November 21, 2020 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

When you’re growing up, figuring out who you are and how the people around you matter is not always a straightforward exercise. It should be, on paper at least, a slam dunk that you would love your mother since she, in all likelihood very much loves you back but in Continue Reading

A meet-cute snippet of Elemental … and some fun international character posters too

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTIn a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. [Elemental] features the voice talents of Leah Lewis as Ember; Mamoudou Athie as Wade; Continue Reading

New dinosaurs. New habitats. New season. Thoughts on Prehistoric Planet S2

(courtesy IMP awards) Dinosaurs, and indeed any kind of prehistoric life, have long held a fascination for many people including this reviewer who, like many kids his age, loved playing ancient animal games with toys of T-rex, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Reading about the latest discoveries and absorbing how weirdly wonderful Continue Reading

Loved ones, addiction and the struggle to Stay Awake

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTIn the debut feature, STAY AWAKE, by writer-director Jamie Sisley, brothers Ethan (Wyatt Oleff) and Derek (Fin Argus) try their best to navigate the pressures of teenage life while tending to their mother’s (Chrissy Metz) debilitating prescription drug addiction. Based on the filmmaker’s adolescence in small-town America, Stay Continue Reading

Book review: The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) There are those books that you read that are beautifully written, lovely and sweet, full of great characters and a pleasingly wrought plot that leave nary a mark upon you emotionally; and then there are novels like The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer which Continue Reading

Retro movie review: The Day After Tomorrow

(courtesy IMP Awards) It turns out that the old adage that you get different things out of a film depending on in which stage of life you watch it is actually quite true. It makes sense since time does tend to change perspective and thoughtful consideration and even emotional response Continue Reading

Dance the (choreographed) night away! Barbie drops a weirdly wonderful new trailer

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTBarbie is an upcoming romantic comedy film based on the eponymous fashion doll line by Mattel and directed by Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. It serves as the franchise’s first live-action film adaptation after a number of computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming TV films Continue Reading

Sitcom round-up! The Big Door Prize, (S1, E8-10) Ted Lasso (S3, E7-10), Not Dead Yet (S1, E11-13) + Schimgadoon! (Schmicago – S2, E6)

THE BIG DOOR PRIZE (S1, E8-10) We all want our lives to mean something. Go on, admit it, of course you do; no one wants to just bumble through life and do the barely noticed minimum but everything from life circumstances over which we have no control to a necessary Continue Reading

Comic strip review: MUTT’s Walking Home by Patrick McDonnell

(courtesy Andrews McMeel Books) One of the reasons you read a well-written and beautifully drawn comic strip is to spend time with characters you love. Sure, it helps if they look appealing and they’re funny and the world they inhabit is one you wouldn’t mind being a part of too, Continue Reading

Something’s in the air: Strange New Worlds drops a dazzlingly adventurous S2 trailer

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTIn Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, confronts increasingly dangerous stakes, explores uncharted territories and encounters new life and civilizations. The crew will also embark on personal journeys that will continue to Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #87: Kylie Minogue, Netta, Hemlocke Springs, Dreamer Isioma + Grimes … and more Eurovision 2023 aftermath

(Photo by FPVmat A on Unsplash) You want music that sounds like it will playing in your head for days, weeks, months, and quite possibly, years? How about if it’s produced by artists with a distinctive look, sound and sense of musically artistically self? Also good right? What about if Continue Reading

Retro movie review: Speed

Movie review: Days of the Bagnold Summer