Screening guide
BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC Neon
Now, this is most excellent. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return after 29 years as the cheerful timetravelling rockers Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted “Theodore” Logan. Once again the fate of the world rests in their ability to write a rocking new song, but rather than do the hard work themselves the pair decide to travel forward and steal it from their future selves. Of course, a lot has changed over the decades and the older Bill and Ted are both now parents. Fortunately for them, and the world, their daughters cook up their own musical plan to aid their good-natured, but dim, dads. The nostalgia appeal of this third chapter in Bill and Ted’s excellent adventures will be strong for 90s kids and, happily, critics labelled the film not bogus with one reviewer saying “this slapdash movie, with its bighearted, puppyish positivity, might not save the world but it will surely lift the spirits”. Which is more than good enough for us. Party on! Streaming from Monday.
THE GLOAMING TVNZ OnDemand
This crime-thriller has been described as part mystery-drama and part visual masterpiece that paints with frosty haze and moonlit mist instead of oil and acrylics. Aside from its painterly production values, the show offers an intense viewing experience to match. Set in
Tasmania, it follows two personally flawed detectives whose investigation into the brutal killing of a woman opens old wounds and points them in the direction of corrupt politicians, shady businessmen and the dark unknowable world of the occult. This intriguing show’s been a hit, with one reviewer celebrating the “contrast between the lovely visuals and disturbing criminal activity”. It also stars NZ’s own exShorty St/ Britney Spears Toxic video star Martin Henderson and the incredible Rena Owen. Streaming now.
THUNDER FORCE Netflix
The serious world of superheroes gets a comedy power-up tomorrow night when comic veteran Melissa McCarthy and Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer suit up to thwart the baddies and save the day. The pair play estranged childhood friends who reconnect later in life. Spencer’s character is a successful scientist working on a formula to grant superpowers, while McCarthy plays to type as the obnoxious pal who bumbles her way into accidentally getting injected with the serum. The duo decides to pair up, become a superhero team and clean up their city. But soon enough a villain with superpowers of his own makes himself known. While it’s highly unlikely that Thunder Force will launch its own cinematic universe like that of Marvel of DC, its comedy-adventure should rescue a few laughs from a quiet Friday night. Streaming from tomorrow.