At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog.
The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
Cast: Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Amer Hiehel, Clara Khoury Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
There's a degree of provocation in Four Daughters' director Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab, a distressing film that meshes The Guilty's setting with a 24-style story set in the war in Gaza.
But the biggest shock of all is that it's based on true events - and is incredibly harrowing, thanks to Hania's one single choice: to use the emergency audio of a 5-year-old girl caught in the middle of a horrific conflict in Gaza.
The Voice of Hind Rajab has an awful familiarity to it - a shift worker in the Palestinian Red Crescent exhausted after a long night and about to clock off, a worker caught in an unimaginable situation and a manager seemingly faced with an unenviable choice to make.
When a call comes in from a little girl trapped in her car as the tanks and guns fire all around her, the volunteers race to save her from afar. But what should be an 8-minute rescue run for a local ambulance turns into a bureaucratic nightmare where nobody can win and the victim is the little girl, Hind Rajab, whose family are "sleeping" next to her having been shot to death.
This searing docudrama is sickening from the get-go.
As Hind's calls become more desperate and her sparse words relay the absolute and abject terror she's facing, the emotional toll hits on all levels. Whether it's the frustration of Omar who takes the call that a simple journey can't take place or the rising tensions between him and his manager who has to look at the bigger picture, Hania crafts something compelling in its suspense and awful in its reality.
Using the actual audio is the final devastating blow and reinforces the horror that those trapped within the Gaza War have faced on a daily basis. But rather than lecture, Hania uses the escalating unease to point out how the bureaucracy is broken, the system is failing and the cost in the war between Israel and Palestine is all too human.
A final twist at the end of this unmissable piece is utterly devastating.
Be warned, anyone with any semblance of heart will be utterly destroyed by The Voice of Hind Rajab. It's an urgent call to never forget the cost of war and a depressing reminder that worldwide, this kind of harrowing story continues to play out.
The Voice of Hind Rajab is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Simone Ashley, Kenneth Branagh, BJ Novak Director: David Frankel
Twenty years ago, The Devil Wears Prada provided a sharp and satirical look at the world of fashion and the behaviour of toxic bosses. But the sequel is as shallow as fashion can be - all sheen and no substance below, a mannequin dressed in haute couture, yet shapeless and without form underneath.
Sure, there are the trademark barbs and bitter remarks tossed about by both Streep's beastly Runway fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (although she's warned by HR what she can and can't say, a la Scrubs 2026 reboot), but in a tale about the media landscape changing, this feels less insightful and as disposable as fast fashion itself.
Two decades on, Andy Sachs (Hathaway, solid and good at the more comedic elements of the script) has been working as a journalist and is about to receive an award when she's informed that her entire publication is being shut down after a buy-out. Meanwhile, Runway editor Miranda Priestly (Streep, haughty and indignant) is on the cusp of getting a prestigious promotion when an article promoting a brand using a sweatshop goes viral.
However, when the owner of Runway magazine contacts Andy to head up their features department and tidy up the mess, it puts Andy and her former nemesis Miranda back on a collision path...
There are some things to admire in The Devil Wears Prada 2, a film that initially has ambition before squandering it all for a series of promo shoots, fashion darlings walking in montages and continual location changes that look ripped from a travel magazine's video pages before an antagonising sentimental ending that threatens to drown itself in syrup..
To begin with, the film seems to want to launch barbs at the industry itself, how media has turned on itself, how traditional media has given way to chasing page impressions, a rage against consolidation of media, and how there's no escaping from how one person can make you feel and act, no matter how far in your past they are.
But it throws all that to one side in a truly formulaic movie whose plot twists are ludicrously telegraphed and which has absolutely no consequences are felt. Characters appear and then disappear when their arc appears to be done, and most of what transpires is neatly wrapped up in a feel-good bow that belies some of the tart nature of the dialogue early on.
A Lady Gaga cameo appears to be nothing more than a promo for a song of her own catalogue; there's a Last Supper allegory that becomes literal and there's a railing at one point by Priestly about the dangers of AI. It all feels very timely, but it also somehow doesn't make the film timeless.
What's most criminal about The Devil Wears Prada 2 is how much it's abandoned the comedy elements of the story, in favour of something a little more piecemeal. It feels like the dramatic scenes have been bolted together in a myriad of ways (and don't even let's start on the Coke can product placement within) that all feel as slight and trivial as what Priestly's raging against.
Yet within the thinly sketched movie, there are some stand-out moments.
Some truly delicious one-liners are espoused, Tucci has real warmth and heart as Nigel, the perennially put-upon assistant, and both Hathaway and a slightly defanged Streep step back into their original iconic characters with ease. Some of the best scenes are in the cold interactions they have early on and the later thawing of that relationship. Emily Blunt steals the show once again as the vengeful former assistant now working for Dior. Fans of the original will be happy with it, everyone else may find their patience sorely tested in parts.
Early on, Tucci's Nigel delivers the verdict that "villains are always the most interesting" but in the case of this sequel, the devil's not quite in the details.
As the iconic Madonna song Vogue (which makes its reappearance here) goes: "Strike a pose, there's nothing to it." It's just a shame The Devil Wears Prada 2 used that as a mantra for its own execution.
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo, Sadie Sink Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
There's a lot to love about Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton's new Spider-Man film.
Chiefly, some inspired martial art fight scenes and taut action pieces, as well as Tom Holland's most impressive performance in his fourth outing as the webbed wonder.
But there's also a lot to feel weary about in the latest Marvel movie as the weight of expectation hangs heavy over the MCU universe ahead of the unleashing of Avengers: Doomsday in December this year.
Four years after Peter Parker helped the entire city of New York forget who he was - including his amour MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Batalon) - the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is combating crime but breaking under the emotional weight of doing it alone.
With a battered body and a crushed spirit, Peter finds himself pushed to the limit when a new threat appears in the form of a telepath (Stranger Things' Sadie Sink), hellbent on their own mission and seemingly unstoppable.
That, coupled with the fact Peter's powers are changing after years of trauma, presents plenty of problems for Spidey. But the biggest problem may be the loneliness and the cost of being a superhero.
Emotional edges and a strong performance from Holland help Spider-Man: Brand New Day to new heights, but as he retreats to emotional emptiness and isolation, grappling with a darkness, there's a distinct feeling of deja vu as elements of the Venom black suit storyline flit in and out.
