What's on Netflix in February

Whether you celebrate it or not, the month of love is almost upon us which means this February Netflix will be releasing a selection of fresh rom-coms that will keep you occupied this V-Day! However, if romance isn’t your thing, we’ve still got you covered with some of the most anticipated flicks arriving, ranging from comedy, action, mystery to drama. So grab your loved ones, your pals, or a block of chocolate and enjoy this month's new releases!

True Spirit (February 3)

Kicking off the month with some local content from ANZ is True Spirit, landing on our screens February 3. Based on a true story, it explores the incredible story of Queenslander Jessica Watson's solo voyage around the world. Jessica is determined to accomplish what was thought to be impossible, navigating some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean over the course of 210 days. Led by rising star Teagan Croft, and featuring Kiwi icons Anna Paquin and Cliff Curtis, we’ll let you determine if this film is smooth sailing!

You: Season 4 Part 1 (February 9)

Hello you. Yes, the anticipated series (and baseball cap wearing stalker) we’ve all been patiently waiting for is finally back. Based on Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel of the same name, You: Season 4 Part 1 is arriving with a fresh season filled with crime, drama and romance we have never witnessed before. Starting anew in London, Joe vows to bury the past and be his best self. But on the rocky road to redemption, a new obsession starts to take hold. Couldn’t get enough of the previous seasons? Well just you wait for this one! 

Your Place or Mine (February 10) 

Looking for a new rom-com to comfort watch x100 times this February? Introducing Your Place or Mine, starring the queen of romantic comedies, Reece Witherspoon alongside the one and only Ashton Kutcher. The story follows best friends Debbie (Reece) and Peter (Ashton) who are total opposites. When the pair swap homes for a week, they get a peek into each other's lives that could open the door to love. What they discover that they might not want is what they may really need…We don’t know about you but we’re already obsessed.

In Love All Over Again (February 14)

To celebrate the day of love, In Love All Over Again will be hitting our screens on Valentine’s Day! Ever since they met, Irene and Julio have been falling in love, splitting up, and then trying again. This rom-com explores a gleaming story with a dash of nostalgia about the love and friendship that blooms during college years and the need to find your place in the world.

Will they ever find their happy ending? Only one way to find out!

Perfect Match (February 14 - Episodes 1-4)

Also landing on Valentine’s Day is your next reality show obsession, Perfect Match. This reality show follows couples who prove their compatibility to gain the power to make or break other matches in this strategic and seductive dating competition. The show brings together the most famously single stars of Netflix’s unscripted series to a tropical paradise in an attempt to find love. As they compete to form relationships, the most compatible couples will play matchmaker, breaking up other couples and sending them on dates with brand-new singles they’ll invite to the villa. Will they create better matches, or will they create chaos? 

Outer Banks: Season 3 (February 23)

The action-adventure mystery teen drama Outer Banks: Season 3 is back with another season - can we get a hell yeah!? After losing the gold and fleeing the Outer Banks, Season 3 finds the Pogues washed ashore on a desert island that, for a brief moment, seems like an idyllic home. However, things quickly go south for John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ, and Cleo when they find themselves once again caught up in a race for the treasure, quite literally running for their lives. It’s the Pogues against the world – and the only way out is together.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 5 (February 24)

Remember that car show that we couldn't get enough of? Well Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 5 is landing February 24. This season, drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane both on and off the track during each cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing. So make sure to tune in Feb 24 for some fresh eps which will truly have you at the edge of your seat.

ORIGINAL SERIES

Freeridge (02/02/2023)

Four teen friends work to reverse a curse after a peculiar old box seems to bring misfortune — and more — into their lives.

Class (03/02/2023)

Three students from a poor neighborhood join an exclusive high school for Delhi elite where dark secrets and rumors ultimately lead to murder.

The Exchange (08/02/2023)

Inspired by real events, two women set out to pioneer the cutthroat stock market of 1980s Kuwait — and disrupt its corrupt boys club along the way.

You: Season 4 Part 1 (09/02/2023)

Starting anew in London, Joe vows to bury the past and be his best self. But on the rocky road to redemption, a new obsession starts to take hold.

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (09/02/2023)

In 1919 Jerusalem, housecleaner Rosa weds a shopkeeper who loves another woman, a choice that impacts her dynamic with eldest daughter Luna for decades.

Love is Blind: After the Altar Season 3 (10/02/2023)

Check in with this season's former fiancés, one year since their big decisions to get married or walk away single.

Love to Hate You (10/02/2023)

For an attorney who despises losing to men and an A-list actor who distrusts women, love means nothing — until they're forced to date each other.

In Love All Over Again (14/02/2023)

Ever since they met, Irene and Julio have been falling in love, splitting up, and then trying again. Will they ever find their happy ending?

Perfect Match (Rolling Episodes)

Episodes 1-4: 14/02/2023

Episodes 5-8: 21/02/2023

Episodes 9-12: 28/02/2023

Couples who prove their compatibility gain the power to make or break other matches in this strategic and seductive dating competition.

Eva Lasting (15/02/2023)

A mysterious teen girl arrives at an all-boys school in 1970s Colombia, breaking stereotypes, rules... and a few hearts.

#NoFilter (15/02/2023)

Bored with her studies, Marcely drops out of college to chase a new goal in life: becoming an influencer. But life online is harder than it looks…

The Law According to Lidia Poët (15/02/2023)

Forbidden from practicing law, a woman prepares to fight the court's decision. Inspired by the true story of Lidia Poët, Italy's first female lawyer.

Red Rose (15/02/2023)

A ragtag crew of teens must survive a summer of terror after downloading an app that makes dangerous demands with deadly consequences.

The Upshaws: Part 3 (16/02/2023)

Still striving for success and surviving every mess, the Upshaws face a series of obstacles that put their resilience — and relationships — to the test.

