that. The trailer for new comedy sketch show Sis, released in late June, is bloody funny. As a good trailer should, it takes some of … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the latest Netflix movie of the week: the mildly erotic sex thriller Fatal Affair. It has to be said that most rip-offs of Fatal Attraction usually have the sense of mind to change both words in that title. We’re all familiar with the plot of Fatal Attraction, even if we’ve never seen … Read more
Carlson has long been one of our best comedians, and now the world can see it too, writes Sam Brooks. Last year, Urzila Carlson became the first comedian from our shores to perform her own Netflix special, a half hour episode of the Comedians of the World series. Now she’s the first New Zealander to … Read more
Neon’s gender-flipped version of High Fidelity features Zoë Kravitz in the role John Cusack made famous 20 years ago. And it works far better than you might expect, writes Catherine McGregor. By now we’ve all accepted the fact that every last artistic touchstone we hold dear will one day end up being reused, reinterpreted or … Read more
The new TVNZ On Demand political comedy relies on great performances to paper over a wafer-thin story, writes Jean Sergent. The set-up is simple: Darren Bellows (Tom Sainsbury), a Colin Craig-esque political loser, is being blackmailed by his dominatrix (Kathleen Burns). The stakes are high for Darren as the leader of the minor league Conservative … Read more
The Old Guard, new to Netflix, is a resounding success because it doesn’t focus on what makes these heroes great, it focuses on what makes them human, writes Sam Brooks. The climax of Netflix’s new movie The Old Guard shouldn’t be anything new, but it feels exhilarating. The titular old guard, a group of immortal … Read more
Basketball is growing massively in popularity around the country, led by thousands of youngsters picking up the game every day. To the Line looks at what it’s like for New Zealand high school kids with hoop dreams. If there’s been a narrative rumbling away in the sports pages, it’s that of basketball’s seemingly unstoppable momentum … Read more