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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 2h

Netflix's moving and moody STEVE - a “day in the life of” drama set in an English reform school in the 1990s - acknowledges that the people we turn to can be just as messed up as anybody else, but without making their pain the point says @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social

Netflix drama Steve breathes new life into the ‘school of hard knocks’ genre

Cillian Murphy burns slow and bright in Steve, a bruising but cathartic portrait of care, chaos, and collapse inside an English reform school—now streaming on Netflix.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 1d

Among the more unusual television theses presented this year, THE ED GEIN STORY is sort of fascinating in its own wrong-headed way, writes @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social - "exploitative, trashy, and entirely your fault".

Monster: The Ed Gein Story tries to make him the victim of our voyeurism

The big, fat irony here is that at no point does this exploitative show address its own complicity in the bloodlust it blames Hollywood for.

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 2d

Despite all his box office bankability (and the outrageous ego he developed along with it), Dwayne Johnson never made a great film.

But while Johnson’s awards push for #TheSmashingMachine has been about as subtle as a chair shot to the face, says @danielrutledge.bsky.social, he's brilliant in it.

The Smashing Machine may start a new era in The Rock’s career. Let’s hope it does.

Dwayne Johnson is brilliant in The Smashing Machine, devoid of his usual The Rock persona and delivering something more layered than anything he’s done before.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 7d

Shane Black is back, doing what he does best for the first time since 2018 misfire THE PREDATOR.

#PlayDirty sits comfortably in the heist movie format, says @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social - but is laced with moments that make you sit up and take notice, like you’ve just been splashed with cold water.

Play Dirty is exactly what you want from a Shane Black action movie

Mark Wahlberg sneaks, shoots, and connives in Shane Black’s twisty new heist thriller—an action flick that thrives on flipping expectations.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 7d

Hitting Netflix this month: a witcher, a monster, a (small) player, and other stuff not ending in, er... "er".

Best new movies and TV series on Netflix in October

Your jam-packed guide to everything landing this month.

go.weareflicks.co

Reposted by Flicks

Clarisse Loughrey @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social · 8d

a slam dunk performance from anthony boyle, but at what cost

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 8d

#HouseOfGuinness, freshly dispatched on Netflix, is about as typical a (Peaky Blinders creator) Steven Knight project as you’ll find, says @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social: "It’s fun and it’s sloppy in equal measure."

House of Guinness blends sex and desire with Ireland’s most famous export

New show from Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight joins the current trend of bodice rippers soundtracked by contemporary music.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 8d

#HouseOfGuinness, freshly dispatched on Netflix, is about as typical a (Peaky Blinders creator) Steven Knight project as you’ll find, says @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social: "It’s fun and it’s sloppy in equal measure."

House of Guinness blends sex and desire with Ireland’s most famous export

New show from Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight joins the current trend of bodice rippers soundtracked by contemporary music.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 8d

With just a week to go until #ShowMeShorts returns to cinemas - celebrating its 20th birthday - this year's awesome award nominees have been announced. www.flicks.co.nz/features/sho...

Show Me Shorts 2025 award nominees – and where to see them

“As a jury we were struck by the richness and diversity of the films presented this year.”

www.flicks.co.nz

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 9d

In November 2012, a strange thing happened to @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social.

He was excited to meet in person one of his favourite directors: Paul Thomas Anderson, who was promoting his Scientology-themed drama THE MASTER. But things got very awkward when Luke accidentally pissed PTA off...

The time I accidentally pissed off Paul Thomas Anderson

There’s the old saying “never meet your heroes.” But what about “never piss off your heroes”? Luke Buckmaster remembers the time he upset one of his favourite directors.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 12d

It’s perhaps surprisingly enjoyable to spend time with these guys again, writes @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social:

"McKean, Guest and Shearer never seem to be working hard for laughs—which regularly landed for me and the audience I was among."

Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues rocks harder than expected

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues reunites rock’s most pathetic legends – who are now older, slower, but more endearing than ever.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 13d

Each year, NZ's #BirdOfTheYear election is a national/international sensation run by @forestandbird.bsky.social. We asked this year's campaign managers who their winged candidates most reminded them of from the worlds of film & tv - check out their picks, gawk at beautiful birds, remember to vote!

Lots of (film and TV) characters among 2025’s Bird of the Year candidates

The annual Bird of the Year election is underway. We invited 2025’s campaign managers to tell us who their bird best embodied from film and TV.

www.flicks.co.nz

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 14d

DiCaprio's turn in #OneBattleAfterAnother is the funniest performance of the year, says @roryjdoherty.bsky.social:

"A welcome evolution of an unmissable trend in the A-lister’s career: playing sad sack losers whose stupidity and incompetence threatens to collapse their whole life."

Leo’s great streak playing complete losers continues in One Battle After Another

Funniest performance of the year continues a trend of entertaining stupidity and incompetence.

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 15d

As @liammaguren.bsky.social knows, "many will disagree with the choices below. Some may even write to my editor. I will then channel the spirit of Aotearoa’s #Taskmaster Jeremy Wells and his assistant Paul Williams and meet all criticisms with palpable indifference"

The best moments from every Taskmaster NZ contestant ever

Everyone gets their dues, whether they like it or not, in our list of Taskmaster NZ’s Greatest Hits.