Ganglands: Season 2 (17/02/2023)

Mehdi, Liana and Tony find their plans to leave Belgium thwarted by the arrival of a new enemy — one that forces them to ally with former foes.

Community Squad (17/02/2023)

A ragtag civilian patrol squad created to improve the image of the police force faces unexpected danger after stumbling on a drug trafficking operation.

A Girl and an Astronaut (17/02/2023)

An astronaut's return after a 30-year disappearance rekindles a lost love and sparks interest from a corporation determined to learn why he hasn't aged.

Triptych (22/02/2023)

After finding out she is one of three identical triplets, a relentless detective embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth about her past.

Outer Banks: Season 3 (23/02/2023)

New adventures take the Pogues to the Caribbean and far beyond as the friends are pulled into a dangerous rival's hunt for a legendary lost city.

Who Were We Running From? (24/02/2023)

Harboring a painful past, a mother lives like a nameless fugitive with her daughter as they make hotels their home and see everyone else as a threat.

Too Hot to Handle: Germany (28/02/2023)

Ten gorgeous singles meet in a tropical paradise. Little do they know that to win the €200,000 prize, they'll have to completely give up sex.

NETFLIX FILM

True Spirit (03/02/2023)

When Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world, she must overcome her greatest fear as she navigates the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean. Based on a true story.

Stromboli (03/02/2023)

Haunted by memories of her broken marriage and a fight with her daughter, a woman joins an intense self-help retreat when her vacation goes awry.

Vikingulven (03/02/2023)

After witnessing a grotesque murder at a party in her new town, a teenager starts having strange visions and bizarre desires.

Infiesto (03/02/2023)

As the coronavirus upends their lives, two detectives doggedly pursue those responsible for an abduction they realize is part of a sinister pattern.

Dear David (09/02/2023)

A straight-A high schooler's life is turned upside down when her risqué fantasy blog about her crush is leaked to everyone at school.

10 Days of a Good Man (10/02/2023)

A lawyer turned private investigator takes on a missing person case, propelling him on an unexpected and life-altering quest.

Your Place or Mine (10/02/2023)

When best friends and total opposites Debbie and Peter swap homes for a week, they get a peek into each other's lives that could open the door to love.

Squared Love All Over Again (13/02/2023)

A celebrity journalist and a down-to-earth teacher find their relationship in rocky waters when a job gets in the way of their new life together.

All the Places (14/02/2023)

Two siblings who haven't seen each other in 15 years mend their relationship while fulfilling a childhood dream: a motorcycle road trip through Mexico.

A Sunday Affair (14/02/2023)

Lifelong best friends Uche and Toyin fall for the same complicated man, which tests their loyalty to each other as they face a heartbreaking revelation.

Re/Member (14/02/2023)

Six high schoolers stuck in a murderous time loop must find the scattered remains of an unknown victim to break the curse and finally see another day.

Unlocked (17/02/2023)

A woman’s life is turned upside-down when a dangerous man gets a hold of her lost cell phone and uses it to track her every move.

The Strays (22/02/2023)

A light-skinned Black woman's meticulously crafted life of privilege starts to unravel when two strangers show up in her quaint suburban town.

Call Me Chihiro (23/02/2023)

An unapologetic former sex worker starts working at a bento stand in a small seaside town, bringing comfort to the lonely souls who come her way.

We Have a Ghost (24/02/2023)

Finding a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home turns Kevin's family into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of Ernest's past, they become a target of the CIA.

NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIALS

Jim Jefferies: High n' Dry (14/02/2023)

Jim Jefferies is back for his fifth Netflix comedy special, High n' Dry and no topic is off limits. The comedian muses on stoned koalas, his dad’s vasectomy confusion, choosing between his hair and his sex drive and more.

Whindersson Nunes: Preaching to the Choir (19/02/2023)

It’s the end of the world and he knows it. Whindersson Nunes reflects on current affairs, social media, religion and more in this stand-up special.

A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou (28/02/2023)

A womb with a view. Awkward adulthood. The not-so-golden years. Journey through life’s stages with Jamie Demetriou in this musical sketch-comedy special.

NETFLIX DOCUMENTARIES 

Gunther's Millions (01/02/2023)

A dog with a trust fund isn't the strangest part of this story. Gunther's eccentric handler also lived a luxe life — with a cult-like entourage.

Bill Russell: Legend (08/02/2023)

Featuring an interview with Bill Russell prior to his passing in 2022, Bill Russell: Legend is the definitive telling of the remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon.

African Queens: Njinga (15/02/2023)

From Executive Producer Jada Pinkett Smith comes a new documentary series exploring the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens. The first season will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern day Angola. The nation’s first female ruler, Njinga earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance.

Full Swing (15/02/2023)

This immersive documentary series follows a diverse group of professional golfers on and off the course across a relentless season of competition.

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (22/02/2023)

The Murdaughs were one of South Carolina’s most prominent families, but the death of teenager Mallory Beach in a drunken boating accident began the unraveling of their legacy. When Paul Murdaugh – the alleged driver of the boat – and his mother Maggie are found brutally murdered, a century of corruption, power, and cover-ups in the Low Country is brought to light. The three-part series will feature first-hand accounts from those on the boat that fateful night, many of whom have not spoken about the crash or double homicide of Maggie and Paul until now, including: Paul Murdaugh’s longtime girlfriend, Morgan Doughty; Mallory Beach's childhood friends, Miley Altman and Connor Cook; Mallory's boyfriend, Anthony Cook; and, several others.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 5 (24/02/2023)

Drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane — both on and off the track — during each cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing.

NETFLIX KIDS & FAMILY

My Dad the Bounty Hunter (09/02/2023)

An intergalactic bounty hunter takes dad duty to new extremes when his two kids accidentally hitch a ride with him to outer space and crash his mission.

