Nuremberg: DVD Review

Cast: Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Leo Woodall, Michael Shannon, John Slattery, Colin Hanks, Lydia Peckham

Director: James Vanderbilt

With its message of how Nazi propaganda can spread through charismatic mouth pieces, there couldn't be a more timely film than James Vanderbilt's Nuremberg.

Set at the end of the Second World War, the film begins with Russell Crowe's narcissistic Hermann Göring being arrested as he tries to escape. Assigned a psychiatrist, Douglas M Kelley (played with style and a wide-eyed smirk by Rami Malek throughout), the pressure begins to build a case against the surviving members of the regime.

But it's not just the pressure on Kelly - with a cross-international group looking to prosecute the war criminals, there's a lot hanging on this. A successful win will crush Germany and its legacy once and for all; however failure will leave the allies unable to ever take the high moral ground and prevent any further prosecution of other war criminals...

Nuremberg is a prestige piece of cinema that works solidly as a piece of fictionalised drama and one which is backed up by the impressive work of the cast within. Crowe underplays the role and creates a genuine feeling of a monster whose haughty beliefs delude him into thinking he's above everyone. There are chilling moments and Crowe does well to not overemphasise some of the elements. Equally, Malek is strong as Kelley, and Shannon makes the most of his screentime as the lawyer given the unenviable job of prosecution.

A kind of Silence of the Lambs relationship builds between Kelly and Göring, but it's a softer one that sees both actors channelling some of their best work in their shared scenes.

Yet, there's a somewhat glib atmosphere hanging over the dramatisation of the build-up to the Nuremberg trials that makes the initial part of the film feel like it's playing fast and loose with the devastating legacy of the Nazis and what they wreaked on the world.

Add to that the fact that the one surviving leader of the atrocities, the commander in chief of the Luftwaffe and the Nazis' second-in-command, Hermann Göring is humanised as a man separated from his wife and family, and suffering from a heart condition, plus the fact there are some obvious scripting gags early on, it begins to feel like Nuremberg is a little too knockabout for the weight of its subject matter.

If anything, most of the film spends a lot of time showing that Hermann Göring's family is human, papering over some of the more horrifying truths as Kelly goes back and forth to them delivering letters, drinking tea and listening to piano lessons from his daughter.

With Trumpian allusions and a courtroom scene that echoes Jack Nicholson's cross-examination in A Few Good Men, Nuremberg feels more like a broad film aimed at wanting to echo the warnings of the past to the widest audience possible. (A sentiment that is admittedly noble by any consideration.)

It's not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination and its 150-minute runtime hurtles past at speed. Plus its end is shocking to those who don't know the outcome - a devastating reminder that evil seems to triumph long-term, no matter what.

But it is extremely telling that in among all the acting that's going on, the one moment that speaks the most is genuine footage from survivors of the concentration camps that's played as evidence during the trial. With emaciated bodies, hollowed out eyes and piles of corpses being shifted by diggers, it's absolutely horrifying compelling imagery that still (rightfully) hurts decades on.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War: Movie Review

Cast: John Krasinski, Sienna Miller, Wendell Pierce, Max Beesley, Michael Kelly
Director: Andrew Bernstein

Jack Ryan as a character exists somewhere in the vacuum of a Cold War and the world of the 1980s where pulpy spy thrillers and deep conspiracy-heavy novels were all the rage.

After the dust had settled on 9/11 in 2001, there came a new kind of spy thriller saga - one that dealt with the ramifications of the world's changes. It's been a creatively flat time for the genre and it has to be said, despite some solid work in the Prime Video streaming series by John Krasinski, this spinoff TV movie really does little to majorly evolve the basics.

Ryan (Kransinski, who takes a co-writing credit here) is supposedly living a civilian life out of the CIA, but when he's approached by Greer (Pierce) to go to Dubai to meet with an old contact, he finds himself pulled back into the world of espionage after a former deadly conspiracy, long thought dormant, returns.

There's something extremely solid about this relatively flat outing that offers a checklist of what you'd expect from a thriller like it.

