(courtesy IMDb (c) Prime Video) You have to hand it to anyone who looks at a venerable piece of pop culture property, in this Batman who is 84 years young, and thinks there must a way to bring some new life to it. It’s a brave thing to do because Continue Reading
Animation
Hello tinsel-tinged nostalgia: The lost 1980s Christmas specials
(courtesy Laughing Squid) Christmas used to be defined by the specials that aired on Network TV. While videos were a thing, it wasn’t yet common in the Eighties for people to routinely have the movies and TV shows they loved on the shelf to watch whenever they wanted, and so Continue Reading
On 6th day of Christmas … I put 15 more pop culture ornaments on my tree incl. ABBA, Parks and Recreation, Ziggy and Goofy
(via Shutterstock) What, what, you say, you have yet more ornaments to place upon the tree? Why yes, yes I do; every year I tell myself I’ll stick to 9 or 10 new ones, just the best of the best and yet every year, 50 to 60, sometimes more make Continue Reading
The short and the Christmas short of it: Gordon Goose – Christmas Tree
(courtesy YouTube) Gordon Goose, so his official page says, is a “typical corpo goose with atypical life” with a work life that is, we’re assured, even worse than the one you’re enduring. Still, even with all that corporate existential angst drilling a great big hole into his soul, Gordon finds Continue Reading
On 1st day of Christmas … I put 15 new pop culture ornaments on my tree incl. Ted Lasso, Schitt’s Creek, Shazam, Peter Pan, Peanuts … and more!
(via Shutterstock) Take one look at this blog and you realise I love pop culture. LOVE IT! So while the first ornaments I bought for my own grown-up tree in 1992 were relatively standard baubles and department store trinkets, soon followed by Hallmark ornaments by the metric ton, I soon Continue Reading
Animated festive movie festival: The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday + Trolls Holiday
(courtesy IMP Awards) The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday So, you’re likely used to the rather appealing idea that Christmas is all giving and doing unto others etc and not about grabbing and stealing and having a narcissistic time of it. Well established as that may be as a Continue Reading
The short and the festive short of it: Believe in Christmas and No one Should be Alone at Christmas
(courtesy Stream Wars (c) Kurzfilm | Weihnachten Werbeclip der Erste Group Bank AG) Animated short films, especially those without dialogue, can really tell a powerfully impactful festive story with the most elegantly simple of ingredients. These two short films, which are, yes, ads in their own way, convey so much Continue Reading
Time to face your fears with Orion and the Dark
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTOrion (Jacob Tremblay) seems a lot like your average elementary school kid – shy, unassuming, harboring a secret crush. But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean, cell phone waves, murderous gutter Continue Reading
Big changes. New emotions. Teaser trailer releases for Inside Out 2
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe little voices inside Riley’s head know her inside and out—but next summer, everything changes. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Continue Reading
Oh my heart: Embrace the adorably meaningful with Teddy’s Christmas and The Velveteen Rabbit
(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTWhile visiting a Christmas market in her Norwegian town, 8-year-old Mariann (starring Marte Klerck-Nilssen) suddenly sees an unbelievable sight: on the top shelf of a carnival game booth, the most adorable stuffed teddy bear has just moved his head and sneezed. Feeling an instant connection with the Continue Reading