That Girl Lay Lay: Season 2 (23/02/2023)

With her secret still under wraps, Lay Lay's back with her bestie, Sadie, as the friends juggle app glitches, high school hijinks, life lessons and more.

Oddballs: Season 2 (24/02/2023)

James and his friends Max and Echo return for more soapbox rants, not-so-bright ideas and school shenanigans, bringing disaster back to Dirt, Arizona.

NETFLIX  ANIME

Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanzawa (01/02/2023)

A silhouetted suspect moves to the crime-infested city of Beika with murder in mind, in this spinoff spoof of "Detective Conan."

MAKE MY DAY (02/02/2023)

On an isolated icy planet promising a bright future, prisoners are forced to excavate a rare energy source that leads to a deadly, unwelcome discovery.

Aggretsuko: Season 5 (16/02/2023)

In this final season, Retsuko faces her biggest challenge yet when she's thrown head first into the world of politics. Get out the vote for Retsuko!

LICENSED HIGHLIGHTS

The Love Punch (13/02/2023)

When a divorced couple's retirement nest egg goes missing, they go after the financier they hold responsible by staging a heist on the Côte d'Azur.

Love & Other Drugs (15/02/2023)

A charming pharmaceutical sales rep reconsiders what he's looking for when he starts to fall for an artist with early-onset Parkinson's disease.

Fifty Shades Darker (16/02/2023)

Anastasia embarks on a publishing career, as Christian renegotiates the terms of their relationship. But outside forces threaten to rip them apart.

Pitch Perfect (16/02/2023)

It's a musical showdown when Beca joins The Bellas a cappella group and revamps their stodgy style to take on a men's choir in a university competition.

The Unusual Suspects: Season 1 (16/02/2023)

When a valuable necklace is stolen from a wealthy East Sydney home, an investigation reveals harsh realities behind the community's pristine exterior.

Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt) (17/02/2023)

Ellie can't muster the courage to ask Abbie to the school formal — and things get more difficult when the ghost of her aunt appears and gives her advice.

What's on Shudder in February

Skinamarink 

Premieres Thursday 2 February 

In Skinamarink, two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows and blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party situation. 

They  play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening  and inexplicable situation. All the while in the hopes that eventually some grown-ups will come to  rescue them. 

However, after a while it becomes clear that something is watching over them. 

The  film stars Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul and Jaime Hill and is executive produced by  Edmon Rotea, Ava Karvonen, Bonnie Lewis, Alan Lewis, Josh Doke and Jonathan Barkan. Written, directed and produced by Kyle Edward Ball, in his directorial debut. 

Attachment 

Premieres Thursday 9 February 

Maja is a has-been actress in Denmark who falls in love with Leah, a young, Jewish academic visiting from the UK. When Leah suffers a mysterious seizure, Maja fears their whirlwind romance might be cut short and decides to follow Leah back to her home in London. 

There, she meets  her new downstairs neighbour: Leah’s mother, Chana. An overbearing, seemingly religious and highly  secretive woman, Chana is resistant to all of Maja’s attempts to win her over but with increasingly  strange occurrences in the building, she begins to suspect that Chana’s secrets could be much darker 

than she first anticipated. Co-written and directed by Gabriel Bier Gislason and starring Sofie Gråbøl and Josephine Park. 

The Witch Part 2: The Other One 

Premieres Thursday 16 February 

After a girl emerges as the sole survivor of a bloody raid on the research facility behind the top-secret Witch Program, she is rescued by a pair of civilians who soon realise that more danger lies ahead. 

Directed by Park Hoon-jung and starring Kim Da-mi, Park Eun‑bin and Lee Jong Suk. 

Dual: Neon NZ Review

Riley Stearns (The Art of Self-Defense) returns with a Black Mirror-esque movie that proves to be as tragic as it is poignant.

Doctor Who and Guardians of the Galaxy's Karen Gillan is Sarah, a remote and emotionally flat woman who discovers she's dying with a disease that's 100% going to kill her. Even though the doctors tell her there's a 2% margin of error, she's told to make her final plans for life.

Discovering a cloning service that will give her family and friends a version of her to live on after her death, she opts for the process. As the clone adopts her way of life, Sarah's stunned to find out that 10 months later, despite the initial prognosis, she's gone into full remission.

The only way to get her life back now is a fight to death with her clone...

There's a stilted unnatural bent to the dialogue and Gillan's performance throughout Dual, but the rhythms of this sci-fi tinged story are extremely satisfying, despite its lo-fi nature. It may be about high concepts, but this movie works on its basic levels by tapping into human insecurities, dystopian twists and a feeling that something's not quite right all the way through.

There's an intrigue coursing through Dual's veins, and while there's also some humour to be found in the offbeat moments, it's all rooted in a bittersweet feel that's based on veracity. Dual taps into the loneliness of life, the staccato speeches belying the emotional truths which are being passed, and an inherently subtle take on the human condition.

In among it all is Gillan, whose dual role here requires as much subtlety as it does hands-off. Her interactions with both Aaron Paul's trainer and Beulah Koale's partner work because of the edge Gillan brings to the party. You end up wanting her to win, but you know deep down, there's always a better version of you that's going to win over.

Dual is a thrill; a cold concept film that has deliciously deadpan edges, but also a uniquely human moral edge.

Ghost In The Shell: Neon NZ Review

Ghost In The Shell: Neon NZ Review

There's an irony that 2017 yields a shiny, yet empty and hollow, new version of Ghost In the Shell, all wrapped up in FX and Weta's wizardry, and coming nearly 30 years after the first iteration of the Manga series appeared.

Along with the campaign against the film over its apparent white-washing of its lead, the Asian Major, and a meme meltdown that seized on the film's apparent ignoring of any potential Asian leads, there's already enough for Ghost In The Shell to achieve.

