What do this weekend and a jeweller have in common? They’re full of great watches. Once you’ve finished laughing at that killer joke, check out what’s good to watch this weekend in cinemas and on the small screen.
Guns Akimbo
Now playing in cinemas | Find times and tickets
Daniel Radcliffe leads this comedic action film shot in Auckland as a guy who wakes up with guns bolted to his hands, forced to compete like a gladiator against a notoriously brilliant killer (Samara Weaving, Ready or Not).
In his review, Flicks writer Daniel Rutledge had this to say: “What a great idea—a modern take on The Running Man, set in a heightened world of streamer-obsessed shitposters and in the style of Crank: High Voltage. There’s an infectious, wild energy to Guns Akimbo and much of its gleefully crude humour hits its mark well.”
Devs
Episodes 1 & 2 streaming on Neon 6 March | Find viewing options
Following his brilliant films Ex Machina and Annihilation, writer-director Alex Garland tries his hand at helming a sci-fi show about the nature of free will. The series stars Sonoya Mizuno (who featured in Garland’s previous two films) as a young computer engineer investigating her boyfriend’s death, with signs pointing to a cutting-edge Silicon Valley company headed by Nick Offerman.
The first two episodes arrive on Neon 6 March with following episodes arriving weekly. To find out why we love Garland so much, be sure to read our in-depth piece on his career as a sci-fi master.
NT Live: Fleabag
Now playing in cinemas | Find times and tickets
Experience the origin of award-winning comedy series Fleabag with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s original stage show, filmed live and playing in select Aotearoa cinemas.
“Even if you’ve seen the series (of course you have), the solo performance is quite a different beast,” Flicks writer Kate Prior remarked in her gushing 5-star review. “There are so many reasons to love this raw and immediate version of the story in its original form… the best thing about NT Live: Fleabag is being able to revel in the singular, virtuosic performance of Phoebe Waller-Bridge herself.”
Honeyland
Now playing in cinemas | Find times and tickets
This observational cinematic experience relays three years in the world of a 50-something beekeeper in the remote Macedonian countryside. Throughout that time, the filmmakers follow her everyday life taking care of her bees and elderly mother in her peaceful mountain valley home—a peace that’s threatened when a large family and their herd of cattle move in.
Not only did the film received the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at last year’s Sundance, it also scored an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature—a feat unheard of for a documentary. (And, yes, it was also nominated for Best Documentary.)
John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum
Streaming on Neon 5 March | Find viewing options
Keanu Reeves returns as the feared hitman forced out of retirement and currently hunted by fellow killers looking for a sizeable reward. Writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski return, with Halle Berry joining the cast alongside some very lovely/vicious pooches.
“The best R-rated American action movie franchise of recent years has delivered the goods again,” Daniel Rutledge wrote in his review. “Parabellum is not the best of the series so far, but it’s still miles ahead of pretty much anything else.”
Maiden
Playing for free at Auckland’s Silo Cinema, Friday 6 March 9pm (markets open from 5pm)
Selected as part of last year’s New Zealand International Film Festival, this heralded documentary tells the story of sailor Tracy Edwards, who skippered the first all-female international crew in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
“You’ll cringe at some of the condescending comments made by the yachting writers of the time, you’ll laugh at some of the Maiden crew’s antics and cheer as they show “the boys” up, especially in the daunting Southern Ocean.” -James Croot, STUFF
Neon’s Rialto Collection
Now streaming on Neon | Find viewing options
Neon released a smörgåsbord of cinema gems as part of their ‘Rialto Collection’ that is seriously, seriously worth looking into and getting amongst. This includes:
Capharnaüm—Oscar nominee about a boy who sues his parents for having him.
I Think We’re Alone Now—survival drama starring Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning as the last people on Earth.
Arctic—a snow survival thriller starring Mads Mikkelson and hardly anyone else.
Mega Time Squad—the nutso time-travel film set in Thames, NZ.
Colette—biopic on the French novelist starring Keira Knightley.
Her Smell—a grotty punk rock drama starring Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man).
Castlevania: Season 3
Streaming on Netflix 5 March | Find viewing options
Belmont, Sypha and Alucard return for the third season of Netflix‘s successful adaptation of the renowned videogame series.
Collider couldn’t have been more stoked with the season in their review: “The team behind Castlevania: Season 3 absolutely knocked it out of the park with this batch of episodes. They deliver the action, the intrigue, and the food for thought that elevates the source material into what’s easily one of the best video game adaptations ever made.”
T2: Trainspotting
Streaming on Netflix 7 March | Find viewing options
Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle’s first-ever sequel revisits the characters from his groundbreaking ’90s hit 20 years later. Screenwriter John Hodge returns, as does the cast including Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.
Flicks editor Steve Newall said the following in his 4-star review: “Veering from the outrageous, hilarious, moments you’d expect to genuine bouts of melancholy, T2 is a bloody good film in its own right.”