Explosions, car chases, people holding guns while running, B-roll cut scenes of Dubai and UAE skylines - it's all very formulaic and watchable enough fare, but it's the kind of film you can leave on in the background and not feel troubled if you've missed a couple of moments.

Cursory dialogue, mixed with jokes about being out and back in, along with some odd flirting between Ryan and a hard-bitten character played by Miller; it's all very by-the-book and not entirely engaging. It's more likely that fans of the show will warm to the movie, given it sees a swathe of returning characters and some callbacks to the past.

But the air of menace and suspense that should ridden a good thriller like this is sorely lacking throughout.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War is streaming now on Prime Video.

The Secret Agent: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tania Maria
Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho

Possibly one of the most laid-back espionage films you'll ever see, Brazil's The Secret Agent requires a patience and commitment over its near 3-hour runtime for maximum reward.

Moura, who's won various awards already in the 2026 season, stars as Marcelo, a Brazilian living in a dictatorship which has been running for over a decade.

As the film begins, Marcelo is heading to Recife at the time of the yearly carnival, a place where deaths occur in an unsurprising fashion as crime and the fascism reigns supreme. Seemingly there to visit people, Marcelo's secret mission soon comes into sharp focus and puts him squarely in the path of the powers that be as a cat-and-mouse game begins (for reasons too spoilery and subtly laid out to reveal here).

The Secret Agent is not a film that's in any hurry to go anywhere.

In fact, its opening gambit is simply set at a petrol station, where a dead body lies in the distance and a store owner waits for the local police to come by. They eventually do, but are more concerned with Marcelo and his car than being troubled by the corpse that's lain under a sheet.

Moura gives a solid and grounded performance as Marcelo as the script's frisson of uncertainty crackles away in the background. With a young son for Marcelo in tow, the emotional heft is set early on and while it takes some immersion into the world for you to feel a pay-off and with an ending that seems brutally abrupt given what's occurred, The Secret Agent won't be to everyone's taste.

But to those who engage in its late '70s aesthetic and its slow burning build up, this is worth the time and investment - patience is its own reward, and while it does occasionally feel disjointed, it's a film that paints a portrait of a time and a struggle that's oft ignored, but painfully prescient in current times.

LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition Trailer Reveals First Look at DC’s The Joker & Harley Quinn as Playable Characters, Plus New Suits, Vehicles, and More

Warner Bros. Games have released a new LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight trailer spotlighting the Deluxe Edition, which offers a wide range of content to expand the experience.

 

All Deluxe Edition pre-orders will receive 72-hour early access to the game beginning on May 19, prior to the main launch on May 22. Start times may vary by platform and region. See retailer for details.

 

Beginning with the May 19 early access launch, Deluxe Edition owners will have access to new suits, vehicles, and Batcave props inspired by the Batman: Arkham videogame series, Batman Beyond television series, and a party music-themed pack to let loose in Gotham City.

 

Available in September, Deluxe Edition owners can play the upcoming Mayhem Mode featuring The Joker and Harley Quinn as playable characters. Each of these DC Super-Villains will have their own abilities, gadgets, and takedowns as they break out of Arkham Asylum and cause chaos on the streets. Additionally, players will unlock a mayhem-themed pack of downloadable content (DLC) that includes new suits for the main game’s playable characters, new Batcave props, and a new Batmobile to traverse the open-world Gotham City.

 

The LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition includes the following content:

·         LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight main game

 

·         Legacy Collection (Available at Launch)

o    Arkham Trilogy Pack

§  Seven (7) new playable character outfits – Arkham Trilogy Batman, Arkham City Robin, Arkham Trilogy Nightwing, Arkham Trilogy Batgirl, Arkham Trilogy Jim Gordon, Arkham City Catwoman, and Arkham City Talia al Ghul

§  Batman: Arkham Trilogy Batmobile

§  Five (5) Batcave props – Arkham Asylum Diorama, Arkham City Blueprints, Joker TV, Lady Gotham Statue, and Riddler Trophy

 

o    Batman Beyond Pack

§  Seven (7) new playable character outfits – Batman Beyond, Batman Beyond Robin, Batman Beyond Nightwing, Batman Beyond Batgirl, Batman Beyond Jim Gordon, Batman Beyond Catwoman, and Curaré (Talia al Ghul)

