Sam Brooks 
Is it a real estate ad if you see more of the Dancing with the Stars judges than you see of the house? Our DWTSNZ power-ranker Sam Brooks investigates. I remember the old days, when people used to look at pictures of houses in the newspaper and then go along to open homes and hope the house … Read more
Everybody Cool Lives Here is one of Wellington’s most exciting theatre companies, and their work Big J Stylez comes to Auckland’s Herald Theatre this week as part of Matariki Season. Sam Brooks interviews artistic director Rose Kirkup. “The award-winning theatre company Everybody Cool Lives Here produces art that reflects and celebrates Aotearoa’s unique and diverse identity,” reads … Read more
Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Lara Croft, Mario – these characters defined gaming in culture for so long. So what happened to them? An orange bandicoot, a purple dragon, a long ponytailed archaelogist, an electric rat, a male green lizard that could lay eggs, a terrifying yellow circle. These were the representatives of gaming for so long; … Read more
The season is over but there’s one more power ranking left to do. Who won the season – really? And who truly, truly lost the season? And who the hell is in between? Sam Brooks power ranks Dancing with the Stars one last time. 12. Robert Rakete Poor Robert Rakete. Coming into this competition, you’d think … Read more
It’s the final dance off, fully voted on by the public – and here are your final power rankings. Dancing with the Stars, it is over. ABSOLUTELY NOT: Dai Henwood – Contemporary Interpretative It’s not a super successful parody dance if that dance is better performed than one of your contestants performed just the previous … Read more
Chris Parker and Eli Matthewson’s hit podcast The Male Gayz is now a thing you can look at with your eyeballs, thanks to TVNZ on Demand. Chris Parker and Eli Matthewson are two of the country’s most prolific and well-known young comedians. They’re both writers for Jono and Ben and Funny Girls, as well as occasional performers on both … Read more
Lightbox Movies has a huge selection of movies to choose from, but film geek Sam Brooks is most excited about the obscure, hard-to-find and objectively best ones. A Fantastic Woman Obviously, the first thing a film nerd should catch up on, if they haven’t seen it already, is the latest winner of the Academy Award for … Read more
Cher is coming to town! Sam Brooks runs through the many facets of Cher’s near-60 year career – and what makes her so special. Cher as pop star Look, Cher has been a pop star longer than most of us have been alive. She’s had more hits than I have had glasses of wine. She … Read more
It’s ’90s week on Dancing with the Stars – approximately the decade when this series started. We’re doing the power rankings again. And they have to dance not once, but twice! There is neither rhyme nor reason to these power rankings, so I will rank by dance, not by contestant. There’s just one more week to … Read more
On June 21 2018, Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford was born. But on April 7, 2010 first fisherman Clarke Gayford revealed a preference for a middle name of a … different kind. After a deep and serious investigation, The Spinoff has discovered a clip uploaded onto popular video website YouTube from the account “Rattle Ya … Read more
Breakout performer of a hit local film and now award-winning theatre maker, Ana Scotney is the definition of a rising star. She talks to Sam Brooks about her upcoming show The Contours of Heaven. If you’re most people, the first time you saw Ana Scotney (Ngāti Tāwhaki) was in The Breaker-Upperers, in which she plays the take-no-shit … Read more
It’s a wintry theme this week on a Cato-less Dancing with the Stars. Who adjusts to the winter chill and who is left out in the cold? These puns and more in week eight’s power rankings. Note: Each contestant danced twice this week – once with their partner and once in a team – and I … Read more
The 80s were a time for wellness videos from all kinds of celebrities. But the best one? Dame Angela Lansbury’s. Sam Brooks found the tape, and dug through it for the gems. Look, Angela Lansbury is a damn treasure. She’s got five Tonys (those are the Oscars for theatre), she’s been nominated for three Oscars, … Read more
E3 is a whirlwind of press conferences, trailers and gamer reactions, and so much happens that it’s almost impossible to keep up with it all. Sam Brooks has your essential E3 cheat sheet. If you’re deep in a certain part of the internet, your social media feed right now is probably a maelstrom of E3 … Read more
