Entertainment
Uh, I think you need to watch Netflix’s Heart of Stone
It’s not just your typical spy thriller film featuring Gal Gadot
So, here’s the deal: Gal Gadot is sizzlin’ hot that I have been questioning my sexuality every time she’s on a screen. Her starring in a film is why I attended the premiere screening of Netflix’s Heart of Stone.
Add to the fact that it’s a spy-thriller film, which has been my genre of choice for going to the cinemas (please believe me, thank you). What else could I ask for?
The last time I was this giggly was watching The Gray Man last year, a few days before my birthday.
Seriously, Netflix has a habit of releasing action films that will keep you glued to your screens and entertained during summer. It’s defo Leo season.
hold up, what is it about?
Blabber aside, Netflix’s Heart of Stone gives an impression of a spy film shrouded in games and mystery, thanks to the Playing Card references. But its synopsis is simply about Rachel Stone — played by Gal Gadot — who lives a double life.
Stone works as an inexperienced tech on an elite M16 unit headed up by lead agent Parker, played by Jamie Dornan. But… that’s only her front.

Heart of Stone – (L to R) Jing Lusi as Yang, Paul Ready as Bailey, Jamie Dornan as Parker and Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone in Heart Of Stone. Cr. Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2023.
What her team doesn’t know is she’s a phenomenal field agent aliased ‘Nine of Hearts’ who works for the Charter, a secret peacekeeping organization.
The Charter uses cutting-edge technology to neutralize global threats, harnessing the power of a piece of tech called “The Heart”.

Heart of Stone – Matthias Schweighöfer as Jack of Hearts in Heart Of Stone. Cr. Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2023.
big brother is always watching
The Heart is like a combination of Big Data and the Big Brother conspiracy where you’re always watched. Every piece of information is documented, it feels like it knows more about you.
The truth is our technology, especially with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, keeps collecting various data to create an algorithm and somehow predict the future. The Heart mirrors the reality of our rapidly evolving technology. It’s both scary and astounding.

Heart of Stone – BTS – (L to R) Director Tom Harper and Alia Bhatt as Keya Dhawan on the set of Heart Of Stone. Cr. Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2023.
The Charter uses this cutting-edge technology which aids its field agents in completing missions with a 100% success rate. It’s so powerful that the villains in the film worked on a plan to get their hands on its power.
Eventually, Stone and The Charter tracked down a hacker named Keya Dhawan, which was played by Alia Bhatt, who plans to take The Heart. Yup, she’s Indian and a hacker. Tell us something different, Netflix!!
action-packed with lots of cackles
Heart of Stone is filled with daredevil stunts and adrenaline-filled scenes that rev up your heart. There were a lot of fight scenes you’d typically see in a generic spy thriller film. Still entertaining, by the way.

Heart of Stone – (L to R) Jing Lusi as Yang and Jamie Dornan as Parker in Heart Of Stone. Cr. Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2023.
I find it hilarious to see Jing Lusi (Amanda from Crazy Rich Asians) portraying Theresa Yang, a glamorous Asian agent who’s adept at martial arts while wearing fancy dresses and stilettos. I’m in love with the femme fatale!
The film is filled with chucklesome scenes along with mouth-gasping adventures that got me hooked in my seat. Stone exhibited marvelous action scenes in different locations: the Italian Alps, Lisbon, Reykjavik, Senegal, and an epic fight thousands of feet above the desert. That sequence is just oomph!
on beating the algorithm
Spoiler alert: The enemies got their hands on The Heart, which Stone needs to retrieve. Time and time again, Stone listened to the accuracy of The Heart to provide her with a good outcome in every scenario.
At some point, she disconnected from The Charter and blew her cover, believing in her gut instinct instead. This adds a human touch to the story; exhibiting emotions in covert operations that require you to be as heartless as you could be.
Towards the end, The Charter decided to put their faith in Stone after The Heart was taken and everything went offline. A grim reminder that life before technology was incredibly challenging if you’re not resourceful enough to make things up as they go.
On another note, Stone proved that algorithms can be beaten by being human. The odds may not be in your favor, but you can still change the tide and get a different outcome.
keeps you entertained on a weekend

