June 6, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy Allen & Unwin Australia) Romcom detractors, and honestly who stole your rose-eyed, happily romantic hearts and replaced with them stones, will tell you that once you’ve read one story in the story, you’ve read them all. But that dismissive assessment of an entire genre completely ignored the fact that Continue Reading

Movie review: Toy Story 5

(courtesy IMP Awards) Five instalments into any movie franchise is a point at which you might wonder if the novelty and fun of the original instalment has been lost or at least diluted beyond any meaningful recognition. It happens to the best of long-running series but rather happily the Toy Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #139: WILLOW, Dagny, Emei, Blossoms + Jude York … and Madonna’s Confessions II video

(via Shutterstock) If you’re anything like me, you don’t want pop that simply sounds good, though that is absolutely optimal, you want it to also say something meaningful too. So, sound and lyrics in perfect, compellingly listenable lockstep. These five songs, by a diverse array of artists, deliver just that, Continue Reading

UPCOMING READS: pop culture synergy fun as The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe

(courtesy Nerdist (c) Marvel) SNAPSHOTThe iconic heroes of the Marvel Universe will soon join forces with none other than Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and all the other Muppets. Coming in September is The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1, from a creative team that includes writers Chip Zdarsky, 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

It’s coming in HOT! Ice Age: Boiling Point fries up a sizzlingly funny teaser trailer

Deep TBR June book review: Love Overdue by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus (2025)