Motorola Edge 60 Neo - the arrival of Android 16

I recently reviewed the Edge 60 Neo here on my blog with all the drill-down, nitty-gritty, but it was still on Android 15. I think it's worth revisiting a few weeks later now, as Android 16 just arrived for it. I had already seen Android 16 running on a Moto as depicted in my other, recent Motorola Signature review. As I said at the time, the Signature is indeed a bit of a step-up from the Edge 60 Neo, but it's dinky little brother does have some benefits of its own, despite the price being significantly less.

The Android 16 OTA download today was 2.14GB and seems to have installed nicely with February Google Security Patches hiking it from January's. Thankfully nothing has changed with the excellent Always on Display after Android 16 - the first thing I look for! It's truly 'always on' (unlike some far-east OEM's definition of the term)! It remains the best AoD you can get on a phone at the moment. It’s nice and big and bright (and doesn’t even kick-down a notch like the Razr phones, making them just in second place for me) when it thinks it’s not needed. And the cherry on the cake is that Peek Display remains, in tandem, also with an Icon Tap for a pop-up window as Notifications come in. So yes - the big clock, hollow when ‘at rest’ and solid when new stuff is waiting - remains. Date, day, month. Weather icon with a splash of colour for a brief look, nice big battery % in figures (and an icon) underneath. The aforementioned Notifications icons - it’s simply the best (as Tina Turner might have said)!

One of the benefits of the Neo over the Signature is a longer-lasting battery. Not that the Signature's 5,200mAh battery performs badly - it's just that it has more to do. More screen to drive, faster chipset to serve, more RAM and so on - so it's bound to have more impact on everyday use. Furthermore, the Signature's battery is a Si-C one, whereas the Edge 60 Neo's is not, thereby demonstrating very clearly to me that, even with the same mAh capacity of 5,200, the little phone is likely to do better. Si-C or not. And it does.

The battery performance under Android 16 has been tested now and I think it can retain its 'champ' status. There's no significant difference that I can see in performance, either with my screen-on 10% Reading Test nor average daily use. Figures remain staggeringly good, dropping only to 99% (and 49% from 50% start) after about 52 minutes. My previous record was the Pixel 9 with 44 minutes. I keep retesting that and it doesn’t shift - almost exactly the same 52 minutes each time I do it, even now with Android 16. I can get well into Day 2 before charging again - but no, certainly not Day 3 like some of those Moto 'Power' models - and now, no doubt the giant Si-C units being put into phones from the far-east.

I am aware of some reviewers suggesting that TurboPower with the 68W brick takes significantly longer to work with the phone since Android 16, but I really haven't detected that here - so your mileage may vary on that one. I don't actually have a 68W Moto charger but I do have a 125W one and a UGreen 100W GaN brick and they seem to work for me just as they did before. If there's something that needs fixing there I'm sure that Moto will be onto it with upcoming updates in due course!

It's quite hard to detect incremental adjustments and improvements often, particularly when one had no complaints before, but maybe across the UI things feel a bit more snappy - animations more fluid, but maybe I'm looking for it too! The optical fingerprint scanner seems to work as it did before - so no, not as well as the Signature's ultrasonic one, but, as I said in my Edge 60 Neo review, a little better than the 50 Neo's.

There are some 'core' changes which come with Android 16, baked into the system by Google which all devices running the OS will get. Notification Cooldown, for example, which prevents one's phone from making a noise and jumping around when receiving a barrage of messages! Be careful with that one as it's on by default - though to be fair you do get a warning and link to turn it off. Advanced Protection is there for anti-phishing, theft detection and spam filtering, though Moto's own Security suite has for a long time now been robust.

