The Housemaid: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Indiana Elle, Elizabeth Perkins
Director: Paul Feig

Based on the 2022 novel of the same name by author Freida McFadden, The Housemaid arrives with the kind of expectation that many psychological thrillers did back in the 1990s.

And that the A Simple Favor director Paul Feig, who's made a career of these kind of twisty yuppies in peril and how the other half live stories of late, is attached makes it a slightly more delicious prospect.

Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is Millie, a down-on-her-luck woman, who's sleeping in her car and desperate to get a job. Chancing upon an ad for a housemaid at the Winchester residence, she meets with Amanda Seyfried's Nina, a socialite who seems to have it all - except time for hosuework.

Offered the job, she moves in but soon finds the job is more than she expected after an outburst from Nina shocks her. But as Millie grows closer to Nina's husband Andrew (It Ends With Us' Sklenar), she edges nearer to crossing a line.

While The Housemaid looks polished and slick, once you begin to peel back its veneer, the story seems like it's slightly shallow and less edgy than you'd expect. 

Sweeney is perfectly fine as the seemingly naive central character, her doubts manifested by her employer's mood swings and seemingly irrational edges, but she never really breaks out of the tropes of the character to play something that's truly compelling, given her character's arc.

Far more successful is Seyfried as Nina, who channels an edginess and uncertainty that's ripe for what takes place. At times, she veers close to OTT, but brings the darkness of the story of her character vividly to life - and seizes on what's expected of her with ease.

Ultimately, The Housemaid is solid enough escapist fare, but with the chance of a sequel being unleashed given how the book ends, it starts to feel like what should have been a solid one-off a la The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Fatal Attraction feels a little more of a cynically told first part opener.

(And it'll be interesting to see if the film's lack of trigger warnings makes it a spiritual successor to It Ends With Us' shocks too.)

The Housemaid could have soared if it had leaned into its darkness a little more and broke away from the novel's safer edges. As it is, it represents a well-told story that sees only some of its cast push the boundaries in a slickly produced piece of popcorn fare. 

Dead Of Winter: DVD Review

Cast: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Gaia Wise
Director: Brian Kirk

It's very easy to categorise Dead Of Winter as a Fargo-esque wannabe rip-off.

With its snowy vistas, occasionally incompetent villains and distinctive accents, it's a comparison and label that's too hard to ignore.

But what that does is provide a massive disservice to one of Dame Emma Thompson's incredible performance and to an exhilarating film which surprises as much as it enthrals.

Thompson is Barb, who we first meet heading out in North Minnesota in the middle of a snow blizzard, her truck iced over and her destination and reasons for doing so seemingly unknown. But as she sets up in the middle of a frozen lake, she hears a gunshot and a woman scrambling desperately for safety.

Following from a safe distance, Barb soon finds a woman trapped and tied up in a basement. Determined to help her, she promises not to leave her alone and soon finds herself caught up in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

Dead Of Winter works brilliantly to provide an icy thriller that grips as hard as frostbite does.

It's a career best from Thompson and a regretful sign she's never taken - or been offered - more roles like Barb. While the backstory sees her played by her own daughter, Thompson fleshes out the character to maximum effect with a story that's as narratively bleak as the snowy vistas surrounding her.

The reason she works so brilliantly in this is due to the film's touches of reality.

Barb is no superhero, she's a grief-stricken woman bound up in a big snow-pants bodysuit. When she runs from danger, she's ungainly and constantly in danger of being outwitted by the film's antagonist, the vicious Judy Greer (another excellent performance in a film that's blessed with many). She has the relatable factor throughout, and it's extremely engaing to behold.

At its heart, Dead Of Winter is about grief and the lengths you'd go to for love- but in surprising ways too spoilery to discuss here. Director Brian Kirk has concocted a taut tale that's well-executed and beautifully shot - you can practically feel the cold biting into you from the screen.

But Dead Of Winter is Thompson's film through and through.

If there's any justice, she'll receive accolades for it - and hopefully, more roles of its ilk will come her way before it's too late.

Five reasons to watch Hunt For The Wilderpeople 10 years on

New Zealand movie Hunt For The Wilderpeople celebrates its 10th anniversary on March 31.

