I am always in two minds about sequels for novels (and honestly, all sorts of storytelling but given this is a book review, let’s stick with books for now). When I love a story and the characters in it, and that’s happens a lot given the ridiculously empathetic soul that Continue Reading
Christmas in July music review redux: Put Up Your Lights by The Bird and the Bee
If anyone can make something beautiful out of something chaotic and terrible, it is the mesmerisingly good duo that is The Bird and the Bee, made up of singer Inara George and producer Greg Kurstin. Their latest collaboration, Put Your Lights Up was put together during a year when a Continue Reading
Christmas in July book review: A Country Christmas by Veronica Henry
(courtesy Hachette Australia) Christmas is, we are constantly assured, supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But sometimes that feeling of perfect wonder doesn’t arrive at all, or it’s so late in making an appearance that you can begin to wonder if it’s ever going to turn Continue Reading
Christmas in July movie review redux: A Boy Called Christmas
As origin stories go, the one that belongs to Santa Claus is a doozy. Drawn from a host of different European traditions, embellished by one Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century and prettied up with fetching red and a convivial air courtesy of a soda maker in the 20th, Santa Continue Reading
Get ready for the epic conclusion … Dune: Part Three full trailer drops
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTAs Emperor of the known universe, Paul possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within Continue Reading
Movie review: Supergirl
(courtesy IMP Awards) One of the modern unsettling aspects of modern moviegoing is being caught in the often violently opinionated of dissenting opinions online. Run of the mill reviews aren’t the problem there; they’re often on the mark and they give you a reasonably cohesive consensus of whether a film Continue Reading
Bring on the mystical hedgehog! Chickenhare & Secret of the Groundhog sets out to save the world (poster + trailer)
SNAPSHOTHaving embraced his difference as what makes him special, nothing can stop Chickenhare from exploring the world with his sidekicks Meg, a martial arts expert skunk, and Abe, a sarcastic turtle. An unexpected encounter with Gina, his sister, radically changes his plans. Chickenhare is not the only one of his Continue Reading
There’s more life out there … it appears we’re Not Alone
(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTIn his first-ever feature-length animated film, 4-time Oscar-nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic who lives a quiet life alone. Co-starring with Chalamet in this story is Selena Gomez who plays Fran, a brilliant astro-botanist who is developing the world’s first-ever plant-fueled rocket. When Continue Reading
Christmas in July redux: Music review: Snow Waltz by Lindsey Stirling
This review was first published 9 December 2022. Christmas is supposed to be a thousand good and wonderfully light-as-air, joyously uplifting things. And while it often is – all that tree trimming, laughing with friends and brightness of decoration can only make you feel like a million festive bucks – Continue Reading
Christmas in July book review: Christmas on the Isle of Skye by Kirsty Ferry
Zac Fallon and Ivy McFarlane have a problem. They haven’t declared their undying love for each other to each other, what with suppressing how they really feel and not wanting to risk looking like a fool or deciding that a onetime dream of a goal trumps present bliss and happiness, Continue Reading