So, it's perhaps frustrating to report that the 2017 version of Ghost In The Shell is pretty hollow, and feels like a missed opportunity, a series of shooter / fighting sequences all wrapped up in some damn near incredible visual and practical work from WETA.

Johansson stars as Major, who's part of an elite group called Section 9, who hunts down terrorists at the government's behest in a futuristic world. But Major is more than just the star operative of this ragtag group, headed up by Beat Takeshi Kitano's Chief. In a world where cybernetic enhancements are becoming the norm, Major's a perfect meshing of a human brain in a robotic body - a precedent for the future.

However, while Major's fairly adept at taking out the bad guys, she begins to experience glitches in her daily life, giving her frightening flashes of a life before... and causing her to question her own identity and loyalties, just as a new terrorist threat emerges...

To be fair to Ghost In The Shell, the themes tackled within are not exactly new and the trope of questioning self and identity are ones which are endemic to most of the genre's films that feature a robot protagonist. (Ridley Scott's Blade Runner being perhaps the chief example of such a film and TV's Westworld being the latest version of the nature of consciousness discussions).

Yet, despite its shiny paint and exquisite visuals for 2017, the new version is very much lacking in anything other than a simple cyberpunk ethos and a videogame aesthetic and narrative. This is not an adaptation of an anime that comes anywhere near close to hitting some of the rich resonance and emotional themes of the originals.

Relatively soulless, and without too many real philosophical edges for the audience to grapple with, this Ghost In The Shell simply chooses to throw out the more thoughtful elements of the series before it, in favour of yet another (admittedly well) choreographed action sequence. It's no Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, that's for sure.

Despite some truly impressive neon-soaked Blade Runner and video game Remember Me-esque cityscape visuals to make up the world, what sits within is, unfortunately, a little less well realised.

While the Geisha-bots that become like scuttling spider-bots are early indications of the visual mastery of Weta's work, their memory soon fades in light of some well-worn familiar style sci-fi dialogue and bullets flying as the emotionally detached film plays out.

Johansson pretty much dials down the emotion and comes off a little like a second-rate action version of her character from Luc Beeson's much-overlooked flick Lucy. She brings some edges to some of the emotional conflict that arises from within, but she never quite fully sells the struggle with her past.  And Snow White and The Huntsman director Sanders reaches Michael Bay levels of fetishization of Johansson's form within the suit and when she's lying on a bed as he brings the story-boards to life...

(And it has to be said, unfortunately, that some of the white-washer naysayers have a point, particularly when Major's past is addressed towards the film's denouement. There's also a whole debate over the rest of the casting of the film as well, with many of the Asians represented on screen playing more sub-serviant roles than anything substantially meaty.)

Pilou Asbaek's second-in-command is a thankless role that ploughs the action into the brawn and little else; Kitano's support is equally solid as well, but he's relegated to the sage overlord dispatching ideas and checking up on his team, rather than anything more. Elsewhere, Juliette Binoche brings the humanity in her doctor, but again, it's scant anything other than brief broad brush strokes to satisfy the most brain-dead of audience members.

It helps little that Ghost In The Shell's emotional edges are lacking and the pay-offs not as spectacular as the stakes in the final act. It's something that's little supported in the film's scripting and filters through the entire film; and while the action sequences are dispatched tautly and effectively, they're all emotionless, formulaic sequences that barely stay in the memory long after the conclusion of the film.

Ultimately, Ghost In The Shell's extraordinary visuals shine way above anything else on the screen.
It's a clear case of style over substance, which is no bad thing given the level of detail spent on them. 
Referencing The Matrix, Blade Runner and many Arthur C Clarke tropes, the film's eye-wateringly gorgeous FX and confidently realised world crackle where the rest of the film unfortunately does not.

In the final wash, Ghost In The Shell's weaker narrative, combined with its sidelining of the more interesting philosophical debates and the story of identity of its main protagonist, sadly stop it from becoming a true sci-fi classic, leaving it floundering as a hollow and shallow video-game lite experience that's more about what's on screen than what lies beneath.

Top Gun: Maverick: Neon NZ Review

Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly

Director: Joseph Kosinski

As narratively hollow as blockbusters come, but a spectacle like cinema has been crying out for for years, Top Gun: Maverick poses somewhat of a conundrum.

As a sequel to the 1986 film, it finds Cruise's Maverick swept up in the regrets of the past, while trying to take on the future. the future here being training a group of elite fighter pilots for a dangerous - and possibly suicidal - mission to destroy a nondescript nuclear threat, housed within a mountain.

He's training the elite of the elite - and included in their number is Rooster (Teller), the son of his former wingman Goose....

There's no denying that the plot isn't really the thing which propels Top Gun: Maverick along. Sure, it's a catalyst for endless scenes of broing and of planes in the sky, but it's got little flesh on it, and it's to the credit of those involved that there are some moments that truly land for this flick.

But it's also telling that a short sequence involving Val Kilmer's Iceman and Cruise's Maverick that packs more of the emotional heft than any of the moments which punctuate the continual feeling you are in an extended advert for the Royal Navy air force.

There's also a touch of Maverick being a relic of the past, with a drone programme shutting down his test ventures, and an antagonistic relationship between Cruise and Hamm's character that's reminiscent of Bruno Kirby and Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam - but all of these touches aren't really what the film's interested in pursuing.

There are moments of reflection, snippets of a past haunting Maverick - but it's roundly drowned out by chiselled jaws, toned bodies and aerial sequences. Talking of those, it's to Kosinski's credit that they are so kinetic, so thrilling and adrenaline-inducing that they're probably the sole raison d'etre for this film. Taking you inside the cockpit and getting you into the forefront of the action is immersive and engaging - and it's these sequences which pour some lifeblood into the film itself.

