The movies to watch on free-to-air and Sky TV this week
Saturday, 13 June 2026
TV Guide rounds up a selection of the flicks screening on New Zealand’s linear channels over the next seven days.
Saturday
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 7pm, Three. Starring Gene Wilder.
Continuing to charm new generations, this timeless 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 novel sumptuously captures (it helps that he wrote the screenplay himself) some of the author’s pure imagination and amazing, mouthwatering ideas.
However, what makes the cinematic journey even more enthralling is that it is laced, a dark, sometimes sour, sense of humour, embodied in the deceptively caustic candy creator himself (a magnificent Wilder). ****
Dreambuilders 7.30pm, Whakaata Māori.
2020 Danish animated tale that’s actually a deceptively deep drama about a young chess-obsessed woman whose life is thrown into turmoil when her father begins a new relationship.
Thankfully, it’s more like a kind of Monsters, Inc. in reverse than The Queen’s Gambit, that serious series certainly didn’t feature a hamster named Viggo Mortensen. ***
Rambo: First Blood 9pm, Whakaata Māori. Starring Sylvester Stallone.
Based on a 1972 novel by David Morrell, this 1982 introduction to the character of John Rambo is far removed from the latter, jingoistic action-fests that would overwhelm any kind of storytelling.
This instalment sees Stallone’s Vietnam veteran entering a small town, clashing with police and having to use his expertise in survival and combat skills in order to survive a manhunt.
“Stallone brought intense physicality, obviously, but also hangdog vulnerability to a character who takes revenge on a cruel, unfeeling establishment and utters some of the most iconic lines in shoot’em’up history,” raved The Times’ Kevin Maher. ****
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 9pm, TVNZ 2. Starring Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen.
By far the best of Sir Peter Jackson's second J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, this 2013 tale sees Bilbo Baggins (Freeman), wizard Gandalf (McKellen) and a group of dwarves face their biggest obstacle yet in trying to reclaim the land of Erebor.
“Takes our adventurers into uncharted territory and delivers spectacle by the tonne,” wrote Empire magazine's Nick De Semlyen. ****
What’s Your Number? 9.05pm, Three. Starring Anna Faris, Chris Evans.
Faris’ recently fired marketing exec embarks on a mission to find her perfect mate from among her numerous ex-boyfriends, in this awful 2011 romantic comedy.
“Ranks higher in crudity than in the number of laughs generated,” bemoaned USA Today’s Claudia Puig. **
Sunday
Babe 2.10pm, TVNZ 2.
An utterly charming 1995 adaptation of Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, this features a terrific James Cromwell and brilliant vocals from the likes of Hugo Weaving and Miriam Margolyes. ****
The Bourne Supremacy 7.30pm, Bravo. Starring Matt Damon.
Breathtaking 2004 action sequel which sees Damon’s Jason Bourne forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin, after he is framed for a botched CIA operation.
“Trumping its predecessor with a tauter plot, a lower body count and just as many edge-of-the-seat jolts,” wrote Charlotte Observer's Lawrence Toppman. ****
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 8.30pm, Sky Movies Premiere.
Set nearly 300 years after the events of 2017’s trilogy-ending War for the Planet of the Apes, this 2024 actioner focuses in on an ape civilisation, led by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), who have enslaved other clans while searching for the last traces of human technology.
Questioning what he’s been taught about the past – and the potential future – is a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague). While its vertiginous, immersive opening raises the spectre of both polarising Alien prequel Prometheus and James Cameron’s Avatars, Kingdom eventually becomes a coming-of-age road-revenge movie that is not only a compelling self-contained adventure, but also whets the appetite for more monkey business down the track.
Director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) and screenwriter Josh Friedman (Spielberg’s 2005 War of the Worlds remake, Apple TV’s Foundation) have cleverly crafted a propulsive, gripping, standalone story, one that also feels – appropriately enough – like a “missing link” between last decade’s Rise-Dawn-War triumvirate and the beloved 1968 original. ****
The Revenant 8.30pm, Three. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
After the occasional frivolity and relative buoyancy of the Academy Award-winning Birdman, Mexican director Alexander Gonzalez Inarritu returned to dark territory for this inspired-by-fact 2015 drama.
Having already survived an attack by the natives, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) was leading a group of fur trappers in and around the Missouri River in 1823, when an encounter with an ornery grizzly bear left him fighting for his life and seemingly about to meet his maker. What followed was the stuff of legend, including privations and challenges that might even make Bear Grylls blanche.
Based also in part on the 2003 novel by Michael Punke, Inarritu and fellow screenwriter Mark L. Smith weave a brutal, bewildering and strangely beguiling tale which will stay with you for days after viewing. *****
Journeyman 8.45pm, Whakaata Māōri. Starring Paddy Considine, Jodie Whittaker.
In this 2017 drama, after suffering a serious hit, boxer Matty Burton (Considine, who also directs) collapses at home and awakens from a coma to find that he has memory loss and a change in his personality.
