July 10, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

As origin stories go, the one that belongs to Santa Claus is a doozy. Drawn from a host of different European traditions, embellished by one Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century and prettied up with fetching red and a convivial air courtesy of a soda maker in the 20th, Santa Continue Reading

Get ready for the epic conclusion … Dune: Part Three full trailer drops

(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTAs Emperor of the known universe, Paul possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within Continue Reading

Movie review: Supergirl

(courtesy IMP Awards) One of the modern unsettling aspects of modern moviegoing is being caught in the often violently opinionated of dissenting opinions online. Run of the mill reviews aren’t the problem there; they’re often on the mark and they give you a reasonably cohesive consensus of whether a film Continue Reading

Bring on the mystical hedgehog! Chickenhare & Secret of the Groundhog sets out to save the world (poster + trailer)

SNAPSHOTHaving embraced his difference as what makes him special, nothing can stop Chickenhare from exploring the world with his sidekicks Meg, a martial arts expert skunk, and Abe, a sarcastic turtle. An unexpected encounter with Gina, his sister, radically changes his plans. Chickenhare is not the only one of his Continue Reading

There’s more life out there … it appears we’re Not Alone

(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTIn his first-ever feature-length animated film, 4-time Oscar-nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic who lives a quiet life alone. Co-starring with Chalamet in this story is Selena Gomez who plays Fran, a brilliant astro-botanist who is developing the world’s first-ever plant-fueled rocket. When Continue Reading

Christmas in July redux: Music review: Snow Waltz by Lindsey Stirling

This review was first published 9 December 2022. Christmas is supposed to be a thousand good and wonderfully light-as-air, joyously uplifting things. And while it often is – all that tree trimming, laughing with friends and brightness of decoration can only make you feel like a million festive bucks – Continue Reading

Christmas in July book review: Christmas on the Isle of Skye by Kirsty Ferry

Zac Fallon and Ivy McFarlane have a problem. They haven’t declared their undying love for each other to each other, what with suppressing how they really feel and not wanting to risk looking like a fool or deciding that a onetime dream of a goal trumps present bliss and happiness, Continue Reading

Christmas in July redux: Retro festive movie review: White Christmas

(courtesy IMP Awards) This review was first published Christmas Eve 2023 Returning to a much-loved Christmas classic many years after it was last watched is an interesting exercise. Our minds are fiendishly clever things but one of the interesting dynamics they employ is to appropriate snatches of a plot in Continue Reading

Christmas in July book review: Home Again for Christmas by Emily Stone

(courtesy Hachette Australia) When you have been hurt deeply, traumatically so, it’s understandable, especially if you’re a child and your ability to process the level and type of hurt isn’t yet developed enough to think it all through, to recoil and withdraw from whatever hurt you. Distance, we think, is Continue Reading

Movie review: Minions & Monsters

(courtesy IMP Awards) There’s a glorious sense of escapist release that comes from watching the Minions in action. They are, despite all their efforts to serve the greatest evil down throughout history and to do so with single-minded determination, as klutzy and ridiculous silly as they come, and while some Continue Reading

Christmas 2026 book preview: Stay Another Christmas by Phillipa Ashley

(courtesy Phillipa Ashley email) SNAPSHOTThe perfect festive Lake District escape from bestselling author Phillipa Ashley. After a life-changing accident, Katie’s plan for Christmas is simple: rent a spectacular island house in the Lake District, gather the people she loves, and enjoy snowy walks, crackling fires and the promise of a Continue Reading