June 5, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy IMP Awards) The 21st century is not exactly a laughfest of goofy silliness. That’s been obvious for quite some time but when you compare it to the ’70s and ’80s when all kinds of fabulous strangeness was not only play but exuberantly celebrated, it feels very grim and serious Continue Reading

132 rooms. 157 suspects. 1 Dead Body: thoughts on The Residence

(courtesy IMP Awards) I know it’s become exhaustingly cliche to say your late to the party on something because surely storytelling, viral sensationalism aside which is hideously transitory, but in the case of The Residence I am absolutely very much way behind the curve. Now, while it’s unlikely my tardy, Continue Reading

Deep TBR June book review: The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (2020)

(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) While we are all familiar with the slow and steady march of time, inexorably changing everything in small and big ways, it’s those dramatic, one-moment-in-time events which change everything in the blink of an eye which probably make more of an impact. One minute life is Continue Reading

Was it really the end for everyone? Pompeii: Out of time with Tom Hiddleston

(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTHost and Loki star Tom Hiddleston and Loki executive producer Kevin R. Wright reunite for the series, a fusion of cinematic scripted drama and investigative documentary storytelling that transports audiences to ancient Rome in the hours before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Guided by a team of Continue Reading

Deep TBR June book review: All the Beautiful Things You Love by Jonathan Seidler

(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) How do you get over a broken heart? Especially one ten years in the making? It’s a question with a huge and open-ended answer, an unwelcome one that Elly has to grapple with when her boyfriend of ten years and husband of less than a year Continue Reading

“There’s too much at stake…” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds drops a brilliant new trailer

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTIn Season 4, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise — led by Captain Christopher Pike — embarks on a series of thrilling & emotional adventures across the stars. As they journey to strange new worlds, they’ll battle inner demons & external threats, encounter colorful new characters, reunite Continue Reading

Deep TBR June book review: I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore (2023)

(courtesy Allen & Unwin Australia) As a content writer by trade and a reader of 55 years standing or so, I am a huge fan of writing that sings and comes alive, of words fairly dancing off the page and not simply impressing the mind but filling the heart with Continue Reading

Movie review: Disclosure Day

(courtesy IMP Awards) As mysteries go, and yes, the world appears to be full of them contrary to all appearances, the huge question about whether aliens exists, and even more pertinently in the case of this review, whether they have visited us, is a BIG one. People debate it endlessly, Continue Reading

“Everyone thinks teenage relationships don’t last” … but what if they do, asks Heartstopper Forever

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTHeartstopper Forever, written by Oseman and based on the highly anticipated final installment of their graphic novel series, bids farewell to a group of friends who have won viewers’ hearts since the series debuted in 2022. “Heartstopper starts like a fairy tale and a bit idealistic, in Continue Reading

You’re invited to a strange new community … thoughts on The Boroughs

(courtesy IMP Awards) Any time a streaming series subverts expectations it’s a very good thing. While there’s nothing wrong of course coming straight out and delivering what it says it’s going to since sometimes all we need is uncomplicated narrative certainty, having a series take its initial, obvious premise and Continue Reading

Deep TBR June book review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (2025)

(Pan Macmillan Australia) Somewhere back in the dim dark days of my youth, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the world wasn’t ending at the hands of several hundred disparate and palpable threats, I was heavily into crime fiction. To be more exact, the books of Agatha Christie which my Continue Reading

Movie review: Masters of the Universe

Songs, songs and more songs #137: Emei, METTE, MARIS, Scratching + Holly Humberstone