Squid Game review: A rewarding third season filled with thrills, spills and a gripping final twist
has wrapped its tentacles around Squid Game and is refusing to let go. Following the conclusion of Hwang Dong-hyuk's brutal story of a sadistic survival contest on a mysterious island off the coast of Korea, there is speculation Social Network/Fight Club director
David Fincher
is to oversee a US adaptation of the franchise.
That Squid Game is about to go international seems to be hinted at in the final episode of the show's third and concluding season (Netflix) when a Hollywood star turns up playing a western version of 'The Recruiter', who tempts the financially desperate to risk life, limb and sanity in the games. But Hwang has denied his series explicitly sets up a US spin-off. The Recruiter cameo (more about anon) is there to make the more serious point about how power structures can be pulled apart but always rise up again.
'I wanted to leave it on a note highlighting the fact that these systems, even if one comes down, it's not easy to dismantle the whole system – it will always repeat itself,' he told the Hollywood Reporter. 'That's why I wanted to end it with an American recruiter. And I wrote that scene wanting an impactful ending for the show, not in order to open rooms for anything else.'
Impactful the end of Squid Game certainly is. It is also a marked improvement on the
underwhelming second series
. As the action resumes, Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) has been forced to continue in the games despite leading a failed rebellion against the all-powerful Frontman (Lee Byung-hun). This year's challenges are every bit as dastardly as in earlier seasons – including a devious challenge where the remaining contestants are divided into two teams, and one is instructed to kill the other.
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Out in the real world, meanwhile, Frontman's brother Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) proceeds in his search for the mysterious island where the games are taking place. Then there is North Korean defector Kang No-eul (aka 011). She is trying to take down the games from the inside and rescue the newborn child of Jun-hee (her way of dealing with her trauma over her daughter's disappearance).
It's grippingly dark stuff. Hwang, to his credit, pulls off a rewardingly paradoxical finale by killing off a major character and giving several other protagonists redemptive endings. And then, at the end, there is that cameo, with Lady Galadriel herself, Cate Blanchett, playing the American Recruiter. It is a final twist at the end of a show packed tight with thrills, spills and gory demises. But of course, the one death that is not permitted is of Squid Game itself, which Netflix, via Fincher, is determined to keep alive at any cost.
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Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Five For Your Radar: Skibbereen Arts Fest, Happy Gilmore, Fantastic Four...
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The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
The secret free games on Netflix, Amazon, Sky and phones your kids will love playing for hours – & even get them moving
GAMING doesn't need to break the bank – or even cost a penny. Keep the kids entertained this summer with loads of free titles you've already got access to. You'll find that there are plenty of hidden games wrapped into Netflix, Amazon and even Sky telly. Your mobiles and gadgets have loads of great options for kids (and adults) too. And there's even a clever way to play console games like Fortnite on the TV without owning a console. 17 There are loads of ways to enjoy video games – and Netflix is just the start Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun 17 You might have been missing a treasure trove of gaming goodies Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun FREE GAMES #1 – NETFLIX If you're paying for Netflix on any level of plan, you'll get a load of free games to enjoy. This is true even if you're getting The easiest way to find them is to go to the main Netflix screen, and look for the Games tab at the top of the screen. Just note that not all devices support Netflix games. If you're using an Apple TV streaming box for instance, you won't be able to see them. But I tried it with an A load of games should surface, each with a listed genre, description, and an age rating. Some of them are even multiplayer, so you can play together. Typically, you'll click play on a game, and then use your smartphone as a controller. You'll be guided through it – it only took me a few seconds to get set up. It's as simple as scanning a QR code. Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is meant for kids aged 10 and older, and is a fun adventure game where you help ghostly bears find peace. A slightly more mature option for children aged 13 and older is Oxenfree. It's a supernatural thriller about pals who accidentally open a ghostly rift. It's all very Stranger Things, and is well-reviewed on other platforms. For more Arcade-style gameplay that gamers aged seven and up can enjoy, just try Centipede Recharged, Caverns of Mars Recharged, or Rocket. Amazon finally launches Luna streaming service in the US with free games for Prime members You don't need a telly either. There are lots of games that your Netflix membership will unlock on your phone, too. Just go into the Netflix app on your mobile, navigate to the Games section, and they'll re-route you to your App Store to claim premium titles without paying the usual prices. But getting them on the big screen is definitely more fun, and works really well. 17 You can transform your phone into a games controller for free Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun FREE GAMES #2 – AMAZON If you're paying for Amazon Prime (and millions of Brits are!) there are two free gaming perks you'll want to know about. The first is that you get a monthly selection of free games to download. This list is available through the Prime Gaming website The monthly games are released as batches each Thursday, so there's always something new to play. They can be worth hundreds of pounds each month. 