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 16d

As much as #TheBoys, and college-set spin-off #GenV, present themselves as the barbed alternative to modern comic book monotheism, they’ve been around long enough that we’ve (gasp!) started to care, says @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social - beyond what they can just serve to us as a punchline.

Gen V hasn’t lost its teeth but, like The Boys, is feeling less “anti-comic book”

The jokes here feel more accessory to the main plot than the main plot itself. But fear not – that doesn’t mean a total absence of dicks and sexual kinks.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 16d

There’s an electric energy to Paul Thomas Anderson’s #OneBattleAfterAnother, says @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social, who calls it "an exhilaratingly well-made, teeth-gnashing action thriller that unfolds on the ground, close to the gutter"

The electric energy of One Battle After Another

Violent, funny, and unnervingly real, Paul Thomas Anderson’s exhilerating new film crafts a jittery vision of America unraveling.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 17d

When school’s out and the kids are underfoot, who are the only heroes that can help?

Those comfy cinemas hosting school holiday screenings and saving your sanity…

The best school holiday movies in cinemas

The holidays gets a lot more manageable with these great movie options for the kids.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 17d

The actual plot of SLOW HORSES can be perfunctory, which belies the “spy thriller” label. The real focus of every episode is really a stage for the games of loyalty, family, rejection and relationship dramas. OK, and farts.

Cat Woods looks at what makes the show tick.

Sir Gary Oldman’s still odorous, but Slow Horses has no whiff of complacency

For five seasons now, Slow Horses has provided a stage for loyalty, family, rejection and relationship dramas. OK, and farts.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 18d

Resident bad movie lover Eliza Janssen outdoes previous entries in regular column The A to Z of Trash by taking on a masturbatory FIFA pic.

It's a stain on many careers including Sam Neill (as shady João Havelange - Kiwi playing a Brazilian) & Tim Roth (as Sepp Blatter - Brit playing a Swiss man)

U is for United Passions: the most corrupt sports movie ever

Sam Neill and Tim Roth sell their souls to play FIFA presidents in a cursed bit of corporate circlejerking.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 18d

Jacinda Ardern’s time as PM coincided with some of the most tragic, turbulent events in modern Aotearoa history.

@stevenewall.bsky.social speaks with PRIME MINISTER co-director Michelle Walshe about a new doco that captures the early optimism, pandemic challenges, and recent reflections

Making revealing, intimate Jacinda Ardern doco Prime Minister

We speak with co-director Michelle Walshe about Prime Minister, a powerful combo of intimate archive and reflective contemporary interviews.

www.flicks.co.nz

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 19d

Romantic drama is very damn pretty - one of the best-looking films of the year - but the cost is to create a distancing effect, says @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social

The perilous prettiness of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

Every frame is like a painting in Kogonada’s beautiful romantic drama. But, asks Luke Buckmaster, do we really feel this work or admire it from behind glass?

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 19d

October brings the pain with #TheSmashingMachine, the horror with #TheBlackPhone2, the chuckles with #GoodFortune, the heartache with #EleanorTheGreat, and the... well... whatever you wanna say about #Bugonia

Get a taste for next month's cinema releases with this vid by @liammaguren.bsky.social

The BIG films hitting cinemas this October | Australia & NZ cinema release dates | Flicks

YouTube video by Flicks

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Flicks

Clarisse Loughrey @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social · 22d

a jude law x justin kurzel reunion makes BLACK RABBIT sound very good on paper, but it’s got that streaming series problem of a strong start, a strong end, and then eight hours of wheel spinning

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 20d

One of the reasons this stuck to the zeitgeist like phosphorescent mud is its energy, writes @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social: "it’s bam-bam fast, not so much unfolding as exploding, like overripe fruit stuffed with firecrackers."

The terrible irony at the heart of KPop Demon Hunters

Flicks lead critic Luke Buckmaster puts his fingers in his ears and tries to comprehend the incredible success of KPop Demon Hunters, which is now Netflix’s most streamed movie.

go.weareflicks.co

Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 23d

A-listers Jason Bateman and Jude Law play brothers caught in a co-dependent death spiral in #BlackRabbit, set amongst New York City’s fine dining scene.

Yet, @clarisseloughrey.bsky.social finds it’s a hard show to really sink your teeth into.

Jason Bateman and Jude Law bro down in Netflix crime thriller Black Rabbit

Black Rabbit has every tool you could possibly need in your Netflix miniseries belt. And it certainly walks and talks with a fair bit of style.

go.weareflicks.co

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Flicks @flicks.bsky.social · 23d

Embrace the national taonga that is te reo Māori just a little tighter this te wiki o te reo Māori with some great local screen content.

@liammaguren.bsky.social is here with a selection of recent reo-revelling films and shows released in the past year available right now for you to stream.

Viewing guide for te wiki o te reo Māori 2025

There’s an absolute bounty of new films and shows to watch this Māori Language Week.

www.flicks.co.nz

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