November 9, 2024 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy IMP Awards) STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS S5, E1-3 How marvellous is this animated Star Trek show? It’s cleverly written, managing to adroitly balance sparklingly full characterisation, imaginative plots and balancing affectionate parody of the franchise with some serious sci-fi cred. The only downer in this whole heady mix of Continue Reading

This is the end, my globe-trotting, spy drama loving friend, the end: Mission Impossible – Final Dropping drops a trailer

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTA continuation of the iconic Mission: Impossible series following Ethan Hunt formerly of the IMF, and the conclusion following Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). Paramount Pictures and Skydance Present, A Tom Cruise Production. “Our lives are the sum of our choices.” Tom Cruise is Continue Reading

Festive movie review: Meet Me Next Christmas

(courtesy IMP Awards) Have you ever fired up a promising movie on a streaming platform, especially a festive one, only to find that it disappoints at every turn? Of course you have – it’s what watching most Netflix movies feels like alas, and while hope springs to eternal and all Continue Reading

Book review: Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Upending your life and chasing your dreams is almost always seen as a good thing. And that’s because there is something delightfully energising and impelling about kicking off the shackles of the status quo, particularly a toxic one, and see what lies out there in the Continue Reading

Festive preview: The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTIn the film, St Nick (voiced by Gerard Butler) receives a delayed letter on Christmas Eve from the Princess of Hearts. He and his dedicated team of reindeer set off to Wonderland, where they’re greeted by the mean and miserable Queen of Hearts, who hates all things Christmas… Continue Reading

We laughed and laughed and … Star Trek: Lower Decks S5, E1-3, Shrinking S2, E3-5 and Frasier S2, E7-8 + further thoughts on E6 (reviews)

A mini-mass of movie trailers: Beyond the Wasteland, The Electric State + Sweethearts

(via Shutterstock) I need popcorn! And choc tops! Perhaps even a big bag of lollies (candy)! And if I am having all of that valuable nutritional intake, then I also need some movies to watch them with which is handy because … here are some movies! You’re welcome … Beyond Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #116: New songs from Eurovision’s class of 2024 – Nemo, Angelina Mango, Silvester Belt, Raiven + Baby Lasagna

(via Shutterstock) Some 163 million people around the world watched the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. That’s a lot of eager viewers and a brilliant way for any artist to get their name out there and raise their profile worldwide. But all of the personal brand building can come to nothing Continue Reading

Preview book review: The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Preview copy provided by Angry Robot Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Way Up is Death publishes 14 2025 in UK and 4 March 2025 in Australia. Reading a book is a rarely a surface-level experience. While Continue Reading

It’s Christmas! The most wonderful time of the year … or is it the Breakup Season?

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTUnemployed yet ambitious 24-year-old Ben Russell (Chandler Riggs) brings his girlfriend named Cassie ( Samantha Isler ) to his rural Oregon hometown to meet his family and celebrate Christmas. The arrival is bumpy. The family’s dynamic unearths internal conflict Cassie is having with Ben. The night they Continue Reading

Caught between competing priorities: Thoughts on English Teacher

(courtesy IMP Awards) Walking into a streaming series of a perceived idea of what it is, and then finding out it is that but so much more, is one of the great delights of plunging into this sort of binge-happy storytelling. If you are to watch the trailer, and we Continue Reading