Nintendo had their E3 press conference today – and obviously the most important part was who’s being added to the new Super Smash Bros. game. Sam Brooks takes a look at the new characters. If you grew up as a nineties kid – or even more egregiously, an aughties kid – then you’ll recognise Super Smash … Read more
A talk show… about theatre? You mean Shakespeare and shit? Sam Brooks watches the first episode of Louise Wallace’s Opening Night. Theatre is a hard sell. Even for people who enjoy theatre – hell, even for people who make theatre – it’s hard to get people to actually go to a play. If it’s not … Read more
The new trailer for the much-anticipated latest entry in the Final Fantasy/Disney crossover series Kingdom Hearts premiered at E3 today. Sam Brooks tries to make sense of it. If you’re not familiar with Kingdom Hearts, good god, why are you starting now? You’re sixteen years too late. Trying to understand this series at this point is like trying to … Read more
TVNZ’s new series of documentaries explores the experiences of New Zealanders living with adversity. Sam Brooks reviews I Am. Following the same format as TVNZ1’s I Am Innocent series, which followed people who had been wrongly accused of heinous crimes, I Am follows individuals who have lived through adversity, with episodes that cover a New Zealander living with Aspergers, … Read more
It was a rough week for Dancing with the Stars, with a lot of low-lights (twerking, reggaeton) and only one shining highlight. Sam Brooks is here with the week’s power-rankings. ELIMINATED: Suzy Cato (and Matt) – Samba This is an absolute travesty. What is going on with this show. Suzy Cato is not just one of … Read more
The JRPG has been in decline for the past decade, but the Tales series continues to attract a dedicated audience. Sam Brooks investigates how it has survived so long. The first Tales game I ever played was a good ten years after its debut. It was 2005, the year where we pre-emptively gave Reese Witherspoon an Oscar for playing … Read more
What happens to the unused Pokemon who never make it to a game? They get leaked 20 years later and ruthlessly insulted. Last week, an uploaded ROM (essentially an illegal copy of a game) of Pokemon Gold and Silver was uploaded to the internet, and has since been meticulously unpacked by fans at The Cutting Room Floor. The … Read more
Marama Fox is gone, god is dead, but Dancing with the Stars is still here – with TRIO dances? Sam Brooks power ranks whoever is left on this show. ELIMINATED: Robert Rakete (and Nicole AND Fabio) – Cha cha The big problem with these trio dances is the celebrity ends up being their very own … Read more
Jono and Ben is back for another season, and they’re refreshing their comedic stable with some new faces, most of them women. Let’s meet them! Jono and Ben is more than just a showcase for the titular dudes who front the show. It also has a legacy of being a springboard for some of our most talented … Read more
Lightbox has a bunch of new options – but are you wondering how to use them? How do you watch movies? How do you download things to your phone? Never fear, tech adept Sam Brooks is here to help. What’s the difference between Standard and Premium? With the standard Lightbox plan, you can watch all … Read more
Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You was as awkward as its title, and as bald a vanity project as they come. Sam Brooks reviews the Delta Goodrem-led mini-series. On paper, Delta Goodrem is a perfect fit for an Olivia Newton-John biopic. Both are surprisingly enduring Australian popstars, both have distinctive and versatile pop voices, and … Read more
Against all odds, the self-titled Shawn Mendes album is not only worth a listen, it’s bloody great. Sam Brooks reviews. To many, the success of Shawn Mendes can seem bizarre. He has a huge fanbase amongst teenage girls because he looks and sounds like he’d only ever say nice things to and about you. He has … Read more
For some reason, there’s a prohibition theme this week on Dancing with the Stars NZ! Alcohol or no, these are the power rankings. ELIMINATED: Marama Fox (and Brad) – Foxtrot Calling it now: Meghan Trainor killed Marama Fox’s chances of winning this thing. Marama Fox is a charismatic, beautiful Māori woman, and it’s sad to … Read more
All eight episodes of spy thriller Killing Eve are now available to stream on TVNZ on Demand. Sam Brooks looks back at the series. After watching just the first episode of Killing Eve, I was all in. A new Phoebe Waller-Bridge show? Check! A new Sandra Oh performance to obsess over? Check it twice, then a third time for a … Read more
A new David Cage game comes with a lot of hype and a lot of high promises. Does Detroit: Become Human meet the hype for the first time in Cage’s career? Sam Brooks reviews. This is a completely spoiler-free review for this game, so you can safely read this if you want to play the game and … Read more