17 Amazon gives away free games to keep forever every month if you have a Prime membership Credit: The Sun / Amazon Usually the games are PC, but sometimes they'll be for consoles or mobile, too. It'll be a different bunch of games every month, so you'll need to click Free Games at the top and then see what's on the list. Claim them before they vanish and then they're yours forever. Each game will show a rating, so you can easily tell what's appropriate for your child or not. It's very likely that you'll find several child-friendly titles on the list each month. A better option if you don't have a gaming PC or console is Amazon Luna. This is like a "Netflix for games" that All you need is a joypad that can connect to your Fire TV, Fire Stick, or Samsung or LG telly. Amazon sells a Luna controller for £60, which I've tried and really liked – but an old Xbox or PlayStation joypad will work just the same. 17 The Sun's tech editor Sean Keach tried out Amazon Luna and loved it Credit: Sean Keach Then just go to download the Luna app on your telly or streaming stick. It's free to install. Now normally you'd pay £8.99 a month to unlock the full library of Luna games. But if you have Amazon Prime, you can enjoy a selection of titles even without a Luna membership. That includes smash-hit shooter Fortnite, a cartoonish rival to the likes of Call of Duty that is a big hit with teens. In the UK, it's rated for kids aged 12 and older. 17 Fortnite is available to play for free if you have Prime and a compatible telly Credit: The Sun / Amazon Fortnite is endlessly replayable, receives constant updates, and even hosts live music events with past stars including Normally you'd need an expensive console to enjoy, but Amazon Luna will let you do it for free with Amazon Prime (or for £9 a month if you want the full roster of games). As a bonus trick, see if you're eligible for an Amazon Prime discount. Higher-education students or anyone aged 18-22 years old in the UK TRY XBOX CLOUD GAMING TOO! There's a savvy option for dodging console cost, writes The Sun's tech editor Buying a console is expensive. It might cost you north of £400 or £500 (or even £700 for the new PS5 Pro). A cheaper option is to try cloud gaming. Instead of owning a physical console, you simply sign up to an app and "stream" the games from an online library. It's a bit like Netflix. This was previously impossible. We used to need consoles to render the gaming visuals. But internet speeds are now so fast that they can be beamed straight to your TV, phone or laptop. One option is Xbox Cloud Gaming , which is included as part of the £14.99-a-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It'll get you hundreds of top games that you'd normally need an Xbox for. All you need is decent internet, a game controller, and a screen. The app is available on loads of TVs, Fire Sticks, and via web browsers. Of course, you can also stick with Amazon Luna , which is much the same. This has a slightly smaller selection of games, but only costs £8.99 a month for Luna+. The big perk here is that if you already have Amazon Prime, there's a small selection of games you can play for free. That includes smash-hit shooter Fortnite. Picture Credit: Xbox FREE GAMES #3 – SKY TV If you've got Sky TV, you can access a load of free kid-friendly games very easily. They're available through the app, which you should be able to find on the apps rail. If you can't see it, just ask for it The icon might say "Games by for you. 17 The app on Sky is an easy way to unlock free games on the telly Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Once you click it, you'll be transported to a special gaming hub full of fun titles for you to enjoy on the telly. They're all free, so don't stress about surprise payments. You will have to sit through some ads though. An obvious choice is Pac-Man, which is as fun today as it was in the 1980s. Tetris is on there too. I struggled to get off it and write this article. You play with the Sky remote, so there's no need to buy extra gear. This is also a bonus for kid-friendly gameplay, because it means most of the games have very simple controls. 17 Sky has loads of child-friendly games on offer Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun SpongeBob Bounce is a great child-friendly option for fans of SpongeBob Squarepants – and it's easy to pick up. You can also find Sky games by going to the dedicated Games section in the Apps panel. There should be a Sky Kids rail that only shows child-friendly titles. Parents might like it too: you've probably watched enough to have a good go at Peppa Pig Quiz, by Nick Jr. 17 You might find that adults want to play too... Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun FREE GAMES #4 – IPHONE, IPAD & ANDROID If your child has their own phone or tablet – or can borrow yours – then you're in luck. Mobile platforms are absolutely brimming with gaming freebies. The problem is that it can be a nightmare to find titles that are actually decent and child-friendly. What you want to download depends on the age of your youngster. 17 Wild Rift is a hugely popular game – and is perfect for young teens Credit: Riot Games Earlier this year, I revealed five Top of my list was Wild Rift , which is a battle arena game spun off from hit PC title League of Legends. This game has a 12+ rating, and usually involves online multiplayer (although you can totally silence online chatting). Second was Polytopia , which is a strategy game where you try to take over a colourful map by building a civilisation and conquering your enemies. 