Cruise is reflective and as watchable as ever, inhabiting a skin that he's clearly relaxed in; of the rest of the cast, aside from a bit more depth to Teller and the aforementioned Kilmer cameo, there's little depth to be found. There's a younger more headstrong arrogant Top Gun pilot in the group who's clearly supposed to be the Maverick of the gang, a token female, a token newcomer to the group and some other hotheads who largely fade away into insignificance as the story goes on. Connelly is there to be alluring and little else, which feels like a waste in all honesty.

But at the centre of it all, thanks solely to the aerial scenes, there's a viscerally thrilling experience that cries out to be seen on the biggest screen possible. If 1986's Top Gun existed to sign people up, then this sequel clearly knows that it wants to do that again - it's just a crying shame that the story doesn't have a bit more depth to elevate it into the stratosphere.

X: Neon NZ Review

Cast: Mia Goth, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi, Jenna Ortega, Stephen Ure
Director: Ti West

In a movie that purports to put ideas ahead of straight schlock and gore, director Ti West’s New Zealand shot X certainly is all about the idea of the fears of youth and the regrets of the elderly.

It's 1979 rural Texas: When a group of young good looking things head to a ranch to make an adult film after their topless car wash falls foul of the IRS, it seems like they’re onto a good thing. Especially with the rise of the home video market.

Amongst their number is enthusiastic producer Wayne (a cowboy hat wearing Henderson, all goofy enthusiasm and lowbrow ideals) and wannabe actress Maxine (Goth, fragile and vulnerable yet determined to make it - even if she does need drugs to get through her tawdry scenes).

But the owner of the isolated Texas barn (Ure) is not happy the young 'uns are on his land and warns them to behave through fears of what it’ll do to his wife...

X knows what it wants to do and sets about it in a creepy, unsettling and understandably exploitative way.

However, West is adroit at building atmosphere whether it be the conventions of the adult film they’re making or the more gory elements that come in later on. Though in truth, it’s the ideas and homages to the horror genres that West gets his kicks from - and audiences will adore long after the lights have gone up.

There are some clever ideas going on behind the scenes here as the film progresses and thanks to long slow shots that build tension and disturb, the film has a way of drawing you in before trying to freak you out.

While more in the genre of uneasy psychological shocks than full on kill shots, X is delightfully disturbing and deeply icky as it examines the age issues from within with a central range of characters that play with conventions and occasionally subvert them.

Pig: Neon NZ Review

Less John Wick, more philosophical musing on how society has crumbled, Pig is a film that benefits greatly from the largely muted performance of Nicolas Cage.

Cage is Rob, an isolated living-in-the-woods ambler of a man, whose long lank hair and ragged clothes make him appear homeless and disconnected from society. Rob leads the life of a truffle farmer, with his trusty pig sniffing out the best delicacies to sell off to his yuppie dealer Amir (Wolff, all slicked-back hair and flashy car).

However, one night without warning, Rob's cabin-in-the-woods door is kicked down, and his beloved truffle pig stolen. Calling on the (seemingly) only person he knows Amir to help him, the hermetic Rob powers into the city with only one thing on his mind - Where is my Pig?

An odd couple pairing of a film that always threatens to erupt into violence, but always takes the more calmly measured philosophical approach, Pig rises on the merits of its two leads.

While Wolff appears to be a boy trying to find his way in a man's world and to shake off a legacy of an elder, his youthful anger early on gives way to a more nuanced turn of a belligerent soul coming to realise his actions have consequences.

Elsewhere, Cage leans heavily into the enigma of the role, with answers not coming early on as to why this man is living alone with a pig, why he's so revered when he returns to the city and why his heart is so broken for the abduction of a porcine pal. Sure, there are a few familiar tropes here that are explored and utilised, and a sign that the philosophies are only skin deep, but Sarnoski's maudlin film is more about the poignancy than the pummeling of faces and answers.

There's a debate to be had from one scene where Cage's Rob eviscerates a man by destroying his empire with words rather than actions and it's here that Sarnoski sets his stall out, by layering the scene with amusing moments, human tragedy and sheer contempt - to say more is to spoil the film's desire to toy with expectations of revelations.

There's a drip feed attached to Pig's proceedings, and when a simple phrase like "I'd like to speak to the chef" can provoke such a mix of emotional responses as laughter and trepidation, you can tell it's a heady concoction that permeates this melancholy movie.

There's an interesting dish served up in Pig - a subversion of expectations works terrifically well and a monosyllabic main actor helps set the scene and underscore the atmospherics. But what Sarnoski does in Pig as events transpire, is to subtly peel back the layers of complexity and hook you in when you least expect it. It's a film that benefits greatly from no fore knowledge - other than the fact that it's a rare piece of cinema that will marinade your soul for days after.

The Justice of Bunny King: Neon NZ Review

The wonderfully-helmed The Justice of Bunny King is a film that handles its humanity with great aplomb.

Essie Davis is Bunny King,  a single mother who's desperate to see her two children, who are currently in the care of the state. Separated from them, and with no permanent home to call her own, Bunny makes a living washing windows at car intersections, staying at her sister's place on a couch and trying desperately to get some kind of stability ahead of a state visit.

However, as is the wont of social dramas, things take a turn for the worse when self-proclaimed "homeless squeegee bandit…but sexy" Bunny witnesses something in her sister's home that forces her and her niece Tonyah (Thomasin McKenzie, in a relatively muted part) on the run...

If The Justice of Bunny King is anything, it is Davis' film.

From the very first frame, Bunny is the heart and soul of this movie, and Davis owns every second, giving her the sense of hope and gritty authenticity you'd expect from a film like this. One that has echoes of Ken Loach and sets out to damn the housing crisis of New Zealand, as well as the Family services throughout - the film knows deep down what it wants to do and does it well, in a movie that's blessed with beautiful and bountiful cinematography.

