Given the horrendous events it documents, this viscerally gripping Australian drama is remarkably understated.

Peter Calder reviews new movie Bright Star...

Peter Calder reviews new movie Silent Wedding...

Director Chris Columbus, responsible for the first two Harry Potter films, returns to the world of teenage fantasy adventures.

Sparks do not fly between Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Sidibe is utterly convincing in her role as a troubled teenager.

Mel Gibson, in hero mode again.

The title of this film is a clue that it's a homage to John Cassavetes' 1980 film Gloria.

This exquisite little Israeli film, a major award-winner and commercial hit in its homeland.

Herald film reviewer Russell Baillie rates Invictus three stars and, unfortunately, we still lose the World Cup.

A delightful rom com that is actually funny.

In 2004's Kaikohe Demolition, German-born New Zealand-bred filmmaker Habicht got to know the stars of a dodgems-to-the-death demolition derby in the Northland town of the title and then filmed the hilarious showdown.

Director Jason Reitman is yet to put a foot wrong.

Good old 2D hand-drawn animation isn't very fashionable these days.

The debut feature of its writer-director, this disarmingly deadpan comedy can scarcely avoid comparison with (and even accusations of ripping off) 1999's Being John Malkovich.

Law Abiding Citizen stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, and that's probably the best that can be said about what is an overly violent thriller.

Modest in both scale and ambition, this indie offering may include one complication too many among its ingredients.

The super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes gets a 21st-century makeover as an action hero.

Peter Jackson and his partners would have seemed to be a good match for Alice Sebold's best-selling book about young Susie Salmon, a murder victim trying to find solace in her own heaven.

Werner Herzog promises his new Antarctic documentary won't be "another movie about penguins".

The melancholy Creation features a strong cast.

James Cameron's latest movie transports viewers to a madly beautiful wonderland, writes Russell Baillie.

The likes of Christopher Guest and Ricky Gervais have set the mockumentary bar pretty high on both sides of the Atlantic.

This French family saga is heartfelt and well-acted.

Verdict: Just when you thought the scariest thing about Auckland was the traffic ...