Sam Brooks

6 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Sam Brooks

NZ Opera’s production of Puccini’s masterpiece looks and sounds lovely, but would it work better in a different space? Operas come with their own assumed cultural cache. Even if the general public – if such a thing exists anymore – isn’t familiar with specific pieces, they at least know that certain operas exist, and that if they’re still being performed they must at least be a little good. The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville, and a few other Mozarts have this level of recognition.

2 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Sam Brooks

The new circus show from The Dust Palace isn’t just a fun night out, it’s an introduction to an exciting new space in Tāmaki Makaurau, writes Sam Brooks. As a resident of the very centre of Auckland’s central business district, I often forget that there are spaces beyond the view of the Sky Tower where exciting and new art is being performed. “1010” is just a postcode, not a designation of where all the cool stuff is happening.

Jan 15, 2025 | letterboxd.com | Sam Brooks

★★★★★ Gorgeous, horrid, harrowing and raw film about the toxic relationship between art and commerce.

Jan 14, 2025 | letterboxd.com | Sam Brooks

★★★ Amy Adams is great in this, as per.

Jan 12, 2025 | letterboxd.com | Sam Brooks

★½ Nobody said a musical had to have good songs, a movie had to be tonally or narratively cohesive or representation had to be meaningful or even good. This film gets a lot out of sheer momentum and energy - as well as Saldana committing HARD to a role with neither arc nor depth - but for what, exactly? In another life this would be found in a DVD basket for $5 at JB Hi-Fi, alongside that tATu biopic and Bandidas (2006). Block or Report...