§  Batman Beyond Batmobile

§  Five (5) Batcave props – G.L.M., Eggbaby Crib, Bat Armour, Bat-Hound Doghouse, and Photo Op Board (Terrific Trio)

 

o    Party Music Pack

§  Seven (7) new playable character outfits – Party Music Batman, Party Music Robin, Party Music Nightwing, Party Music Batgirl, Party Music Jim Gordon, Party Music Catwoman, and Party Music Talia al Ghul

§  Monster Truck Batmobile

§  Five (5) Batcave props – Dance Floor, Giant Skull, Metal Throne, Lava Lamp, and Stage

 

·         Mayhem Collection (Available Sept. 2026)

o    New Mayhem Mode featuring The Joker and Harley Quinn as playable characters with their own abilities, gadgets, and takedowns

o    New Story Mission with The Joker and Harley Quinn breaking out of Arkham Asylum and causing chaos on the streets of Gotham City

o    Sinister Pack – Seven (7) new suits (one [1] per original playable character), five (5) new Batcave props, one (1) new Batmobile for the main game open-world Gotham City

Ecovacs Deebot T80S Omni: Review

Having used a Deebot robot vacuum before and been impressed with its almost anal ability to do its job of cleaning, there's a high expectation on the latest round of robot vacuums coming to New Zealand.

And while it's safe to say the robots themselves will never fully take over the position of a dedicated household cleaner, for families whose lives are eternally busy, the fact a simple unit sat in the corner can lighten the load can't be understated.

At just a touch under $2,000, this robot vacuum's not as cheap as many hands-on vacuums, but what it offers in terms of taking a load off your hands and automating the workload is perhaps worth the trade-off. Especially as this one comes with mopping technology and a slightly lower pricepoint than previous models.

It's perhaps important to start with the out of the box equipment and work on from there, because Ecovacs has made sure that these really are simple devices that you can lift out of the box, remove a few bits, download an app and then get on with the business of cleaning.

Dealing with tricky corners, rugs and raised areas prove to be easy for the Deebot T80S Omni's sensors.

So it's impressive to note that to get the whole thing going and working takes less than a hour. Compactly packed, the station and the robot are really the only items in the box. And the station itself requires only the installation of a loading platform for Deebot to trundle up to and it's good to go. A case of just plugging it in, powering it on and then you're into the simple details of connecting Deebot to the app.

Well, that said, there's one big hurdle to start off with - deciding what to name your robot.

It feels like the technology has definitely improved from previous iterations. The last Deebot robot vacuum which was used saw the app really holding things back, given that it appeared to overthink a lot of what was needed for a robot vacuum to get going. This time around, it feels like the app itself has been simplified and with the help of a a quick start guide (around the size of an A3 piece of paper), the robot was ready to go fairly quickly.

Once your new cleaning pal has been named and connected to the app (via QR codes and a simple wireless connection to your internet), the first real difference with the Deebot becomes obvious. Whereas previous robots have taken a very long time to map out the area it's due to clean, this had mapped out one room within 10 minutes and was already on its way back to the station to get ready to be sent out. That did lead to some worry that the robot had scrimped on some areas, but in looking at the map, it had worked out where the edges were, what the obstacles were and what the challenge ahead was.

Previous robots have also struggled with obstacles, be it a chair, a cord or an inquisitive cat, but the Ecovacs Deebot T80S Omni seems to be able to take all of this in its stride. As has already been mentioned, low-lying relaxing chairs caused problems before, but with the Triple Lift system, it was able to detect there was a chair leg in the way and simply vaulted over it and carried on. 

While this is a great improvement, it's something you have to keep an eye on as well because the kitchen area that had been mapped out also leads out to an open deck and within seconds, Deebot T80S Omni had vaulted over the steps thanks to the lift system and was trundling off to potential machine suicide down some outside stairs.

But once the mapping's done, it's a case of simply getting on with business.

From the help offered by the app for set-up through to simply pressing a button to send the Deebot T80S out cleaning, the whole process is one of efficiency and simplicity. Watching the machine go its own way proved to be therapeutic in some ways, and while it only got stuck a couple of times on its first go-round, the machine's insistence on logging that in the app to try again later is a notable improvement on prior iterations that have simply left areas uncleaned because they can't quite reach them.

