Liam Maguren has combed through the extensive free-to-stream movie selection on TVNZ+ and pulled out some of the best to watch. We’ll update this post each month as films come and go.
UPDATED 6 NOVEMBER 2024
Anatomy of a Fall
WATCH ON TVNZ+It’s nigh impossible to bring something fresh to a genre as rigid as the criminal procedural, but writer-director Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or and Academy Award-winner managed just that. Sandra Hüller’s in top form as a woman accused of her husband’s murder—and the only witness to the incident is their blind son. Flashbacks are limited to the evidence presented, placing the audience right in the jury booth as witnesses to both the case and France’s confronting prosecution system.
As Flicks’ Rory Doherty wrote, the film “is as interested in the process of investigations as the crime being investigated,” with Luke Buckmaster adding how Triet “subverts the murder mystery and procedural genres by playing games with what we can and can’t see, what we know and don’t know, what we can reasonably deduce and what may lie forever beyond our ken.”
The Boxtrolls
WATCH ON TVNZ+A young orphan boy is raised by a loving family of underground box-wearing trolls in this Oscar-nominated family adventure from Laika Entertainment. While it’s based on the children’s novel Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow, you could easily mistake the film’s gorgeously rendered Victorian world for a classic Roald Dahl setting. With an irresistibly charming sense of familial whānau bonds and a wry message about class inequality, The Boxtrolls remains one of Laika’s less-appreciated films (though you can still appreciate the likes of Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, which are also on TVNZ+).
Corsage
WATCH ON TVNZ+Having missed out on an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, the mighty Vicky Krieps came back with a vengeance five years later in this atypical costume drama. OK, she still didn’t get an Oscar nod, but she did nab Best Performance at Cannes.
Krieps plays Empress Elisabeth of Austria who, steering down the barrel of 40, primes herself for the onslaught of public judgement at being considered an old woman. In her review, an impressed Lillian Crawford labelled the film “a majestic blueprint for modern historical drama.”
Dredd
WATCH ON TVNZ+Karl Urban is judge, jury and executioner in this beloved adaptation of the violent sci-fi comic. Set almost entirely in an overcrowded building complex, the story (penned by Alex Garland) follows Judge Dredd and a rookie cop (Olivia Thirlby) as they make their way up a 200-level slum in pursuit of a heavily-armed dealer of a time-altering drug named SLO-MO.
Determined to not waste a single minute of the viewer’s time, the film blasts through its future dystopia (and plenty of crims) with acerbic joy and violent glee. Unlike the unfavoured Stallone version, Urban made the honourable call never to take the helmet off. Is there any wonder that, a decade on, fans are still calling for Judge Urban to return?
A Hero
WATCH ON TVNZ+A seemingly simple good deed from a man on temporary leave from prison blows up in his face in this Grand Prix Cannes award-winner from Asghar Farhadi—writer-director of Oscar-winners A Separation and The Salesman. Basic mistakes and errors in judgement widen astronomically when his supposedly genuine gesture comes under scrutiny, and any attempts to shut down accusations of fraud risks raising his chances of going back to the slammer.
It’s “tense, spiralling drama” Flicks’ Amanda Jane Robinson wrote in a review that also touched on the peculiar life-imitating-art aspect of the film—one that saw Farhadi in hot water over accusations of plagiarism.
Hunger
WATCH ON TVNZ+Based on a true story, this tense BAFTA and Cannes-winning drama revolves around IRA member Bobby Sands and the hunger strike he leads in prison as a means of defying the British occupation of Northern Ireland. The film delivered two key breakout stars: the first is director Steve McQueen, who would go on to make Best Picture Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave; the second is two-time Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, who lost a worrying amount of weight for this film (something he recently said he wouldn’t do again). The pair reunited for 2012’s incredibly good, incredibly uneasy Shame, which is also available on TVNZ+ if you dare.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
WATCH ON TVNZ+Taika Waititi’s smash hit needs no introduction, given how pivotal it was to his career ascension and the fact that it’s still the highest-grossing New Zealand movie ever (second only to his previous film Boy, also on TVNZ+). But to recap: the film adapts Barry Crump’s Wild Pork and Watercress with Julian Dennison as rebellious foster kid Ricky and Sam Neill as grumpy foster uncle Hec who find themselves on the run in the native bush after mistakenly being branded as outlaws. Also stars Rima Te Wiata as Ricky’s loving foster aunty Bella and Rachel House as a doggedly determined officer of the law with a hilarious sense of duty.
