I’m gradually becoming more and more convinced this year’s Barbie film from Greta Gerwig is going to be the best movie of 2023. Or the worst, but in a way that it is still great.

For now, you should absolutely watch this new trailer which also serves as a promo for the accompanying soundtrack featuring the likes of Dua Lipa and Charli XCX (and Ice Spice, a name I seem to hear everyday now despite still having next to no clue what/who this/they is/are).

Auckland’s Sky Tower will soon have a new bar – situated on the 50th floor. That’s just below the observation deck and the Orbit restaurant.

A press release revealed the new Skybar, which will be the country’s “highest bar”, will be launching on June 23, in partnership with champagne producers Moët and Chandon.

“We’ve been looking for the perfect location to bring our world-class offering to New Zealand and we’ve found that here at SkyCity,” said Tom Gilbert, the general manager of Moët Hennessy New Zealand.

The bar has promised 360-degree views of the Auckland skyline along with an “extensive list of premium local and international wines… and top shelf spirits and cocktails”.

Here’s hoping today isn’t the only clear skied, crisp Friday in Auckland over winter…

Platonic is the week’s biggest new release, a rom-com series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne that critics say is “one of the strongest new shows of the year,” (Collider), and, “strikes a nice balance between lighthearted and serious storylines” (Decider). “It’s fun simply to spend time in the company of two people who so clearly get each other,” says The Hollywood Reporter. The first few episodes are on Apple TV+ now.

Elsewhere, The Clearing is Disney+’s first Australian-produced show. It’s about a murky bush cult that, according to The Daily Beast, is based on a real-life events and has mixed reviews. “Will be a hit with mystery fans,” says Collider. Still in Australia, Black Snow is TVNZ+’s big new offering, about a time capsule pulling a small Queensland community into the past. This one has great reviews. “Hugely compelling,” says ScreenHub.

Netflix’s Fubar (watch the trailer here) is being billed as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first big TV performance. The mock-action show looks like it’s veering into True Lies territory with its obviously corny one-liners playing straight to Arnie’s still very large fanbase. While you’re there, you may want to check out drug caper Turn of the Tide, WWII action-comedy Blood & Gold, or MerPeople, which dives (sorry) into the weird and wonderful world of undersea performers. I’ve heard good things about this one.

No doubt MerPeople has been timed to coincide with the release of The Little Mermaid, the live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 animated hit. Sadly, this one sounds like a dud. “Little Mermaid is yesterday’s fish served up dry and inedible,” quipped The Independent. Elsewhere, The Machine is a British sci-fi film about a killer AI droid that is “brimming with ideas” (Empire), while Maybe I Do is an all-star vehicle for Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon but is “schematic and talky” (The Hollywood Reporter).

* This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s weekly Friday newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular instalments here.

This is a story from a little earlier in the week that I missed, but given The Spinoff’s ongoing reporting on the wider goings on at Stadium Southland in Invercargill I thought it was worth flagging for you all.

The Southland Tribune has reported that long-serving Stadium Southland board member, and chair, Alan Dennis has resigned.

He was already on voluntary leave from the board while an investigation into claims of harassment against the venue’s former manager Nigel Skelt were carried out. The Spinoff was first to report on the claims made against Skelt, who at the time was also a sitting Invercargill councillor. He’s since quit the council.

As the Tribune reported, the interim stadium board chair Hayden Rankin said the investigation into the handling of the complaint against Skelt could take up to six weeks. The stadium board said it remained committed to the investigation.

Aotearoa has been penny-wise and pound-foolish with its investments in maintaining and building public infrastructure and services. This week Bernard Hickey talks with wellbeing economist Katherine Trebeck about how the machinery of government, politicians and voters can think and plan differently to avoid that same pound-foolishness again.

Listen below or wherever you get your pods.

Former Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere has spoken to TVNZ’s Breakfast about the aftermath of the “crybaby” saga and her decision to split from her party.

Kerekere opted to resign from the Greens earlier in the month, staying on as an independent until the election when she will retire.

It followed claims of bulling, sparked by a leaked text message purportedly about her colleague Chlöe Swarbrick in which she called her a crybaby. Kerekere has maintained that text was meant to be about herself and self-deprecating.

“I take responsibility that I was whining and moaning about somebody else getting their member’s bill drawn and mine hasn’t,” she told Breakfast. “It was the end of a long day, I was tired, I admit I was grumpy, and I wrote the first message thinking I was talking to my wife, and then I read it and go ‘ugh, suck it up Elizabeth, life is hard, this is not an easy job, get on with it.

“And I wrote myself, ‘oh my god, what a crybaby’… it was self-deprecating, it was a throwaway comment.”

She said there was no natural justice following the publication of those text messages and she felt her reputation was being damaged. “I watched accusations being made with having no recourse to defend myself, there was no natural justice,” she said.

Yesterday’s 1News poll showed the Greens had dropped by four points, with National and Act therefore able to form a government. Kerekere said the result was “disappointing” but polling trends had to be looked at. “The next poll will be the one to look at,” she said.

Despite her fallout from the party, Kerekere said: “I’m completely committed to the Greens getting back into parliament. And I will be party voting Green.” She said it was hard to “let go” as she repeatedly referred to the Greens as “our party”, despite no longer being a member.

The launch of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign has been labelled a fiasco after the Twitter Spaces event was plagued by technical issues before ultimately crashing. According to The Hill, “‘Ron’s Desaster’ was the online headline on the Daily Mail’s website. ‘Don’t say glitch — DeSantis Jumpy Start’ blared the Drudge Report. Conservative news site Breitbart proclaimed, ‘Twitter launch DeBacle for DeSantis.’”

As many political commentators noted in the hours following the botched launch, you only get one chance to make a first impression – and by that metric, the impression voters have of DeSantis, who is already losing badly in the polls to rival Donald Trump, is… not great, Bob. “It’s worth remembering that the governor’s central case is that he is a more competent and effective rival to the purportedly more chaotic Trump,” The Hill writes. “[Yesterday’s] debacle administers a deep, self-inflicted wound to that case.”

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The drama at the Gore District Council may not be over – though this time it’s not the mayor in the firing line.

Stuff’s reported that the council will consider a 5,000-strong petition calling for the resignation of chief executive Steve Parry.

If you’ve been following this ongoing saga, you’ll remember that Parry has next to no relationship with the mayor and hasn’t for some time now. I recommend you check out this piece from TVNZ’s Sunday that explains all the ins and outs of the issues at Gore Council.

According to Stuff, the petition, which closed with 4,858 signatures, will be considered on June 13.

Parry has largely stayed clear of the spotlight in recent weeks. He’s on compassionate leave from council and as such hasn’t been available for any interviews, even with Sunday. Mayor Ben Bell had faced the threat of a (symbolic) vote of no confidence from council, but this ultimately did not happen.