February 11, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(via Shutterstock) One of the things I love about indie films is the time they take to really tell a story. That’s not to say that more mainstream, blockbuster fare doesn’t, but smaller, more dramatic films like the three spotlighted here take the time to let the characters and narrative Continue Reading

Why is he in space? Behind-the-scene sneak peek of Project Hail Mary

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTAstronaut Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) awakens with no memory of himself or his mission. He deduces he is the sole survivor of a crew sent to the Tau Ceti solar system in search of a solution to a catastrophic event on Earth. In his search for answers, Continue Reading

Book review: Escape to Seahaven Bay by Nicola May

Recovering from great trauma is never easy. It’s there in the word really; “trauma” even sounds hard and brutal, and so it stands to reason, that moving on for it will not be quick, easy or trouble-free. For a book devoted to the wondrous idea of second chances, Escape to Continue Reading

The short and the short of it: What is life without social media? Quiet Life asks the question

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTA social media meltdown forces Geoffrey to reassess his life and values. Quiet Life was awarded the BAFTA for Short Form at the BAFTA Television Awards 2025. (courtesy BBC YouTube) You’re barely into the approximately 11-minute delight that is Quiet Life, directed by Rith Pickette to a screenplay Continue Reading

Movie review: She’s the He! #MGFF26

(courtesy IMDb) Identity cuts to the core of who we are as people. But for something so intrinsic to our sense of self and expression, identity is often twisted into all sorts of unrecognisable shapes by societal pressure, familial expectations, bullying and bigotry and even our personal journeys to figuring Continue Reading

Book review: Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive

(courtesy Hachette Australia) Reading, done right, is often a seismic trip to all kinds of extreme emotions. Often in the same book too, which is what Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive achieves with an effortless ease, reducing us to side-clutching bundles of laughter one minute before grabbing our heart, giving Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #134: Pattie Gonia & Imogen Heap, Qveen Herby & THOT Squad, Jacob Collier, Absolutely + Metric

(via Shutterstock) I love music … but I don’t just love any music. I want music with presence, the kind of music that strides forth with energised music, lyrics that don’t play cute and timid and produced by artists who want to say things in unforgettable ways. These five artists Continue Reading

Come on a wild adventure at camp … thoughts on Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical

(courtesy First Showing (c) AppleTV+) If you’re of a certain age, you will be well acquainted with how good Peanuts specials are for your heart, your mental health and your general sense of glowing wellbeing. Three of the most well-known of the 52 animated specials in existence are A Charlie Continue Reading

All the joy … K-Pops! and the hard work and happiness of second chances

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTMeet BJ (Anderson .Paak), a fish-out-of-water musician on the search for stardom carrying a bruised heart from a complicated past relationship. On his journey to revive his music career, BJ lands a gig with a house band in Seoul for a K-Pop competition show. While working on Continue Reading

Book review: Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) As ideals go, perfection has to be one of the most laughably impossible. Granted all ideals dance somewhere in the land of blue sky implausibility, cosily inspiring ideas that would be wondrously good if they made it from hope to actuality but which never quite manage Continue Reading

Movie review: Sketch

(courtesy IMP Awards) One of the things that you never realise about grief, until you are mired irrevocably in its desperately sad and regretful depths, is how powerless it makes you feel. On one level, of course, you know, especially when someone you love dies, that you can’t bring them Continue Reading

Joy to what’s left of the world … Thoughts on Fallout S2

A mini-mass of movie trailers: In the Blink of an Eye, Caterpillar + Tow