Tom Cruise's latest Mission: Impossible film is darker and funnier than its immediate predecessor and feels more like a Euro-espionage thriller than a spy story stuck on an action chassis.

Once a favourite late-night haunt, Tabac has undergone a refurbishment to lighten and brighten the back alley bar.

Jon Spencer tells Lydia Jenkin about his band's homage to New York rock history.

Enduring post-punk act The Fall are known for an endlessly revolving line-up based around enigmatic front man Mark E. Smith.

"I take notes all the time when ideas hit me," Woody Allen told TimeOut in a 2012 interview, "and I throw them in a drawer. So I have a drawerful of ideas and I could probably make a lot more films."

Probably most familiar to Kiwis as one of the regular funny men on the end of Graham Norton's couch, English comedy star John Bishop is heading to Auckland for the first time.

The debut feature for its young writer-director, this unassuming but engaging French dramedy deserves the prizes it picked up at Cannes and at the country's Oscar-equivalent Cesars.

Wilco is giving this album away for free. Maybe it's the guilt of making ardent fans of the respected Chicago art-rock outfit fork out for their 77-track "odds and sods" collection Alpha Mike Foxtrot from last year.

E channel is bringing us another almost famous Hollywood clan with a colourful history.

The drinks list here is very impressive, but it's also worth noting the pleasing alcohol-free offerings.

The middle of the year is always quiet for gaming, but there's still fun to be had. Siobhan Keogh finds four of the best indie games you may have missed.

What does a modern day "immaculate conception" look like? Not nearly as holy as in Biblical times.

You've heard it, right? By now everyone should have. After all, it's the first new song in five years from the Black Eyed Peas, the creators of Fergie, the term "phunk", and, in I Gotta Feeling, one of the biggest worst songs of all time.

Ahead of his New Zealand shows this summer, Robbie Williams talks to Lydia Jenkin about how he has finally put being a pop star into perspective.

A new show draws back the curtains on the bogan lifestyle. Chris Schulz meets some of the show's Hamilton-based stars.

The star of a new show about the creation of the world's first nuclear bomb has marched in anti-nuclear protests. Chris Schulz talks to Olivia Williams.

John H. Watson, MD, has much to answer for; just ask this Sherlock Holmes.

When Kevin Parker posted early single Let It Happen back in March, he was signalling a bit of a change for the Tame Impala sound.

Auckland's second Raggamuffin festival has announced its line-up and a shift to a February date.

Music festival Northern Bass is expanding to become a three-day event after its sell-out success in 2014.

You wait for another Viggo Mortensen arthouse Western to come along and what do you know? Two show up at once.

The third series of the Showtime drama based loosely on the lives of ground-breaking sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson takes a leap forward in its new season.

Our reviewer Russell Baillie discovers there's big fun to be found in Ant-Man's small-scale thrills.

The end is nigh. This Sunday, we farewell the disco jamboree that is Dancing With The Stars as the final three compete for the ultimate prize - a shimmering, oversized mirrorball trophy.

Meet the cast of 90s punk/hip-hop caper comedy Dope.