“A boxing drama with a difference, Journeyman packs a powerful punch – and reminds us not to take Paddy Considine for granted,” wrote Empire magazine’s John Nugent. ****
Monday
Blown Away 8.30pm, Sky Open. Starring Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones.
Part of the wave of Hollywood “Irish terrorist” movies in the 1990s (The Devil’s Own, Patriot Games), this awful 1994 action-thriller sees Jones’ bomber escaping from prison and target Boston bomb squad member Jimmy Dove (Bridges).
“The kind of movie that people should be sentenced to see if they complain that Speed is implausible,” raged Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert. *
21 Jump Street 9.40pm, Duke. Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum.
A comedic 2012 take on the cult teen 1980s cop series. Hill and Tatum play a pair of underachieving cops who are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.
“The dialogue is fast-paced and full of pop-culture references. It all makes for an entertaining blend of buddy-cop action and irreverent teen-comedy satire,” wrote USA Today's Claudia Puig. ****
Tuesday
Warfare 8.30pm, Sky Movies Premiere.
Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Michael Gandolfini and Noah Centineo joined forces for this gripping 2025 drama based on co-director and writer Ray Mendoza’s experiences during the Iraq War as a Navy Seal.
Unfolding in real time, it was co-created by Civil War and Annihilation’s Alex Garland.
“The most forceful and unflinching depiction of combat since Edward Berger’s 2023 Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front,” believed The Observer’s Wendy Ide. ****
Rambo: Last Blood 9.40pm, Duke. Starring Sylvester Stallone.
John Rambo’s fifth adventure – and first in more than a decade – saw the Vietnam War veteran travel to Mexico to try and save a friend's daughter who has been kidnapped by a cartel.
“It's cheap and lazy stuff,” fumed The Observer’s Wendy Ide about this 2019 stinker. *
Wednesday
Kangaroo 7pm, Sky Movies Family. Starring Ryan Corr, Lily Whiteley.
After the heinous Hollywood nightmare that was Kangaroo Jack soiled the memory of Skippy some 20 years ago, it was nice to finally have a feel-good family tale (inspired by the real-life exploits of The Kangaroo Sanctuary founder Chris “Brolga” Barns) showcasing Australia’s largest marsupial arrive in 2025.
Credit veteran TV director Kate Woods (also responsible for beloved 2000 coming-of-age flick Looking For Alibrandi) for putting together an impressive, scene-stealing cast that also includes Wayne Blair, Ernie Dingo and Kiwis Roy Billing and Rachel House.
And while the script is littered with predictable beats, pratfalls and pee gags (as well as a poo milkshake), at least screenwriter Harry Cripps’ (The Dry, Penguin Bloom) redemption tale, featuring joeys and juvenile delinquents, provides something of a fresh spin on the traditional Doc Hollywood/Cars conceit. That’s at least partly down to the charisma of both newcomer Whiteley and former Packed to the Rafters and In Limbo actor Corr and their furry co-stars, who ensure Kangaroo is a family crowdpleaser to rival Runt, Red Dog or Oddball. ****
Thursday
Miss Congeniality 2 8.30pm, TVNZ 2. Starring Sandra Bullock.
Back in 2000, the original movie's potent mix of physical humour, Bullock’s kooky charms and a swag of well-judged cameos saw it make more than two times its budget in North America alone. A sequel was inevitable.
But despite Bullock’s best efforts, audiences are likely to be less congenial towards this lame, laugh-free 2005 sequel. **
Friday
Cinderella 7.30pm, TVNZ 2. Starring Lily James.
Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 live-action re-imagining of one of Disney's classic animated adventures is a lavish-looking, finely nuanced take on Charles Perrault's fairytale which will delight audiences of all ages.
It might follow the traditional script of always helping an old lady and never trusting a grand duke, but there's some lovely life-lessons about kindness, courage and punctuality among all the flowing frocks and talk of fairy godmothers.
However, the film's real stars are Downton Abbey's James – so luminous in powder blue – as the eponymous ashen-faced, but open- hearted orphan Cinderella, and a bewitching Cate Blanchett as her scheming stepmother. ****
Begin Again 7.30pm, Sky Open. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley.
Once writer-director John Carney again came up trumps in 2013 with another toe-tapping musical romance that delights with its simple joys and complex emotions.
Despite the presence of stars Knightley and Ruffalo, Begin Again still possesses a very strong indie vibe. That's thanks largely to Carney's fly-on-the-wall style, filming much of the story on the streets of New York. ****
Pork Pie 9pm, Whakaata Māori. Starring James Rolleston, Dean O’Gorman.
A slicker, smoother, but slightly more soulless 2017 update of Geoff Murphy’s cult 1981 Kiwi comedy (helmed by his son Matt).
Thankfully, gone are the chauvinistic overtones of the original, replaced with something far more metrosexual. But while many of the terrific set pieces (for example the Wellington CBD chase) remain, this Pie lacks bite. ***