March 24, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy IMDb (c) ABC TV) When life begins to resemble a faint sparkle of its former sparkling promise and glow, the natural reaction is to withdraw from the people around you. It makes sense in one way; life has become too much to handle, and since people make up much Continue Reading

Book review: The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) What a marvellous creation, The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell is. Set for much of its intriguing and compelling storyline at the titular magical hotel in Switzerland, the novel is a richly intoxicating and moving exploration of how grief manifests in all kinds of ways, Continue Reading

Movie review: What is Love? (C’est quoi l’amour ?) #AFFFF26

(courtesy French Film Festival/Palace Cinemas) The end of romantic love is generally portrayed as a piece of cataclysmic, antagonistic trauma with hopes sullied, joy vanquished and that cost sense of belonging messily ripped asunder. In short, it is very much a Dickensian worst of times. But in What is Love? Continue Reading

A monstrously fun family adventure: Trailer debuts for Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTShaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween – until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns into mad scientist to help fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… Continue Reading

Book review: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

(courtesy Hachette Australia) The Emily Wilde trilogy by Heather Fawcett – read my reviews of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands and Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales – are a delight to read. Not only do they offer vividly imaginative escapism and an original Continue Reading

Way in over their heads: Phones ring and you answer in Big Mistakes

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTBig Mistakes is a crime comedy series created, co-written, and executive produced by Dan Levy alongside Rachel Sennott. The show follows two deeply incapable siblings, Nicky (Dan Levy) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who inadvertently become entangled in organized crime after a misguided theft intended to help their dying Continue Reading

Graphic novel review: Haru (Book 2) – Summer by Joe Latham

(courtesy Simon & Schuster) Heroes are often portrayed as larger than life, towering giants capable of great things and possessed of qualities we mere mortals can only hope to dream of. But in the 21st century particularly, another sort of hero has emerged, one which has feet of clay, human Continue Reading

Book review: You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) The multiverse, as the name suggests can accommodate many things but a place in which love can be renewed? Theoretically possible, true, since pretty much anything is in a sprawling assembly of endlessly diverse universes, but not exactly where you see Cupid doing his best work, Continue Reading

Oh my, see how they grow! Final thoughts on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy S1 (E4-10)

(courtesy IMP Awards) As I wrote the review for the first three episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, I was impressed by how sophisticated a show it was so early in the piece. There are a great many shows that wobble and stumble in their first season, showing promise and Continue Reading

Movie review: Leave One Day (Partir un Jour) #AFFFF26

(courtesy IMDb) Mixing the past and the present can always be a little awkward and more than a bit emotionally unsettling. But much of the time that’s not an issue for anyone, with the past and the present separated by a sizeable gap of years; that is, of course, until Continue Reading

Book review: This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Books have power, real, life-transforming, soul-restorative power. If you been a reader for any length of time, you will know this quite well, especially if, like this reviewer, reading got you through some quite harrowing parts of life where the real world was desperately unkind and Continue Reading