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Toby Woollaston
Reviewer

Toby Woollaston is a film reviewer for NZME regional media

We are your advocate, Aotearoa. Uncovering stories that matter, asking hard-hitting questions of those in power, live-blogging sport events, monitoring the highs and lows of the NZX and providing Premium expert opinion and analysis. Bringing you distinctive, quality journalism and breaking news from across New Zealand and around the world. With specialists working together to create indepth reads, engaging video, and unmissable podcasts.

Check out Toby’s latest content
Movie Review: Eighth Grade (trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Eighth Grade (trailer)

13 Jan 03:00 PM
Movie Review: The Grinch (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: The Grinch (+trailer)

02 Dec 03:00 PM

Movie Review: The Grinch is a bland, disappointing version of the classic book.

Movie Review: Suspiria (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Suspiria (+trailer)

11 Nov 03:00 PM

Review: If you have the stomach for it, Suspiria is well worth seeing.

Movie Review: The Girl in the Spider's Web (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: The Girl in the Spider's Web (+trailer)

08 Nov 03:00 PM

The girl with the dragon tattoo has made a gritty return to the big screen.

Movie Review: Brimstone & Glory (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Brimstone & Glory (+trailer)

21 Oct 03:00 PM

Brimstone & Glory shows some stunning visuals that capture the beauty of fireworks.

Movie Review: Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (+trailer)

14 Oct 03:00 PM

Westwood is a more measured examination of a designer still working.

Movie review: Searching (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie review: Searching (+trailer)

09 Sep 04:00 PM

The secret world of a teenager's digital life is explored in this desktop thriller.

Movie Review: On Chesil Beach (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: On Chesil Beach (+trailer)

26 Aug 04:00 PM

On Chesil Beach delivers solid performances and an intriguing story about love and sex.

Movie Review: Interlude in Prague (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Interlude in Prague (+trailer)

29 Jul 04:00 PM

With all its pomp, ceremony, feathers and wigs, Interlude in Prague is a sumptuous film.

Movie Review: Mary Shelley (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Mary Shelley (+trailer)

15 Jul 04:00 PM

Mary Shelley is the timely story of an early feminist, writes Toby Woollaston.

Movie Review: Edie (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Edie (+trailer)

01 Jul 04:00 PM

Edie is a story of one woman's journey that defied all odds.

Movie Review: Tag (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Tag (+trailer)

17 Jun 04:00 PM

Tag follows a group of friends in a highly spirited game of tag that goes for years.

Movie Review: Ocean's 8 (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Ocean's 8 (+trailer)

03 Jun 04:00 PM

Toby Woollaston looks at the latest installment of the Ocean's franchise, Ocean's 8.

Movie Review: The Bookshop (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: The Bookshop (+trailer)

27 May 04:00 PM

The Bookshop is certainly no page-turner, but is engaging enough, writes Toby Woollaston.

Movie Review: Mr Stein goes online (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Mr Stein goes online (+trailer)

06 May 04:00 PM

Mr Stein Goes Online was not as good as expected, for Toby Woolaston.

Movie Review: Walking Out (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Walking Out (+trailer)

08 Apr 04:00 PM

Walking out deftly balances pervasive tension with tender moments of father-son dynamic.

Movie Review: Peter Rabbit (+Trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Peter Rabbit (+Trailer)

01 Apr 04:00 PM

Peter Rabbit's attempt to appeal to the widest possible audience falls flat.

Movie Review: Mary Magdalene (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Mary Magdalene (+trailer)

25 Mar 03:00 PM

Mary Magdalene is a thought provoking movie that highlights the flaws of the church.

Movie Review: Annihilation (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Annihilation (+trailer)

18 Mar 03:00 PM

Annihilation is a brooding, haunting, and at times quite scary sci-fi brain-burner.

Movie Review: Game Night (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Game Night (+trailer)

25 Feb 03:00 PM

Game Night is a cheerful black comedy with no subtext but lots of fun.

Movie Review: Lady Bird (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Lady Bird (+trailer)

18 Feb 03:00 PM

Lady Bird is a small film with a big heart that focuses on mother / daughter relations.

