God of War: Sons of Sparta: PS5 Review

Developed by MegaCat Studios and Santa Monica Studio
Published by Sony Interactive
Platform: PS5

For those looking for a return to Kratos' world may slightly be surprised by this 2D Metroidvania game that takes away Kratos' axe and gives him back a spear and a chance to fight some old enemies.

Essentially a maze game that's about looking for a new way to tell Kratos' story and setting back in Greek ideologies and mythologies proves to be a tonic on some fronts, but does expose a few storytelling flaws as it goes on.

You get to play as a young Kratos, a teenager who's barely found his bearded anger yet and who is about to learn a lesson of responsibility as the game goes on. Teaming up with his brother Deimos on an adventure outside of Sparta, there are various missions for Kratos to carry out, some of which are enticing and others which are slightly dull.

What's perhaps most disappointing about God of War: Sons of Sparta is the fact it feels like a mobile phone game, one that uses none of the tech's cinematic prowess or the engine's capability. Combat is simple, stab, slash, hack, jump and avoid. Perhaps it's more suited to a PS Portal than a large scale console and TV set up.

Granted, the further into the game you go, the more ability you get, but largely, this feels like a muted entrant into Kratos' world, one that diminishes the power of his legend. 

How you'll feel about dedicating some 20 hours to the game depends largely on how invested you are in the Greek Odyssey of Kratos himself, but don't be surprised if this leaves you feeling underwhelmed - despite the best intentions of MegaCat studios.

Cold Storage: Movie Review

Cast: Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, Vanessa Redgrave
Director: Jonny Campbell

Cold Storage's distinctive B-movie vibes are apparent from its opening titles.

As meteors smash through on-screen graphics, this tale of a fungal microbe from space escaping from years of captivity in an abandoned Government facility that's become a storage unit is clearly not taking itself seriously from the start - even if its cast are.

Liam Neeson stars as Robert Quinn, a former specialist who first became aware of the alien lifeform after he was called to Australia by a Dr Martins (yes, it's a real name) who'd been contacted about an outbreak in a Western Australian township. 

Years later, Travis (Stranger Things' Joe Keery), a nighttime worker finds his shift interrupted by a beeping noise and a brand new colleague Naomi (Barbarian's Georgina Campbell). When the duo investigates, they soon discover the bacterial incursion and race against the clock to try and save the day.

Cold Storage does exactly what you'd expect from a story that's about a marauding fungus - and if you can get past the inconsistencies of the plot and the fact it feels padded with a small cast and an at times shonky script, there are plenty of gore-filled vicarious thrills and needle drops to be enjoyed here.

Neeson delivers a no-holds barred class in doing it all seriously throughout, despite the increasing levels of absurdity and it's great to see the likes of Lesley Manville taking part in something like this, given her career's been mainly prestige pictures and period dramas.

There's a real warmth to Neeson and Manville's partnership, a lived-in quality that makes you wish the story spent more time with them, rather than Travis and Naomi's attempts at banter and bonding.

Both are fine, and even an exposition-heavy script and a penchant for labelling Travis as "loqacious" before firing off yet another dialogue from him can't stop you feeling a frisson of engagement in this budding work-colleagues relationship -0 even if it doesn't leave mushroom for development.

Jurassic Park writer David Koepp's 2019 story is fun enough, and this is disposable enough fare that just about entertains, given how it doesn't take itself seriously. Do yourself a favour and see it with some friends - it's the kind of thing that will appeal to anyone who's a fungi.

The Boys releases final season trailer

The fifth and final season of The Boys, from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on April 8, 2026.

 Prime Video revealed the epic official trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming fifth season of The Boys, as the global hit series heads toward its explosive final chapter. Season Five of the multi-Emmy Award-winning series will premiere on April 8, 2026, with two episodes, followed by a new episode each week, culminating in the unforgettable series finale on May 20, 2026. The season will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. The trailer brings together the series’ iconic characters as they prepare for one last stand, building toward the ultimate confrontation.

 

In the fifth and final season, it’s Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a “Freedom Camp.”  Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it.  It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.

 

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who also serve as executive producers, and developed by executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Michaela Starr, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Judalina Neira, Jessica Chou, Gabriel Garcia, Ori Marmur, Ken F. Levin and Jason Netter also serve as executive producers. The Boys is produced by Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios with Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, and Point Grey Pictures.

I Swear: Movie Review

Cast: Robert Aramayo, Shirley Henderson, Maxine Peake, Peter Mullan, Scott Ellis Watson

Director: Kirk Jones

There's plenty in I Swear which feels formulaic.

Beginning with a present-day event (meeting the Queen, before swearing at her) and then zipping back to his earlier years, this feel-good film about Tourette Syndrome sufferer John Davidson takes on a more poignant and tragic edge, given his recent appearance at the 2026 BAFTA Awards.

Yet, this at-times heartbreaking underdog biopic is extremely uplifting, thanks to a compassionate direction and an extraordinary performance from both its leads - Watson as the young Davidson and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's award-winning Aramayo as the older version.