There's a bit of an issue with the brush at the front of the unit, the ZeroTangle brush system, which occasionally fired larger items on the floor across the room, rather than simply sucking them up. It has to be said that was a surprise to see - and some of the smaller, finer bits of dirt managed to elude the 24,800 PA suction power. But it managed to get into some of the trickier corners of the layout and it was even clocked going back over the areas that it'd missed.

What's noticeable about the machine as it works is how methodical it is - watching it go back and forth as it tackled the areas impressed in terms of getting the job done. It really does live up to the idea of a "set and forget" even if there are some worries about obstacles.

Given you can fiddle with areas in the mapping and create regions that are out of bounds, the Deebot T80S Omni does do a lot to be flexible to your needs and certainly with the mopping of a floor and drying as it goes on, it makes you feel like it's working hard for its money. The Ozmo Roller 2.0 works well to clean and the fact the unit adjusts the rollers as it tackles areas shows just how intuitive the machine can be when it needs to.

Perhaps the most dependable part of the Deebot T80S Omni is how it helps you keep up with regular maintenance. As mentioned earlier, it won't ever be a full substitute for a human cleaner who can get into the nooks and crannies, but what it does offer is the ethos of simply being left to get the job done. And the fact it can be set going when you're not home and can do a once-over lightly but well job is a positive boon.

When it comes down to it, the question of whether to get a robot vacuum like the Deebot T80S Omni resides in your choice - do you want to spend less time doing the boring jobs and forget about them? Because if so, this little aesthetically pleasing unit makes an easy and clean sweep of such a decision.

In New Zealand, the Deebot T80S Omni has a recommended retail price of NZD $1,999, and is available from Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, Noel Leeming & PB Tech.

Finding Emily: Movie Review

Cast: Angourie Rice, Spike Fearn
Director: Alicia McDonald

The British romcom is back with this novel take on the fleeting attraction genre and the concept of what you were looking for being right under your nose in the first place.

When lovesick musician Owen (Fearn) gets the number of a dream girl he's met while working as a sound technician at his local student union, he soon realises the digits are ever so slightly wrong. Teaming up with fellow student Emily (Rice), he begins a quest to find his dream girl, sparking a campus-wide search and a romantic frenzy.

There's considerable charm in this film that makes great fist of its campus setting and its lead. 

Fearn feels extremely natural as the love-struck boy who's struggling to come to terms with losing his mum and who is refreshingly uncynical about love and ambitions for relationship. Rice is a little less successful as the agnostic part of the friendship, whose dissertation surrounds the idea that love causes self-sabotage.

But as McDonald's film plays out, it lays on the charm and warms the audience to both its setting and it's somewhat corny premise. For the first half of the near 2 hour experience, at least, there's a refreshing edge to proceedings and an offbeat sense of humour at play, with a great deal of heart beating underneath.

It may go through the campus film tropes and the romcom hope moments, but by playing into the idea of the TikTok viral-obsessed youth of today, the film finds a different way to spin the story. On goes from meet cute guy to vilified sex pest within moments - and the real-life parallels and condemnations are cleverly laid out.

Unfortunately though, the second half of the film lays on the sentiment a little too hard as the predictable edge of what's transpiring comes into play. It's a shame, but with the incredible earnest performance of Fearn, the film coasts to the finish line a relatively triumphant success for a genre which has been lacking a new poster child for far too long.

Forza Horizon 6: XBox Series X Review

Developed by Playground Games
Published by Xbox Game Studios
Platform: XBox Series X

The Forza series has been the jewel in the crown of the racing franchises that have graced the next gen consoles.

From the arcade racing impressiveness of the Forza Horizon series to the more serious Forza Motorsport, the genre's been exceptionally well served with its mix of appreciation for fast cars, great driving mechanics and solid gameplay.

Now, the latest Forza Horizon heads to Japan, a brand-new venue for the racing. With over 550 real-world cars and a penchant for Japanese architecture and culture, the latest game has a lot to live upto.