Movie Review: Phantom Thread (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Phantom Thread (+trailer)

11 Feb 03:00 PM

Phantom Thread shows Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't seem capable of putting a foot wrong.

Movie Review: Downsizing (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Downsizing (+trailer)

28 Jan 03:00 PM

What if you could be shrunken to a miniature version of yourself?

Movie Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (+trailer)

21 Jan 03:00 PM

The body-swap gag has graced the silver screen many times over the years.

Movie review: The Greatest Showman (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Greatest Showman (+trailer)

31 Dec 03:00 PM

The Greatest Showman is full of catchy tunes and a feel-good vibe.

Movie Review: Borg vs McEnroe (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Borg vs McEnroe (+trailer)

03 Dec 03:00 PM

Seldom do sports dramas work but Borg vs McEnroe makes a solid effort.

Movie Review: Wonder (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Wonder (+trailer)

26 Nov 03:00 PM

In Wonder, Stephen Chbosky has negotiated the foggy area between trite and truth.

Movie Review: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (+trailer)

12 Nov 03:00 PM

The Killing of a Sacred Deer will no doubt divide its audience.

Movie Review: Ingrid Goes West (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Ingrid Goes West (+trailer)

05 Nov 03:00 PM

It's always a sobering experience when a film knowingly holds a mirror to modern society.

Movie review: No Ordinary Sheila
Lifestyle

Movie review: No Ordinary Sheila

02 Nov 11:29 PM

An important historical document about New Zealand and one of its resilient treasures.

Movie Review: Maudie (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Maudie (+trailer)

22 Oct 03:00 PM

Maudie is a gently observational piece that takes a slice of Canadian rural life

Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049 (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049 (+trailer)

08 Oct 03:00 PM

It can't be an easy task following up one of the most iconic films of all time.

Movie Review: In Between (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: In Between (+trailer)

03 Sep 04:00 PM

Women's stories look at issues of equality

Movie review: God's Own Country
Lifestyle

Movie review: God's Own Country

30 Aug 09:01 AM

God's Own Country is an unsentimental and unflinching depiction of gay love.

Movie review: Logan Lucky
Lifestyle

Movie review: Logan Lucky

23 Aug 04:02 AM

Logan Lucky has all the knee slappin' swagger of a West Virginian bar brawl.

Atomic Blonde: Bog-standard and well-trodden spy flick
Lifestyle

Atomic Blonde: Bog-standard and well-trodden spy flick

06 Aug 04:00 PM

Charlize Theron's new role may as well be a female Bond

Dunkirk: Snapshot of Allied troops' evacuation masterful effort
Lifestyle

Dunkirk: Snapshot of Allied troops' evacuation masterful effort

30 Jul 04:00 PM

Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk remains a giant at the international box office

Movie Review: Baby Driver (+trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Baby Driver (+trailer)

23 Jul 04:00 PM

Like all Edgar Wright movies, Baby Driver is a kinetically charged explosion of style.

Movie review: David Lynch: The Art Life
Lifestyle

Movie review: David Lynch: The Art Life

21 Jul 12:05 AM

Essential viewing for Lynch fans, but also for those interested in an artist at work.

Movie review: War for the Planet of the Apes
Lifestyle

Movie review: War for the Planet of the Apes

17 Jul 02:03 AM

Its many parts are curiously engaging despite the misleading marketing.

Movie Review: Long Way North
Lifestyle

Movie Review: Long Way North

02 Jul 04:00 PM

Long Way North has finally made its long way south onto our screens.

Movie review: Monsieur Chocolat (+ trailer)
Lifestyle

Movie review: Monsieur Chocolat (+ trailer)

29 Jun 11:08 PM

Chocolat isn't just about the whimsically joyful world of clowns from yesteryear.

Movie Review: This Beautiful Fantastic (+trailer)
Rotorua Daily Post

Movie Review: This Beautiful Fantastic (+trailer)

18 Jun 05:00 PM

Gentle comedy is a modern day fairytale.

Movie review: The Mummy
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Mummy

15 Jun 10:54 PM

Buckle-up, as this looks like only the first of many more monstrous turds flung our way.