17 If you want your youngster to exercise their brain power, Polytopia is a brilliant strategy title Credit: Midjiwan AB It has a 9+ rating on the iOS App Store, and is listed as having "infrequent cartoon or fantasy violence". It's a great game for honing your smarts, and it's very simple to pick up compared to other strategy games. APPLE ARCADE COULD BE YOUR SAVIOUR Here's an extra tip from The Sun's tech editor Often free games can be a bit rubbish, stuffed full of microtransactions, and littered with ads. But forking out for every single game to avoid this is also a budgeting nightmare. Instead, think about trying Apple Arcade . It's a £6.99 a month subscription service from Apple that gets you access to over 200 games (with more added all the time). These games don't have any ads or in-app purchases, so you can be sure your child won't accidentally splash £1,000 on virtual coins. The games aren't all for kids, but there are some great child-friendly options, with my personal favourites including: Sneaky Sasquatch (4+) Hello Kitty Island Adventure (4+) Crossy Road+ (9+) Skate City (9+) If you turn on Family Sharing, you can also enjoy Apple Arcade on your own device. Up to six family members can share one subscription. Just head into the Arcade section of the Apple App Store to get started. It'll work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Picture Credit: Apple Third on the list is Kingdom Rush , which has a 12+ age rating. It's a tower defence game set in a medieval fantasy world where you build up your forces to battle waves of baddies. 17 Hearthstone is a virtual card game that's fun for the whole family Credit: Activison Blizzard Fourth on the list is Old School RuneScape , which is a whimsical medieval-esque fantasy adventure game. It's 12+ on the App Store – but it's online-only, so you'll want to go in and set it up so your child can't speak to strangers. It only takes a few seconds. And fifth on my list was Hearthstone , which is a brilliant online card game where you collect virtual trading cards to battle with other players. It has a 12+ rating on iOS App Store, and has the option for closed multiplayer – so you could battle against your kids on it. They can also play against the computer and avoid totally online play. 17 For very young children, consider Lego Duplo World Credit: Lego If you're looking for mobile games for even younger children, there are great options too. One popular option is Lego Duplo World, which has an age rating of 4+ on the App Store. It's a colourful app meant for very young kids where you play mini-games and build colourful creations in a child-safe environment. It's won a load of awards, has rave reviews on app stores, and it's very easy for a youngster to pick up. 17 Pokémon Go is a great way to get kids outdoors Credit: Niantic Another option that almost needs no introduction is Pokémon Go, which has a 9+ rating on the App Store. It has an exploration element, where you walk around the real world to collect virtual creatures. This is a great way to get your kid moving – and you can explore together on long walks to track down rare Pokémon. For movement at home, you could try Just Dance Now. 17 Just Dance Now will get your youngsters moving at home Credit: Just Dance Now It has a very low age rating of 4+, and has very good reviews online. It's a dancing game where you can dance to a free song every day. You'll need to match the dance moves using your phone's camera to win – so there's plenty of movement involved. WHAT DO GAME RATINGS ACTUALLY MEAN? Here are the official guidelines for PEGI ratings on game boxes... PEGI 3 Considered suitable for all age groups Should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children A very mild form of violence (in a comical context or a childlike setting) is acceptable No bad language should be heard PEGI 7 Scenes or sounds that can possibly be frightening to younger children Very mild forms of violence (implied, non-detailed, or non-realistic violence) PEGI 12 Video games that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters or non-realistic violence towards human-like characters would fall in this age category Sexual innuendo or sexual posturing can be present Any bad language in this category must be mild PEGI 16 Tthe depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life The use of bad language in games with a PEGI 16 rating can be more extreme Use of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can also be present PEGI 18 The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters The glamorisation of the use of illegal drugs and of the simulation of gambling, and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category And although it's not quite a game, you can turn the free Merlin app into one. It's an app that listens out for birds making noises nearby using your phone's microphone. 17 Merlin isn't technically a game – but you can easily turn it into one Credit: Cornell Lab And it'll identify the bird almost instantly, keeping track of them for you in a little log. You can go on lovely walks and turn them into a Pokémon style game where you see how many birds you can "capture" with Merlin. It'll even flag up when you've heard a rare bird. It's even more fun when you try to spot the bird making the noise. Then once your child is a natural bird expert, you can see if they can work out the bird behind the song before checking Merlin. This is very educational, is a great way to get outdoors, and can be used over and over again. The app is age-rated 4+ on the iOS App Store, so it's very child-friendly – and easy to use too. And it works great in the garden if you just want to get them outside near home. Finally, if you want a fun and hidden video game to quickly entertain the kids on a mobile, try Google's hidden Dinosaur Game. It's built into the Google Chrome web browser, and is meant to entertain you when you've got no signal. Stick Airplane Mode on to cut off your Wi-Fi and mobile internet, then try to load a web page up on Google Chrome. 17 Try unlocking this hidden game in Google Chrome Credit: The Sun / Google An error page should appear with a little dinosaur. Tap it and you'll start playing a hidden infinite runner game. Just tap the screen to make the dinosaur jump to clear obstacles. See who can get the best high score – and try not to fall out over it.
