Many of Waitara’s residents want to escape their small New Zealand town, but exceptional new documentary Taranaki Hard proves they might not have to. When Fati finishes a set of squats, bench presses or an early morning swim, his mum is right there to cheer him on. “Shake it out,” she’ll direct, while ticking his … Read more
What happens if you take a personal memoir and strip it of everything that made it unique? You get Hillbilly Elegy. The opening line of J.D Vance’s 2016 sleeper hit memoir Hillbilly Elegy is “I find the existence of the book you hold in your hands somewhat absurd.” While that’s a little hyperbolic – its … Read more
It seems everybody is watching The Queen’s Gambit. What is it about the Netflix series that is so damned compelling? Let’s be real for a moment: for most of us, unless you’re the one playing it, chess is incredibly boring. It is about as aurally and visually stimulating as watching beige paint dry on a … Read more
The winner of the 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Award reviews the sci-fi and fantasy anthology of the moment. Putting together an anthology is a balancing act. You’re making a statement: this is what the genre or scene looks like to me, and I’d like to think it looks that way to you too. Victoria University … Read more
The original series about a Yorkshire vet was a late-70s television phenomenon. Could the rebooted version scratch a similar itch for recovering Anglophile Linda Burgess? There’s something about TV programmes that start with someone running. It not only depends on where the camera is – at foot level? uhoh… the camera’s a voyeur and we’re … Read more
The erstwhile Vodafone Music Awards returned to Spark Arena last night with a new format – and a new Covid-inspired appreciation for the joys of live music. Here’s what Spinoff’s staffers thought. There was a moment during the awards last night where I had a rare feeling (for 2020 anyway) of hope. Maimoa had just … Read more
As The Crown creeps closer to the present day, its apolitical approach is becoming more of a problem, writes Sam Brooks. Minor spoilers for world history 1977-1990 follow. Another year, another season of The Crown. Ten more hours that mythologise, lionise and tear down the British royal family in expensive fashion, with expensive fashions. The … Read more
The new generation of gaming is almost upon us and Microsoft is first out of the gate with the release of the of Xbox Series X on Tuesday. It’s big, it’s powerful, it’s packed with impressive new features – but is it worth shelling out $800 for? Lee Henaghan took it for a test drive. … Read more
The Playstation 5 is Sony’s hotly anticipated entry into the new generation of gaming. How does the big unit fare? The first thing you realise about the PlayStation 5 is that it’s one big boy of a console. If you saw this console walking down the street, with its white armour and flashing lights, you’d … Read more
Some of New Zealand’s best comedians unite in Golden Boy to bring us a fun, breezy sitcom that will brighten any bad day. I’m binge-watching Golden Boy after a morning at the dentist. My face is numb. I’m sliding mandarin pieces between the teeth I’m allowed to use. I want to be cheered up, and … Read more
The second season of The Mandalorian is more of the same, but it’s also a signal of where the world’s biggest franchise is headed, writes Sam Brooks. When The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ last year, nobody could have predicted how truly huge it would come to be. Not only was it actually pretty good television … Read more
Black Hands, adapted from the podcast of the same name, doesn’t do the Bain family justice, writes Sam Brooks. “Dunedin 20th June, 1994 5 members of the Bain family were shot dead in their home.” That blunt piece of text precedes the opening credits of every episode of TVNZ’s Black Hands, adapted from the hugely … Read more
Review: In their heyday they were invulnerable, but now the likes of Piri Weepu and Eroni Clarke are all too human. That’s what makes Match Fit so compelling, says Duncan Greive. Match Fit is aimed at the more casual class of rugby fan, but its audience would likely bristle at what lies underneath its code-heavy … Read more
The Big Little Lies showrunner and one of its stars are back with an addictive new limited series – and they’ve brought Hugh Grant along for the ride. Nicole Kidman does a lot of walking in The Undoing. The new HBO murder-mystery miniseries features seemingly endless shots of her character, Grace Fraser, crossing busy Manhattan … Read more
All his life, Duncan Greive has basically hated his undies and found socks annoying. And then he tried Allbirds underwear. It is quite accurate to point out that fields as varied as medicine, transport and 90% of humans are brutally compromised by sexism. This, naturally extends to underwear, with most bras notoriously created for the … Read more