Movie review: Adult Life Skills
Lifestyle

Movie review: Adult Life Skills

09 Jun 02:10 AM

Adult Life Skills is infused with as much playfulness as it is with existential insight.

Movie review: Wonder Woman
Lifestyle

Movie review: Wonder Woman

01 Jun 11:15 PM

Better than most from DC's universe but Wonder Woman still fails to rise above its genre.

Movie review: The Shack
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Shack

26 May 06:42 AM

Certainly worth seeing if you'd like a good cry.

Movie review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Lifestyle

Movie review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

19 May 02:15 AM

The sum of all its excellent parts doesn't quite make the film a coherent whole.

Movie review: The Case for Christ
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Case for Christ

11 May 08:06 AM

The Case for Christ proves a little more engrossing than most films of its denomination.

Movie review: Get Out
Lifestyle

Movie review: Get Out

04 May 07:27 AM

Get Out is well worth seeing and is a genuinely fresh take on the genre.

Movie review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Lifestyle

Movie review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

27 Apr 10:34 PM

It is fully aware of its objectives - take you on a jaunty adventure and make you laugh.

Movie review: Beyond the Known World
Lifestyle

Movie review: Beyond the Known World

19 Apr 11:46 PM

Beyond the Known World remains a fictional account of a tale that is believably told.

Movie review: Their Finest
Lifestyle

Movie review: Their Finest

13 Apr 02:17 AM

Sentimental entertainment that is easily digestible and certainly worth your time.

Movie review: The Salesman
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Salesman

06 Apr 10:01 PM

A refreshing and taut mystery by Oscar winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi.

Movie review: Life
Lifestyle

Movie review: Life

31 Mar 05:15 AM

Life is a sci-fi thriller that owes a lot of its style to many that went before it.

Movie review: Loving
Lifestyle

Movie review: Loving

24 Mar 06:24 AM

Jeff Nichol's latest film about an unlawful interracial marriage in 1958 America.

Movie review: A Street Cat Named Bob
Lifestyle

Movie review: A Street Cat Named Bob

17 Mar 09:06 AM

There seem to be plenty of films that anthropomorphise their animal subjects to a level where they might as well be a human. Obviously

Movie review: Alone in Berlin
Lifestyle

Movie review: Alone in Berlin

03 Mar 07:00 AM

It never ceases to amaze me the seemingly boundless supply of obscure stories from our past that bubble to the surface. Unfortunately

Movie review: Notes on Blindness
Lifestyle

Movie review: Notes on Blindness

24 Feb 06:21 AM

"As one goes deeper into blindness, one begins to live by other interests, other values. One begins to take up residence in another

Movie review: Silence
Lifestyle

Movie review: Silence

16 Feb 11:42 PM

I am always wary when a film of notable scope and pedigree such as Silence is largely ignored during awards season. Either I'm reading

Movie review: Fences
Lifestyle

Movie review: Fences

10 Feb 06:17 AM

Adapting a celebrated Broadway play to the screen without it being considered "stagey" can't be easy. The award winning play Fences

Movie review: Manchester by the Sea
Lifestyle

Movie review: Manchester by the Sea

03 Feb 06:09 AM

It's Oscar season and the nominated films are being released thick and fast. One of the contenders, Manchester by the Sea, is the

Movie review: The Country Doctor
Lifestyle

Movie review: The Country Doctor

27 Jan 12:56 AM

Doctor turned Director Thomas Lilti can at least claim to know his material. Topically similar to his last directorial outing (Hippocrates:

Movie review: Moonlight
Lifestyle

Movie review: Moonlight

21 Jan 01:59 AM

"Who is you, man?" - a question posed to the protagonist of Barry Jenkins' latest feature film, Moonlight. Issues of "identity" are

Movie review: Lion
Lifestyle

Movie review: Lion

13 Jan 06:44 AM

Lion is directed by a relative newcomer to the feature film set, Garth Davis, who has taken the reins of bringing the seemly impossible

Movie review: Assassin's Creed
Rotorua Daily Post

Movie review: Assassin's Creed

07 Jan 04:10 AM

BASED ON THE SUCCESSFUL video game series of the same name, Assassin's Creed is another attempt by a studio to transfer onto the bigger

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