RTÉ News
20 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Top stars and directors head to Venice for high-powered 2025 festival
Hollywood stars, Oscar-winning directors, Asian heavyweights, and European auteurs will vie for top honours at this year's stellar Venice Film Festival, all looking to make a splash at the start of the awards season. Running from 27 August to 6 September, the 82nd edition of the world's oldest film festival will showcase a rich array of movies that spans psychological thrillers, art-house dramas, genre-bending experiments, documentaries, and buzzy studio-backed productions. Among the leading A-listers expected to walk the Venice Lido's red carpet are Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac, Cate Blanchett, and Amanda Seyfried. Netflix A who's-who of global directors will also be premiering their latest pictures at the 11-day event, including the US filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Jarmusch, Noah Baumbach, and Benny Safdie, alongside top Europeans Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino, and László Nemes, and Asia's Park Chan-wook and Shu Qi. Netflix, which skipped Venice last year, returns in full force in 2025 with a trio of headline-grabbing titles, including Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, a new take on the classic horror tale starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth. Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, and Laura Dern, is also in the main competition and on the Netflix slate. It is alongside Netflix's geopolitical thriller A House of Dynamite, starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who won an Oscar in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. Venice fires the starting gun for the awards season, with films premiering on the Lido in the last four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20, making it the place to be seen for actors, producers, and directors. In the past nine editions of the Oscars, the award for Best Actress or Best Actor has gone eight times to the protagonists of films first seen in Venice, including Emma Stone for her role in Poor Things in 2024. Fighters and families Emma Stone returns to Venice this year, teaming up again with Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos in an offbeat satire, Bugonia, produced by the Dublin-based Element Pictures. The indie icon of US cinema, Jim Jarmusch, will be showing his Father Mother Sister Brother, a three-part tale exploring fractured families with a cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, and Tom Waits. Another US film receiving its first outing at Venice is the MMA fighter biopic The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and directed by Benny Safdie. A very different biopic is The Testament of Ann Lee - a musical take on the life of the radical 18th-century Shaker leader, which stars Amanda Seyfried and is directed by Norway's Mona Fastvold. European auteurs are well-represented, with Paolo Sorrentino's La Grazia, starring Toni Servillo, selected as the festival's opening film, while Hungary's László Nemes presents the family drama Orphan, and France's François Ozon showcases his retelling of Albert Camus's celebrated novel The Stranger. Another French director, Olivier Assayas, will premiere The Wizard of the Kremlin - a political thriller about the rise of Vladimir Putin, starring Paul Dano and Alicia Vikander, with Jude Law playing the Russian leader. Tragic story of a Palestinian girl One film that looks certain to raise emotions is Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab, which uses original emergency service recordings to tell the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024 after being trapped for hours in a vehicle targeted by Israeli forces. "I think it is one of the films that will make the greatest impression, and hopefully [won't be] controversial," said the festival's artistic director, Alberto Barbera, his voice trembling as he recalled the movie. Among the battery of films being shown out of competition is Luca Guadagnino's MeToo-themed psychological drama After the Hunt, starring Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, and Julia Roberts, who will be making her red-carpet debut at Venice, Barbera said. The jury for the main competition will be chaired by the American director Alexander Payne. He will be joined by fellow directors Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, and Mohammad Rasoulof, and the actresses Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao.