I like the fact that Moto have, somehow, gone their own way and rejected some of the Material 3 Expressive elements that Google have been pushing out. I don't want my battery percentage in a battery icon thank you - so great that Moto have kept the option as it was. I don't want an Apple style Control Centre - I like the (more) traditional way that the Notification Shade swipe-down works, though for those who want it, it can be turned on. They call it "Modern style". I guess even Moto think that Apple is 'modern'! I like how HelloUI looked. We don't need change for change's sake and Moto have done well here leaving stuff out and offering options. The way Android was supposed to be.

So why does the Edge 60 Neo hold Pole Position for me when I have so many other options to choose from? Well, physically, it's the perfect balance of size and weight for viewing, using one-handed, popping in a pocket and it's also robust with IP68/IP69/MIL-STD-810H. The P-OLED screen is bright, colourful and vibrant. It gets 5 OS Updates and 5 years of security (although there is now some question, which needs clarity, about the 5 years of security actually being 4). There's plenty of storage (for most people), loads of RAM and as far as I'm concerned a perfectly good camera setup - with "macro" too. The speakers' output is great with a decent soundstage too, the fingerprint scanner is good enough, improved over the 50 Neo and when used in tandem with face unlock and lift to wake isn't needed much of the time anyway. A nice big battery, well-performing, with Qi Charging and fast wired if needed. And to top it all off, full access to the Smart Connect system. Oh and did I mention that it has the best AoD there is, on any phone?! Take all that into account and actually, on some counts, even the flagship Signature can't beat it.

I do love my little Neo (and the one before it). It might not be as powerful and capable as many out there, but for the price and for me, the feature set and benefits are unique. And haven't been ruined by this Android 16 update, unlike some!

The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

I always meant to see this film during my 1990s 'arthouse' phase but somehow never got round to it. So now, 33 years later, I finally have! It is a beautifully quiet observation of young Mui, a poor ten-year-old girl from the Vietnamese countryside who travels far to secure work as a servant for a wealthy family of textile merchants in Saigon.

It is a true slow-burn regarding the domestic situation she finds herself in and how she connects with nature and food. She takes on her duties under the wing of an older, more experienced servant. The atmosphere is hot and humid; the climate and heat profile impact almost everything that occurs in the house, dictating the lazy tempo of the film.

The house is more like a compound, with a bustling business on part of the premises, yet it retains the cultural style of the period. The cinematography is exquisite; we meander in and out of rooms with the characters, often through open screens and doorways. Mui is fascinated by the courtyard at the centre where papaya grows amongst frogs, beetles and other wildlife. She discovers the world through her chores - watching the 'milk' of the green papaya, handling insects with curiosity and learning the rhythmic preparation of food.

The household is run rigidly and the matriarch is well-organised. Unfortunately, her husband is a philanderer who periodically disappears with the family savings, forcing her to start from scratch repeatedly. She has three sons of different ages, one of whom teases and torments Mui as she works. There is an older woman living upstairs who never comes down, whom the family serves. She is the philandering husband's mother and the grandmother of a deceased child who would have been the parents' fourth. She blames the mother (her daughter-in-law) for this death, claiming she did not take proper care of the child. The girl would have been Mui’s age - a fact not missed by the mother or grandmother, which becomes significant later in the film.

All this unfolds against a backdrop of sirens and curfews due to the First Indochina War (1946–1954) - the struggle for independence against French colonial rule, apparently. We never leave the confines of the domestic setting, so while the war provides a backdrop, it only fleetingly gains significance, primarily through the atmosphere. The family fluctuates between hard times, struggling to put rice on the table, and periods of prosperity when sales are high.

The story then suddenly leaps forward ten years to 1961. Mui is now a beautiful twenty-year-old, and the tone shifts as the family is forced to let her go. They send her to work at another house where they believe she will earn a better, more secure wage. The grandmother is distraught, but off Mui goes to the home of a young, handsome man who composes at his piano, regularly interrupted by his fiancée, a loud socialite.