But it's here the conflict of the film begins - in every single decision (more or less) that Bunny King makes, she's inherently in the wrong, providing an ideological conflict that's hard to shake at times. And this is not the crusade of an anti-hero by any means, more a flawed human being floundering in the face of levels of just being human.

Perhaps, it's also the fact the film humanises everyone - bar one person - throughout, meaning there is no inherent bad guy or girl - there's a system that is failing all those within it.

Whereas Ken Loach tends to build the tension and stir the pot, Gaysorn Thavat's film hinges on a narrative construction in its final third that feels tonally deaf, and leaves the viewer with extreme whiplash. 

And it's here that perhaps the film faces its greatest hurdle - whether an audience will go along with it, or whether this undermining of the drama and its subsequent credibility issues will alienate those who were already on a knife's edge watching someone flawed continue to make bad life choices that push her to the edge.

What rises above in The Justice of Bunny King is also a sense of family and whanau, the bonds created and the bonds tested by behaviours. It's here that Thavat's film truly soars, rendering some scenes with real poignancy and depth.

Ultimately, with a damning of the New Zealand housing system clearly targeted, and a lead whose presence transcends some of the weaker material and moments, The Justice of Bunny King shows promise for its first time director - and continues to cement Davis as an actor to keep watch on - even if its final act feels too fantastical and too out there to cling to.

What's on Prime Video in February

The epic conclusion of Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne’s fantasy series, Carnival Row hits Prime Video this February for its second and final season. We also farewell Star Trek: Picard as the third and final season sets off for space starring the man himself, Sir Patrick Stewart.

The Estate’s crack ensemble cast (Toni Collette, David Duchovny, Anna Farris and legend Kathleen Turner) are clearly having a blast in this film, as two sisters attempt to win the inheritance of their cantankerous terminally ill aunt.

The Consultant brings a whole new meaning to the boss/employee relationship, starring award winning, Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) in this twisted, comedic-thriller series.

Get set for some giggles with two special comedy events from Australia which also star some very familiar local faces, in Rhys Nicholson’s Big Queer Comedy Concert and Joel Creasey: Queen of the Outback.

Kevin Hart stars in his very own action flick, movie remake of his limited series Die Hart; beloved comedy Harlem is back and if you are after a rom-com for Valentine’s Day, Somebody I Used To Know will get those heart-strings pulling.

CARNIVAL ROW

SEASON 2 AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY

In a fantasy world where humans and creatures clash, Season Two of Carnival Row picks up with former inspector Rycroft Philostrate a.k.a. Philo (Orlando Bloom) investigating a series of gruesome murders stoking social tension. Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne) and the Black Raven plot payback for the unjust oppression inflicted by The Burgue’s human leaders, Jonah Breakspear (Arty Froushan) and Sophie Longerbane (Caroline Ford). Tourmaline (Karla Crome) inherits supernatural powers that threaten her fate and the future of The Row. And, after escaping The Burgue and her vengeful brother Ezra (Andrew Gower), Imogen Spurnrose (Tamzin Merchant) and her partner Agreus Astrayon (David Gyasi) encounter a radical new society which upends their plans. With humans and fae folk divided and freedom on the line, each hero will face impossible dilemmas and soul-defining tests in the epic conclusion of Carnival Row.

Carnival Row Season Two stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, Arty Froushan, Caroline Ford, Karla Crome, Andrew Gower, Tamzin Merchant and David Gyasi. 

THE ESTATE

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 3 FEBRUARY

Two sisters plot to win the inheritance of their cantankerous, terminally ill aunt, but find other relatives have equally devious designs on the family fortune. The whole family hates cranky, sickly Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner). And she loathes them right back. What everyone loves, however, is dying Hilda’s alleged fortune. The woman’s cash-strapped nieces, ruthless Savanna (Anna Faris) and guilt-ridden Macey (Toni Collette), are banking on a little last-minute fawning and flattery in ensuring their aunt will change her will in their favour. Unfortunately, they’re not the only scheming relatives. A scurrilous farce that starts in bad taste and becomes increasingly perverse, The Estate’s crack ensemble cast are clearly having a blast. Blending surreal non-sequiturs with sexual slapstick, British writer-director Dean Craig’s (Death at a Funeral) gleeful irreverence ensures that the family who preys together very much pays together. 

The Estate stars Toni Collette, Anna Faris, David Duchovny, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston and Kathleen Turner. 

THE CONSULTANT

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY

The Consultant - based on Bentley Little’s 2015 novel of the same name- is a twisted, comedic-thriller series that explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee. When a new consultant, Regus Patoff (Christoph Waltz), is hired to improve the business at the App-based gaming company CompWare, employees experience new demands and challenges that put everything into question… including their lives.

The Consultant stars Christoph Waltz, Nat Wolff,  Brittany O’Grady and Aimee Carrero.

SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback, which sends her running to the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis), and starts to question everything about the person she's become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean is getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons), whose confidence and creative convictions remind Ally of who she used to be. 

Somebody I Used To Know stars Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, Kiersey Clemons, Haley Joel Osment, Danny Pudi, Julie Hagerty and Amy Sedaris

HARLEM

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 3  FEBRUARY

From writer Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip), our beloved comedy Harlem is back. We continue our journey with our four stylish & ambitious best girlfriends in Harlem NYC, the mecca of Black culture in America. After blowing up her career and disrupting her love life, Camille (Meagan Good) has to figure out how to put the pieces back together; Tye (Jerrie Johnson) considers her future; Quinn (Grace Byers) goes on a journey of self-discovery; and Angie’s (Shoniqua Shandai) career takes a promising turn. Together, they level up into the next phase of their careers, relationships, and big city dreams.