And while the inclusion of fellow PTSD-sufferer and lonely soul Frank Castle AKA The Punisher (Bernthal, gritty as usual) makes for a good bedfellow and banter, the appearance of the Hulk in his monstrous form adds little to proceedings, other than to satiate a few moments of fan-fiction writ large.
Yet when the film slows down and concentrates on the moments between MJ, Ned and Peter and the relationship, the depth really shows and impresses. The main plot's been kept under wraps by Marvel bigwigs (and the urging of Sony to keep it unspoiled) but needless to say, it's not as strong as it warrants such secrecy and feels more like a course correction ahead of the upcoming mega-epic Doomsday.
Zendaya's underused here, but perhaps wisely. The film works better with less of the moping that has felt part of the previous films and there's a real feeling of tragedy when star-crossed lovers MJ and Peter meet. There's also a lovely closing coda that feels true to what makes Spider-Man work in his connections with others that could have involved someone else, but chooses not to do so and is all the better for it.
The latest film is about the weight of adulthood, the loss of friendships and the toll life takes on you. As a result, it's less of the quippy Spider-Man you've come to know and love, but Holland sells the transition with power and poise. There are genuinely heartbreaking moments of truth within the action sequences and while this Spider's web continues to grow in terms of the wider universe, it's in the smaller moments that the Spider-Man power is more obvious.
The credits show snapshots of life around New York, the city Spider-Man's chosen to protect and save - and it's here that Cretton really marks out a point of difference for the overly familiar can Peter be a man and Spider-Man at the same time question. It's a reminder of the impact we have on others and amid the big-scale bluster of CGI destruction that happens in parts of the film, it's good to see that even when it's over-stuffed with spectacle, Spider-Man never loses sight of what truly matters to his story.
The old adage of why did the chicken cross the road is given a new spin in this film from Hungarian director György Pálfi.
Encompassing both birth and death, Hen begins with the laying of an egg inside the confines of a factory farm for chickens. As the little chick breaks free, chirping away, life seems full of possibilities - but because of the colour of the little chick (black), the hen's plucked away from those going to slaughter and taken by a lorry driver as a feal to have at home.
However, when the hen leaps out of the cab window at a fuel station out of curiosity, it encounters a new world of adventure - and danger - as it ends up at a seafood taverna, and whose owner is living a double life.
Much like Eo did, Hen presents a sympathetic and almost simplistic way of animal life, looking to humans for salvation, empathy and company. And much like Eo, there's a distinct danger in every interaction that the plucky hen faces. Whether it's a fox stalking on the side of the road or the pecking order within the hen house, Pálfi's film offers a humanistic and grounded approach to the class reality of the animals.
There's humour within too - and shocks (one scene sees the hen inadvertently cause a massacre) but Pálfi never loses his eye for what makes this universal tale so engaging. Sure, there's a human allegory here and a tale that shows an insight into life in Greece, Europe, human trafficking and the migrant journey, but the film never looks to be overly didactic and instead concentrates on ensuring that what plays out is thoughtful and moving.
With its thriller edges and some murderous moments, this is a strangely uplifting film that shows once again, the most effective of tales can come from this simplest of executions.
Hen is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Kevin O'Leary, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'Zion, Fran Drescher Director: Josh Safdie
Not a film to be viewed if you've already had a fraught day, Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme is a ramshackle, hyperactive sports film like you've never seen before.
In fact, it's probably fair to say it's more about the journey, than the ultimate destination.
Chalamet plays the overly confident and tunnel-visioned Marty Mauser, who's an excellent shoe salesman in 1950s New York, but whose soul is not in it - despite the owner wanting to make him manager.
More a hustler who's convinced himself he can talk his way into anything he wants, Marty is about to take part in a table tennis tournament in the UK but is short on cash.
Holding his colleague at gunpoint and claiming the money is owed to him, he heads abroad, only to lose in the finals to Japan's Endo.
But undeterred, he sees this as just the start after romancing a fallen Hollywood star (Paltrow) and charming her millionaire husband (Shark Tank's O'Leary).
However, anything the chaotic Marty seems to touch descends into mayhem.
Marty Supreme starts in a rush of hormonal desire and doesn't really let up from the get-go. With a frenetic eye for a series of episodic sequences, Safdie, along with Chalamet, constructs a tightly wound tale about a man trying to get what he wants with consequences for everyone but him.
With extreme close-ups that give you a view into every pore of some of the characters, and loud needle drops of music throughout, Safdie manages an immersive experience that's nerve-shredding at times in its intensity, even if the story does occasionally feel repetitive and unthreaded.
Yet in the middle of it all is Chalamet, whose nervy and wiry performance is compelling, no matter how unlikeable his Marty Mauser becomes. Despite an unearned ending that's not entirely convincing, Chalamet does more than enough to take you along for the ride.
Marty Supreme may be a claustrophobic ride of tension and an unnerving one at times that dips its toes into a myriad of genres, from crime caper to romance film to Bonnie and Clyde-antics, but it's well worth a watch - as long as you're up to date with your blood pressure medicines.
Based on Helen MacDonald's own memoir, H Is For Hawk is a broodingly introspective piece about grief and coping with loss.
Cambridge Academic Helen spends her time as a teacher taking her students to the pub and engaging with them on their course work - but when she receives a call that her photographer father (Gleeson, mostly glimpsed in flashbacks) has collapsed and died while out on a job, her world falls into a tailspin.
As she negotiates the next stage of her life, she decides to take up falconry, buying a goshawk to train after years of bird-watching with her father. But the new hobby becomes all-consuming, leading family and friends to fear that Helen is inert and unable to move on.
While H Is For Hawk's 2-hour run time can feel drawn out in places, the film's slow peeling back of the layers of grief prove to be just about compelling enough to keep you engaged - though in truth, a lot of that is due to some handsome cinematography and Foy's restrained and soulful performance.
It's perhaps fascinating that scenes between Foy and the hawk (named Mabel) are perhaps the more engaging, as the rest of the film feels more like a traditionally dour affair, that has a degree of predictability about it.
Family and friends fret over Helen's over-identification with the hawk and Lowthorpe's movie does little to move on the idea that Helen's projecting onto the bird and hiding behind the need to keep her indoors and in darkness - there's little to no subtlety in the parallels here and the conclusion is no real surprise to anyone.
