(via Shutterstock) As an artform, animation promises so much and often delivers even more. Not constrained by the bounds of physics or probability, animated creations can tell all kinds of unlikely and heartfelt stories, fuelled by vibrant imagination and clever inventiveness, and immerse us in worlds we might never have Continue Reading
Peace out, virgins! Thoughts on Never Have I Ever season 4
(courtesy IMP Awards) We are a curious concoction. We spend out the growing up part of our lives looking forward to the adult part of being alive, convinced that this transition will be the thing that defines and makes us, that will confirm that everything we’ve done up to that Continue Reading
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? (No, not you, Dug!) Carl’s Date short gets a trailer
(courtesy Twitter (c) Pixar / Disney) SNAPSHOTThis year, Pixar Animation Studios resumes the magical moviegoing tradition of pairing their feature film with an animated short—like 2018’s Oscar®-winning Bao that accompanied Incredibles 2 in theaters [sic]. Releasing in front of Elemental is a new short that catches up with Carl Fredricksen Continue Reading
Book review: Infinity Gate: Book One of the Pandominion by M. R. Carey
(courtesy Hachette Australia) Talk of the multiverse is everywhere these days. It’s partly based on reports of new and emerging science but it’s driven, you have to suspect, by the fact that our own world is diving headfirst, driven by inaction over climate change and extreme political machinations, into the Continue Reading
Retro movie review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(courtesy IMP Awards) Watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it’s easy to use how it could have all gone very wrong. This is a film that has the bravura and escapist blockbuster fun Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but which also goes dark, very Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Out of time adventures continue with Paper Girls V 3 & 4 by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Cliff Chiang (artist)
And this, ladies and gentlemen and non-binary figures from an indeterminate future, is why we can’t have nice things. Specifically, time travel. Almost from the moment Qanta Braunstein, born on the very auspicious day of 25 November 2016 – it’s the birth day, if not year, of this reviewer and Continue Reading
Once more to the whimsically heartfelt frozen opposite of south: The Great North (S2, E11-22)
A lot of modern animated shows are very clever creations indeed. BoJack Horseman, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, King of the Hill and Archer are just five examples in a brilliantly inspired slates of shows that manage to bring together vividly-realised characters in all their authentically fallible glory, narratives that are Continue Reading
Book review: The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street by Marlish Glorie
(courtesy Fremantle Press) There are times in our lives, many times in our lives in fact, when waving a magic wand to make trenchant issues simply disappear is a very appealing option. Unfortunately outside of Harry Potter films, wands are not in general, everyday use and problems usually have to Continue Reading
Times they are a-changing: Thoughts on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 3)
Plunging yourself into a show created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and then executive produced by her and her collaborator/husband Daniel is one of life’s truly great pleasures. Happy to pack a thousand words in where most people speak a hundred, shows like the Gilmore Girls, Bunheads, and currently The Marvelous Mrs. Continue Reading
Book review: Cat Lady by Dawn O’Porter
(courtesy Harper Collins Publishers Australia) Life is all about playing parts. That’s not to say that’s healthy, unless of course you’re an actor in which case have at it and then some, but the reality is that, for a whole of reasons, many of us spend our days unconsciously being Continue Reading