Simon Morris asks Annie Murray, CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission, why local audiences for New Zealand films are currently so low – around just three percent of the total box office? Is it poor promotion and publicity? Do audiences prefer streaming services to cinemas these days? Or are we simply making the wrong movies?…

Director Tim Burton returns to his 1988 hit comedy about the afterlife. But does it still pack the same punch? It stars old hands Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, with newcomers Jenna Ortega and Monica Bellucci.By RNZ

Simon Morris looks at three specifically targeted films - a sequel to Tim Burton's cult classic Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a popular documentary from a recent architecture film festival, Maurice and I, and a comedy-drama featuring a 93-year-old grandmother action hero - Thelma. He's interested to see if any of them can reach outside their audiences.…

Maurice and I tells the surprisingly moving story of two of the most successful architects in New Zealand - Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney - their life, their times and their struggle to save their most famous building after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.By RNZ

Thelma is the year's least-likely action hero on a mission to get back the money she lost to scammers. Starring 90-plus film veteran June Squibb she's out long past her bed-time, and she's not going back empty handed! Co-starring Robert Roundtree, Parker Posey and Malcolm McDowell.By RNZ

Eileen is a Netflix noir, starring New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho) and Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) as co-workers in a juvenile prison whose relationship goes bad.By RNZ

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is a tiny independent from Thailand that’s punching considerably above its weight. It’s being sold entirely on its ability to make audiences cry!By RNZ

Midas Man tells the story of Brian Epstein, the man who discovered the Beatles and changed the world. Starring Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein with cameos from Eddies Marsan and Izzard, Emily Watson and talkshow host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.By RNZ

Simon Morris looks at three smaller films that attempt to do more with less – Midas Man, a biopic of the Beatles’ manager, a Thai tear-jerker called How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and a dark thriller called Eileen that went straight to Netflix.By RNZ

Simon Morris suggests that when it comes to breaking the film-making rules, it's best to pick your battles. This week The Sitting Duck is a real life French miscarriage of justice, Blink Twice is a thriller about life among the idle rich - yes, another one! And We Were Dangerous sees three teenage girls plan to break out in 1950s New Zealand.…

The Sitting Duck is the real-life story of a French trade union dispute that turns nasty. Was the whistleblower really attacked at her home, or did she make it up to publicise her cause? Starring Isabelle Huppert (Elle).By RNZ

Blink Twice is the directorial debut of actor Zoë Kravitz (The Batman) that sees a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) invite his celebrity friends to an island getaway where all is not what it seems. Co-starring Naomi Ackie (Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance With Somebody), Christian Slater (True Romance) and Geena Davis (Thelma and Louise).…

New Zealand film We Were Dangerous is set during the famous "moral panic" of 1954, when a new invention - the "teenager" - seemed to terrorise the powers that be! Three rebel girls decide to get out from under. Starring Erana James (Uproar), Nathalie Morris (One Lane Bridge) and newcomer Manaia Hall. With Rima Te Wiata (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) a…

Simon Morris investigates the dark art of casting - which gives you the best value for money, a star, a real actor or a trendy celebrity? He checks three contrasting films - Alien: Romulus, a little indie comedy-drama Ghostlight, and a celebrity-dotted action comedy on Prime Video, Jackpot!By RNZ

Alien: Romulus is the latest entry in the space-horror franchise that goes back to basics, and is all the better for it. Directed by Fede Álvarez (Don't Breathe) and starring Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) and a digital version of Ian Holm (the original Alien).By RNZ

Action-comedy Jackpot! stars Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) as a woman who wins a billion dollar lottery, only to find she has to stay alive until sundown if she wants to keep it. Co-starring John Cena (The Suicide Squad)and rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Streaming on Prime Video.By RNZ

Ghostlight is a critically acclaimed indie film about a construction worker and his family who heal when he is bullied into joining a community theatre. Featuring a scene-stealing performance by Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness).By RNZ

It Ends With Us is based on a romantic novel that went viral a couple of years back. The film version may do even better, thanks to a star performance by Blake Lively (The Shallows). It's directed by, and co-stars, Justin Baldoni (TV's Jane The Virgin).By RNZ

Simon Morris checks out three films that depend on a star to lift their game. Two succeed - a romance with a sting in the tail called It Ends With Us and an endearing Kiwi road-movie called Bookworm. But video game Borderlands defies even an eight times Oscar nominee…By RNZ

Here's a B-movie video-game adaptation with an A-List cast - Jack Black and Kevin Hart (Jumanji), Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and, playing her first inter-planetary bounty hunter, Cate Blanchett (Tár).By RNZ

Bookworm is about an 11-year-old girl's quest to find New Zealand's mythical Canterbury Panther with the unwilling help of her long-lost father. Directed by Ant Timpson (Come To Daddy) it stars Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) and star-in-the-making Nell Fisher (TV's Stranger Things).By RNZ

Trap finds serial killer The Butcher trapped with 10,000 teenage fans at a pop concert. Stars Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down) and Hayley Mills (Pollyanna). Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense).By RNZ

Simon Morris goes to the first French version of The Three Musketeers in 30 years, and another film involving Parisian duels, The Edge of the Blade.By RNZ