Heart of Stone – BTS – (L to R) Director Tom Harper, Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone and Jamie Dornan as Parker on the set of Heart Of Stone. Cr. Robert Viglasky/Netflix © 2023.
Netflix’s Heart of Stone may be as generic as it gets for a spy thriller film, along with a plot that seemed too similar to Mission Impossible. Even then, Tom Harper’s film still delivered thrill and twists that can make your lazy weekends action-packed
At best, it’s a good pick-me-up before you hop on a different kind of action. Netflix and chill, anyone?
Heart of Stone premieres on August 11, only on Netflix.
Entertainment
1st teaser trailer, details for Death Stranding Isolations series unveiled
Animated series to debut on Hulu on Disney Plus
A new teaser trailer for the upcoming Death Stranding Isolations series on Hulu on Disney+ has been revealed.
The upcoming animated series is set to debut in 2027. It is set in the world of Death Stranding immediately after the game’s protagonist Sam reconnects the continent of North America via the Chiral Network.
The series will tell a completely new story separate from that of the video games. The narrative will focus on a young man and woman as they set off on an adventure.
As America is reborn from the ashes, the renewed connections that bind it together bring about new and unforeseen consequences.
In this tumultuous new landscape, there are some who walk a different path to the one chosen by Sam and his Bridges comrades.
One is a wise old man who connects people through a method that defies all reckoning. There is also a female soldier ensnared in a cycle of war and destruction.
Moreover, there is a boy who seethes with rage at the absurdity of his life, and a girl who chose to sever all ties with the outside world. Fate has other plans for her, however, and chance encounters see her launched headfirst into a world she does not recognize.
Death Stranding Isolations is written by Tow Ubukata (Activator, Bone Ash, Project Darkness) and directed by Takayuki Sano (Jujutsu Kaisen 0 – The Movie, Attack on Titan The Final Season).
The series is animated by E&H production (NINJA KAMUI, BULLET/BULLET, the Magic Knight Rayearth Television series 2026) with original character design by Ilya Kuvshinov (Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, The Wonderland).
The series is executive produced by Hideo Kojima and produced by KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.
Entertainment
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 now streaming, Cyberpunk 2077 update coming
Edgerunners returns to Night City
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is now streaming on Netflix, with all 10 episodes available to watch. CD PROJEKT RED and animation studio TRIGGER have also announced a new update for Cyberpunk 2077, bringing content inspired by the anime to the game.
The Edgerunners 2 Update (Update 2.5) launches on October 22, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A Nintendo Switch 2 release will follow shortly.
Edgerunners returns with a new cast
Set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 tells a standalone story through an entirely new cast of characters. The series follows a veteran edgerunner, a young cinephile, a chrome-obsessed delinquent, and a Snake Nation netrunner as their stories explore vengeance and redemption in Night City.
Director Kai Ikarashi leads the new installment, with Kanno Ichigo serving as lead character designer. Masahiko Otsuka returns as a collaborator, while Bartosz Sztybor serves as showrunner, story writer, and producer.
Both Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 are available exclusively on Netflix.
Cyberpunk 2077 gets a new update
CD PROJEKT RED announced the Edgerunners 2 Update alongside the anime’s premiere on October 20. The free update will introduce new items and features to Cyberpunk 2077, including content inspired by the new series.
The update launches on October 22 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. CD PROJEKT RED has yet to announce the Nintendo Switch 2 release date beyond confirming that it will follow shortly.
The studio will reveal more details during a special episode of REDstreams on October 21. The broadcast will air on Twitch, YouTube, and Steam, with official patch notes scheduled for release on the same day.
The thing about supervillain movies is that they rarely let their villain be a villain. From Venom to Kraven the Hunter, they’re contrarian dreck that reframe a mass murderer as a “misunderstood anti-hero” who’s overshadowed by a corny do-gooder. Boo hoo. Thankfully, Clayface got the memo to not do that, even if it came pretty close.
Clayface reimagines how rising actor Matt Hagen becomes one of Batman’s most (literally) monstrous enemies. Here, Matt is horribly disfigured by gangsters then abandoned by his friends. He finds hope in Dr. Caitlyn Corr’s genetic experiments, but loses his body, mind and soul as her miracle cure enables his worst impulses.
Basically, Clayface is everything Joker failed to be. It’s a sympathetic origin story for a twisted Batman villain, but it doesn’t make excuses for them. If Joker scapegoats Arthur Fleck’s madness and anarchy on the nebulous enemy that is Society the way an aimlessly rebellious teenager would, Clayface throws all the blame and consequences on Matt — and Matt alone.
I like how Matt’s story is a tragedy of his own making. He wasn’t always evil, and he really was wronged by scum. Worse, his identity is cracking, which is a bit of psychological torment that I wish the movie dwelled on more. And yet, he always had a way out. He just keeps choosing the cruelest and greediest options instead.
This is the kind of agency most supervillain movies — or any movie about a juvenile anti-hero fighting The System, really — lack, but Clayface has an abundance of. There was a moment I thought that the movie would still side with Matt despite everything he’s done, only for him to cross a line. In the end, he can only blame himself when he loses everything and everyone.
However, I was let down by Clayface’s violence. There’s blood and guts, alright, but they’re too inconsistent. For every morbidly satisfying disemboweling or close-up of a nasty scarring, there’s a moment where the movie cuts away from these too early. I lost count of how many times Clayface jumped to the next scene before really letting blades sink into flesh, or how many of Matt’s kills were done offscreen.
Minus the pivotal deaths, the kills are also not as diverse as I’d hope from a killer powered by Play-Doh and imagination. It’s just variations of stabbing and bludgeoning. My issue isn’t a lack of brutality, but that this reluctance to push it further or just show it gives the well-built tension a lackluster payoff. A movie about superpowered revenge in one of fiction’s vilest hellholes should be more depraved and creative.
To be fair, this is more the fault of the movie’s constraints, not a lack of skill or thought. Effects cost time and money that Clayface clearly didn’t have a lot of. This would also explain why Matt is limited to identity theft not by molding himself, but via clever camera work. For what it’s worth, I see and respect the smart workarounds the movie found to deliver the dread.
Still, I like Clayface. It’s the rare supervillain movie that’s self-aware and honest about its darkness. It humanizes its villain, but commits to their monstrosity while rejecting forced redemption. It’s also a grisly thriller that works on its own merits, yet complements DC Comics’ latest growing cinematic world. That said, Batman can’t arrive sooner to beat Matt’s melted face in.
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