Sam Brooks 
The cult 90s classic Sakura Wars is back after 15 years in hibernation, but has gaming left this dating sim granddaddy behind? Sam Brooks reviews. Sakura Wars, a series which debuted in the 90s, revolves around an army captain who is assigned to a secret unit in the Japanese military, comprised entirely of women who … Read more
Grief is an unwanted guest at the best of times, none more so than when you can’t actually have guests. Sam Brooks writes about how he’s processing grief in a time of lockdown. Lockdown is perhaps the first time in modern history where a lot of us have too much time on our hands. Some … Read more
Gentle, moving and a little bit sexy, the BBC and Hulu’s take on Sally Rooney’s book club staple Normal People not only survives adaptation, it thrives, writes Sam Brooks. If the Unity Books charts are anything to go by, everybody in New Zealand owns about two copies of Sally Rooney’s Normal People. The novel by … Read more
How do you move your news-stuffed, comedian-packed game show to Zoom? Sam Brooks talked to Hayley Sproull, host of Have You Been Paying Attention?, to find out. Over the last five weeks we’ve all become a lot more comfortable seeing inside the homes of our colleagues, politicians and epidemiologists. And while television has always been … Read more
Ahead of the NZ debut of Eat Well For Less, literal first-time cook Sam Brooks gives a few of his own (barely tested) tips for how to eat well for less. We all spend too much on food. I know I do. Back in the golden age of “restaurants” and “eateries”, I would be found … Read more
Breton Dukes’ latest short story collection is a thrilling, surgical examination into the everyday tragedies of domestic New Zealand. The New Zealand man is a topic that is well examined by pretty much every art form we’ve ever had. Hell, our most famous stereotype is “the man alone”. The loner (usually a straight, white loner) … Read more
Rebuilding Paradise with Paul Henry marks the controversial presenter’s return to primetime to talk about New Zealand after Covid-19. Sam Brooks reviews. It has to be addressed: A significant amount of people don’t want to see Paul Henry back on our screens. He’s done a lot of bigoted shit, including but not limited to mocking … Read more
What if that ‘Imagine’ video was nearly nine hours long and featured over a hundred celebrities? Is it a global crisis until a group of celebrities come together and sing about it? Surely not. Thus today’s Global Citizen’s One World Together: Stay Home, a nearly nine-hour live stream – seven hours of pre-show followed by … Read more
Imagine Love Island without… the touching? Netflix’s new reality show Too Hot to Handle hits a little bit close to our distanced homes, writes Sam Brooks. When it starts, Too Hot to Handle seems like another escapist log on the reality show pyre, upon which many an attractive, abominably-blessed human has been set alight. Waves … Read more
Pooch Perfect is the dog-grooming reality show you never knew you wanted. Here are the famous dogs who we think deserve a spot to be groomed by the best of the best. Tired of seeing dogs only on your daily walk or scrolling through your Instagram? Do you want to see some dogs looking their … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews The Tiger King and I, which does little to rectify the damage and distortion done by the monster Netflix hit. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness arrived at exactly the right time. People were shutting their doors, washing their hands and turning on their screens, and what was waiting there for them? … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the third season of Killing Eve, which trades a razor-sharp focus for a wide lens and pays the price. Spoilers for the first two seasons of Killing Eve follow. In the space of three years, Killing Eve has turned from unlikely success – a cult pulp series of novels adapted by a … Read more
A rom-com thriller? Produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge? Sign us up. Sam Brooks reviews Run, which arrives on Neon tonight. Picture it: You don’t like your life very much. You have a shitty dead-end job, a husband you’re fond of but no longer love with, and kids to whom you feel obligated but not necessarily devoted. … Read more
Noughts + Crosses is set in the present day, but if our history had run a wildly different course. Sam Brooks brings you up to speed on what you need to know before you dive into the show. First things first, what is Noughts + Crosses? Noughts + Crosses is a BBC series adapted from … Read more
Sam Brooks takes a look at new American streaming service Quibi, and asks what sets it apart from all the rest. So what is Quibi and what makes it different? Quibi is a new streaming service based out of the US with one twist: you can only watch it on your phone. Or, to use … Read more
