Sam Brooks is a playwright, journalist and critic. Email him on sam@thespinoff.co.nz
The latest entry in the Smash Bros. series doesn't just cash in on nostalgia, it builds on it. Sam Brooks reviews Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
It was the *other* double murder that defined the nineties – the one that wasn't OJ-related. Coming to Lightbox today is its TV dramatisation: Law and Order True Crime: The Menéndez Murders. But who are all these people?
It's taken five episodes - but we've finally gotten to a choreography challenge. Sam Brooks power ranks the fifth episode of House of Drag.
You have to buy a gift for someone, and the one thing you know they're into is video games. But what the hell are you meant to buy them without looking like a fool?
Before American Horror Story, before Glee, before Pose, Ryan Murphy was television's biggest peddler of schlock. The biggest heap of it? Nip/Tuck, all available on TVNZ on Demand.
Today: Sam Brooks with a hot tip for a hot meal on Christmas Day.
It's our first shock elimination - and one that genuinely leaves the show worse off. Sam Brooks power-ranks episode four of House of Drag.
The Basement Theatre Christmas Show is celebrating its tenth year as the most fun you can have in December.
Mediaworks launched their 2019 slate today. Sam Brooks has the lowdown on what you should be watching (and voting) for.
Hitman 2 has a storyline set in a New Zealand beachfront mansion. So how accurately does Hitman 2 capture Hawke's Bay?
It's costume chaos week on House of Drag – but who surfs the waves and who gets washed ashore? Sam Brooks power ranks episode three of House of Drag.
It's a story as old as time: a great book makes for a perfectly fine television series. Sam Brooks reviews My Brilliant Friend.
Following in the strong, deep footsteps of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy comes another remaster of a 90s classic. Sam Brooks reviews Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy.
New Zealand has its own drag reality show now, House of Drag – but how does it fare under the mighty shadow of RuPaul's Drag Race?
Inarguably the best sports drama of all time, Friday Night Lights, dropped in its entirety on Lightbox last week. Sam Brooks on why you should watch it – and the other cult classics you might not know are on the service.
It's twenty of the games of your youth in one package – but is the Playstation Classic worth the price tag? Sam Brooks had a swing at the new-old console.
Six flavours, six packets of biscuit, one power-ranking. Sam Brooks risks his waistline for the cake-biscuit known as the Tim Tam.
What do you get when you mix a South Korean auteur, a French-sounding British spy author and a ridiculous attractive cast? A genuine must-see.
You've heard of them. All your cool friends and your coolest aunt watches them – but what the hell are these blonde dramas with subtitles? Sam Brooks is here to school you on Scandi-noir.
They said he couldn't do it, but what else are you going to do in seven days? Sam Brooks watched 42 episodes of Outlander in a single week to catch up before the fourth season premiere tonight on Lightbox.
Meghan Markle and her ranked but unimportant husband came to New Zealand this week, and a huge amount of people lost their collective and metaphorical shit
To you, she's just Phoebe from Friends. To me, she's the one of the finest actresses of the small screen, writes Sam Brooks.
The High Court yesterday ruled in the latest legal tussle between disgraced Conservative leader Colin Craig and disgraced blogger Cameron Slater
It has been announced that Celebrity Treasure Island, the iconic New Zealand reality show that almost killed Mountain Dewer Lana Coc-Kroft, will return in 2019.
Does my soul still burn? After six years, kind of! Sam Brooks reviews Soul Calibur 6.
It's time for the annual Assassin's Creed game, but 2018's version doesn't feel very much like an Assassin's Creed at all. So why does it work so well? Sam Brooks reviews.