First released in 2016, the film gifted the world loveable tearaway teenager Ricky Baker and his adopted uncle Hector (Sir Sam Neill), a partnership which saw them forced on the run in the bush.

Adapted from Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, the Kiwi film is back in cinemas this week and presented in 4K to celebrate its decade-long grip on pop culture and the cinema.

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.

Here are five reasons to watch Hunt For The Wilderpeople at the movies on Wednesday March 31st. 

It's New Zealand's highest-ever grossing film

In its first weekend of release, it smashed box office records raking in $1.263 million.

As of the end of 2016, it had helped the local box office to soar to $206million that year alone.

It gave us the Skuxx life

Julian Dennison was already a rising star, thanks to his performance in film Shopping back in 2013. But his hapless teen Ricky Baker sent his star soaring into the stratosphere. 

It helped the writing was brilliant too, with many of his phrases becoming iconic. Chiefly, his line "I didn't choose the skuxx life, the skuxx life chose me." It went on to spawn memes and was endlessly quoted.

Other catch phrases

Ricky Baker wasn't the only one gifted by brilliant lines in the movie. While others had laughs from dialogue, Rachel House's Child Protection Officer's line "No child left behind" as she and her team hunted for Ricky and Hec during their time in the forest also caught on.

The cast and crew are doing a live Q&A at venues around the country

Director Taika Waititi, stars Rima Te Wiata, Rhys Darby, Sir Sam Neill and others are all attending screenings of the film to mark the anniversary. 

Expect anarchy and reminiscences aplenty as they reunite to catch up on what 10 years of this film has meant to them - rumour has it the various Q&As will be filmed and form part of the movie's 4K home release later this year. All the details are at Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Ricky Baker's birthday song

You can't mention the film without recalling Rima Te Wiata's performance as Bella on the Casio keyboard for Ricky Baker's birthday. Te Wiata revealed the movie hadn't been able to get the rights to sing Happy Birthday so they had to improvise.

The result was iconic, a moment that became a Kiwi cinema legend - and it's capped off even more by the fact of Sam Neill's gruff Hector coughing at the end when the birthday candles smoke gets in his face.

Watch it below - and catch the whole Hunt For The Wilderpeople movie in cinemas again from March 31!

Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards: Review

Cast: Martin Clunes, Osian Morgan, Jason Hughes, Sian-Reese Williams

Huw Edwards was the BBC's jewel in their crown.

A measured, assured presence who announced the death of the Queen to the nation in 2022, he became the voice of the BBC and the face of a corporation that sought its national identity. 

But in 2024, when he was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, the facade dropped and he became just another of the BBC's dirty little secrets that shocked everyone who saw the story. 

This factual drama takes on the telling of how Edwards met and groomed a then-17-year-old "Ryan" (whose name has been changed) over a 3-year period, by giving him cash payments in return for imagery and perhaps more (as is only suggested at one point). Based off of first-hand interviews from Ryan and a few others, the drama carefully constructs the narrative around an entirely different persona to what others would see on TV.

Structured around text message meetings and the occasional video call, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards is not the most compelling of TV watches, and one may suggest, that were it not for the fact it involved Edwards, it wouldn't be as voyeuristic as it is to many who were shocked at what was revealed about the BBC presenter.

Thankfully, the doco isn't voyeuristic at all, and centres itself around the tragedy of Ryan as his teen years are crushed by drugs, abuse and self-abuse. In this aspect, Morgan is a strong presence, even if the narrative leaps and hints at what his drug abuse does to him, all while keeping a few generic sequences of him falling out with his family (Williams and Hughes).

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes is a revelation as Edwards, from the physical look to the lilting Welsh accent, but even he doesn't have much to play with other than moments of pure anger and outrage as the facade threatens to crumble around him. And while little is seen of his family (not surprising given Edwards' reticence to be involved), the story doesn't quite feel rounded enough to be a truly compelling watch for nearly 90 minutes.

Perhaps the greatest revelation here is that the tabloids had been after Edwards since 2018 when claims surfaced and the true horror of what he could get away with is as shocking as what Jimmy Saville did for years too.

