Is This Thing On? Disney+ Movie Review

Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper, Andra Day
Director: Bradley Cooper

Based on UK comedian John Bishop's life, Is This Thing On?'s commitment to a grounded story (for the most part) proves to be its success.

Will Arnett and Laura Dern play Alex and Tess Novak, who we first meet as they're in the throes of deciding to split. Having the debate on the landing of their house, trying to not wake their children, it all seems amicable, a banal chat before they head to a friends' do and pretend like nothing is happening.

But on the way home, having taken a hash cookie between them, Alex decides to go to a bar - and rather than pay the $15 cover charge, he signs up to take the stage at a bar at an open mic comedy night.

With no material at hand, he simply begins to recount his split - and the audience reaction and laughter spurs something deep within him, compelling him to embrace the possibilities of doing stand-up.

Meanwhile, Tess, a former volleyball champion, rediscovers her desire to become a coach of the sport once again, as the pair of them try to negotiate life after marriage but before any kind of divorce.

There's a compelling veracity to Is This Thing On?'s story.

While director and actor Bradley Cooper over-deploys shaky cam tactics and an in-your-face approach to filming with some extreme close-ups, it's largely helped by how amiable the leads are.

From Arnett's gravelly countenance through to Dern's grounded performance, the film seizes on both the minutiae and the realities of separation and life as a middle-aged couple when it all falls apart. Perhaps the film sails a little too close to the midlife crisis angle in parts and feels in others like it's verging on Marriage Story, but it never once loses sight of what makes it seem all too familiar to anyone in relationships.

Ironically, the weakest part of the film is Cooper's own character, a shambling, jobbing actor and long-term friend of Alex's, who's played for comic relief and doesn't quite feel like he fits in. His relationship with Andra Day's Christine though is the antithesis of what Alex and Tess appear to feel - their's is a marriage that appears to teeter on seething bitterness, rather than goign their separare ways. It's an interesting antithesis, and one that doesn't quite work in a key moment where it needs to.

But above all, this dissection of two people who are unhappy in a marriage rather than unhappy with their marriage thrives on its subtle truths. It's no wonder it's inspired by a true story, because large moments feel lived-in and universally recognisable.

Working better by concentrating on the plight faced by both, rather than pointless exposition of how they got to that point, Is This Thing On?'s three-dimensional approach serves the film exceptionally well and both Dern and Arnett make it more than worth your while to go along for the ride.

Is This Thing On? begins streaming on Disney+ from April 5.

What's on Netflix in April

Here's everything that's streaming on Netflix in April.

Beef (April 16)

BEEF returns with a new cast and a new "beef," as a Gen-Z couple witnesses an alarming fight between their Millennial boss and his wife. Newly-engaged Ashley Miller (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Charles Melton), both lower-level staff at a country club, become entangled in the unraveling marriage of their General Manager, Joshua Martín (Oscar Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martín (Carey Mulligan). Through favors and coercion, both couples vie for the approval of the elitist club's billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung), who struggles to manage her own scandal involving her second husband, Doctor Kim (Song Kang-ho).

The Drama: Movie Review

Cast: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie
Director: Kristoffer Borgli

How you'll feel about director Kristoffer Borgli's latest, The Drama, depends largely on how open you are to provocation and dark black comedy.

If you're up for it, The Drama is one of the best, most unsettling films of the year, a psychological terror that unfurls in the aftermath of just an innocent confession during a drunken moment between four friends.

Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) are on the eve of their wedding. With just a few days to go, they're stressing over speeches, whether their DJ can be replaced after being seen smoking heroin in the streets and if they can make it through their heavily choreographed first dance.

But in amidst a food and drink choices session, the boat is severely rocked when a confession from Emma stuns her fiancé and alienates her maid of honour. (For reasons best left unspoiled, the twist won't be revealed here.) As the fallout from Emma's words continues, Charlie, whom Emma warns early on has a tendency to fixate on matters, begins to debate whether she's the right choice for him...

The Drama's key to success lies in Borgli's taut and uncomfortable ratcheting up of social provocations. The polarising twist may alienate some of its audience, but like his prior film Sick of Myself, he uses it to springboard into a world of uncomfortable truths, societal expectations and personal expectations that throws a mirror on all those who look in it.

It helps that both Pattinson and Zendaya are fully committed to the horror of the bit and can be relied on to give strong performances - though Zendaya's years of playing anguish on Euphoria have clearly paid off here, as she's the more compelling actor. But as the film revels in its wicked one-liners and Charlie's ever-increasing discomfort, it begins to reach a point where the audience is pushed to question whether it feels genuine enough and how a real person would react.

Much will be written about the twist, and given its hot-button topic, it will provoke differing reactions in audiences around the world - and especially from those closer to such events. Less of a romantic comedy and more of a dark black look at what people would do in similar situations, The Drama is an uncomfortably awkward watch, one that pushes you to the edge of your seat before leaving you wondering whether you'd react in the same way if the person you believed you knew said they'd be capable of something truly abhorrent.

It's a queasy watch, but The Drama is easily one of 2026's best films.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Brie Larson
Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

The sequel to The Super Mario Bros Movie from 2023 is finally here.

One of the biggest animated films of all times in terms of box office gross, the latest has a lot riding on it. Once again, Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt appears as Mario.

The Housemaid: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Indiana Elle, Elizabeth Perkins
Director: Paul Feig

Based on the 2022 novel of the same name by author Freida McFadden, The Housemaid arrives with the kind of expectation that many psychological thrillers did back in the 1990s.

And that the A Simple Favor director Paul Feig, who's made a career of these kind of twisty yuppies in peril and how the other half live stories of late, is attached makes it a slightly more delicious prospect.

Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is Millie, a down-on-her-luck woman, who's sleeping in her car and desperate to get a job. Chancing upon an ad for a housemaid at the Winchester residence, she meets with Amanda Seyfried's Nina, a socialite who seems to have it all - except time for hosuework.

Offered the job, she moves in but soon finds the job is more than she expected after an outburst from Nina shocks her. But as Millie grows closer to Nina's husband Andrew (It Ends With Us' Sklenar), she edges nearer to crossing a line.

While The Housemaid looks polished and slick, once you begin to peel back its veneer, the story seems like it's slightly shallow and less edgy than you'd expect. 

Sweeney is perfectly fine as the seemingly naive central character, her doubts manifested by her employer's mood swings and seemingly irrational edges, but she never really breaks out of the tropes of the character to play something that's truly compelling, given her character's arc.

Far more successful is Seyfried as Nina, who channels an edginess and uncertainty that's ripe for what takes place. At times, she veers close to OTT, but brings the darkness of the story of her character vividly to life - and seizes on what's expected of her with ease.

Ultimately, The Housemaid is solid enough escapist fare, but with the chance of a sequel being unleashed given how the book ends, it starts to feel like what should have been a solid one-off a la The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Fatal Attraction feels a little more of a cynically told first part opener.

(And it'll be interesting to see if the film's lack of trigger warnings makes it a spiritual successor to It Ends With Us' shocks too.)

The Housemaid could have soared if it had leaned into its darkness a little more and broke away from the novel's safer edges. As it is, it represents a well-told story that sees only some of its cast push the boundaries in a slickly produced piece of popcorn fare. 

Dead Of Winter: DVD Review

Cast: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Gaia Wise
Director: Brian Kirk

It's very easy to categorise Dead Of Winter as a Fargo-esque wannabe rip-off.

With its snowy vistas, occasionally incompetent villains and distinctive accents, it's a comparison and label that's too hard to ignore.

But what that does is provide a massive disservice to one of Dame Emma Thompson's incredible performance and to an exhilarating film which surprises as much as it enthrals.

Thompson is Barb, who we first meet heading out in North Minnesota in the middle of a snow blizzard, her truck iced over and her destination and reasons for doing so seemingly unknown. But as she sets up in the middle of a frozen lake, she hears a gunshot and a woman scrambling desperately for safety.

