For a fable of galactic proportions, Star Wars has never been afraid to confront the realities of war or the destructive excesses of absolute power. The destruction of Alderaan in A New Hope or the freezing of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in carbonate in The Empire Strikes Back are Continue Reading
On 8th day of Christmas … I listened to Wonderland by Sarah McLachlan
There is an exquisite beauty to Sarah McLachlan’s voice no matter what she is singing. Frankly she could sing her way through the tax code and I daresay it would sound heavenly. Thankfully she has chosen to channel her beautifully emotive voice to delivering up 11 new Christmas tracks Continue Reading
Book review: Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
We’ve all heard a celebrity say at one time or another that they are just like us – they have to pay bills, look after the kids, run errands, and deal with getting stuck in traffic. But, of course we all know that their lives are nothing like ours, buffered Continue Reading
On 7th day of Christmas … I watched Office Christmas Party
Office Christmas Party wants to be funny. Desperately, festively, stick-everything-into-the-script-that-isn’t-nailed-down funny. And yet for all the (usually) luminously hilarious comedic talent hired, staging of over-the-top Christmas festivities and provocative posturing – allusions to a Human Centipede in the mens’ room anyone? No? Good choice – the film consistently fails to Continue Reading
Air New Zealand wants you to come walking in a SUMMER wonderland!
As a Christmas romantic, the great disparity between the traditional northern hemisphere visual look of Christmas and the much warmer southern hemisphere reality has never troubled me too much. Sure there are some people who rile at the idea of celebrating sleigh rides, winter wonderlands and chestnuts roasting over Continue Reading
On 6th day of Christmas … I re-watched the Eight is Enough episode “Yes Nicholas, There Is A Santa Claus”
If you have ever lost someone you love, and sadly it’s highly likely that you have, you will be painfully aware that their death is never the end of your grieving. Not by a long shot. Every time a major event comes up like their birthday, a significant anniversary Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: “Hearts Still Beating” (S7, E8 review)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AD MORE OF NEGAN’S POINTLESS, NASTY POSTURING … OH, AND WATER ZOMBIES! This is the end, my friend, the friends and yet as we draw to a mid-season 7 close, you can’t help feeling that it’s just the beginning. You see, after being bullied, harassed and Continue Reading
On 5th day of Christmas … I listened to Amy Grant’s new Christmas album
It would be a rare person indeed who would describe Christmas as a quiet, reflective time of the year. But there’s something about Amy Grant’s fourth Christmas offering – it follows 1983’s A Christmas Album, and A Home For Christmas and A Christmas to Remember (both 1990s releases) – that Continue Reading
Now this is music festive chill: Jai Wolf, ECHOS, Jordan Rakei, NxWorries, Whilk and Misty
So you’ve been busy, what with decking the halls, falalalalalalalala-ing and watching chestnuts roast on an open fire – not to mention all those sleigh rides and worrying about how cold it is outside – and things don’t look like slowing too soon. Behold the festive stress reducer – Continue Reading
Star Wars goes Rogue – but will this risky move backfire? (curated article)
Peter Allen, University of Melbourne Star Wars: The Force Awakens left audiences desperate to know WWLS? (What Will Luke Say?) But fans will be waiting quite some time to find out. The new film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens in Australia on December 15, does not Continue Reading