In 1980s Galashiels in Scotland, John is a happy boy. On the cusp of starting secondary school, he's the apple of his dad's eye, thanks to his goal-keeping prowess. But a few days into a new life, it all begins to unravel when involuntary tics emerge and his life devolves into mockery and ostracism at the hands of others - including a family break-up and a cold, clinical mother (Henderson) who's incapable of any empathy.

Things change for Davidson when he meets Dottie (Maxine Peake), a mother dying of cancer, who gives him the sympathetic support he's been denied by society.

What happens next is very easily telegraphed in the world of movie-making - a series of obstacles to be overcome, before inevitable success. (Though any success will feel bittersweet after Davidson's use of the N-word at the BAFTAs).

And while you'd expect a film about this subject to use the Tourette's as a punchline of absurdity thanks to its appearance at the most inopportune moments, every outburst is utterly demoralising and hard to behold.

If Watson is deeply moving as the younger version, Aramayo absolutely knocks it out of the park as the older Davidson. From hints of sadness and frustration behind his eyes to a physical performance which is difficult to watch, he is astounding, while never losing any of the likeable everyman who has a wicked sense of humour.

But rather than mocking Davidson, the film - and by default Aramayo - give him wide berth to show the reality of living a life like this, the isolation and the utter frustration at an inability to just have a normal day. This so easily could have been a film that made a mockery of its subject matter - instead, it becomes a touchpoint for discussion, a window into humanity and a relatably human story about dealing with what life's delivered you.

A truly moving and joyful experience that could have easily lost some of the film's back third, I Swear is the kind of life-affirming thing British cinema does so well so often. It throws open a window into a world we barely know, floods it with pathos and delivers something that's truly unforgettable.

Rooster: Review

Steve Carell’s swapping the Office for the campus in this new university-set comedy that sees his pulpy book author Greg Russo dropping by to help out his college professor daughter Katie after her husband, a fellow academic, has an affair.

It’s an incongruous pitch for a comedy, to be frank, but where Rooster works is the way the story gets its hooks into you. This is not a series that delivers consistently belly-inducing laughs, but with subtle writing and smart deadpan delivery from Carell and a script from Ted Lasso’s creator Bill Lawrence, it has just something indefinable that works.

It helps that the ensemble cast is particularly strong as Russo finds himself in more and more outlandish situations – in the first episode alone, he’s forced to run away after camping out in the campus bushes to spy on his daughter’s husband and ends up inadvertently watching two lesbians kiss. It’s a moment that in any other situation probably wouldn’t work – but in Carell’s hands, it’s riotously funny and memorable.

John C McGinley also shines as the college’s dean who leans on Rooster to take on a role on campus, ensuring that he sticks around. From espousing moments in his steam room to delivering the kind of material he excelled in in Scrubs (surely, no coincidence the same writer’s behind the barbs), he’s a memorable addition to the show.

And in amongst it all, is Carell, a comedian whose delivery and whose cadences have improved with age. There’s no denying there are moments of Michael Scott in Greg Russo, but whereas Scott was a buffoon with a heart, Russo is an educated man, prone to mishaps and blessed with heart too – it’s a subtle difference. From dealing with his daughter’s problems, battling wits with the campus cop to finding himself constantly having to apologise formally for missteps, the escalating stupidity is hard to allay and even more difficult to put to one side, thanks to his efforts.

Like most campus-set comedies, there’s some frat boy hijinks in later episodes, but Lawrence and co-creator Matt Tarses ensure these don’t feel out of place or episodic in their nature.

Rooster is a clever comedy, that rewards persistence and which offers a smart rejoinder to other dumb campus-set shenanigans. For that alone, it’s well worth an investment of your time.

Six of ten episodes of Rooster series 1 were available and viewed for the purposes of this review.

The Bride: Movie Review

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Jessie Buckley's star continues to rise in The Bride.

The Bride! takes some big swings under the helmship of Maggie Gyllenhaal - and it largely pays dividends, delivering an audacious film that feels like nothing else out there. Until its final third when it falls drastically off the rails.

Buckley is Ida, who's murdered at the start of the film by a mobster boss, who believes her loose tongue will cause them problems. Unceremoniously dumped, she's recovered by Christian Bale's Frankenstein and Dr Euphonious (a toothy Bening) after the monster decides he needs companionship.

However, when the Bride comes back to life, her memory is shattered and she embarks on a quest to rediscover and reclaim her identity, sweeping up those around her in an ongoing crusade.

There's much to love about the Bride! as it swirls around the idea of a monster-led Bonnie and Clyde (though its use of the Monster Mash at the end seems trite and cheesy). A feminist romp that's about women fighting back will have many complaining about its woke edges, but Gyllenhaal's crafted a story that, while all the loose ends don't tie up, is for the most part, completely engaging and chaotically bonkers at the same time.