Following from a safe distance, Barb soon finds a woman trapped and tied up in a basement. Determined to help her, she promises not to leave her alone and soon finds herself caught up in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

Dead Of Winter works brilliantly to provide an icy thriller that grips as hard as frostbite does.

It's a career best from Thompson and a regretful sign she's never taken - or been offered - more roles like Barb. While the backstory sees her played by her own daughter, Thompson fleshes out the character to maximum effect with a story that's as narratively bleak as the snowy vistas surrounding her.

The reason she works so brilliantly in this is due to the film's touches of reality.

Barb is no superhero, she's a grief-stricken woman bound up in a big snow-pants bodysuit. When she runs from danger, she's ungainly and constantly in danger of being outwitted by the film's antagonist, the vicious Judy Greer (another excellent performance in a film that's blessed with many). She has the relatable factor throughout, and it's extremely engaing to behold.

At its heart, Dead Of Winter is about grief and the lengths you'd go to for love- but in surprising ways too spoilery to discuss here. Director Brian Kirk has concocted a taut tale that's well-executed and beautifully shot - you can practically feel the cold biting into you from the screen.

But Dead Of Winter is Thompson's film through and through.

If there's any justice, she'll receive accolades for it - and hopefully, more roles of its ilk will come her way before it's too late.

Five reasons to watch Hunt For The Wilderpeople 10 years on

New Zealand movie Hunt For The Wilderpeople celebrates its 10th anniversary on March 31.

First released in 2016, the film gifted the world loveable tearaway teenager Ricky Baker and his adopted uncle Hector (Sir Sam Neill), a partnership which saw them forced on the run in the bush.

Adapted from Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, the Kiwi film is back in cinemas this week and presented in 4K to celebrate its decade-long grip on pop culture and the cinema.

The film features some of our most beloved actors Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Taika Waititi, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Troy Kingi, Cohen Holloway, Stan Walker, Mike Minogue, Hamish Parkinson and Lloyd Scott.

Here are five reasons to watch Hunt For The Wilderpeople at the movies on Wednesday March 31st. 

It's New Zealand's highest-ever grossing film

In its first weekend of release, it smashed box office records raking in $1.263 million.

As of the end of 2016, it had helped the local box office to soar to $206million that year alone.

It gave us the Skuxx life

Julian Dennison was already a rising star, thanks to his performance in film Shopping back in 2013. But his hapless teen Ricky Baker sent his star soaring into the stratosphere. 

It helped the writing was brilliant too, with many of his phrases becoming iconic. Chiefly, his line "I didn't choose the skuxx life, the skuxx life chose me." It went on to spawn memes and was endlessly quoted.

Other catch phrases

Ricky Baker wasn't the only one gifted by brilliant lines in the movie. While others had laughs from dialogue, Rachel House's Child Protection Officer's line "No child left behind" as she and her team hunted for Ricky and Hec during their time in the forest also caught on.

The cast and crew are doing a live Q&A at venues around the country

Director Taika Waititi, stars Rima Te Wiata, Rhys Darby, Sir Sam Neill and others are all attending screenings of the film to mark the anniversary. 

Expect anarchy and reminiscences aplenty as they reunite to catch up on what 10 years of this film has meant to them - rumour has it the various Q&As will be filmed and form part of the movie's 4K home release later this year. All the details are at Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Ricky Baker's birthday song

You can't mention the film without recalling Rima Te Wiata's performance as Bella on the Casio keyboard for Ricky Baker's birthday. Te Wiata revealed the movie hadn't been able to get the rights to sing Happy Birthday so they had to improvise.

The result was iconic, a moment that became a Kiwi cinema legend - and it's capped off even more by the fact of Sam Neill's gruff Hector coughing at the end when the birthday candles smoke gets in his face.

Watch it below - and catch the whole Hunt For The Wilderpeople movie in cinemas again from March 31!