July 30, 2023 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy Sourcebooks Casablanca) When it comes to Christmas novels, and really many forms of festive storytelling, the much observed truism that there is nothing new under the sun is well and truly borne out. That’s not necessarily a criticism since those of us who love the season love the tropes Continue Reading

Graphic novel review: Void Rivals Vol. 1 More Than Meets the Eye by Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici and Matheus Lopes

(courtesy Image Comics) Storytelling universes are very much in vogue in Hollywood at the moment. The most well-known and most successful of the lot of them is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there are a great many far less successful pretenders to the throne including the D.C. Comics take on Continue Reading

The world deserves a better ending: Thoughts on Fallout

(courtesy IMP Awards) Apocalypses are not generally laugh-out-loud affairs, what with all the death, destruction, end of civilisation hanging over everything and such, and Fallout, based on the role-playing video game of the same name, is not, for the most part an exception. Set roughly two hundred or so years Continue Reading

Book review: Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

(courtesy Allen & Unwin) No one wants to think they’re a terrible person. If we’re honest, we all want to be the hero, the saviour, the flawlessly giving and selfless person that people laud and talk about with breathless wonder, someone people want to be friends with and love and Continue Reading

Road to Eurovision 2024: Week 6 – Malta, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland (Semi final 2, part 3) + Eurovision stage revealed!

What is the Eurovision Song Contest?Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open to Continue Reading

Off to the movies we go! Enjoy the trailers for Summer Camp and Cora Bora

(via Shutterstock) Movies that combine a sense of escapist fun and some meaningful, if light, explorations of love and humanity are always just what this cinema doctor ordered. This time around there are not one but two movies on offer, both of which diversionarily delightful and guaranteed to put a Continue Reading

Book review: Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

(courtesy Hachette Australia) Working out when you should walk away from something you love is always tough. The reason you’ve stuck out a particular gig for so long is the very thing that keeps you anchored there, and while longevity of occupation in a particular place or occupation doesn’t always Continue Reading

“I don’t know anything about saving worlds, but you do!” Trailer and posters drop for Deadpool & Wolverine

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTDeadpool will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wolverine. Or will he?! The third movie in the Deadpool franchise, Deadpool & Wolverine, formerly known as just Deadpool 3, is directed by the American producer / filmmaker Shawn Levy, director of many movies including Just Continue Reading

The short and the short of it: The reality-bending truth of Regular Rabbit

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTThe good name of a seemingly regular rabbit falls victim to an unstoppable tide of disinformation. [YouTube intro] This Regular Rabbit short is created and 3D-animated and written and directed by animation filmmaker Eoin Duffy – originally from Ireland, now based in Vancouver, BC. You can see more Continue Reading

Comics review: Dunce – Arctic Tales by Jens K Styve

(courtesy & (c) official Jens K Styve site) Discovering a new gold standard comic strip is always a rare and precious joy. While there are a lot of very good comic strips out there, few merit a “drop everything and look here!” response with this reviewer’s attention only being seized Continue Reading

Star Trek: Discovery S5 review: Episodes 3 (“Jinaal”) and 4 (“Face the Strange”)

(courtesy IMP Awards) EPISODE 3: “Jinaal” While treasure hunts are lots of fun and give a competitively frenetic sheen to birthday parties and even weekends away with friends, they’re not the most efficient way to find things. But then, a party host is not trying to fill a streaming season’s Continue Reading

#ChristmasInJuly special review redux: Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas

#ChristmasInJuly book review: There’s Something About Merry (Mistletoe Romance #2) by Codi Hall