Harlem Season Two stars Meagan Good, Jerrie Johnson, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai

STAR TREK: PICARD

SEASON 3 AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY

Star Trek: Picard features Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven series on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and follows this iconic character into the next chapter of his life. Tony Award winner Amanda Plummer has joined the cast in a recurring role as Vadic, the mysterious alien captain of the Shrike, a warship that has set its sights on Jean-Luc Picard and his old crewmates from his days on the Enterprise. Ensign Sidney La Forge is played by Sharpe Chestnut and is the eldest daughter of Geordi La Forge and helmsman of the U.S.S. Titan. Ensign Alandra La Forge is played by Mica Burton, Geordi La Forge's youngest daughter who works alongside her father. Daniel Davis will also take up the role again as Professor Moriarty from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” 

Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Amanda Plummer, Mica Burton, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut and Daniel Davis 

COMEDY SPECIALS

RHYS NICHOLSON’S BIG QUEER COMEDY CONCERT

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY

The stand-up special was recorded at Sydney’s magnificent Enmore Theatre, hosted by Rhys, the concert features a cast of award-winning LGBTQIA+ comedy superstars, including Urzila Carlson, Geraldine Hickey, Cassie Workman, and Chris Parker. Rhys has had a busy time over the last few years, hosting RuPaul’s Drag Race in New Zealand, and won the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Award for Most Outstanding Show (formerly the Barry Award) for his latest show Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!, which he then took to sell out audiences in LA, Montreal, Toronto, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This all new one-hour special is brazen, honest, warm, and above all—hilarious. Rhys Nicholson’s Big Queer Comedy Concert is produced by Big Yellow Taxi Productions in association with Century Artists.

JOEL CREASEY: QUEEN OF THE OUTBACK

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY

This exclusive special from Joel Creasey (Australian Amazon Original LOL: Last One Laughing Australia) was filmed in front of a live audience at the 2022 Broken Heel Festival, Australia’s largest regional drag celebration, in September 2022. The special features a live, all-new stand-up performance from Joel Creasey recorded under the stars, plus all the glitter and glamour amidst Broken Heel’s nonstop weekend carnival.

DIE HART

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY

Die Hart sees Kevin Hart playing a fictionalized version of himself, as he sets out to pivot away from being pigeon-holed as a comedy wingman to being taken seriously as an action movie star. Kevin Hart attends ‘action hero school’ run by Ron Wilcox, played by John Travolta (Paradise City, Eye for an Eye), where he attempts to learn the ropes on how to become one of the industry’s most coveted action stars. Die Hart the movie features the original ten-episode series, reimagined into a feature film format. Originally launched on Quibi in the US, the series scored an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%. Prime Video will now become the exclusive home of Die Hart the movie, bringing the hilarious and iconic comedy performance of Hart and his co-stars to a worldwide audience. 

Die Hart stars Kevin Hart, John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, Josh Hartnett and Jean Reno

FEBRUARY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS: 

Gary And His Demons S1-S2 (TV) 2/02/23

Harlem S2 (TV) 3/02/23

Hellboy (MOVIE) 3/02/23

The Estate (MOVIE) 3/02/23

Father Stu (MOVIE) 3/02/23

Clarkson's Farm S2 (TV) 10/02/23

Somebody I Used To Know (MOVIE) 10/02/23

Survive (MOVIE) 14/02/23

The Nanny (1993) S1-S6 (TV) 15/02/23

Unforgettable (2011) S1-S4 (TV) 15/02/23

The Big Lebowski (MOVIE) 16/02/23

The Purge: Anarchy (MOVIE) 16/02/23

American Gangster (MOVIE) 16/02/23

The Purge (MOVIE) 16/02/23

The Shield S1-S7 (TV) 16/02/23

Carnival Row S2 (TV) 17/02/23

Nate Bargatze: Hello World S1 (TV) 17/02/23

Joel Creasey Queen Of The Outback (SPECIAL EVENT) 17/02/23

Rhys Nicholson's Big Queer Comedy Concert (SPECIAL EVENT) 17/02/23

Star Trek: Picard S3 (TV) 18/02/23

Five Feet Apart (MOVIE) 20/02/23

Die Hart (MOVIE) 24/02/23

The Consultant S1 (TV) 24/02/23

What's on DocPlay in February

Here are some great documentaries we are releasing next month which we think you will enjoy.

Nothing Lasts Forever

27 February

Diamonds are forever? Jason Kohn’s film reveals the irrevocably changing industry following the introduction of synthetic – but indistinguishable – diamonds. Diamonds are extremely rare and extremely valuable, right? A forged-by-nature symbol of fidelity and eternal love, yes? Think again. Kohn’s eye-opening film (10 years in the making) takes us inside a global business veering into turmoil, described by one commentator as “an illusion so spectacular it turned into the truth. ”

Hitler Versus Picasso and the Others

20 February

In 1937 the Nazi regime held two exhibitions in Munich: one to stigmatize "degenerate art," and one, personally curated by Hitler, to glorify "classic art." Narrated by Toni Servillo (star of Oscar® winner The Great Beauty), Hitler vs Picasso and the Others is an incredible journey through four exhibitions, displaying masterpieces by Botticelli, Klee, Matisse, Monet, Chagall, Renoir, and Gauguin. Linked to each exhibition are moving stories of those who witnessed the systematic destruction and looting of the day - offering viewers a rare look at condemned works that have finally come to light.

Fiona Clark: Unafraid

6 February

When Fiona Clark, a young queer photographer exhibits her photography of the LGBTQI community in 1975, she and her friends face a systemic backlash of an oppressive New Zealand society. Unafraid, Fiona gives the middle finger to the patriarchy and we discover how her documentation and contribution to the community has helped transform New Zealand society.

23 February

The Satoshi Mystery: The Origins of Bitcoin

On January 3, 2009, a certain Satoshi Nakamoto launched bitcoin, the very first decentralized and reliable cryptocurrency. In 2011, he vanished into thin air. Since then, Satoshi Nakamoto remains anonymous and his identity is subject to the wildest theories. All the investigations that purported to identify him have failed. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? How did his invention become so popular? What does Bitcoin tell us about the world we live in?