Less Gothic, more gangster, it feels like a spiritual partner to Joker: Folie A Deux, with less of the maudlin touches to go on. Central to all of this is Buckley, a dual edged performance that is filled with energy, surprise, sadness, tragedy and compassion in equal measures. It's a tour de force and a full commitment from Buckley pays dividends in what's likely to be a polarising performance.

Bale's turn is soulful, one that tunes into the loneliness of the monster and who aches for connection, before erupting into extreme violence. But he's lesser than the sum of his parts here, a not quite equal to Buckley's brilliance - despite an out-there dance number for Putting On The Ritz.

Perhaps less successful are Sarsgaard and Cruz's detectives who come into the story to investigate the spree and who feel like they're barely in enough to warrant much of an arc - even if Cruz's character forms part of the feminist allegory that plays out.

Ultimately, The Bride! is a film which bursts onto the screen with such chutzpah and steam that it's inevitably going to falter - which it sadly does toward the end - but for large swathes of the 2 hour journey, Gyllenhaal's inventive and gender-swapped take on the Bride of Frankenstein is one that has a unique voice, that deserves to be applauded.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople to return to cinemas for 10th anniversary

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople will return to cinemas nationwide over Easter to mark the 10th anniversary of its original release.. Anniversary screenings across Aotearoa will be a communal experience to celebrate this modern Aotearoa classic with the film being shown in a 4K version,starting with a nationwide celebration on Tuesday 31 March.

A decade on from its 2016 release, Hunt for the Wilderpeople remains New Zealand’s highest grossing local film at the box office and holds a place in the country’s cultural identity.

“Ten years?! Absolutely not. That’s fake news. I refuse to believe time works like that because it would mean I’m older, and frankly I’ve decided that’s not my brand,” says director Taika Waititi. “In my mind, Julian is still ten years old, I’m still wearing the same trackpants, and we’ve only just finished arguing about snacks in the bush. But honestly, seeing Hunt for the Wilderpeople come back is pretty special — it was this weird little Kiwi story about finding your place and your people, and somehow the world adopted it like a stray dog. If anything, the re-release just proves that good stories don’t age… which is great, because clearly neither do I.”

The film features some of our most beloved actors Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Taika Waititi, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Troy Kingi, Cohen Holloway, Stan Walker, Mike Minogue, Hamish Parkinson and Lloyd Scott.

Julian Dennison, who rose to fame as the iconic Ricky Baker said: “Woah – 10 years. 10 years of the skuxxiest people, 10 years of the nummiest treats and 10 years of running around the bush. Thank you guys for loving it as much as we do. Make sure you go and see it this Easter, and make sure you go and live that skux life because remember, we didn’t choose the skux life, the skux life chose us.”

“That rarity from Aotearoa - a comedy. It seems impossible that it was 10 years ago now. But I really look forward to seeing it on the big screen again,” adds acting royalty and all round legend Sam Neill who played gruff Uncle Hec. “It is the kind of film that really is much more fun with an audience. I loved my fellow cast , loved my genius director Taika Waititi, loved the whole experience. Save me a seat, wherever you are!”

Local cinemas are setting up in various ways to make the night one to remember. Fans can purchase tickets to screenings on March 31st from huntforthewilderpeople.com 

To also mark the anniversary, a range of commemorative collaborations have launched in recent weeks. 

NZ Post has released a series of stamps featuring images photographed by Kane Skennar for the film. These are available for purchase on the NZ Post Collectables website at collectables.nzpost.co.nz/wilderpeople. 

Impressed Recordings will release the official soundtrack on vinyl for the first time. Composed by Moniker, the Wellington trio of Luke Buda, Samuel Flynn Scott and Conrad Wedde, the score will be available in two editions, including a strictly limited Skux Edition of 300 heavyweight clear vinyl copies featuring a silver fern within the pressing. The Skux Edition is personally signed by Taika Waititi on a red, individually-numbered Swanndri print obi strip. The vinyl is available for presales now and will be available at the end of April 2026 via impressedrecordings.com, with a small allocation to selected record stores worldwide.

Garage Project are brewing a limited edition “Majestical Lager” especially to celebrate the 10thanniversary of the film. The beer will be released alongside the re-released film, and will be available at cinemas and retailers across the country, as well as from Garage Project venues, including their online store at www.garageproject.co.nz.

Square Eyes Screen Foundation, champions of cross-generational cinema, is partnering with the New Zealand Film Commission to ensure a new generation of young New Zealanders can collectively watch Hunt for the Wilderpeople on the big screen. More information available via www.square-eyes.co.nz and www.facebook.com/squareeyesscreenfoundation 

Producer, Carthew Neal says the birthday celebration is designed to bring audiences together in the way the film was intended to be seen:

“Remastering the film has reminded us just how extraordinary it is on the big screen — the heartwarming story, the hilarious cast, and immersive sounds of Aotearoa's bush and native bird life found nowhere else on earth. Cinema marks our culture, and this film resonated with the country, so now is the time to bring your whānau together, and celebrate our stories.”