The film becomes subtly erotically charged at this point; it is clear that Mui is drawn to the man and he to her, complicated by the presence of the fiancée. The camera lingers on her, and the focus softens as we see her sponging herself down with soapy water. There is no nudity, just a heightened sensuality. In the final act, life changes for Mui once and for all. The film charts her move up the 'pecking order' from a poor girl with nothing to something much more, achieved through hard work, knuckling under and perhaps a final stroke of luck.

Food and music are vital themes. While the film is beautifully shot throughout, particular care is given to any scene where food is prepared, presented or eaten. It is a mouth-watering motif that fits the atmosphere perfectly. The music evolves alongside the story: traditional stringed instruments dominate the first half, replaced by the lovely, melancholic tone of the solo piano in the second.

It really is a lovely film that requires the right mood to soak up its mellow flow. It is beautifully acted by the entire cast, especially the young Mui, played by Man San Lu. The imagery is paramount; it is a visual feast where every frame has been executed with passion. A superb film, highly recommended - even if it took me 33 years to get there!

Cure (1997)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Japanese masterpiece is a real mixed bag that I'm not entirely sure I completely understood! Armed with notes from other reviewers, I think I might have just about got there. It’s a creepy 'horror' about hypnosis that works on two levels. As we follow the story, we find ourselves sucked in as an audience - it feels as though Kurosawa is hypnotising us, too!

Some Spoilers ahead - but not too many!

Horror it might be, but daft jump-scares there are not. Instead, the film relies on a slow-burn tension with shocks scattered throughout. The characters succumb to the will of a 19th-century 'mesmerism' that has been passed down, lurking inside human carriers and vessels to stay alive. We know almost from the beginning who the current 'carrier' is - an unsuspecting, kindly family finds him wandering on a beach, seemingly lost with no memory of who he is. They take him in to help, only to become his first victims.

The strength of the storytelling lies in how the mystery unfolds, feeding us small pieces of information at a perfect pace. Our carrier is the enigmatic Mr Mamiya and Detective Takabe is hot on his trail from early on. Takabe fails to realise the danger he is in as Mamiya hypnotises various people into committing grizzly, violent crimes against poor, unsuspecting innocent folk.

Takabe’s own life is falling apart at the seams. His wife suffers from severe mental health problems - and the more this case gets under his skin, the more irrational and anxious he becomes. While he struggles to care for his wife at home, he is baffled by how Mamiya operates - especially when the man is locked in a cell! He persists, and alongside his colleagues, begins to unpick the mystery - though the body count rises faster than they can find answers.

The hypnotised killers carry out gruesome murders but have no memory of their actions. This makes the investigation exceptionally difficult for Takabe. Since the killers don’t hide their deeds and are easily caught, they have nothing to tell him, causing the detective further frustration. The only consistency is a large "X" carved into the victims' upper torsos - a chilling calling card!

Mamiya, a former psychology student, appears to have only sketchy knowledge of his own actions, at least in the first half of the film, displaying genuine amnesia. The mesmerism makes use of repetitive sounds - water droplets or the rhythmic flicking of a cigarette lighter - which form a core part of the soundtrack, effectively getting under the viewers' skins as well.

The film serves as a kind of commentary on the thin skin of modern civilisation. It suggests that the "cure" Mamiya offers is actually a release from the suffocating politeness and repressed rage of everyday life. By stripping away his victims' identities, Mamiya isn't just killing people, he is "freeing" them from the burden of being human. This philosophical dread lingers long after the credits roll, making the mundane sounds of the city feel suddenly threatening. (Clever Gemma's summary!)

That is probably enough spoilers for now, leaving enough unsaid to enjoy the rest of the film's near 2 hour runtime, but that is the flavour of the setup. Kōji Yakusho is excellent as Takabe - convincing as the man falling apart, Masato Hagiwara is chillingly portrayed and well detached as Mamiya and the supporting cast playing the ordinary people who suddenly turn to violence are believable too.

