September 12, 2026 – SparklyPrettyBriiiight

(courtesy IMP Awards) OOOO OOOO OOOO

“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

Movie review: The History of Sound

(courtesy IMP Awards) Love in its purest form is supposed to elevate, enlarge, enthrall us, building and growing what was into something altogether bigger and better and different. That’s the grandly idealistic promise that romantic love makes to us and much of the time, if allowed free and full expression, Continue Reading

Songs, songs and more songs #141: Jain, daine, ANAÏS MVA, hemlocke springs + Snow Patrol & Kylie Minogue

(via Shutterstock) Pop which gives your ears a happy burst of musical escapism are always welcome. Even better though is when those slice of transportive musical delight come with lyrics which say something profound and which mean something real and relatable; marrying the two isn’t for everyone but for the Continue Reading

Her fresh start is just getting started … Thoughts on Leanne 2

(courtesy Leanne Morgan Comedy Instagram) Moving on with your life after a traumatic event is always going to be a challenge, and not simply in the immediate aftermath. In season 1 of the Chuck Lorre sitcom, Leanne, we see the eponymous protagonist of this gentle comedy, played by stand-up comedian Continue Reading

Sci-fi September book review: Moss’d in Space by Rebecca Thorne

(courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia) One of the most enduring motifs in space operas is the idea that a renegade, diverse bunch of people, all of good heart and relatively pure soul, which is rare in a rough-n-tumble, dog-eat-dog galaxy, can find each other, come together, forge a found family against Continue Reading