But in the final moments, as Helen and the hawk stand alone on a bucolic paradise, the sun hazily retreating in the background, the movie's less interested in providing ultimate closure and more concerned with raising the spectre of a life after.
It's just a shame there aren't more of these moments scattered throughout - as it is, and no matter how strong Foy is, H Is For Hawk flies, but it sadly rarely soars.
New Zealand International Film Festival 2026 preview
With the Auckland leg of the 2026 New Zealand International Film Festival beginning on Wednesday, it's almost time for cinephiles to dive into the dark of the matinee (and evening screenings too) for a range of international and national cinema.
From big winners at Cannes such as Fjord to a secret screening, there's more than enough to satiate audiences, but there are also films which may not see the light of day on a big screen again.
Opening the festival this year is a film that's come from Dame Jane Campion's filmmaking course Wave in the Ocean and which offers a New Zealand spin on the tried and true coming of age tale.
Big Girls Don't Cry by director Paloma Schneideman follows the life of 14-year-old Sid (Ani Palmer) who tackles six long weeks of summer during 2006. Set in the northern edges of Auckland, it's a sensitive, if familiar tale of a girl trying to find her way in life - and negotiating her growing feelings towards other girls.
Blessed with a sensitivity and pace, the tropes are familiar ones as Sid deals with immature boys and girls whose viciousness comes from their own desire to seem experienced. But it's in the quieter moments the film triumphs as its universally relatable themes come carefully to the fore.
In 2023, a film about a donkey proved to be popular at the NZIFF. 2026's spiritual successor to Eo is the Hungarian director György Pálfi's film Hen, a story of an errant black hen.
From literal birth (a close-up at the start unleashes an egg) to life on a battery farm before accidental escape at a service station, Hen follows the plucky chick as she literally crosses the road at the petrol stop to a new life in a rundown taverna in Greece.
Pushed into the hen house, beaten by others within and stopped from trying to break free, Pálfi's film is an at times humorous look at the follies of life as it presents a sympathetic and almost simplistic way of animal life, looking to humans for salvation, empathy and company. And much like Eo, there's a distinct danger in every interaction - add in a story of human trafficking and the film springs vibrantly and surprisingly to life, thanks to some incredible performances from a string of hens strutting their stuff.
As light as a song on the breeze, director Christopher Nelius' Whistle (not to be confused with the recent horror movie of the same name) is as genial and pleasant as they come - and content to let its subjects do the talking.
Or in this case, the competitive whistling as it follows the competitors at the Masters of Musical Whistling event. From a Spanish ingenue to a Japanese artist who never manages first place, the film's packed with quirky characters and genuine heart.
Chief to all of this is the ever-so slightly out of control self-appointed director of the event Carol Anne Kaufman, whose aspirations mix with a kind of danger as she doesn't suffer fools gladly. The documentary has the kind of feel of an almost mocking tone, but it never crosses that boundary, preferring instead to salute the genuine sweetness of the performers and their performances.
Finally, perhaps the most important film on the programme is the Oscar-nominated The Voice of Hind Rajab.
There's a degree of provocation in Four Daughters' director Kaouther Ben Hania's distressing docu-drama that meshes The Guilty's call centre setting with a 24-style story set in the war in Gaza.
But the biggest shock of all is that it's based on true events - and is incredibly harrowing, thanks to Hania's one single choice: to use the emergency audio of a 5-year-old girl caught in the middle of a horrific conflict in Gaza.
When a call comes into the Palestinian Red Crescent from a little girl trapped in her car as the tanks and guns fire all around her, the volunteers race to save her from afar. But what should be an 8-minute rescue run for a local ambulance turns into a bureaucratic nightmare where nobody can win and the victim is the little girl.
It's stirring, horrific and urgent fare - and grippingly unmissable.
For more on this year's programme, head to nziff.co.nz
Developed by Nintendo / TNX Published by Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Switch
Nintendo's back with another one of those block-rocking beats.
But unfortunately, if you're not on board with the timing, Rhythm Paradise Groove can be anything but paradise for players struggling to keep up with the bitesize games on offer.
Much like Parappa The Rapper did for PlayStation way back when, Rhythm Paradise Groove is perfectly suited for the Nintendo mentality of pick up and play - and get others involved.
The key to the game is its simplicity as you only have to press one button to carry out the required timing jumps and various challenges (though some throw some stick controls in as well) - but as ever with this type of game, just because it appears to be easy doesn't mean it is.
Whereas the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band were all about the skills and twisting of the hands to meet the combo requirements, Rhythm Paradise Groove decides to use simple gameplay mechanics and simple beats to help you get to where you need.
From jumping through hoops to talking to an alien, the clutch of mini games is colourful, bright and simple to watch without being distracting. But this is a game that's about auditory cues, and as such, the music's the star - it's highly recommended that you use headphones to achieve the best results early on.
However, it's never easy to achieve, with various things cropping up on screen to make play a little more difficult - whether it's the screen blacking out or the movement not quite working like it should, the game has a way of making it trickier than you'd expect.
With multiplayer games offering a respite from the solo efforts (and offering different games too), Rhythm Paradise Groove really does find its groove and its audience early on. It's definitely worth a spin, but don't be surprised if you find yourself feeling like you're struggling to start with - perseverance is the key here and it's all the better for it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season Three first look
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Brings an Epic New Season Three Teaser Trailer, Exciting News and Lots of Surprises to San Diego Comic-Con’s Iconic Hall H
New Season Three Characters Revealed! Eddie Marsan as “Thrain,” Andrew Richardson as “Anarion,”
and Adam Young as “Marnûkh;”’ alongside the previously announced
Jamie Campbell Bower as “Celeborn,” and Zubin Varla as “Khamûl the Easterling”
Simon Pegg Cast as the Voice of “The Balrog”
Four Ominous “Nazgnagôl” (Ring-Servants) Made a Surprise Appearance During the Series’ Panel
to Pay Homage to Sauron
The Rings of Power’s Highly Anticipated New Season Premieres November 11 on Prime Video
Today, in San Diego Comic-Con’s iconic Hall H, over 6,500 fans were transported back to Middle-earth as Prime Video showcased the highly anticipated third season of the epic fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay were joined by several of the show’s cast for a fun and insightful conversation moderated by High King Gil-galad himself, series star Benjamin Walker. The panel not only debuted a thrilling new teaser trailer, but revealed some exciting highlights from the new season, and a few surprises as well!