Dark, surreal and eerily shot, the cinematography keeps us on our toes, blurring the lines between what is real and what is imagined. As you would expect, the finale is shocking and well worth the wait. In terms of atmosphere and style, the film feels like a blend of Se7en (1995) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), probably more so the former for the slow-burn and a couple of other reasons! It is a real treat - track it down.

Bone Lake (2025)

This is an attempt by Mercedes Bryce Morgan to create a dark thriller that ends up being more of a slasher-survival romp, in which she hasn't quite been able to put a huge amount of meat onto that lake's bones!

Sage and Diego, played by Maddie Hasson (Mr Mercedes) and Marco Pigossi, turn up at a lovely house which they've rented for the weekend next to Bone Lake. It's an idyllic situation and they're looking forward immensely to their romantic getaway, during which Diego plans to 'pop the question' to Sage, ring at the ready. Diego is an aspiring writer, currently teaching to make ends meet and financially supported by Sage, who is quietly becoming a little weary of the burden.

It all gets a bit complicated when, shortly after their arrival (and an initiation ceremony on the rug), another couple turns up. Will and Cin, played by Alex Roe and Andra Nechita. It becomes apparent that there's been a double-booking by the agency. Awkward exchanges take place on the porch as they try to work out a solution. The nearest hotel is 50 miles away, so after much conversation, they figure the house is large enough for them all to have their own space. Besides, they reason that even if they went to a hotel, they’d still be amongst strangers, so they decide to press on together.

As they explore the house, they find three padlocked doors but, otherwise, everything they could need. Will is a talented cook and they have plenty of booze. We spend some time with the four of them - sometimes the two women, sometimes the two men, and sometimes the full group - as they soon realise their plan for staying separate has gone out the window and they're actually enjoying the foursome.

However, all is not quite as it seems, and it's difficult to go any further into the plot without throwing in spoilers. But that is the setup. They do discover the location is called Bone Lake for a reason - in the past, a serial killer had been dumping bodies in the water, and one day, many of them washed up on the shore! Still, the history doesn't seem to unduly spook them enough to stop enjoying their stay.

The story unfolds at a good pace as reveals emerge regarding the characters' backgrounds and the house’s secrets. It feels as though it’s intended to be something of an erotic thriller, but it doesn’t dwell on that for long - that becomes more of a side issue. There's a mounting anxiety as tension builds over the 90-minute runtime however, moving from the cosy, safe, friendly early stages into frantic thrills later on.

The four players do a decent enough job of portraying their characters convincingly, especially Hasson as the lead. The 'off the grid' setting adds to the feeling of claustrophobia, limiting escape routes for anyone wanting to flee and the direction creates a moody, dark atmosphere. The cinematography is effective too - the camera often follows characters voyeuristically through the long corridors and the exterior shots of the lakeside location are excellent.

There is some gore later on - that's as close as I'll get to spoilers - but the plot does weave through some twists and turns that you’ll probably see coming. Refreshingly, there aren’t any silly jump-scares to shatter the audience's nerves. It's a stylish, capable piece of entertainment, and I enjoyed the ride. It’s available now in the UK on several streaming services.

Friday the 13th (1980)

I remember seeing this film at the cinema in the early 80s and being thrilled and chilled by it - especially the finale, when the entire audience jumped out of their skins! I was only about twenty then, so perhaps I was more shockable or simply more open to being easily thrilled. I was certainly more forgiving of poor production values! I am sure that what I am about to write won't go down well with the dedicated fanbase!

It is now more than 45 years later, and I do think we have been spoilt by much better special effects, acting, sets, continuity and, well, pretty much everything since then. In order to appreciate and enjoy this now, you would have to be a die-hard fan of the franchise or a bit of a horror nerd. Yes, revisiting Sean S Cunningham’s slasher felt nothing like what I experienced in the cinema that day. I accept that it began one of cinema's coolest franchises, but viewing it through today's eyes reveals a production that is, frankly, falling apart at the seams. The script is diabolical and the performances wooden - it had me laughing rather than screaming!

