The best TV shows, movies and podcasts to enjoy this Easter
A pick'n'mix of TV shows, films and podcasts to enjoy this weekend, plus a new local comedy set in a spinal unit and Rachel House’s directorial debut.
The weather’s getting cooler, the mornings are darker and with a long weekend ahead, there’s no better time to stay inside and discover some new shows, movies and podcasts. We’ve got a bumper edition of Rec Room for you this week, featuring a feast of recommendations from the team here at The Spinoff. From a Road House movie remake to a classic British drama that resonated so strongly with the public that it helped changed the law, there’s plenty of great stuff to wrap your eyes and ears around this weekend. Enjoy! / Tara Ward.
Everything we’re watching and listening to this long weekend
If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff has you covered. We’ve pulled together ten of the very best television shows, movies and podcasts that we’ve either recently enjoyed, or are looking forward to watching or listening to over the next few days. There’s something for everyone, like a fascinating new documentary about comedian Steve Martin, a remake of a Patrick Swayze classic, and a podcast about a champion ten pin bowler who uses both hands to bowl?!
Road House (Prime Video)
The original Road House is totally batshit 80s action, featuring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer defending what we would call a rural pub from a malevolent businessman’s henchmen. It features the truly psychotic line “I used to fuck guys like you in prison” during an iconic fight scene, and generally transcends all known boundaries of taste and logic. Weird choice for Jake Gyllenhaal (All Too Well 10 Minute Version) to remake, with the similarly slumming it Doug Liman (Swingers) directing. Still, while not quite as kite high as the original, it is definitely stupid fun throughout, with Gyllenhaal doing a great Jack Reacher impression as haunted MMA fighter Elwood Dalton and amazingly funny bad acting from Conor McGregor and his bulging bare butt. / Duncan Greive
Immaculate (in cinemas now)
Call me old-fashioned, but all I want for my Good Friday is to blob out and watch Sydney Sweeney deal with her demonic immaculate conception in a dusty 1960s nunnery. Yes, there’s been a total glut of freaky religious flicks in recent years, but my hope is that Immaculate will repent for the sins of Pope Russell Crowe having a huge ass mouth and The Nun having her own Wild Things moment. Vulture said it is “an art film at heart” and Time called it “bad-gal blasphemy of the highest order”. In Sweeney we trust, amen. / Alex Casey
Everything I Know About Love (TVNZ+)
I do not watch much TV – I finish maybe one limited run-series a year, and half heartedly start and don’t finish two or three others – but the bubbly and delightful Everything I Know About Love from a few years ago is one of the few shows I think I could rewatch. It’s short, perfect to watch over a long weekend, surprisingly hilarious, and makes me want to be more chaotic, which is a good thing (I think?) / Shanti Mathias
It’s Personal With Anika Moa (RNZ)
We’ve already written at length about how Anika Moa is one of the most surprising and disarming interviewers in the country, but her talent has always been compacted into the rigid confines of television, or the soundbites of commercial radio. Her new RNZ podcast, It’s Personal With Anika Moa, allows her to fully unleash in longform with the likes of Robyn Malcolm, Chelsea Winstanley and Kaiora Tipene. I can’t wait to get stuck in during my long Easter dog walks – and not just because in the first few moments of Robyn Malcolm’s episode she says her one regret in life was not getting into dogs earlier. / AC
Extraordinary (Disney+)
You might be thinking, “oh, not another superhero show”, but Extraordinary surprisingly punches through. The show follows Jen, a 25-year-old who doesn’t have a super power and is struggling to deal with it. She is supported by her friend Carrie who can summon ghosts and communicate through her body and Kash, Carrie’s boyfriend who can rewind time. The show is fun, funny and can be a little bit dark and dirty but that’s the charm of it. You’ll find yourself laughing but also thinking about the things that make life so beautiful. Season two kicks off from where the first season ends, and it just keeps getting better! / Isaiah Tour
You Hurt My Feelings (Prime Video)
A writer finds out that her very supportive husband hates her new book and has been lying to her about loving it. This drama starring an unsurprisingly excellent Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a great depiction of life and the lies we tell each other. Hot tip: Don’t watch this movie if your partner is someone who is brutally honest, because they will turn to you after the credits and they will say “that whole situation could have been avoided if he’d just been honest from the beginning”. / Mad Chapman
Steve! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces (Apple TV+)
I simply cannot wait for this two part documentary series that promises to feature extremely long sequences of present-day 75-year-old Steve Martin doing laundry and playing the banjo. Heaven. Directed by Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), the appropriately-whacky named STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces follows the comedy legend as he reflects on his standup career, reinventing the artform, pivoting to movies, and finally finding happiness in his art. Also features interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Selena Gomez, Diane Keaton, Larry David and truly so many more. A must watch for comedy fans. / AC
Ricky Stanicky (Prime Video)
I wondered what John Cena was up to when photos of him dressed up as Britney Spears turned up on the internet, and it got weirder with his OnlyFans announcement. When Ricky Stanicky landed, it all made sense. A group of childhood friends create an imaginary friend named Ricky Stanicky to take the blame for all their mishaps, which finally catches up with them when they’re adults (played by Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler and Andrew Santino). In order to keep up this ruse, they enlist an actor called Rod (John Cena) to become Ricky Stanicky. It’s a good watch if you need something easy and even better if you go in with low expectations. Expect some laughs. / IT
Joyland (Apple TV+)
Joyland is the first Pakistani drama starring a trans person, and it’s about an out-of-work man who finds work at an erotic dance theatre and falls for one of the performers. The film is worth watching for all the beautiful, tender, funny relationships between the women in his life. This is ultimately a film about the ordinary ways we betray each other, and the sometimes devastating consequences thereof, but it’s a film that will stay with you for a long time. Also the cinematography is gorgeous and nearly made me want to move to Lahore. / SM
This podcast episode about a 10-pin bowler who bowls two-handed (Spotify)
American sports/pop culture/yelling podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out is one of the many pods I follow but never get around to listening to, so I can’t vouch for any of the other episodes… but I couldn’t resist the hook of this one about the Australian guy who became arguably the greatest 10-pin bowler the world has ever seen by defying the purists and bowling two-handed. And guess what… it didn’t disappoint! / Calum Henderson
Right now, we need your support more than ever
The Spinoff recently estimated that the number of full-time journalists in New Zealand may have halved since 2018 Census data was published. As the media landscape continues to change, numbers may decrease again. The Spinoff is not immune to the drastic advertising slowdown impacting the sector. That’s why we’re immensely grateful to our audience for their support. To those who already support us, thank you. If you don’t and are able, we’d be very grateful if you’d consider becoming a Spinoff member or donating today.
