Comedy

Our popular annual collaboration with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra presents the last of the great Buster Keaton comedy features and Cops, a classic short. Marc Taddei conducts scores by Timothy Brock.

How far would you go for some free money? Would you walk naked through a bar for $100? Would you punch a stranger's face for $200? It's always interesting for audiences to ponder what they’d do in hypothetical situations, which is exactly why filmmakers have so much fun with dark and devilish exercises like Cheap Thrills.

This wry 2013 mockumentary about an early computer vs computer chess tournament looks and talks like an authentic 80s relic. “An endearingly nutty, proudly analog tribute to the ultra-nerdy innovators of yesteryear.” — Variety

Our ultimate post-Closing Night extravagance is a special one-off NZ screening of surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky’s gloriously entertaining and frequently funny new film. “Has cult potential in every baroque, eye-popping frame.” — Screendaily

Clint and Dwayne, awesome lady-killer pony-riding gang of two, raise the funds to get Dwayne a new set of teeth. The funniest movie valentine to stoned mateship and recreational innovation in backblocks NZ since Kaikohe Demolition.

When hard-working Maria and Jose inherit a handsome property in Portugal, should they leave behind the lives they’ve made in Paris? A funny, warm-hearted and hugely entertaining upstairs-downstairs comedy.

Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar camps up the airplane disaster movie. “A hugely entertaining, feelgood celebration of human sexuality that unfolds as a cathartic experience for characters, audiences and director alike.” — Variety

Fabrice Luchini and Kristin Scott Thomas star in a juicy black comedy-drama by François Ozon. “A witty, naughty, insight-packed provocation which never takes its seriousness too seriously.” — Time Out London

In this hit romcom the age difference that has characterised a century of French cinema is reversed: 38-year-old fashion editor Alice (Virginie Efira) is romanced by 20-year-old architecture major Balthazar (Pierre Niney).

Joss Whedon and a cast of his TV regulars breathe fresh life into Shakespeare’s comedy of romantic gamesmanship. “The first great contemporary Shakespeare since Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.” — The Guardian

Debut director Jan Ole Gerster’s funny, jazz-inflected account of a bad day in the life of an über-cool young Berliner (Tom Schilling) trounced all comers to carry off a load of Lolas at this year’s German Film Awards.

Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch play highway workers, complete opposites, whose job it is to paint centerlines on a rural Texas roadway. “An unconventional, ultimately rather sweet buddy pic that's an audiovisual treat.” — Variety

Comedian and diagnosed sleepwalker Mike Birbiglia directs his own self-portrait. “Birbiglia may just be the new Woody Allen... The funniest, most tender, thoughtful and downright brilliant comedy we’ve seen in years.” — GQ