The premise is the usual-now cliché we’ve grown to groan about. A group of dappy, spunky teenagers heads to a remote camp by a lake which, of course, has a dark and sinister past. On the way, we drop in on locals for directions, only to be met with 'sharp intakes of breath' and a stumble into the local ‘oddball’ chappie. Once they arrive, we settle down to watch frightfully chirpy American teens enjoying the freedom to do as they like - exchanging bodily fluids at will and indulging in risky behaviour without a watchful adult eye in sight. And then the chaos unfolds!

But sadly, the script is paper-thin, serving mostly as a setup for the next kill, and the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic. The characters make typically genre-dumb decisions like wandering into dark rooms, walking toward strange noises and isolating themselves at the worst possible moments for their health (though best for the story)! A 2026 audience really won't give a hoot about any of them - there's no character development and most of their roles are thankfully short-lived!

A young Kevin Bacon was horribly underused, even before his character copped it. When he actually had lines, his performance was pedestrian and anaemic. Furthermore, the whole cast seemed largely uninterested - except, perhaps, for the lead girl and Princess Di lookalike, Alice (played by Adrienne King). The rest were clearly just going through the paces for a pay packet. Apart from her, the only other convincing character was Jason’s mum, played by Betsy Palmer. She apparently admitted she only accepted the role to buy a new car! She was totally over-the-top, but she brought a sinister edge to the proceedings, talking to herself like a maniac.

Regarding the gore, the use of prosthetics was obvious. Even when actors were used for post-gore sequences, they could occasionally be seen moving! If the special effects felt realistic to us in 1980 - and from memory, they did - they have certainly not aged gracefully! The blood is a shade of bright, neon red that looks exactly like the paint it clearly was. It is a shame, as some of the kills were quite inventive - Kevin Bacon’s exit and the aforementioned mother’s end are worth a look! But it all feels like 'fun' now. Or rather, funny.

I reckon the star of the show was actually the music. The score by Harry Manfredini is nicely delivered and tries hard to create atmosphere - to compensate for the rest of the film's failings. It tries to tell you that something scary is happening, even when what we see with our eyes proves it wrong!

The film is an interesting venture but seems to have been made on a tight budget with a 'that’ll do nicely' and 'let's get it done and out' attitude toward quality. The whole Jason stuff is intriguing though - and perhaps I shall plough on to the sequels in the hope that they get better rather than worse (as we know well, they often can in the film franchise world)! I was patient, and the last twenty minutes were fun, but it isn't scary and it isn't well-made. However, it is quite funny! If you watch it on a Friday night after the pub with some mates - perhaps even on a Friday the 13th - you can have a grand time taking the piss!

The Capture (2019-2022) - A Guest Review by Adrian Brain

Season 1 of this TV Series is now streaming on the BBC iPlayer, and Season 3 is also on-air right now. Concerned by deep fake videos, almost constant video surveillance and a crumbling judicial system not fit for the 21st century? That is the subject of this excellent police procedural murder mystery.

The first season aired in 2019, where the subject matter might have seemed somewhat implausible, though watching it now it seems almost inevitable. I missed it then but have just caught up. I found it thoroughly gripping, binged it in two evenings and I'm looking forward to watching seasons 2 and 3.

I'll not go into any plot details to avoid spoilers, except to say it is set in London, involves surveillance cameras, night buses and police of varying levels of competence and honesty. The plot is constantly twisting and evolving around an event that occurs in the first episode. The audience thinks they know what has happened but as the characters uncover information, your own assumptions are cleverly undermined.

Superbly plotted, well performed with relatable (if occasionally cliched) characters, and a smattering of American glamour (Ron Perlman and Famke Janssen), this is cracking entertainment with a rather less liberal viewpoint than you might expect.

