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Reactions are in for Moana, Disney's latest live-action remake, and they are not kind.

The film stars Dwayne Johnson as Maui, reprising his role from the original animated film, with Catherine Laga'aia stepping up as Moana herself.

"A shot-for-shot, line-by-line remake without a single original idea. A creatively bankrupt cash grab with ZERO interesting direction. They don't innovate; they imitate," says entertainment journalist Jonathan Sim . "Why watch this when Moana (2016) is on Disney+?! A soulless, miserable financial decision. SKIP!"

"MOANA (2026) shows just how far Disney will go for a quick and easy buck, producing another unnecessary, nearly shot-for-shot, beat-for-beat live-action remake that doesn't offer anything new that wasn't already done better just ten years ago," says Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia . "The visuals are so flat, with a heavy reliance on green-screen use and CGI for so many of its locations, water effects, creatures, and even the musical numbers, that it all comes across as soulless and inauthentic. Dwayne Johnson's inherent charm is weakened by his distracting fake body suit, and Catherine Laga'aia holds her own despite Johnson's outsized presence, but isn't able to leave much of an impression beyond showcasing her lovely singing voice, as the film is too derivative of the original to allow her to distinguish herself. The songs are still catchy and enjoyable to listen to, but I already have an excellent 2016 animated film that I can watch for that instead of this hollow retread."

"MOANA (2026) takes one Disney's most vibrant films of the revival era and turns it into one of the ugliest movies of the year," says Discussing Film's Tyler Llewyn Taing . "The photorealistic style takes more than it gives. Worse, it just doesn't even pretend to have any new ideas."

"The live-action Moana remake is very much just that, a remake, that adds very little to the story aside from a change in medium," says Bleeding Cool's Kaitlyn Booth . "How they managed to make one of the most beautiful locations on Earth ugly, I will never know, but here we are. Catherine is great."

"If you're curious what Moana would be like slower, darker & less whimsical, boy, have I got a movie for you," says Gizmodo's Germain Lussier . "The live-action remake captures some of what made the original so magical with its song scenes, but the rest of it never finds the right tone. Laga'aia innocent."

"Disney's Moana remake is, at best, a cheap imitation and, at worst, weaker in every conceivable way," says FandomWire's Cole Groth . "Two decent performances from Catherine Laga'aia and Dwayne Johnson allow the film to ride on the success of its original, but as with every Disney remake, I ask: what's the point?"

However, it's not all doom and gloom, with some mixed to positive reactions, too. "The LA #Moana is unnecessary, but they do enough great things visually in the first and third act to justify its existence (the second act, not so much)," says The Nerds of Color . "As such, it's definitely one of the better Disney LA remakes (not saying much but it's true)."

"Moana is ok at best. It isn't a disaster like other Disney adaptations but it isn't a great adaptation either," says journalist Fabrício Girão . "It is the most copy and paste Disney remake yet, repeating exact lines and shots from the original, but never reaches the brilliance and excellence of the animated movie."

"Honestly a little surprised to admit how much I enjoyed the live-action Moana," says Mama's Geeky's Tessa Smith . "Catherine Laga'aia does a great job continuing the legacy (& has incredible comedic chemistry with Dwayne Johnson). There are some truly stunning shots. Gosh I love this story."

Moana is in theaters this July 10. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies or the most exciting upcoming movies of the year to fill out your watchlist.

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I've been living for the episode titles for Rick and Morty season 9 , but this week is the first time I've felt genuinely terrified for what I'm about to see.

Episode 8 is called Rickuiem Mort a Dream , which is a play on the Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream . If you've been brave enough to watch that movie, you'll know that it's so traumatizing, you can never, ever see it again.

What on earth that means for an animated TV series, I have no idea. But when does Rick and Morty season 9 episode 8 arrive on Adult Swim, Hulu , and HBO Max ?

What time can I watch Rick and Morty season 9 episode 8 on Adult Swim, Hulu, and HBO Max?

In the US, Rick and Morty season 9 episode 8 will debut on Adult Swim on Sunday, July 12 at 8pm PT / 11pm ET .