Cast members Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, and Season Three newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower, all participated in the panel, which was jam-packed with exclusive news and riveting visual elements, including:
A brand-new teaser trailer unveiled the darker tone and some epic moments from Season Three, as Sauron’s quest to forge the One Ring is fully underway, and his goal to control all of Middle-earth threatens every one of its realms, causing new, and sometimes uneasy alliances to be formed to try and stop him.
There were several exciting Season Three character reveals for previously announced actors throughout the panel. They join two other characters that were revealed earlier this week - Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things) as Galadriel’s long-lost husband, “Celeborn,” and Zubin Varla (Andor) who plays “Khamûl the Easterling,” of Rhûn. The new reveals during the panel were:
Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky) portraying King Durin IV’s older brother, “Thrain”
Andrew Richardson (Guys & Dolls) playing Elendil’s younger son and Isildur’s brother, “Anarion”
Adam Young (Don’t Breathe 2) as “Marnûkh,” a mysterious Orc who may not be what he seems
The Balrog Speaks! And it’s Simon Pegg! A special in-room only featurette titled “Bringing Season Three’s Creatures to Life” showed highlights of several creatures that will be seen this season, including Fell-beasts, the war elephants known as Mûmakil, Orcs, and the return of the fiery Balrog, who for the first time ever will speak - and that voice is revealed to be none other than acclaimed actor Simon Pegg (The Cornetto Trilogy, Mission Impossible, Star Trek)!
In addition, The Rings of Power’s Hall H panel was interrupted midway by a surprise appearance of four menacing Nazgnagôl in full armor, who were awaiting Sauron’s command. Introduced this season, these entities are ring-servants of Sauron and are the earlier Second Age incarnation of the Nazgûl, also known as Ringwraiths, of the Third Age.
The first four episodes of Season Three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on November 11, 2026. Episodes 305 & 306 will be available to stream on November 18th, and the final two episodes of the season will be released on November 25th.
In Season Three, Middle-earth is at war. Five years have passed since the fall of Eregion. Sauron’s armies have marched across the whole of the world, conquering all in their path. Only a few isolated pockets stand between the Dark Lord and total victory – Khazad-dûm, where the Dwarves are now sealed deep within their mountain halls, and the elven realms of Lindon and Rivendell, which are protected by their Three Rings. But deep in the land of Mordor, in his newly completed tower of Barad-dûr, the Dark Lord toils day and night, obsessed with harnessing a power that will bring the last of his enemies to their knees: One Ring to rule them all... Now, all the free peoples of Middle-earth – Dwarves, Elves, Men, and Wizards alike – must find a way to come together, in a race against time to prevent Sauron from achieving his goal of utter domination of all life…
The third season of The Rings of Power is produced by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Justin Doble, Kate Hazell, and executive producer-director Charlotte Brändström. Matthew Penry-Davey is producer and Ally O’Leary, Tim Keene, and Andrew Lee are co-producers.
The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. The series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is one of the highest performing and most-viewed titles ever on Prime Video, with a broad, highly engaged, global fan base. Critics have praised the series for its epic scope and production values, and Seasons One and Two are Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Through their respective 91 day post premiere launch windows and ranked by viewers, Season One remains the biggest TV series premiere in the history of Prime Video, and Season Two is among the Top 5 most watched returning seasons ever. Season Two debuted as the #1 Original Series on Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 Chart and remained in the top 4 throughout its entire run. The globally successful and award-winning series, which has attracted over 185 million viewers worldwide, also continues to be one of Amazon’s strongest drivers for new Prime membership sign-ups.
All sixteen episodes of the first two seasons are available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories in multiple languages.
The highly anticipated Blade Runner TV series, coming to Prime Video, has revealed its first look during San Diego Comic Con.
The show will premiere on Prime Video on November 25, 2026.
Today, at the iconic Hall H panel in front of more than 6,500 fans, Prime Video brought Blade Runner 2099 stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer, alongside showrunner Silka Luisa and executive producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson to the stage for a compelling conversation. All eight episodes will premiere on November 25, 2026, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Fifty years after the events of Blade Runner 2049, Los Angeles has been reborn, just not by humanity. Cora, a fugitive in a final bid to stop running, takes on one last identity: a Blade Runner. Forced to partner with Olwen, a Replicant days from dying, she hunts down a runaway hiding a truth that could collapse their fragile city,
Dimitri Abold (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) and Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy) are series regulars alongside stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer. Katelyn Rose Downey (The Nun II), Daniel Rigby (Renegade Nell), Johnny Harris ("A Gentleman in Moscow”), Amy Lennox (Only Child), Sheila Atim (The Woman King), Matthew Needham (House of the Dragon), Tom Burke (Furiosa) and Maurizio Lombardi (Ripley) are recurring guest stars.
Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Ridley Scott, Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon's President of Television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger from Scott Free Productions, Tom Spezialy, Richard Sharkey, Michael Green, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett. Jonathan van Tulleken (Shogun) is an executive producer and directed the first two episodes of the limited series Blade Runner 2099. Steven Johnson is Co-EP.
The first look at the brand-new DC series Lanterns has been revealed.
The series will debut on HBO Max on August 17.
The trailer for the series was revealed during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). The panel featured stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan and co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. The eight-episode season debuts Monday, 17 August, only on HBO Max.
The series follows new recruit John Stewart (Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery with cosmic ties as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
The series stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios. The Lanterns pilot is co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, who are co-creators for the series. Mundy serves as showrunner. The first two episodes are directed by James Hawes, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel and Alik Sakharov also tapped to direct. The series is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, King, James Gunn, Peter Safran, Ron Schmidt and Hawes. Based on the DC comic characters from Green Lantern.
The DC Studios drama series Lanterns premieres Monday, 17 August, only on HBO Max.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales: PS5 Review
Developed by Team Asano Published by Bandai Namco and Square Enix Platform: PS5
There's a refreshing innocence to The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, a game that's about venturing through your own kingdom and saving it, by helping others.
It's not a game for the cynical in many ways, and given how devastatingly insular our world has become, that's no bad thing.
You play the aforementioned Elliot, who must travel through the world of Philabieldia, a continent overrun by beast tribes, and try and stop it from falling. But after an incident involving a minister and his own death, Elliott suddenly finds himself hoping between time zones and facing different perils.