Project Hail Mary (2026) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

In cinemas now, this 12a film is an adaptation of the best-selling 2021 Science Fiction novel by Andy Weir, who also penned The Martian in 2011, and that became a blockbuster film in 2015. The latter is produced and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), wakes up from a previously-induced medical coma onboard what seems to be a ship of some kind. He immediately discovers two other, supposedly crew members dead in their stasis capsules. Shocked and being very disoriented, he then stumbles around the many-roomed craft in his scrubs and eventually discovers the large observation window. He's in outer space!

Flashback to Grace who is seen in civilian clothes as an American middle school science teacher, trying to make his class as entertaining as possible. A question is asked from one of the students, "Is the Sun dying?". He pauses and then tries to explain as simply as possible that it's been observed that something, unknown as yet, seems to be slowly eating away at our Sun, but don't worry as the best scientists in the World are on the case and things will be OK.

In reality, a solution must be found to stop the Sun's decline as it's predicted that it only has 30 years before going critical. Outside, after the school day ends, he is approached by a serious looking lady calling herself Dr Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller). Continuing in a German accent, she says she knows that he is also a PHD molecular biologist and is aware that he has fallen out of favour in the scientific community over his initially failed research into the observed phenomena killing the Sun, now officially known as, 'Astrophages'. "Have you ever thought?" she asks, "That you may have been right, and everyone else was wrong?" He is intrigued and realises that this may be a second chance for him as a serious scientist.

Together with Dr Stratte, he is taken immediately in a government black sedan to a unknown location. Grace is given a lab and some samples of Astrophages previously collected by a space probe to see if he can figure out exactly what they are and if they can be destroyed. He eventually observes that it has a cell structure and then accidentally discovers that they multiply by being exposed to carbon dioxide. That explains why the Astrophages have been observed moving back and forth between the Sun and Venus's atmosphere. It's as part of a biological reproduction cycle, specifically to consume carbon dioxide so they can multiply efficiently.

The story then moves to a US Navy aircraft carrier, where Grace is introduced to a room full of diverse international scientists. A spokesperson then explains that further experiments that they've done with the Astrophages shows that exposing them to high-intensity infrared light turns them into pure energy, that has now ironically given the world new hope - as it will provide nearly light-speed propulsion for a project, called, 'Hail Mary', that is in development to send an interstellar mission to Tau Ceti (11.9 light-years away), which is the only star in the observed galaxy not dimming, and to see what is different there that could help us.

OK, this plot contains loads of serious science, which I personally love seeing in human-based science fiction stories, but I know it may put some off. Gosling pulls off the role of a shy, unassuming but enthusiastic molecular biologist well. Stratt is the only other human with any major screen time here and has a good supporting role. How Grace eventually ends up on the mission instead of the initially chosen, rigorously-trained NASA crew is a bit of a macguffin but it proves to be for the best. However this film's undoubted star is the alien Grace encounters when he reaches his destination. Dubbed "Rocky" due to his rock-like appearance by Grace, we eventually find out that it comes from the planet Erid. And whose triple-star system 40 Eridani is suffering the same fate as our Sun.

Using the A.I. onboard the Hail Mary, the six legged creature's language is quickly deciphered and eventually Grace forms a mutual bond as they both try to figure out what makes Tau Ceti so special. With more that half of the 2 hour 36 minute runtime spent in outer space, we get to see a lot of the NASA ship. The design and interior is impressively futuristic but still familiar. All the alien hardware really looked original but still seemed to comply with our knowledge of physics. I read that 'Rocky' himself was a multiple person operated puppet. It made the alien feel more alive so interactions with Grace felt realistic compared to a digital character. All the actual CGI rendering was flawless to my eye so I'm glad I saw those jaw-dropping visuals on one of the biggest screens in my area. I didn't think this was too long at all and there's a quirky, but satisfactory ending. So all in all I'll rate this as the best Hard Science Fiction film I've seen since 2014's 'Interstellar' and I highly recommended it any fans of Sci-Fi.