Dadnology Week 44: Avatar three ways, a Dune countdown and a new MacBook

🎬 Avatar, rated film by film, and a week to plan around it

Three Avatar films, three ratings, and one honest answer to the question every dad with a free evening asks: do I need to watch all of them? You do not. The original is a perfect score, the two sequels are beautiful and each a well-meant 3, and the order that makes sense is shorter than you think. Around that, the final Dune: Part Three trailer arrives with seven weeks to go, Apple’s M6 MacBook Pro goes on pre-order, and November turns out to be a thin LEGO month with one record-breaking set.

Then the part that matters on a Sunday evening: VisionQuest heads toward its finale on 11 November, Thursday brings the Ocarina of Time Remake, and the family has easy yeses on both screens.

Jump to: 🍿 Watch This Week · 🎮 Play This Week · 🎬 Movies & TV · 🎮 Gaming · 🧱 LEGO & Family · 💻 Tech

🍿 What to watch this week

Top tip: VisionQuest

VisionQuest is on Disney+ and heads into its final stretch: new episodes on Wednesday, then the finale on 11 November. Paul Bettany’s Vision gets his own eight-episode series, the last chapter of the WandaVision and Agatha All Along trilogy, with James Spader’s Ultron back. Watch those two first, and you will not be lost.

For the whole family: The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets is on Peacock, and it is the easiest family yes of the month: what the dog does when you leave the apartment, funny for kids and light enough for parents.

Once the kids are in bed: The Hitman’s Bodyguard

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is on Peacock too. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, one armored car short of a plan, and strictly for after bedtime.

The classic: The Hunt for Red October

The Hunt for Red October (4/5) is on Paramount+. Connery’s submarine, Baldwin’s Jack Ryan,. Not a Paramount+ household? The 30-day Prime Video trial covers a different back-catalogue evening.

Also landing this week

• Planet of the Apes (all four reboot films) — HBO Max, Monday. Rise, Dawn, War and Kingdom, together.
• Bass X Machina — Netflix, Tuesday. Animated steampunk western with Brian Tyree Henry.
• Stick season 2 — Apple TV, Wednesday. Owen Wilson’s golf comedy returns, two episodes on day one.
• Smallfoot — HBO Max, Wednesday. Funny for kids, sharp enough for parents.
• Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat — in theaters Friday. Bill Hader as the Cat, in Warner Bros.’ animated take.
• Godzilla Minus Zero — in theaters Friday. Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to Godzilla Minus One.

Still running

• Tulsa King season 4 — Paramount+, Fridays. Ten new episodes, with Gretchen Mol joining the cast.

The dates, the Christmas TV movies and the full list are in What to watch this week: VisionQuest, The Secret Life of Pets, The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

🎮 What to play this week

The Ocarina of Time Remake lands on Thursday

What to play this week: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake, Hasbro Games Junior Collection, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Encore Edition has the week’s one real question: Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake on Switch 2 on Thursday, 5 November. Nintendo’s price is $59.99 and it is rated E10+.

With the family, Hasbro Games Junior Collection arrives on Friday with Monopoly Jr., Clue Jr. and The Game of Life Jr. for the youngest players. From the backlog, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (5/5) comes to Switch 2 on Thursday as the Encore Edition, and it is the replay of the month if you never played it.

🎬 Movie & TV news this week

The live-action Moana is a 5/5, and it is on Disney+

Moana (2026) review: The live-action remake that actually works is a 5 out of 5 for the whole family. We went in more than sceptical, because the animated Moana is close to perfect, and came out with goosebumps: the same story, the same songs, a perfect Maui and a wonderful new Moana. It has been streaming on Disney+ since October 21, so it is an easy family movie night this week. The review says which scene got us, and why the remake earns its place next to the original.

Avatar: Seven Havens Book 1 is a 4/5 with a goosebump finale

Avatar: Seven Havens Book 1 review: Two Avatars and a lot of promise gives the new Avatar series on Paramount+ a 4 out of 5. Twin Avatars are a great idea and the finale is a goosebump moment, even if the special charm of the original and Korra cannot simply be copied. All 13 episodes of Book 1 are streaming now, so it is ready to binge. The review covers where it falls short and what we hope for in Book 2.

Avatar is a 5/5, and its sequels are a well-meant 3

Avatar movies in order – James Cameron’s films, ranked and explained is the one page to open if you are deciding where to start. Start with Avatar (2009), a perfect 5/5 and, for us, one of the greatest films ever made; the Blu-ray is the way to give it the screen it deserves.

Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash each earn a well-meant 3 out of 5. Both look wonderful, and both lost us on story and character logic. The reviews are the place to find out exactly where, and which of the two is the lesser disappointment.