– Duncan Greive, founder
Why you should watch: Mr Bates and the Post Office (TVNZ+, from March 31)
There’s nothing like a trusty old British drama to get you through the long weekend, and this one looks like a stonker. Following the shocking true saga of how one defective IT system saw hundreds of innocent posties wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting, it stars Toby Jones (Infamous; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) alongside acting heavyweights such as Hayley from Coro, and Becky from Coro. If that’s not compelling enough, the series allegedly “shook up” Britain when it aired earlier this year, with over nine million people tuning in, then a million-strong petition submitted to Parliament calling for justice, and within weeks the British government announced law changes due to the public outcry. The power of television! / Alex Casey
You might also like:
The Couple Next Door (TVNZ+): Outlander fans rejoice, because Sam Heughan has travelled through the stones to star in British drama The Couple Next Door. Heughan plays a Leeds traffic officer in a polyamorous marriage who hooks up with his neighbour (One Day’s Eleanor Tomlinson). Chaos ensues! Crime happens! Claire Fraser wouldn’t have put up with any of it, but I reckon this bingeable piece of lusty melodrama is the perfect choice for a lazy long weekend.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (ThreeNow): This fascinating and shocking documentary series uncovers the dark and traumatic reality of Nickleodeon children’s TV in the 1990s and 2000s. Not always an easy watch, but it’ll make you look at your favourite kid TV shows in a whole new light.
Why you should watch: Spinal Destination (Neon, Sky Open)
This new local comedy series is created, written and directed by Paula Whetu Harris, and is based on her own experience of paralysis. Bree Peters stars as Tessa, a woman with a busy life and family who is suddenly paralysed from the waist down after a mystery illness. She’s sent to Goldfield’s Spinal Unit, where she becomes determined to learn how to walk again.
In this thoughtful piece on The Spinoff, Whetu Harris explains how Spinal Destination touches on a subject often overlooked in mainstream media, which is the grief and confusion that follows a spinal cord injury. “Spinal Destination is a candid, graphic and explicit look at losing what most of us take for granted. It’s a dark comedy, bordering on gallows humour, in which a group of individuals with only one thing in common try to navigate new lives, new rules and new broken bodies in a world that so readily discards broken.”
“It highlights our struggles, our triumphs, and our fears, which at times are mountainous. Because we all know how hard it is to get up a mountain… especially in a wheelchair.”
More pop culture on The Spinoff:
There’s only a few more episodes of this season’s Married at First Australia, but I’ll never forget meeting Lucinda Light, aka the greatest MAFS participant of all time.
Bubbah’s double life as Tina from Turners is revealed in this week’s My Life in TV.
After last week’s Rec Room review about the first episode of docuseries Escaping Utopia, Anke Richter’s review of all three episodes focuses on Gloriavale’s “whole other level of what the hell”.
As Whakaata Māori celebrates 20 years on our screens, Jamie Tahana looks at the channel’s impact on Aotearoa over the past two decades.
Looking for something else to watch this long weekend? New to Streaming has you covered.
Rec Room is looking for a sponsor!
Explore a sponsorship with Rec Room, your weekly source of top audio and video recommendations in entertainment, reaching highly engaged subscribers every Friday directly in their inbox. Contact commercial@thespinoff.co.nz to learn more.
Why you should watch: The Mountain (in cinemas now)
We all know Rachel House (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Atiawa, Kāi Tahu) for her acting in Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Heartbreak High, but now she has turned her talents to directing. Her first feature film The Mountain follows three kids on a mission to connect with Mounga Taranaki, and is a heartfelt celebration of friendship and belonging. The Spinoff’s Tommy de Silva spoke with House and some of the film’s stars about what the movie means to them.
“The three tamariki protagonists of The Mountain are all battling unique inner demons that motivate them to trek up Taranaki Mounga. ‘My character is, as a lot of people are, trying to find their identity – and she is finding healing,’ 12-year-old star Atkinson says. Bronco, on the other hand, claims to have run away from his father, who is too busy to notice him. When it comes to Mallory, his search for friendship is spurred on by his loneliness after his mother’s death.”
“Together, these three troubled tamariki adventure off the beaten track and up Taranaki Mounga, along the way discovering how the magic of friendship can help them summit their internal mountains.”
You might also like:
Renegade Nell (Disney+): Love a historical drama with a quirky twist? This one’s for you. Louisa Harland (Derry Girls) stars in this British series written by the brilliant Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Gentleman Jack), playing an 18th century widow who turns to a life of crime to survive. The twist? Nell has superpowers. Huzzah!
Before we pop off…
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau…