(courtesy IMP Awards) While Only Murders in the Building is all about getting to the bottom of the titular murderous mystery, and that indeed happens in the final four episodes of this wonderful show’s fifth season, what has always made it compelling viewing is the way it focuses on the Continue Reading
Happy 40th release anniversary: Back to the Future #AndyAt60
(courtesy IMP Awards) Sticking classic movies back in the cinema has become quite the cinematic catnip for those of us who saw the originals way back in the day when they weren’t confined solely to small streaming screens and home theatre systems. While we’ve all become accustomed, for better or Continue Reading
Book review: The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) A creatively outrageous premise is nothing new in storytelling; the very best narratives in the hands of masterful writers thrive on them and well executed, they can elevate a story in a trope-heavy genre into something magically alive and vivaciously original. Case very much in point Continue Reading
He’s found a new home … Paddington the Musical
(courtesy Paddington the Musical) Is there such a thing as too much Paddington Bear? Well, of course not, what a very strange thing to even contemplate! The truth is we can never have enough of Michael Bond’s wondrously sweet and insightful creation who has found heartwarming expression in 29 books Continue Reading
Movie review: Predator: Badlands
(courtesy IMP Awards) When you’re a pop culture junkie, one of the most satisfying things imaginable is when a threadbare but entertaining franchise embarks, sometimes decades in the making, on super substantial world-building and elaborate exposition, enlarging and enriching its storytelling in the process. It can take a franchise that Continue Reading
Book review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) There’s a good reason the enemies-to-love trope is so prevalent in romantic literature. While we all accept on some level that not everyone will like us and that conflict is all inevitable despite our best efforts, there’s a deep-rooted part of us that wants to believe Continue Reading
Sunny days are back again for Sesame Street as it debuts on its new home
(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOT‘Season 56 reimagines Sesame Street, inviting children into the action and bringing them hand-in-hand through high-stakes stories, powerful learning moments, and laugh-out-loud surprises. And, as always, Sesame Street’s curriculum is designed to meet children’s most pressing needs — so our focus this season is on kindness and Continue Reading
We’re so back … Thoughts on Nobody Wants This S2
(courtesy IMP Awards) It will surprise precisely no one that relationships are HARD. But, asks Nobody Wants This in its brilliant second season, does it have to be this hard? Exactly what level of hard is acceptable sits out in the landscape of the nebulous and oblique and one of Continue Reading
Book review: Frankie by J. M. Gutsch and Maxim Leo
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) If you have ever travelled through the valley of the shadow of death of grief – and yes, that is some prime-grade Psalms-level language there but being plunged into grief often feels quite Biblical – you will know that it feels like it is sucking all Continue Reading
Retro Christmas movie review: Haul Out the Holly
(courtesy IMDb) There’s a strange disconnect that can emerge when you’re consuming festively themed pop culture – for instance, you might be perfectly fine with reading endlessly escapist, coincidence-full rom-com novels but find their Hallmark equivalents to be a Christmassy bridge too far. You know there’s a strange kind of Continue Reading