The world is rather neatly divided into two groups of people – those who hate Christmas with a passion and would rather be flayed alive by an invading army than sing “Joy to the World” or eat a fruit mince pie, and those who, like Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk (and Continue Reading
Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas: A #ChristmasInJuly review
Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas is very much an underrated Christmas classic. Released just under a decade ago on the most auspicious day of 25 November (this reviewer’s birthday), the 22-minute Hallmark animated special nails its happily quasi-seditious colours to the flag early on with a title hat screams playfulness Continue Reading
A grand whodunnit through time and space: Thoughts on Loki
Character is king, queen, lord, lady and any other top of the heap appellation you might dream up when it comes to storytelling. You can have your bangs and your booms, your breathtaking action sequences with the dial up as high as it’ll go and your full speed ahead, pedal Continue Reading
Comics review: Snoopy – A Beagle of Mars (based on the comic strip, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz)
When it comes to keeping a vital and beloved set of characters alive and relevant to a whole new generation, the family of Charles M. Schulz, who sadly passed away in 2000, have done a superlative job. They have managed to keep Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the rest of Continue Reading
It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World … or is it? The sobering teaser trailer for Y: The Last Man
SNAPSHOTBased on DC Comics’ acclaimed series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man traverses a post-apocalyptic world in which a cataclysmic event decimates every mammal with a Y chromosome but for one cisgender man and his pet monkey. The series follows the survivors in this new Continue Reading
Book review: Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
There is something gloriously, wondrously good about having a space opera take you racing across the heavens in heady pursuit of power, fame, treasures or other eg-burnishing existential bauble. It is even better when said space opera is superbly written with tightly intricate plotting, well thought-out and realised characters and Continue Reading
Growing up is a beast: Pixar’s Turning Red releases teaser trailer + poster
SNAPSHOTTurning Red will be led by young actress Rosalie Chiang as she lends her voice to Mei Lee, a 13-year-old who suddenly “poofs” into a giant red panda when she gets too excited. Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) voices Mei Lee’s protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming, who is never Continue Reading
Movie review: Black Widow
If there is one glaring side effect of the current surfeit of Marvel films now out in an increasingly superhero-overwhelmed world, although to be fair Black Widow is the first release in the MCU since July 2019 (Spiderman: Far From Home), it’s that everything is starting to merge together into Continue Reading
What dreams may not come: Mr Corman explores the tension between aspiration and reality
SNAPSHOTFrom writer, director, executive producer, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, Inception, Don Jon), “Mr. Corman” follows the days and nights of Josh Corman, an artist at heart but not by trade. Things haven’t been going his way lately – his lifelong dream of a career in music Continue Reading
The best endings are Atypical: Thoughts on the final season
Figuring out who you are and what you want to do are two of the big asks when you’re edging ever closer to adulthood. With school drawing to a close, and the grown-up world beckoning, a tremendous amount of pressure comes to bear on young adults to get life sorted, Continue Reading