Mutant ninjas, Cobras and Vampires: T Magazine's top picks of the week

Here’s what to watch, read, play, binge and listen to this week

Binge this week: Cobra Kai Season 5

It should be official. The Karate Kid mythos is now officially a cult phenomenon. When it released in 1984, the original movie was that year’s surprise box office it. Riding the wave of 80s nostalgia, its spinoff revival series Cobra Kai proved to be an unassuming sleeper hit on its own and the best thing to come out of YouTube Red. Released this week on Netflix, season 5 of Cobra Kai has already racked up 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Picking up from the previous season’s cliffhanger finale, it explores the aftermath of Terry Silver’s dojo winning it all at the All Valley tournament.

Play this week: TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge

Speaking of nostalgia, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge goes all in with trying to evoke peak 90s gaming. A beat 'em up game inspired by both the 1987 animated series that unleashed Turtlemania and the Konami video games that followed it, the game has been developed by the aptly named Montreal-based Tribute Games. and published by Dotemu, which also developed the 2020 beat 'em up hit Streets of Rage 4. Hit the streets with either one of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rafael or Donatello, or even as their mentor Splinter or reporter ally April O’Neil to fight the Foot across New York City and thwart Shredder’s latest conspiracy.

Listen this week: Need Your Love by Tennis

For those bored by mainstream music acts and the ever-homogeneous pop sound template, YouTube can prove a goldmine. Slipping between the algorithms, dozens of innovative acts continue to restore faith in music not being dead just yet. Indie husband-and-wife duo Tennis is a seasoned act by now and our recommendation this week is not that new. But Need Your Love is a different kind of love-rage song, playing with tempo to explore the frustrations of love gone wrong. A frantic beat opens the track to pull your immediate attention before it slows down to sweet melody and Alaina Moore’s mesmerising vocals refuse to let you go.

Watch this week: Day Shift

American media may have done vampires and vampire hunters to death – pun intended – but J J Perry’s directorial debut attempts to revamp and refresh the concept. Described by Empire Online as “Men In Black, but with vampires”, the movie leans towards action-comedy more than horror. Jamie Foxx plays a working class LA pool cleaner who runs a side hustle of hunting vampires to sell their teeth for cash. Despite mixed reviews, the movie boasts a stellar supporting cast and should provide a fun summer watch for those looking to wind down at the end of the day.