As a HD 2D game, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is beautifully presented, a game that feels as magical as the likes of Zelda but which gains itself its own personality and look and feel. Mixing hack and slash sentiment with RPG gaming, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales feels like a relative breath of fresh air into the genre, one that embraces its point of difference and gets on with engaging its audience.
However, given a lot of the engagement is done through text-heavy exposition, it does occasionally feel like it's slowing to a crawl, an unavoidable consequence of the storytelling that could have been tightened during play.
With access to a wide array of weapons, combat is never as boring as you'd worry and the game pushes on nicely because of that very fact - this is a game that recognises some of the slower turn-based JRPGs put many off, and the move toward countering that is very welcome.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales won't sadly win any Game of the Year awards, but for casual players of the genre, worried about how heavy the lore of others can be, this is a welcome light touch that makes a great fist of its elements - but needs to learn a little how to shut up and get on with it.
Win a double pass to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day in cinemas!
To celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in cinemas July 30, thanks to Sony Pictures New Zealand, you can win a double pass!
About Spider-Man: Brand New Day
It's a Brand New Day for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control.
But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves - a powerful villain no one can even see.
The world may have forgotten Peter Parker, but he hasn’t forgotten them.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando and Mark Ruffalo and is directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton.
Spider-Man is based on the MARVEL Comic Book by: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Nirvanna The Band The Show- The Movie: Disney+ Movie Review
Cast: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol Director: Matt Johnson
There's a warm goofiness to Nirvanna The Band The Show- The Movie that may be catnip to some and anathema to others.
Based on a cult Canadian comedy series that began way back in 2007, it followed the duo Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, a pair of would-be musicians desperate to score a gig at a local club - and concocting plenty of out-there plans to do so, rather than simply contacting their dream venue.
The film version of that series follows a template that mixes mockumentary with time-travel shenanigans riffing on Back To The Future while never holding back from acknowledging the fact it's directly like it.
When they end up back in 2008, the duo tries to work out how to get back - and if indeed, they can or should do so.
To say Nirvanna The Band The Show- The Movie is a little niche is perhaps to undersell it.
In parts, it feels like a fly-on-the-wall documentary that's in the style of hidden camera pranks as they bumble through their life - though, when the moments hit, they land with a conviction and a humour that's amusing, if not outright hilarious.
Perhaps more effective riffing on perceived Canadian politeness (a running gag literally sees Matt running through the streets and continually apologising to those in the way) and the Toronto way of life, Nirvanna The Band The Show- The Movie feels in parts like a series of sketches stitched together with the loosest of threads.
But there are audacious moments too.
One sequence early on which sees them apparently jumping from Toronto's CN Tower and skydiving into a local stadium (because it's their plan to get noticed) benefits greatly for a WTF feeling of "Did they actually do that?".
And there's no denying a DIY storehand's comment of "I'm a Libertarian, but I wouldn't do that" when the pair talks of using pliers to cut wires is laugh-out loud funny - even if you're not sure whether it's been scripted.
It also has a huge heart too, capturing some of the uncertainties of mid-life male relationships and the ennui that comes with continual disappointment. Its deeply philosophical line of "if you got a best friend, you won’t even notice getting older", may be one of the cinema's truest ever moments, that will land with its core audience as the final third dips into maudlin melancholy and an examination of what life really is about.
Nirvanna The Band The Show- The Movie is one of those films that will benefit from fans poring over it and picking out the sight gags and running jokes. But it still can't escape the feeling of being overlong and for a certain core audience, rather than mass appeal.
Cast: Karl Urban, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Adeline Rudolph Tati Gabrielle Director: Simon McQuoid
Five years ago, the first Mortal Kombat delivered a movie that pitched perfectly to its core game audience, but did nothing to satiate a general audience and bring in new fans. So in terms of cinematic success, it's almost unthinkable to believe the sequel would double down on what made the first work and yet somehow also prove equally as unqualified in trying to garner a wider audience while threatening an Avengers: Doomsday style sequel at the end.
Yet that's exactly what McQuoid's follow-up does, despite mixing in a story of Kitana's creation (she saw her father killed before Shao Khan, an evil monster who enslaved her kingdom) and introducing weary former martial arts expert Johnny Cage (Urban) on whose shoulders the fate of EarthRealm rests.
With a side-story of a MacGuffin about an amulet that grants its bonded wearer immortality, the preposterous levels of Mortal Kombat are set in stone before the very first fight takes place.
Once again, the movie remains faithful to the gameplay and locations, even if some of its choreographed fights are more like dances around the subject. The brutality seems lacking this time around and if anything compared to what can unfold on TV screens these days, it almost seems tame in its execution - particularly for a game famed for its OTT Fatality final kills.
The action is serviceable enough, directed as it is in a perfunctory way by McQuiod as he swirls around characters and takes in the video game-style backgrounds. But in among the CGI fare and taunts, there's little that suggests flair and certainly little that's memorable.
More successful - though once again, very familiar - is the Cobra Kai-style arc of Urban's Johnny Cage, a washed-up fighter turned actor who starred in some questionably bad 80s and 90s movies, such as Citizen Cage, that became cult hits for the wrong reasons. Sidelined at a convention, Cage's weariness and cynicism is expertly captured by Urban, even if in truth, he's played a dialled down version of Billy Butcher from The Boys.
The film's more enjoyable when it leans on the more humorous edges of the set-up and sequences where Cage has to fight against Baraka, a multi-toothed creature in a Mad Max-themed dustbowl show glimpses of what the franchise could be if it stopped taking itself just too seriously.
Once again Josh Lawson's Kano gets the best lines. From labelling an albino necromancer a "bleached dildo" to calling him "Pennywise", the chuckles are a welcome addition to a film that just doesn't want to appeal to everyone.
At nearly 1 hour 50 minutes, Mortal Kombat II is a test of patience in many ways. It's not a disastrous video game adaptation and takes what makes the fight series work and transposes it to a big screen.
It's just that it now risks becoming the kind of movie franchise that Cage himself is mocked for doing - a dinosaur doing a bunch of karate poses - and the fact it looks likely to continue on to a third film is a fatality for any audience wanting some kind of thrill at the cinema.
