May 9, 2025 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy IMP Awards) Once as close to a sure thing as any blockbuster can be, Marvel’s prodigious output of epic superhero storytelling has stumbled more often than not over the last few years, offering up films that felt they were mere Xeroxes of the studio’s previous glories which, if you Continue Reading

Movie review: Thunderbolts*

Book review: Letters to our Robot Son by Cadance Bell

(courtesy Ultimo Press) I know, I know, I KNOW that you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (unless you’re part of a publishing company’s marketing team in which case that’s all you want to do). BUT, and in the case of Letters to our Robot Son by Continue Reading

Graphic novel review: I Heart Skull-Crusher! by Campbell/Zonno/De Santiago

(courtesy BOOM! STUDIOS) SNAPSHOT18-year-old Trini will do anything to compete in her favorite sport, Screaming Pain Ball, aspiring to the heights of her longtime hero Skull-Crusher! But she can’t do it alone, and a gaggle of misfits is just what she needs to cross the American wastes and battle in Continue Reading

“Let’s keep our distance… because someday, I’ll be flying off to space.” The push-and-pull of love in Lost in Starlight

(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOT“Don’t forget. Out here in space, there’s someone who’s always rooting for you.” In 2050 Seoul, astronaut Nan-young’s ultimate life goal is to visit Mars. ✨ But she fails the final test to onboard the fourth Mars Expedition Project. The musician Jay buries his dreams in a Continue Reading

Book review: Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells

(courtesy Tor Publishing Group) There have been more than a few stories of artificial lifeforms who have ended up being considerably more human than their creators. But is there anyone more human than the eponymous protagonist of this marvellous series by Martha Wells, a robot created to enforce, with extreme Continue Reading

“If it goes up in flames?” “It will burn”: Andor S2, E4-6 review

(courtesy IMP Awards) Star Wars: Andor is a superlatively impressive show on all kinds of levels but where it is really excelling in this humble reviewer’s opinion is the way in which it is deconstructing a host of romantic myths about what it means to be standing in defiant opposition Continue Reading

Dance your pain away with Mon Montha #StarWars #Maythe4thBeWithYou #Andor

(image courtesy IMP Awards) Star Wars: Andor, now four episodes into its second season, is a remarkable show in many ways. But one of the things that really sets it apart is the sheer raw humanity of many of the characters, best exemplified in the third episode, “Harvest”, where a Continue Reading

Road to Eurovision 2025 – Week 6 – Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Serbia (semi-final 2, part 3)

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

“I’m starting to think I am better at being in the closet.” Full trailer for Overcompensating

(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTA24 and MGM’s Overcompensating is a college-set ensemble comedy about the wild, chaotic journey of Benny, a closeted former football player and homecoming king, as he becomes fast friends with Carmen, a high school outsider on a mission to fit in at all costs. With guidance from Continue Reading

Book review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Watching a writer’s journey is often a gloriously fascinating thing. Going from an impressive debut to successive novels that build upon actual realisation and beguiling promise, many writers go from strength-to-strength, honing their talent and their gift for evocative wordsmithing into something that leaves you breathless Continue Reading