Sacha Baron-Cohen’s most successful character returns to a pandemic-stricken middle America. The formula is the same, but its impact has radically changed, says Duncan Greive. In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, more commonly known as Borat 2, the conceit is the same, … Read more
The comedian stars opposite Matthew Lewis, the artist formerly known as Neville Longbottom, in a charming new New Zealand comedy about a pregnant woman completely losing her shit. Recently I watched all of series one of Duchess, the Netflix vehicle of comedian Katherine Ryan, based on her life as an unconventional single mother. I’m a … Read more
New Zealanders love Taskmaster UK. But will they warm to the homegrown version? Guy Williams is doing his best to amp up the crowd, while Angella Dravid sits quietly alongside with her usual look of both discomfort and amusement. Leigh Hart has that wry smirk on his face that viewers of Moon TV and the … Read more
Just a few years ago, few people had heard of the self-help group/cult of personality known as NXIVM. Now the dark story has gone global, thanks to an eight-part docuseries that debuts on Neon today. This review contains mild spoilers for The Vow. What is it that people love so much that they’d join a … Read more
Is there still a place for a show that portrays property managers as housing market heroes? TVNZ’s Renters thinks so, Sam Brooks thinks not. Ten minutes into the first episode of season eight of Renters – that’s two more seasons than Outrageous Fortune got, folks – comes one of the most depressing things I’ve ever … Read more
Victory Park is the first novel from Mākaro Press since August 2019, when they put out a little book called Auē. I remember what it felt like to finish Becky Manawatu’s Auē, which went on to win last year’s Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Electric. Elating. An in-my-bones knowing that this story mattered. Victory … Read more
The second season of TVNZ on Demand satire Educators continues to skewer New Zealand’s school system, brilliantly and brutally. Is there anything bleaker than a New Zealand high school? As local comedy Educators tells it, probably not. The show, created by Jesse Griffin, Jackie van Beek and Johnny Brugh, has returned for its second season … Read more
It’s a popstar memoir. It’s also about one man’s immense compassion, writes Sam Brooks. Content warning: contains details of rape, sexual abuse and violence. On a whim, this past weekend I picked up Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead. The elegant epistolary novel, much lauded on its release 16 years ago, is set in mid 20th century America, … Read more
Emily in Paris wants to be a homemade pain au chocolat but can barely reach the level of a store-bought croissant. For over two decades, Darren Star has had his very specific genre locked down: he makes shows about professional women trying to have it all, where all the stakes are emotional and all the … Read more
Rebecca Tobo Olul-Hossen, a writer from Vanuatu, celebrates a book woven of stories her country has lived through. This is an edited version of a review that appeared in Vanuatu’s Life & Style Magazine. Sado, a Bislama word that translates to “shadow” in English, as a noun means reflection, humiliation and dishonor. This is a … Read more
Think a good pair of wireless earbuds means shelling out for Apple’s ubiquitous white sticks? Think again, writes tech reviewer Henry Burrell. The iPhone 7 was the first popular phone to lose the headphone jack, and frankly I’ve been furious ever since. One of the most universal and user-friendly tech interfaces of the last 50 … Read more
Netflix drama Ratched aims to rehabilitate the villain from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but would do better in the electric chair. Nurse Ratched is, quite rightly, one of the most famous movie villains of all time. The source of all of McMurphy’s despair and angst in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written … Read more
Rose Matafeo calls Horndog a ‘silly show about love’, but what follows is a persuasive case for loving with obsessive devotion. Rose Matafeo assures us in the first few minutes of Horndog (now streaming on Neon) that it’s not a TED talk, that it won’t be one of those shows where there’s a “lesson to … Read more
Grand Designs NZ is back with a new season that promises more incredible homes, optimistic owners, and the easy charm of presenter Chris Moller. Grand Designs NZ kicked off its sixth season with a reminder that most of us will never have six million dollars to transform a heritage building into our house of dreams, … Read more