The first part of The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan, is a fresh take on the biggest-selling book after the Bible! Stars Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), Romain Duris (Eiffel) and Eva Green (Casino Royale).By RNZ

Another French swashbuckler, The Edge of the Blade tells the true story of feminist and occasional duellist Marie-Rose Astié as she joins forces with a fencing master for justice and honour. Written, directed and featuring Vincent Perez (An Officer and a Spy).By RNZ

Simon Morris realizes there are several worlds of movies around this week - from Marvel's Multiverse in Deadpool & Wolverine to the popular French hits, typified by The President's Wife with Catherine Deneuve and Mr Blake at your service with John Malkovich.By RNZ

Deadpool & Wolverine sees two Marvel Comics mavericks combine to save Disney's beleaguered MCU. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are joined by a dazzling array of cameos, including Emma Corrin (The Crown's Princess Diana), Matthew McFadyen (Succession), Channing Tatum, Blake Lively and Wesley Snipes.By RNZ

French hit Mr Blake at Your Service sees John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons) play a British businessman (entirely in French!) who takes a job as a butler in a French stately home. Also starring evergreen French star Fanny Ardant (8 Women).By RNZ

The President's Wife sees the unstoppable Catherine Deneuve (Belle de Jour) portray another force of nature - Bernadette Chirac, wife of President Jacques Chirac, who became more popular than her husband among the French public.By RNZ

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is a typically epic Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) western - at three hours it's not even halfway finished apparently. Written, produced and directed by Costner, it also features Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road), Sienna Miller (American Sniper) and Sam Worthington (Avatar).…

Simon Morris wonders if genre is always a good guide to a movie's quality, just because you usually like that sort of film.By RNZ

From the French Film Festival, Divertimento, based on a real-life young woman from the Parisian projects who became one of France's great woman conductors. "Divertimento" is the name of Zahia Ziousani's own orchestra.By RNZ

Longlegs is a hugely popular, serial killer horror film. A sensation on social media, it's reignited the career of Nicolas Cage as the titular villain - with a voice inspired by his mother! Also stars Blair Underwood (TV's Elsbeth) and Maika Monroe (It Follows).By RNZ

Kinds of Kindness is a typically opaque collection of loosely-connected short stories by UK-Greek film-maker Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things). Starring Emma Stone (The Favourite), Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) and Jesse Plemens (Civil War).By RNZ

Simon Morris is confronted by an embarrassment of good, entertaining movies. And about time too…By RNZ

28 years after the original Twister a new crew is chasing storms in Oklahoma's notorious "Tornado Alley". Starring Glen Powell (Hit Man) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing). Once again produced by Steven Spielberg.By RNZ

Fly me to the moon sees Scarlett Johanssen and Channing Tatum in a romantic romp that wonders what if the moon landing really was faked? Co-starring Woody Harrelson as President Nixon's hatchet man.By RNZ

Dan Slevin reviews Jeff Nichols' drama about a Chicago motorcycle gang in the 1960s, based on Danny Lyon's famous book of photojournalism.By RNZ

On At the Movies, Dan Slevin reviews Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy and Austin Butler in The Bikeriders, a drama about Chicago motorcycle gangs in the 1960s, three competing animated sequels for the school holidays, and Eddie Murphy's fourth outing as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.By RNZ

Dan Slevin watches three competing animated sequels - Despicable Me 4, Inside Out 2 and 200% Wolf.By RNZ

Eddie Murphy returns as the Detroit detective getting into and out of trouble in the posh part of Los Angeles, reviewed by Dan Slevin.By RNZ

Simon Morris talks to the new director of Whānau Mārama, the New Zealand International Film Festival. Paolo Bertolin plucks some highlights from this year's programme, including Cannes sensation The Seed of the Sacred Fig, tributes to musician Paul Simon and one-time Superman, the late actor Christopher Reeves, and New Zealand classics, new and old…

Coup de chance is Woody Allen's 50th movie - and his first entirely in the French language. A chance meeting - a stroke of luck or the worst thing that could happen?By RNZ

Ka whawhai tonu: Struggle without end tells the famous story of Rewi's Last Stand in the Land Wars of the 1860s. Directed by Michael Jonathan, it features Tem Morrison (Aquaman), Cliff Curtis (Avatar), Miriama Smith (Love and monsters) and newcomers Paku Fernandez and Hinerangi Harawira-Nicholas.By RNZ

Simon Morris looks at the conflicting demands of history and a good story. When the truth becomes legend, should you always print the legend?By RNZ

The road to Patagonia is the story of a couple who travel from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Patagonia, and along the way shoot enough footage to make a great love story. Directed, photographed and edited by real-life couple Matty Hannan and Heather Hillier.By RNZ

Simon Morris discovers three old-fashioned movies mostly from outside the Hollywood mainstream.By RNZ

Mothers' Instinct is a Hitchcock-style suspense thriller produced by its stars Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. (Now streaming on Prime Video)By RNZ

The Watchers is the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, produced by her rather more famous father M. Night Shyamalan. In it, a young woman (Dakota Fanning) finds herself trapped in the Irish woods by a mysterious group.By RNZ

The Promised Land is a historical drama set in Denmark in the early 18th century. A retired army captain (Mads Mikkelson) plans to turn a barren heath into successful farmland but makes a powerful enemy in the local magistrate.By RNZ