In My Father’s Den
WATCH ON TVNZ+A decade and a half prior to his Succession success, Matthew Macfadyen led this excellent New Zealand crime mystery as a war photographer who returns to Otago only to become engulfed in the search for a missing teenage girl. As the case thickens, so do the past traumas that forced him to leave in the first place.
An adaptation of Maurice Gee’s novel, In My Father’s Den boasted supremely sophisticated storytelling that felt both refreshing upon release and a worthy addition to the Cinema of Unease, and remains one of Aotearoa’s strongest feature debuts. Tragically, writer-director Brad McGann passed away in 2007, making it his first and last feature film.
Leave No Trace
WATCH ON TVNZ+Local talent Thomasin McKenzie delivered a sensational breakout performance in this delicate father-daughter tale, holding her own alongside an equally powerful Ben Foster. The film follows the pair attempting to live off-grid in Oregon—a plan continuously foiled by authorities.
It’s one of the rare movies still rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes after 250+ reviews, with Flicks’ Steve Newall contributing to the score with his write-up. “Director Debra Granik keeps us spellbound by a duo geographically and emotionally isolated from society. As it irresistibly encourages the viewer to invest in its characters, Leave No Trace proves to be an example of the magic that can be conjured by a filmmaker and their actors.”
Locke
WATCH ON TVNZ+Tom Hardy. In a car. For 82 minutes. That’s the eye-catching conceit of this minimalist thriller from filmmaker Steven Knight, who previously scored an Oscar nomination for writing Dirty Pretty Things. His suspenseful script here doesn’t rely on there’s-a-bomb-in-the-car gimmicks, but rather the slow squeeze of seeing a man on his (touch-free) phone calmly trying to keep his career and home life from obliterating over the course of the night. Tremendously tense all the way through, with a typically fine-tuned performance from Hardy.
Magic Magic
WATCH ON TVNZ+A growingly anxious Juno Temple and a very creepy Michael Cera lead this uncompromising 2013 psychological horror from esoteric filmmaker Sebastián Silva. Temple plays Alice, a naïve tourist who joins her cousin for a getaway to Chile for what should be a chill time. However, having never been outside the US, the mix of unfamiliar surroundings and unusual strangers leads Alice down a potently paranoid path. If you think you’ve seen all that the ‘cabin in the woods’ genre has to offer, this one may surprise you.
The NeverEnding Story
WATCH ON TVNZ+This beautifully, tragically ’80s family film brings a fantasy novel to life for one bookworm of a kid. Needing a place to escape his bullies, the young boy finds an adventurous otherworldly realm that may or may not have ties to his own.
You wouldn’t necessarily expect to see a filmmaker take charge of a flight-of-fancy kids film just a few years after making a two-and-a-half hour submarine war thriller, but that’s exactly what Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen did. Boasting some truly incredible practical effects that hold up to this day, The NeverEnding Story presents a window to a completely different universe—one that isn’t afraid to get dark or trippy.
Night of the Kings
WATCH ON TVNZ+A nominee for Best Film at the Toronto and Venice film festivals, this ambitious hybrid of crime-thriller and fantasy centres on a young thief sent to a prison run by prisoners. If he hopes to survive the night, he must keep telling stories. He starts with a tale about a fellow criminal in the slum of Abidjan…
Filmmaker Philippe Lacôte made waves previously with his film Run, which became The Ivory Coast’s second-ever submission to the Academy Awards. Here, he made even greater splashes with a film beloved by critics. “An assured, energetic piece of epic filmmaking,” RogerEbert.com boasted. “Blends elements you’d think could never go together into a swirling, striking whole,” Boston Globe praised.
