Simon Morris

If there's one film in the Film Festival that draws a line in the sand in the Culture Wars, it's the Incredibly Strange Hello Dankness, by a duo calling themselves Soda Jerk. Seriously funny, it… Audio

At a time when the answer to virtually any question about music is either "The Internet" or "AI", there's something incredibly reassuring about the increasing popularity of traditional acoustic music… Audio

Simon Morris looks at the most famous double feature of the year - the guys who invented the atom bomb in Oppenheimer and the doll that caused the almost as huge upheaval in the toy box - Barbie. Audio

Simon Morris looks at three small-scale comedies - two American on Prime Video and Netflix, one French - and discovers that the secret is to take it seriously. Audio

In a world of endless spin, alternative facts, post-truth influencers and conspiracy theorists, it's getting so you don't know who to believe any more. Usually that doesn't matter much. "Don't believe… Audio

Today NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson joins Jesse to solve the world's problems. Today he's looking at the specific issue on when 'a bit of fun' is really a cover for someone being offensive and… Audio

Joy ride sees four Chinese-American women have an eventful holiday in China. An R-rated comedy directed by Adele Lim (Crazy rich Asians), produced by Seth Rogen (Knocked up) and starring Stephanie Hsu… Audio

Sugar and stars is the based-on-real-life story about a French-Arab orphan who decides to become one of the world's great pastry chefs. Another hit from the recent French Film Festival. Audio

Simon Morris notices an increasing number of franchise blockbusters reaching the end of the road - including the latest Mission Impossible. He also checks out a French foodie movie, and the latest… Audio