Season 3 Episodes Premiere Sundays Until the Season Finale 13 September on AMC+
In season three, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) finally put aside their differences to build the first thriving community in Manhattan since the apocalypse, but when chaos in the city begins to arise, they are forced to question: have they learned from their old wounds or will their dark past spell doom for the entire city?
Also starring Jimmi Simpson, Raúl Castillo, Aimee Garcia, Logan Kim and Michael Emery.
The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live – AMC+ Exclusive Special
New Special Premieres Sunday 23 August on AMC+
Filmed earlier this summer at the legendary Beacon Theatre in New York City, Vampire Lestat, the world’s first immortal rock star, makes his final tour stop.
Played by Sam Reid, Lestat takes the stage to perform original music from The Vampire Lestat by series Composer Daniel Hart for a live performance.
Age Inappropriate – AMC+ Exclusive Series
New Series Premieres Friday, August 7 on AMC+
New unscripted series offers an unfiltered look inside the lives of five couples navigating extreme age‑gap relationships.
The eight‑episode series reveals the complexities of power dynamics, family pressure, stereotypes, financial imbalance and yes, true love, when it comes to May-December romances.
Experience, money and life stage are powerful forces that can turn passion into pressure, sexual chemistry into combustion and ultimately, love into hate. Can couples separated by decades truly build a lasting love, or is the writing already on the wall?
Here's everything that's streaming on Shudder in August 2026.
Hellcat – Shudder Original Film
New Film Premieres Exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ Friday 14 August
Lena wakes in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound. She’s warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor, or she’ll succumb to an unimaginable fate. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid? Starring Dakota Gorman (Natural Disasters).
Queens of the Dead – Shudder Exclusive Film
New Film Premieres Exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ Friday 7 August
A zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, where an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead. Director Tina Romero’s feature debut.
Shudder’s Library Highlights:
What Happened to Dorothy Bell? – premieres Saturday 1 August
Ozzie Gray video documents her investigation into the traumatic events from her early childhood, which involve her late grandmother, Dorothy Bell.
Deerskin – premieres Saturday 1 August
A man’s obsession with his designer deerskin jacket causes him to blow his life savings and turn to crime.
Hatchet – premieres Saturday 1 August
When a group of tourists in a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare.
Hatchet 2 – premieres Saturday 1 August
Marybeth escapes the clutches of the bayou-butcher Victor Crowley and returns to the swamp with an army of hunters and gunmen, determined to end Crowley’s reign of horror.
Deadland (2023) – premieres Saturday 1 August
U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Angel Waters, makes a routine apprehension that will haunt him forever.
Exorcismo – premieres Monday 3 August
A young woman participates (unknowingly) in a satanic ceremony and gets possessed by the spirit of her late father.
Chances are you'll have a perception of what you think you can expect from the latest spinoff from The Big Bang Theory, the 10-episode Stuart Fails To Save The Universe.
Given the canned laughter that made the original Big Bang Theory feel so forced (and an endless collection of repeats on TV), you'll probably be expecting something similar from a show that sees Stuart Bloom, the owner of the comic book store in Pasadena, tasked with saving the universe.
But, Stuart Fails To Save The Universe is like nothing on TV - and it's headscratchingly different, maddeningly short and utterly difficult to fit into one genre. All of which are good things, bizarrely, but still somehow leave the spinoff feeling like it's a little underdeveloped and formulaic.
Essentially a kind of Sliders-based comedy drama mixed with elements of Rick and Morty, with the emphasis on the drama (no canned laughter here), the show follows the hapless Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman, looking increasingly like Paul Giamatti's brother) as he tries to save the universe because an alternate version of himself told him to do so.
Armed with an Orac-style gizmo created by Leonard and Sheldon Cooper that's malfunctioned, the group of Stuart, Denise, Bert and Kripke hurtle across multiverses, (yes, there are familiar cameos) trying to get to the root cause of the chaos that unfolded leaving Pasadena in a post-apocalyptic world where people are trading cans for comic books or juggling rats to get food.
Some universes are chaotically bad, some are seemingly perfect until like Homer Simpson in the Treehouse of Horror, one element ruins the whole thing. (And some clearly are based off of Warner properties - step forward, Wizard World.) The budget's clearly been thrown into the FX and while the slipping between universes just uses bubbles and a vortex, the money's been spent elsewhere and is all the better for it.
Armed with a Danny Elfman earworm theme song, Stuart Fails To Save The Universe is an odd show to categorise - there's a sci-fi sweetness here that will thrill some and alienate others. And its finale will certainly leave many discussing the meta edges, but thanks to Sussman's increasingly non-plussed charm and his rapport with both Lauren Lapkus' Denise and Brian Posehn's Bert, there's a real heart here to grab onto.
Not all of the episodes gel and there's a little too much of a feeling of the group navigating their way through the new universe and then finding their escape route to make it feel complex. But with each episode ending on a cliffhanger as such, there's plenty of reasons to continue on week-by-week.
There's also an inventiveness in Stuart Fails To Save The Universe that is far too spoiler-heavy to discuss here. But certainly some of the narrative jumps and storylines made by Chuck Lorre and his writing team add a great deal to the uncertainty of what comes next.
Stuart Fails To Save The Universe won't be to everyone's taste; but its mix of sweet drama and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die cum Sliders will be a refreshingly original and brave fit on the HBO Max streaming service.
All 10 episodes of Stuart Fails To Save The Universe Season one were viewed for the purpose of this review.
Stuart Fails To Save The Universe streams exclusively on HBO Max from July 24.
Samsung reveals Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 Foldable Phones
Samsung has released details of its brand-new Foldable phones, the Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8 and Flip 8.
The company says it's its most complete line-up yet, designed to expand foldables to a wider audience.
The line-up introduces Galaxy Z Fold8, a fresh and exciting form factor that provides a new kind of foldable experience built around the way people explore, discover and immerse themselves in their favourite content.
The line-up also includes Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which brings Galaxy’s renowned Ultra standard to foldables with maximum productivity and content creation in a larger workspace. Galaxy Z Flip8 — the sleekest one yet — was built for expression and quick interaction on the go. Built on seven generations of foldable innovation and consumer insight, the new Galaxy Z series gives users more choice than ever, with three distinct experiences engineered to fit different needs.
Galaxy AI 1 has been optimised for each of these form factors. Across the line-up, every insight feels more actionable and every action feels more connected. Multitasking is easier on the larger screens of Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, while Galaxy Z Flip8’s AI-native FlexWindow keeps relevant information and shortcuts within reach. And with partner AI experiences such as Gemini 2 Intelligence, Galaxy gives users even more ways to get things done in fewer steps — with transparency, privacy and user control built in.
“As AI becomes more agentic, mobile devices will become the most personal entry point to experiences that understand and adapt to each user,” said TM Roh, Chief Executive Officer, President and Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics. “By setting a new standard for foldables, we are once again advancing the premium mobile experience and opening the next era of intelligence to more people.”
The All-New Galaxy Z Fold8: A New Galaxy Fold Experience for Everyday Immersion
Galaxy Z Fold8 is reimagined for users who want a foldable that feels natural in the moments when curiosity turns into deeper discovery. Galaxy Z Fold8 introduces a form factor designed to move easily from quick interactions on the cover screen to deeper viewing, reading and gaming on the main display. With intuitive display ratios and long-lasting performance, Galaxy Z Fold8 makes it easier to get the most out of the content, stories and ideas that matter.
Built for Discovery
Galaxy Z Fold8’s display ratios are designed around the way people naturally consume content throughout the day. By adapting the screen to the content, Galaxy Z Fold8 creates a more immersive experience whether users are browsing, watching, reading or gaming. At just 201g, Galaxy Fold8 is Samsung's lightest Galaxy Z Fold yet. 4 Despite its lightweight design, it combines the Snapdragon®
Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy 5 with a larger 4,800mAh battery 6 , delivering smooth, responsive performance and lasting power so users can stay immersed longer.
When folded, the 10:16 cover screen 5 feels familiar and comfortable for the short moments people return to most often, such as messaging, social updates, browsing and short-form video.
When unfolded, the 4:3 main display 7 creates a larger canvas that helps users lose themselves in games and films.
When rotated, the same display ratio becomes naturally suited to reading, giving users amore comfortable way to settle into articles, e-books and long-form content without carrying another device.
Together, these display ratios are designed around the way people naturally consume content, helping Galaxy Z Fold8 feel more immersive whether users are quickly checking in or settling in for longer sessions.
A Display Engineered from the Inside Out
Across the new Galaxy Z series, Samsung’s display engineering expertise serves as the foundation for a more refined foldable experience, supporting slimmer design and more seamless viewing. Samsung’s new Flex Titanium technology introduces a titanium-based display structure designed to help make foldables thinner. Combining a titanium-alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate, this structure also refines the way the device opens to make unfolding feel smoother, lighter and more natural.
With up to 3,000 nits of brightness, Vision Booster and a low-reflection display finish, the main screen stays vivid and easy to see even in outdoor settings.
A Clear and Versatile Camera Experience
Galaxy Z Fold8 is designed to help users capture and share the moments that catch their attention.
Whether it’s a sweeping landscape, a group shot or a spontaneous moment on the move, Galaxy Z Fold8 makes everyday photography and video feel easier to capture, edit and share.
50 MP cameras deliver consistent high-resolution detail across wide and ultra-wide perspectives, helping preserve image quality across different scenes and shooting conditions.
Dual Recording lets users capture both sides of the moment while previewing themselves through the cover screen, making reactions and shared experiences easier to frame.
My FanCam 10 automatically tracks a selected subject and reframes footage into a preferred aspect ratio, turning dynamic scenes into social-ready videos with less manual editing.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra: The Ultra Foldable Built for Maximum Productivity
Ultra represents Galaxy’s highest standard for performance, capability and innovation. With Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, that standard meets Samsung’s most advanced foldable design. Its expansive 8-inch main display 11 opens up a productive workspace for multitasking, while its advanced camera system and long-lasting battery help users create throughout the day. All of this comes in Galaxy’s slimmest Z
Fold design yet — measuring just 4.1 mm when unfolded and weighs 215 g, 3 it pushes the standard for productivity on the go.
Professional-Grade Creativity with an Ultra-Level Camera System
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is built to give creators more freedom from capture to edit, with an Ultra-level camera system and creative tools that make high-quality content easier to produce from one device.
The 200 MP main camera system captures rich, detailed photos with greater clarity, and is now enhanced with High Dynamic Range (HDR) capability in 200 MP mode for more true-to life images.
A new 50 MP ultra-wide camera brings greater detail and clarity to wider scenes and macro shots, giving users more flexibility when capturing landscapes, interiors, group shots and close-up details.
Improved Nightography 7 helps photos and videos look brighter and clearer in low light, so users can capture standout moments even in challenging lighting conditions.
For advanced creators, 8K video recording through the new APV codec gives users greater flexibility and quality for editing and production workflows, while Cine LUT adds cinematic colour and tone control directly from a mobile device.
Power, Battery and Cooling Built for All-Day Productivity
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is engineered to stay fast, responsive and reliable through the most demanding workloads, from heavier multitasking and content creation to AI-powered workflows.
With Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy 5 at its core, Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra delivers the performance users need to switch between apps, work across a larger screen and keep demanding tasks moving smoothly.
A larger 5,000 mAh battery 12 helps users stay productive for longer, 13 supporting a full day of work, creation and entertainment in a slimmer foldable design.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra introduces a new dual-path charging architecture with 45 W fast- charging, helping distribute power more efficiently across the battery system for faster, more stable and reliable charging throughout the day.
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra uses an expanded graphite cooling structure engineered for improved thermal conductivity, helping dissipate heat more effectively and keep the device responsive during demanding tasks.
Galaxy Z Flip8: The Sleek and Expressive AI-Native Flip Experience
Galaxy Z Flip8 is built for users who want their phone to feel as dynamic as they are. Designed around quick interactions, personal expression and AI-native experiences, Galaxy Z Flip8 brings the power of Galaxy AI closer to everyday moments through a reimagined FlexWindow and uniquely flexible Flip form factor. Weighing just 180g 3 and with a thickness of only 6.1 mm, Samsung’s slimmest and lightest Flip brings information, actions and creativity closer to everyday moments.
A Smarter, More Intuitive FlexWindow Experience
Galaxy Z Flip8 reimagines the FlexWindow as an AI-native everyday interface, bringing information, actions and assistance closer to the moments when users need them most.
The new FlexWindow brings apps, insights and actions directly to the cover screen, helping users access information, AI-powered features and connected tasks in fewer steps.