A final sequence which depicts Edwards reading his own fate off an autocue will outrage those who feel he's got off lightly - and it's this single moment which shows Clunes is an unbelievable presence. Because elsewhere, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards feels like a missed, safe and bland opportunity.

What's on Prime Video in May

Here's what's streaming on Prime Video in May 2026.

Off Campus (May 13)

A college soap based on the bestselling book series, Off Campus follows an elite ice hockey team, and the women in their lives, as they grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery—forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood. Season One follows the sexy and fun “opposites attract” romance between quiet songwriter, Hannah, and Briar University’s all-star hockey athlete, Garrett. All episodes will debut May 13

 

Previously announced series regulars of Off Campus include Ella Bright (The Crown, Malory Towers) Belmont Cameli (Until Dawn, Saved by the Bell), Mika Abdalla (Snack Shack, Sex Appeal), Antonio Cipriano (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, National Treasure: Edge of History), Jalen Thomas Brooks (The Pitt, Thanksgiving), Josh Heuston (Dune: Prophecy, Heartbreak High) and Stephen Kalyn (Gen V, Motorheads).

Creator Louisa Levy co-showruns and executive produces Off Campus with Gina Fattore. Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen and James Seidman executive produce for Temple Hill. Leanna Billings of Billings Productions and Neal Flaherty also serve as executive producers.

Elle Kennedy, the creator of the Off Campus universe, is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than 50 contemporary fiction and romance novels. Her works have been translated into over 25 languages and sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Logitech G325 Headset: Review

Another month, another headset - so it seems that in the world of wearable devices and hardware, there's always a new headset around the corner, waiting for your money and also your love.

In fairness to Logitech, its headset range has been about absolute consistency and the need to deliver quality for price, as well as looking to ensure they continue to evolve in this space.

So with the Logitech G325, there's a distinct feeling that the latest set is aiming for somewhere in between and ensuring that price (around the $220 mark) isn't an obstacle to stop people from entering the marketplace.

However, in terms of innovation for this latest set, the push is really on ensuring that users don't have to mess about with any equipment, any apps or pairing to simply get going. In this case, a USB dongle connects to your PC and off you go - plug into your PlayStation and you can game in quiet as well. It's not exactly revolutionary but given how much faffing about some sets have you do to even begin, this is a relative gamechanger.

It's also an incredibly light headset too, weighing in at around 210 grams and feeling less like it's something that's been clamped around your head to start off with. Along with a comfy material on the earcups, the headset is one that can easily be worn out and about while connected to your mobile and so on to get the most out of its use.

It's a headset on the go in many ways, and while the audio quality of the mics, which are hidden in the earcups is a little tinny, it's still perfectly acceptable for audio needs and requirements. Plus, the ability to simply tap a button and swap between audio and calls is somewhat of an impressive way to communicate.

With around 24 hours of battery life as well, this can last for a few days of reasonable 8 hour use, meaning that charging isn't quite the required thing for a casual user looking to carry on with their day-to-day life.

Ultimately, the Logitech G325 Headset is an extremely capable mid-level entry into the headset category. With tech that feels intuitive and a lightweight approach to both wearing and use, it's an easy recommendation for anyone looking for simplicity and comfort.

What's on Netflix in April

Here's everything that's streaming on Netflix in April.

Apex (April 24)

APEX stars Charlize Theron as a grieving woman seeking solace in the Australian wilderness, only to find herself in a white-knuckle fight for survival against a ruthless predator (Taron Egerton). 

Shot on location in New South Wales, including the Blue Mountains, the film pairs breathtaking cinematography with a visceral, pulse-pounding game of cat and mouse.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Everest, Adrift) and produced by Theron under her Secret Menu banner, APEX makes its global debut on Netflix on April 24.

ABOUT APEX

Logline: A grieving woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness is suddenly ensnared in a deadly game with a ruthless predator.

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Writer: Jeremy Robbins

Producers: Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and David Ready, for Chernin Entertainment; Ian Bryce for Ian Bryce Productions; Charlize Theron, A.J. Dix, Beth Kono for Secret Menu; Baltasar Kormákur for RVK Studios

Executive Producers: Ray Angelic, Will McCance, Dawn Olmstead 

Cast: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana