August 26, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

This novel was mostly read at Kalimna, Yeranda Cottages, Main Creek (Dungog) NSW, August 2026 Secrets can usually only stay secrets for so long. Somehow, some way, what was holding them in place far away from public gaze and collective knowledge corrodes and falls away and the truth outs, unable Continue Reading

A trio of triumphantly tantalising trailers: Whalefall, The Cat in the Hat and Below

(via Shutterstock) How can you not love going to the movies? Look at the dazzling variety in these three films alone – a gripping if fantastical thriller, a garrulously chaotic animated delight based on an iconic Dr Seuss book and some seriously Halloween adjacent supernatural goings-on in an otherwise ordinary Continue Reading

Sci-fi September book review: Massif by Garth Nix

(courtesy Allen & Unwin – Australia) One of the reasons this reviewer loves science fiction is because at its heart, it is devoted to exploring, thinking through and celebrating big ideas; woven into its storytelling DNA is an impelling need to peek behind the curtain, to wonder why things are Continue Reading

Italian Film Festival movie review: Life is Life (La vita va così)

(courtesy IMDb) If there’s one thing audiences love, it’s a David vs. Goliath tale. In the real world, we sigh inwardly and rail with quiet fury, and often not-so-quiet fury, at the gross injustices of companies not paying tax and in effect screwing over the public they serve, fascistic politicians Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #142: Rose Gray, Violet Days, Slayyyter, almost monday + Cherry Bomb … plus ABBA’s most and least streamed songs

(via Shutterstock) Songs are made to make us feel something, the more emphatically the better. Whether it’s the music or the lyrics or a delicious combo of the two, the right song can make you feel, think, move and look at life, or at least a part of it, from Continue Reading

“I decide when I return!” Haunted Hotel S2 drops teaser trailer for October 9 return

(courtesy YouTube (c) Netflix) SNAPSHOTA single mother tries to run the world’s most haunted hotel with her ghost brother, two kids, a demon trapped in a little boy’s body, and an ever growing collection of ghosts, monsters, and supernatural disasters. Haunted Hotel features the voices of Will Forte (Nathan), Eliza Coupe (Katherine), Skyler Gisondo (Ben), Natalie Palamides (Esther) and Jimmi Continue Reading

Is it too late to be me? … Thoughts on Lucky

(courtesy IMDb) A protagonist with a heart of gold trapped in a world of dubious intention and darkly self-serving execution is a mainstay of storytelling; there’s something innately appealing about someone who has been exposed to the worst of humanity and yet somehow has emerged innocent and pure of heart, Continue Reading

Sci-fi September book review: The Traveler by Joseph Eckert

(courtesy Macmillan Publishers) One of the marks of an exceptionally good writer is the ability to take a story steeped in a fantastical premise, one ripe with all kinds of imaginative possibility and to do something impactfully meaningful with it. It’s a real art; lean too hard into the fantastical, Continue Reading

Aliens and foxes and a journey across the cosmos: The Saga of Rex trailer

(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTA little fox. A flying saucer. An alien world. A journey that will change his life forever. Abducted from his home and taken across the cosmos, Rex is paired with a mysterious being named Aven and forced to face a series of extraordinary trials. As they struggle Continue Reading

Wocka Wocka! It’s The Muppet Show’s 50th anniversary!!!

(courtesy IMDb (c) Jim Henson Productions) I remember in the dim, dark days of the mid-seventies when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and the Egyptians were building the pyramids (yes, I am that old) lying on the floor of the loungeroom of our house in Alstonville, up in northern NSW, excitedly Continue Reading

Sci-fi September book review: Jitterbug by Gareth L. Powell

(courtesy Simon & Schuster Australia) It is always a pleasure of the greatest magnitude when you dive into a sci-fi novel which always promises some thrillingly big and sweeping storytelling and it goes even bigger and bolder than you expected. It’s hard to be surprised in our everything-on-the-table preview-manic digital Continue Reading

New releases August book review: Everything that is Beautiful by Louise Nealon

Some friendships are bulletproof: Thoughts on Ride or Die