Movies to catch, books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your ears this season.
Movies
The NZ International Film Festival begins its Christchurch run on Friday August 8, with plenty on offer for cinephiles and the simply curious. Here are three of our picks; head to the website for the full programme and ticketing deets.
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO
More than just an outing for Beatles tragics, this doco finds the universal in the specifics of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s time in New York in 1971, sheltering from the storm that followed the break-up of The Beatles and preparing for the couple’s 1972 One to One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald veers between intimate domesticity, society-wide upheaval and the banalities of popular culture to capture so much more than you might expect.
PRIME MINISTER
Moments of intimacy and of Grand Strategy are the stuff also of Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz’s much-awaited examination of Jacinda Ardern’s time as our Prime Minister from 2017 to 2023. The big picture was very big, what with mosque shootings, volcanic eruptions and a pandemic. In contrast, courtesy of Clarke Gayford’s camera, we get those 3am moments of self-doubt that only a partner would otherwise witness.
WORKMATES
Nothing like a romcom to lighten the mood – Sophie Henderson and Curtis Vowell wrap a love story in a tribute to some of New Zealand’s most loved theatre spaces, the whole time celebrating the community of artists and all-comers that make the magic happen. Escapism comes with a sharp script, plenty of chemistry and a heap of Kiwi talent in this one.
Bingewatching
MOBLAND
Director Guy Ritchie is back in his happy place with this London gangland series that follows the misfortunes of the Harrigan crime family and its fixer-in-chief, played with suitable menace by Tom Hardy. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren round out the leads, giving the series some serious star power.
GROSSE POINTE GARDEN SOCIETY
How hard can it be to get rid of a body? The road to Hell is paved with good intentions in this exploration of what happens when a simple plan gets more and more complicated. There’s more than gardening tips on offer as Birdie, Catherine, Brett and Alice get lost in the weeds of a murder.
THE BUCCANEERS, SEASON 2
There’s nothing new in brash Americans causing outrage and nothing ever lost in turning it into entertainment. So come along for the froth and fun as our Fabulous Five continue to lay siege to polite London society while in search of a Lord to Lady.
Reading
THE BOOK OF GUILT – CATHERINE CHIDGEY
The guilt will come from being unable to put this book down while life’s demands pile up around you. Set in a reimagined 1970s England, the latest from literary tour de force Catherine Chidgey has all the slow revealing of ‘The Axeman’s Carnival’ and ‘Pet’ but on a bigger, civilisation-wide scale. The shocks are visceral as the plot’s twists and turns unfold.
DON’T LET HIM IN – LISA JEWELL
Since bursting onto the scene with ‘Ralph’s Party’ in 1999, Lisa Jewell has penned nearly a book a year to reader and critical acclaim. This one continues the dark direction taken with ‘The Girls’ and ‘The Night She Disappeared’, with two women finding out the man of their dreams is actually a nightmare. You’ll be checking the locks after reading this one.
CARVED IN BLOOD – MICHAEL BENNETT
Kiwi writer Michael Bennett continues his ‘Blood’ series with the third outing for Māori crime sleuth Hana Westerman, which will be good news for the growing legion of his and Hana’s fans. Thrilling stuff, all with a finely tuned eye and ear to the deeper currents in modern New Zealand society.
Listening
LE VĀ – LADI6
She kept us waiting but it’s been worth it – our First Lady of Soul has finally dropped the album she has been working on since at least 2021, when some of the songs, including first single ‘Alofa’, got a try-out at the Loons in Lyttelton. The signature blend of soul, hip hop and electronica returns but the feels go deeper than ever in this tribute to the artist’s mother, Fuarosa, who passed in 2020.
VIRGIN – LORDE
Another Kiwi pop diva happy to take her time with new material, Lorde drops her fourth studio album, ‘Virgin’, any day now. Singles ‘What Was That’ and ‘Man of the Year’ each caused a stir both musically and for the accompanying publicity splash, first with an overly successful performance in Washington Square Park and then with Ella’s revelations that she was sometimes the Man of the Moment. Oh Lorde, anything but predictable.
WET LEG – MOISTURIZER
UK duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers have got up from the chaise longue that catapulted them to fame in 2021 to deliver their second album, ‘Moisturizer’. First single ‘Catch These Fists’ continues the deadpan delivery we fell in love with, the band’s world-weary ennui given oomph by the expanded lineup of the touring band.
PODCASTS
THE MUSHROOM COOK
Erin Patterson’s Beef Wellingtons killed three people and nearly took a fourth life. The court case that followed has been a magnet for true-crime fans, news junkies and fungus foragers alike. Revisit every day with this Herald Sun production.
DIDDY ON TRIAL
Another compelling podcast ripped from the headlines, this one follows the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on charges including sex trafficking. Celebrity court cases have seldom been so freighted, with unsettling glimpses behind the bling.