The Dune: Part Three final trailer is here

Dune: Part Three final trailer is here, seven weeks before release: Villeneuve’s trilogy finale opens in theaters and IMAX on 18 December 2026. The brief covers what the trailer sets up, who is back, and how to rewatch the first two films in time. The two-film 4K box is the easiest way to do it.

Slow Horses and House of the Dragon, book versus show

Two guides for anyone who finished a season and wants more. Slow Horses: Books vs TV show answers what the series changed, what stayed word for word, and whether to read or watch first. Mick Herron books in order is the reading order after season 6, with Bad Actors (book eight) as the source for season 7. House of the Dragon: Book vs show explains where the show leaves Fire & Blood behind, and why season 3 departs the furthest.

November on streaming: Rings of Power, Blade Runner 2099 and a deep catalogue

New movies & shows coming in November 2026: Our top picks is the month on one page. Prime Video leads: The Rings of Power returns on the 11th and Blade Runner 2099 drops all eight episodes on the 25th. Underneath sits a strong catalogue month, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on HBO Max and The Secret Life of Pets on Peacock, and the article sorts it into what is worth an evening.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine OK for kids?

Is Deadpool & Wolverine OK for kids? is a 17 and up for us, in line with the R rating and Common Sense Media. The guide lays out what is in it and what to put on instead for younger Marvel fans.

🎮 Gaming news for dads

Is GTA 5 OK for kids?

Is GTA 5 OK for kids? What’s actually in the game, mission by mission is a no. The Mature 17+ rating describes the content accurately, a decade of age does not make it milder, and GTA Online is a bigger factor for a teenager than the story. Read it before the “but everyone has it” conversation.

November’s games, in one place

Ocarina of Time returns, GTA 6 arrives, and November games worth it is the month at a glance: the Ocarina of Time remake, GTA 6, Pikmin 4 on Switch 2, Sonic Pico Park, and a good deal of couch co-op. The weekly plan above has the week; this one has the month.

🧱 LEGO & family round-up

November’s LEGO wave is thin, and one set is enormous

New LEGO sets November 2026: The best picks for dads and kids is a guide to a month with almost nothing for kids and one enormous thing for adults. The Architecture Sagrada Familia (21065) is now the biggest LEGO set ever made at 12,060 pieces and $799.99, and Botanicals Cozy Plants (10371), at 248 pieces and $22.99, is the only new set a nine-year-old could build this month.

There is no free gift tied to the Sagrada Familia launch, unlike September and October. The dates to mark are LEGO Insiders Weekend on 21 and 22 November and Black Friday through Cyber Monday, 27 to 30 November; LEGO has not confirmed which gifts will come with them.

💻 Tech round-up

Apple’s M6 MacBook Pro is on pre-order

Apple’s M6 MacBook Pro is at the top of our wishlist covers the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 24-inch iMac announced on 27 October. Pre-orders opened on Wednesday and both ship on 6 November, the MacBook Pro from $1,999 and the iMac from $1,499. The verdict is that it is a strong but incremental update: M5 owners can sit this one out, and anyone on an M1 has a real reason to look. If the price is a stretch, the M5 model is worth watching for discounts.

Two Mac mini guides from a setup we actually run

Claude Code and a local LLM on a Mac mini: What runs where in our setup explains which jobs go to a cloud coding agent and which to a local vision model, with measured numbers. If you are shopping for the hardware, the 24GB Mac mini is the cheapest way into that memory tier. The companion, How to control a Mac mini from Windows: Sunshine and Moonlight, a month in, covers the remote-desktop setup that works for a headless machine, and the one flaw that comes with it.

The Dadnology Week archive: missed last week? Catch up with Dadnology Week 43.

❓ FAQ

What were the biggest dad-relevant stories in week 44, 2026?

Avatar (2009) earned 5/5 while The Way of Water and Fire and Ash each earned a well-meant 3/5, the final Dune: Part Three trailer arrived ahead of the 18 December release, and Apple announced the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, shipping 6 November.

What is the best family pick this week?

For movies, The Secret Life of Pets on Peacock is the easy family yes. For games, Hasbro Games Junior Collection arrives on Friday for the youngest players.

Which Avatar film should I watch first?

The 2009 original, which we rate 5/5. The Way of Water and Fire and Ash each earned a well-meant 3/5, so if you only have one evening, start and end with the first film.

What did Dadnology publish this week?

Reviews of Avatar (5/5), Avatar: The Way of Water (3/5) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (3/5), plus the Avatar movies in order guide; age guides for GTA 5 and Deadpool & Wolverine; the Dune: Part Three final trailer and Apple’s M6 Mac launch; the November LEGO, streaming and games picks; book-versus-show guides for Slow Horses and House of the Dragon; the Mick Herron reading order; and two Mac mini guides.