Now Brief 14 on FlexWindow home brings timely insights and next steps, helping users move from glanceable information to action at the right moment.
Galaxy Z Flip8 also makes automation 15 through Gemini Intelligence easier to access from the FlexWindow, 10 allowing users to complete connected actions through side-key activation or natural voice requests.
FlexCam Unlocks a More Expressive Flip Selfie Experience
Galaxy Z Flip8 enhances Samsung’s signature Flip camera experience, turning everyday moments into more expressive content through flexible shooting angles, real-time previews and Flip-only creative experiences. From hands-free shooting and real-time preview to cover-screen selfie videos and Flip-only mirror selfies, Galaxy Z Flip8 helps users create, check and share polished moments without setting up extra equipment.
A 50 MP camera with ProVisual Engine delivers Galaxy Z Flip’s most advanced selfie experience, helping users capture detailed portraits and everyday shots with natural skintones, dynamic bokeh and standout detail.
Flex Mode makes hands-free shooting easy from a wide range of angles, while Camcorder Grip with Zoom Rocker provides a more comfortable, stable hold when capturing dynamic shots on the move.
Super Steady — now with a Horizontal Lock option — helps keep footage smooth and consistently framed, whether filming action-filled moments or on-the-go selfie videos.
FlipShot lets users personalise the FlexWindow and capture more expressive mirror selfies, while Mirror view gives users a realistic mirror-like view for quick look checks before taking a photo or heading out.
Intuitive Experiences Optimised for Foldables
As the most personal device people carry, the phone has become the primary entry point where AI meets users — and the new Galaxy Z series sets the tone for the next generation of mobile AI experiences. Galaxy AI now works across more apps and services, with experiences optimised for foldable form factors. By understanding what matters to each user and helping turn insights into action, Galaxy AI becomes more personal, proactive and useful throughout the day.
Now Brief helps users stay informed with personalised insights tailored to their routines, interests and daily needs through expanded scenarios, customisable briefing cards and personalised recommendations. It now also surfaces security and privacy insights, helping users stay on top of potential risks and protective actions.
Now Nudge 17 helps turn insights into action. When plans begin to take shape in a conversation, AI can surface relevant next steps such as checking a schedule, finding a place or saving a location. On foldables, users can continue the conversation side by side on larger displays.
Gemini 2 Intelligence helps users move from request to result with fewer steps. Users can simply describe what they need or even add screen or image context. App automation can now work across 40+ supported apps and services, with capabilities ranging from looking up tickets to finding a nearby restaurant and making a reservation. With Gemini Notebook, users can bring together notes, images, recordings, files and documents in one persistent workspace to collect, organise and develop their ideas. Drag-and-drop support in Split view makes the workflow even more intuitive, allowing users to easily add multiple files and images and turn their content into audio overviews, infographics, reports, meeting recaps, visual summaries, documents and more.
AI experiences become more connected and contextual when the new Galaxy Z series is connected with Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and the Galaxy Watch9 series. From wellness insights to daily routines and connected actions, Galaxy AI helps users move more seamlessly between devices with timely personalised support throughout the day.
Together, these experiences show how Galaxy AI 1 is becoming a more capable and proactive companion, helping users accomplish more with less effort. Across the line-up, foldable form factors make these experiences easier to access throughout the day.
Security and Privacy Built Into the Experience
As AI becomes more personal and intuitive, trust continues to be a critical foundation of the experience. Users need to know how their data is used, understand what AI is doing on their behalf and stay in control of the choices that shape their experience. With the new Galaxy Z series, Samsung builds that trust into the device from the start, keeping personal data secure while giving users transparency, choice and control over how their information is used.
Samsung Knox protects every Galaxy device from the chip up, with a multi-layered approach that includes on-device personalisation and user-controlled cloud processing, as well as future-ready protections such as ecosystem-wide protection through Samsung Knox Matrix. For on-device AI,
Personal Data Engine (PDE) enables context-aware, personalised AI experiences. To protect PDE, Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP) creates encrypted, app-specific storage environments, while Knox Vault adds a tamper-resistant physical layer for sensitive information 18 . These system-level protections work together with Advanced Intelligence settings and Personal Data Intelligence to help users control how AI features manage and use personal data.
One UI 9.0 also introduces a new AI Assistant Activity dashboard, giving users a centralised view of AI automations running on their behalf. Instead of moving across multiple apps and services to understand what happened, users can review AI actions in one place and navigate directly to the relevant agent 19 for additional context and settings. The Z8 series also brings enhanced Privacy Alerts that proactively notify users about potential privacy risks, including unnecessary attempts to access background permissions, helping them respond before those risks become invisible.
These updates build on Galaxy’s existing security and privacy portfolio, which includes Auto Blocker, Theft Protection, Private Sharing, Secure Wi-Fi and more. Together, these advancements help users take a more active role in managing personal data and AI activities, with transparency, clearer choices and stronger protections at the core of their experience — helping ensure that more personal AI experiences remain grounded in trust.
Getting Started with the New Galaxy Z Series
Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 are available for pre-order in select markets starting today. All models are available in Graphite and Cream, with Violet Shadow exclusive to Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Lavender to Galaxy Z Fold8 and Pink to Galaxy Z Flip8. Online Channel Exclusive colours 20 21 include Green Shadow for Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Pistachio for Galaxy Z Fold8 and Mint for Galaxy Z Flip8.
The new Galaxy Z series will bring the benefits of advanced AI closer to users’ daily lives by providing a 6-month free trial of Google AI Pro 22 , including 5 TB of cloud storage — equivalent to $19.99 per month. With the expanded access to Google’s most capable AI models, users can boost their productivity and creativity on the foldable screen anytime they want.
Switching to Galaxy is now easier than ever, thanks to a more seamless migration experience across a wider range of devices.
With the updated Smart Switch, iOS users can scan a QR code on their current devices and wirelessly transfer data without downloading additional apps. Smart Switch can also bring over additional types of data including password and passkeys, call history, accessibility settings, eSIM data and more, helping reduce the time needed to set up a new device. And with Quick Share’s new compatibility with AirDrop 24 , sharing files between iOS and Galaxy devices is now seamless in both directions.
To give users peace of mind after upgrading, Samsung Care+ 25 offers comprehensive protection with repairs for accidental damage.
.jpg "Win a double pass to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day in cinemas!")
