Latest from zz Entertainment Blogs

How Paddy Gower saved the day

We wanted Patrick Gower's eyes to pop over John Key's shock resignation. That's what we got, writes Duncan Greive.

Is there still hope for Sky TV?

COMMENT: Sky's new channel Viceland has launched today in hopes of bringing back younger audiences that have been stolen by streaming services.

Are Netflix movies any good?

Netflix provides amazing television that we may not otherwise have been exposed to, but what are they bringing to contemporary genre cinema?

Careful: This new Netflix show is dangerously bingeable

COMMENT: 3% it is a low-budget dystopian sci-fi Netflix series from Brazil, and it is dangerously binge-watchable.

Five movie stars who could use a hit

COMMENT: Affleck has had more than his fair share of dry patches, so I am going to cite five movie stars going through one of their own at the moment.

'Some of us, if not all of us, will almost certainly die'

Should we go to Mars? A new docu-drama makes a "mind-blowing" case to answer with a yes, writes Calum Henderson.

TV audiences have shrunk - so why hasn't funding?

COMMENT: The implications for NZ on Air are stark. They simply cannot keep funding programming if the audience is no longer watching it.

Pudding chefs find themselves in a pickle

COMMENT: It's hard to take competitive cooking shows seriously when they start being called things like Zumbo's Just Desserts.

The Crown's a visual and artistic treat

COMMENT: It takes a good dollop of dramatic licence here and there, but by the end of the first episode the story has gathered a satisfying momentum.

Kiwi doco didn't make any sense

There were more notable New Zealanders than a Holmes Christmas party on TVNZ 1's Sunday night special I Know This To Be True, a well-meaning but rambling and incoherent collection of meditations on the meaning of life.

Is this Hollywood's hot new movie genre?

COMMENT: The Emily Blunt-starring film The Girl on the Train, released in theatres this week, is the latest example of a Hollywood trend that has me very excited.

How HBO just killed the golden age of TV

Last night's debut of the much-heralded Westworld - a bloated, pompous sci-fi Western - proves the Golden Age of television is over.

The world's worst musician? Or secret genius?

Steve Braunias reevaluates the records of perennial ivory tickler Richard Clayderman. With pictures!

The five worst movie Presidents

COMMENT: As the US decides possibly to elect the worst human being, it felt pertinant to consider the worst fictional US presidents offered by Hollywood.

Duncan Grieve: Fascinating insight on crime investigation

COMMENT: Instead of having JonBenét Ramsay's story retold, in this doco we're given fascinating insight on the re-examination solving her murder.

Henderson: 30-somethings' crises tug the heartstrings

COMMENT: On the strength of the pilot, most viewers should be sticking with This Is Us for at least a few more episodes to see how it all plays out.

Harrowing Netflix film challenges ideas about bullying

COMMENT: In fairy tales, the woods are where people go when they want to pursue their hearts' desires, to test themselves and to face off against grave dangers.

Films ruined by relationship break-ups

COMMENT: Here are a list of films that will forever be associated with the real-life break-up of the lead actors like Brangelina's By The Sea.