After five years, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally appeared. Sam Brooks reviews the highly anticipated remake, looking back while leaping forward. Remakes have been around so long as we’ve been making art. We’re used to them, whether they’re new retellings of old myths, covers of old songs, or complete reimaginings of old films. … Read more
Sam Brooks, a lifelong Studio Ghibli fan, presents a guide to the Japanese studio’s animated films, including which ones to show your kids when. Just heard ‘Let It Go’ for the billionth time? Sick of those class-traitor dogs that make up the cast of Paw Patrol? Look no further than the delightful films of Studio … Read more
Sam Brooks shares central Auckland’s best-kept drinking secret, the bowling alley bastion that has become his ‘third place’. One of the first pieces I wrote for The Spinoff was a review of Metrolanes, the bowling alley bar that had quickly found a place in my heart. It is, in my mind, the best bar in … Read more
The new true crime documentary sensation shares many of the flaws of its own subject, writes Sam Brooks. Joe Exotic, the man at the centre of Netflix’s new documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, is a star. There’s an unnerving charisma that burns through the tattooed eyeliner, the sickly bleached hair and the … Read more
On Tuesday, Creative New Zealand announced the details of their $16 million Emergency Response Package addressing the impacts of Covid-19. Here are the specifics of it, along with some added clarity from CNZ CEO Stephen Wainwright. Over the past two weeks, the arts community has been devastated by Covid-19. Shows, gigs, exhibitions, and concerts have … Read more
New Zealand is about to move to alert level four in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will put the nation, in effect, on lockdown for four weeks. At least. Here’s what that means in practice. When does it start and what do I do? The lockdown starts at 11:59pm on Wednesday. From this point … Read more
As we head into our first weekend with many of us in self-isolation and practising social distancing, Sam Brooks offers a few tips on how to be social while saying alone. “I want to be alone.” – Greta Garbo, in Grand Hotel. Those famous words are probably the opposite of what you’re feeling if, like … Read more
Sam Brooks surveys the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the performing arts community. As Covid-19 took hold across the world over the past few weeks, the ripple effects began to be felt across New Zealand’s performing arts sector. In late February, one of the flagship shows of the Auckland Arts Festival, Place Des Anges, due … Read more
HBO’s biggest drama since Game of Thrones returns for a third season to NEON. Here’s everything you need to know about Westworld season three. Obviously, major spoilers for Westworld seasons 1 and 2. It’s been a year and a half – remind me where we left off. Okay, strap in! At the end of season … Read more
This is yet another tab clogging up your browser, and that’s fine, writes Sam Brooks. Welcome to this article! Chances are you didn’t read it immediately after it was published. It’s one of however many tabs filling up whatever browser you happen to be using on whatever device you happen to be reading it on. … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Media Molecule’s Dreams, the game that allows you to turn your dreams into (virtual) reality, and share them with a likeminded community. Throughout my teenage years, I had dreams that my teeth would fall out, or that I had loosening teeth on the verge of falling out. Recently, these dreams of teeth … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Before the Coffee Gets Cold – which Aucklanders, inexplicably, will not stop buying – and finds a book that sits oddly out of its native language and native form. For an extraordinary five weeks straight, a certain slim $20 novel has topped the Unity Auckland charts. That’s after making the Top 10 … Read more
A few weeks ago, Final Fantasy VII superfan Sam Brooks got to play five hours of the new remake. He interviews the game’s director, Yoshinori Kitase, and reports back on why the game isn’t just a remake, but so much more. The opening moments of Final Fantasy VII are hard to forget. We pan across … Read more
Less than half of New Zealand adults have a will. One hundred per cent of New Zealand adults die. Sam Brooks writes on why you need a will. Before you read any further, ask yourself this one question: If I dropped dead right now, reading this piece, would my loved ones know exactly – to … Read more