Viewers elsewhere, as well as in the US, have two streaming options: Hulu and HBO Max. Episodes should appear on these platforms 24 hours after they've aired on Adult Swim, meaning you can expect episode 8 on Monday, July 13.

These are the timings you need to take note of:

US – 12am PT / 3am ET

Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET

UK – 8am BST

India – 12:30pm IST

Singapore – 3pm SGT

Australia – 6pm AEST

New Zealand – 8pm NZDT

When do new episodes of Rick and Morty season 9 come out?

(Image credit: Adult Swim) Rick and Morty season 9 is set to have 10 episodes. As long as there are no unexpected delays, we can expect it to follow the following release schedule:

Episode 1: out now

Episode 2: out now

Episode 3 : out now

Episode 4: out now

Episode 5: out now

Episode 6: out now

Episode 7: out now

Episode 8: July 12

Episode 9 : July 19

Episode 10 : July 26

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Spotify has quietly updated its Mixed Playlists tools

You can now fine-tune transitions smoother by amending effect curves

It's starting to crop up for more users, and it's a smash hit so far

There’s one thing that Spotify does really well, and that’s offering a roster of different playlist-making tools for you to really get creative with. Though some are AI-powered, Spotify’s Mixed Playlists encourages you to use your originality when compiling songs, all while putting you in the DJ booth.

Just as you’d get with music-mixing software, Spotify’s Mixed Playlists allow you to create smooth transitions between songs to ensure your playlist flows like a classic DJ set. Its mixing interface presents you with preset effects, and even tells you the key and BPM of each track — and now users have noticed a new upgrade that gives you even more freedom on the customization front.

A recent post on the r/truespotify Reddit page shows the latest update, revealing that you can now amend the Volume, EQ, and Filter settings even more by simply dragging each effect curve to control how the transition runs. According to a small number of users, this feature has been live for a few months, but the majority of listeners in the replies are only now running into it — myself included.

Spotify first launched Mixed Playlists in August 2025 , hot on the heels of Apple’s own AutoMix function . But instead of relying on AI to mix songs, Spotify’s version puts the control right into your hands, and it quickly became one of my favorite new tools .

The effect curves as a preset (right) versus the updated customization version (left) (Image credit: Future) Prior to the update, you could create song transitions by selecting a preset which would automatically amend the Volume, EQ, and Filter settings, or you could go into each of the three and select your own preset to curate a custom transition. While these are still available, you can fine-tune your song-mixing even more, and after testing things out for myself I can see why listeners have taken to it so well.

For starters, it allows you to clean up the small but noticeable imperfections in your transitions that you can’t achieve by presetting the three audio categories individually. For example, if you go into the Filter category and select the ‘High-pass filter out option’, it’s stuck in one place on the audio track. When you tap the ‘Customize’ button, three points appear on the effect curve which you can move around the audio track display so that your chosen effect comes in at a specific time.

Comment from r/truespotify

However, there are a few small blips (not so much setbacks) with the feature that users have picked up on. When you start off with customizing your transitions, it can feel a little fiddly when trying to find the exact placement for each of the effect curve points but this you’ll get used to.

Additionally, other users have also pointed out that the effect curve points sometimes move back to their original spots after you’ve shifted them. I’ve only run into this a few times, so it’s not a major issue that’s going to put you off for good.

For once, it’s refreshing to see Spotify give one of its existing tools some TLC instead of pumping out new features without a lot of thought behind them. If this is the approach Spotify is taking from here on, just think of what it could do to improve features like this in the future.

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Credit: AliExpress

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Lenovo has apparently pulled its G02 handheld from various market platforms

This suggests that Lenovo has discontinued the shady yet cheap handheld.

The handheld appeared on third-party platforms earlier this year with preloaded ROMs.

The Lenovo G02 surfaced in May as a rather shady $60 Linux handheld . Lenovo later confirmed the device’s existence but said it was a white-labeled gadget intended for China only. It now looks like this story has taken another turn.

Retro Dodo reports that Lenovo has now removed the G02 handheld from all marketplaces where it was originally sold. The outlet says this includes AliExpress and Alibaba. We’ve asked Lenovo to confirm whether the handheld has indeed been discontinued and will update the article as soon as the company gets back to us. If confirmed, this would conclude a pretty weird saga.