Silence
WATCH ON TVNZ+Adapting the novel by Shûsaku Endô, Martin Scorsese’s ruminative 2016 historical drama stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as Portuguese Catholic priests in the 17th Century who travel to Japan to spread The Lord’s word. During their propagation, they attempt to find their mentor (Liam Neeson), rumoured to have abandoned the religion.
Released three years after The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese’s faith-v-faith-based epic couldn’t have been more different. Slow, brooding, and boldly candid with the moral complexities of the story, Silence is the kind of work typical of a master craftsman freediving into a subject matter close to their soul, aided by some engulfing cinematography from Rodrigo Prieto (nominated for an Oscar here) and an outstanding turn from Tadanobu Asano (if smiles could kill, his would be the sharpest).
The Silence of the Lambs
WATCH ON TVNZ+Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic creation of author Thomas Harris, became a pop cultural icon in director Jonathan Demme’s classic adaptation of the titular book. Brian Cox played the good doctor previously in Michael Mann’s superb Manhunter and you’ll hear nothing but love for Mads Mikkelsen’s disturbingly charming take on the professional people eater in Bryan Fuller’s excellent series Hannibal.
But neither men won an Oscar for the role, nor did they place the humble fava beans and a nice Chianti in the public consciousness. Those honours went to the mighty Anthony Hopkins, who did his part in making The Silence of the Lambs the third film to score The Big Five at the Academy Awards: Best Screenwriting, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress (for Jodie Foster), and Best Picture.
Stranger than Fiction
WATCH ON TVNZ+A low-key Will Ferrell comedy? Yes, it does exists, and it comes in the form of this very witty and incredibly charming meta-movie. Ferrell stars as an everyday man with an everyday name, Harold, who doesn’t realise he’s a character in a novel—until he hears the author (a perfectly cast Emma Thompson) narrating his every move. It’s a strange but harmless phenomenon until the narrator announces that he’s going to die soon. How does Harold change a predetermined story? That’s a big part of the joy of watching Stranger Than Fiction unravel. The other big part is seeing Ferrell’s range as an actor, presented with a role that suits both his comedic sensibilities and his dramatic range.
Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton
WATCH ON TVNZ+There are a lot—a lot—of surf documentaries out there. Few are as engrossing as this one. Colossal as the waves it captures, Take Every Wave tells the humongous life story of surfer Laird Hamilton and the unlikely career he made riding the most monstrous of waves. Much more than a biography and surf doco, the film goes in-depth about the team effort involved in executing these stunts and the technological advances that came from the high-stakes hijinks of these adventurous beach bums.
The Terminator
WATCH ON TVNZ+Laying down the path for one incredible action sequel (and a bunch of dud ones), James Cameron’s classic 1984 sci-fi stands on its own as a tight-fisted thriller. In a role that was meant to go to OJ Simpson (before they feared he was “too nice” ironically), Arnold Schwarzenegger became iconic as the killer robot from the future programmed to murder Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton).
If you can cringe your way through the film’s zero-chemistry sex scene, there’s plenty to love here. One highlight in particular: the use of stop-motion at the film’s climax. It still looks so damn cool and unnervingly freaky.
Waru
WATCH ON TVNZ+Eight wāhine Māori bring the whaea power to this hard-hitting Aotearoa anthology revolving around the tangi of a boy who died at the hands of his caregiver. The very definition of a trailblazer, this landmark feature gave Māori female filmmakers the platform they’ve long been owed. Since then, we’ve seen these directors flourish with the likes of Whina, Cousins, Rūrangi, Ahikāroa and Not Even while Waru producers Kiel McNaughton and Kerry Warkia continued using the format to platform more underrepresented filmmakers with Vai and Kāinga.
Whale Rider
WATCH ON TVNZ+Pretty much a staple in any cinema Aotearoa diet, Niki Caro’s adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s book is a certified classic. There’s not a bung performance to be found but the biggest powers come from a young Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar-nominated for her role as Paikea, and the great Rawiri Paratene, Paikea’s grumpy koro who refuses to recognise her as the new chief. Hitting the heart hard before healing it whole, it’s a triumphant story of aroha overthrowing the patriarchy.