Tár: Movie Review

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong

Director: Todd Field

How you feel about Tár will largely depend on how you feel about an icily-detached MeToo style movie that's anchored by a thunderous lead actor, but feels aloof throughout.

Blanchett is Lydia Tár, a conductor whose musical and intellectual prowess is a lightning rod for brilliance but also for battery as she treats everyone around her with contempt or antipathy.

Days away from recording a symphony that will catapult and complement her career, Tár's world is rocked by a momentous personal moment that causes it all to threaten to unravel. As she delves deeper in, the tightly wound levels of control she had appear to be coming apart.

It's not that Tár won't appeal to a mainstream audience, it's more that its intellectual approach to over analysing each scene will possibly alienate many. The film begins with a long discussion about what motivates a conductor, in which Blanchett ably holds court, and provides an insight into her view of the intellectual and her general haughty approach to life.

It's here the polarisation starts as the film starts to build to a crescendo from then on, with elements conspiring on screen to try and capture audiences and provide debate later on. But in Field's exploration, despite close ups of various characters and overly heavy dialogue, there's little feeling of getting deeply in tune with the goings on. 

As elements of A Ghost Story feel like they make themselves more prevalent in later parts of the movie, Tár suddenly pivots into something that proffers more interesting elements - is it delusion or is it reality? Both collide subtly together, but don't quite coalesce in the final mix.

Blanchett is thunderous throughout, and it's easy to see why she's won plaudits for this - it's the kind of role some critics and some awards voters die for - very actorly, very scholarly, and very in tune with the character.

It's never anything less than her show, in more ways than one - it's just  a shame that Field makes the musical moments so incredibly rote that not even Blanchett can elevate them as the movie hurtles toward its cancel culture ethos.

Ironically, Tár is a well-orchestrated movie that through its 138 minutes feels overly constructed and ultimately constricted. It's a must-watch for the arthouse brigade, but it may leave others completely cool and slightly underwhelmed with its icy edges.

Shotgun Wedding: Movie Review

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge, Lenny Kravitz, Sonia Braga

Director: Jason Moore

Shotgun Wedding arrives after being wrapped in casting issues for its leading man.

Initially slated for Ryan Reynolds, and then forced to replace Armie Hammer over abuse allegations, Josh Duhamel stars as Tom, the future husband of Jennifer Lopez's Darcy.

With a Philippines set wedding, everything looks to be going well for Tom and Darcy - but when Tom starts to falter after the arrival of Darcy's ex Sean Hawkins (Kravitz), it all seems to be falling apart. Things however, are made worse when a group of pirates kidnap everyone at the wedding - separated from the bridal party, it's up to Tom and Darcy to save the day.

Tonally all over the place, Shotgun Wedding doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Is it a comedy? Is it an action thriller? Or is it a R-rated comedy wannabe that's nowhere near as edgy as it believes it is?

The truth is it's all of this - and that's some of the problems faced by Shotgun Wedding throughout.

While Coolidge utterly steals the film from under the stars' noses thanks to a winning mix of comedy moments and one soon to be iconic meme in waiting, Lopez and Duhamel find themselves increasingly sidelined by the film's desire to be all things to all audiences.

Yet it's also a script that ties itself up in nonsensical edges - Lopez's character is supposed to have worked in the Seals but a long section of the film sees her character incomprehensibly unaware of how grenades work, a baffling scripting touch that makes no sense whatsoever. She throws her all in but it's sadly not enough.

Duhamel is fine as the groomzilla Tom, but he lacks an edge throughout - it's easy to see how Reynolds could have brought the role to life and perhaps less so Hammer, but Duhamel's bland touch over proceedings proves to be anaemic more than anything.

Ultimately, Shotgun Wedding is a film that should have settled one way or another early on for a direction and stuck with it. 

As it is, its garbled mix of messiness and directionless fodder means it's a film to be tolerated rather than remotely enjoyed - and is more likely to see many filing for divorce from this Shotgun Wedding.

Shotgun Wedding begins streaming on Prime Video on January 27.

Minions: The Rise of Gru: Neon NZ Review

The yellow cigar-shaped perils of slapstick return with what's touted as an origin tale for Despicable Me's Gru.

Set against the 1970s backdrop, Steve Carell's Gru yearns to be part of supervillain criminal gang, The Vicious Six, headed up by Henson's Belle Bottom. When the gang betrays their founder Wild Knuckles (Arkin, in usual sardonic form), an opening appears and Gru is one of the many applicants for the position.

However, seeing him only as a child, Gru is laughed out of the process, and told to come back when he's done something evil. So in among the chaos, Gru steals a talisman the Vicious Six has just purloined for their own nefarious ways - but when he's kidnapped and held to ransom, it's up to Minions Kevin, Bob, Stuart and newbie Otto to try and save the day.

Minions: Rise of Gru does exactly what you'd expect on the tin to be honest.

And that's perfectly adequate for a madcap film that doesn't dazzle the animated world with techniques, but delivers continual laughs and nods to what's to come in the Despicable Me series later on.

With rich backgrounds making the most of the groovy 70s' setting and San Francisco, as well as the music cues of the time, the Illumination animation stable knows about depth, but also wisely knows that it's not really about distracting with background gags, choosing to keep the Minions front and centre of proceedings, as that's what the children of all ages in the audience want.

Five films in, there's no sign yet of di-Minions-ishing returns for these yellow critters, though it is perhaps as far as they could go, given the split level nature of the narrative - is it a Minions film, is it a Despicable Me film - but there is more than enough to amuse all sectors of the audience.

Moments of inventive madness sit alongside great animation to make Minions: Rise of Gru a perfect family feelgood outing for children of all ages - big or small.