Going home, as in back to our home town the place where it all began, or in my case, began all over again after perfectly fine starts in two other places, is a fraught experience. In theory it shouldn’t be, especially if you have a family, like mine, with Continue Reading
It’s about time! New Doctor Who trailer ushers in an exciting new era
“Doctor Who and I are finished!” Or so I thought in the last two seasons of Steven Moffat’s blighted reign as ill-disciplined writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, a show that came alive in 2005 after being shelved in 1989, after a 26-year run that began in 1963. Continue Reading
Movie review: And Breathe Normally #QSFF18
The world has always been a cruel and unforgiving place in many respects. But lately, as the unceasing tide of refugees, climate change panic and economic malaise, among many other issues real or imagined, has led to some sort of collective panic, people have begun, in a way unique Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: My 10 favourite sci-fi film posters
I know they say, and honestly aren’t “they” busy issuing edicts left, right and centre, that you should never judge a book by it cover, or a sci-fi film by its poster. (OK, the second thing is totally something I made up – am I “they” then? Who can Continue Reading
Comics review: RuinWorld (issues 1-3)
Going on an adventure is generally a good thing. But not it appears in RuinWorld by Derek Laufman, where cities are few and declining, brigands abound, artifacts are scarce and worth their magical weight in gold, and not if you’re Rex, a half cat/half fox Ruin Hunter who is Continue Reading
Can you tell a compelling character story without an arc? Turns out you can
SNAPSHOT A common piece of writing advice is that your main character must have a character arc. Today, I take a look at a number of well-regarded films where the main characters never change, and why these stories are still compelling. (synopsis via Laughing Squid (c) Sage Hyden) As Continue Reading
Book review: Less by Andrew Sean Greer
We are captives of our calendars. How else to explain the way looming dates, particularly those for major life events, send us into a flurry of activity and anxiety, a maelstrom of hoping and wishing, planning and organising that in the end, Shakespeare be paraphrased, amount to nothing? Or Continue Reading
Mass of movie trailers – Stan & Ollie, Captain Marvel, Prospect, Ralph Breaks the Internet
So many films, so little fun and yet these three films, all utterly different in their own ways, make you want to find all the time in the world to see them. And so, of course, I will. Granted I am trying to stick to just one movie a Continue Reading
Rip’d from the pages of my childhood: Miffy by Dick Bruna
Dick Bruna, creator of Miffy, died at the age of 89 in February 2017. That might seem like a brutal way to begin an homage to one of the children’s books series, and characters, I treasured most as a child, but the truth is his death rattled me far Continue Reading
Solo: A Star Wars Story – off to hyperspace (and digital + Blu-ray release) we go!
When it comes to Star Wars, and more specifically, Solo: A Star Wars Story, I am more than happy to nail my galactics colours to the mast. I loved this film; as in really, immensely, absolutely enjoyed it. Many didn’t, and I respect it even if I don’t understand Continue Reading