Much as we like to think we can push and pummel life to fit our preconceived notions, the truth is it has an often perverse way of defying our expectations. Try as we might, and many of us try pretty hard, usually in our youth when possibilities seem endless and Continue Reading
Movies
Dust: The fear and bravery of humanity in the apocalypse
SNAPSHOT A deadly new plague linked to a mysterious dust is devastating the countryside around Kabé—the world’s oldest city. Irezúmi, a Tracker living in the abandoned outskirts of Kabé, is hired by a Merchant of the city’s underground medicine trade to study the dust that has begun falling on Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: Future Boyfriend and the romantic creepiness of temporally-mixed up dating
SNAPSHOT Future Boyfriend, a short film by Bellhouse Productions, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2016. The film, directed by Ben Rock and starring Emily Bell, Ron Morehouse, and 3rd Rock From the Sun’s French Stewart, was adapted into a screenplay by Ularich based on his short Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: Joey Spiotto’s pop culture Little Golden Books
My love for Little Golden Books knows no bounds. A key part of my childhood, they are the stuff of joy and nostalgia, a reassuring touchstone that there are some great and wonderful things in this world that are inherently simple and uncomplicated, and intensely rewarding. The only thing Continue Reading
Movie review: A Country Doctor (Medicin de campagne)
The Country Doctor is a deceptively, disarming film. Directed by Thomas Lilti, who spent 10 years working as a GP in the French health system, and sensibly writes and directs what he knows (he co-wrote the screenplay with Baya Kasmi), the film, at first glance, comes across a gentle Continue Reading
Saving the universe Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 style, one LEGO brick at a time
I think it is pretty much a given that everything in the world is better when it’s LEGO-fied? The Mona Lisa? Of course. Wandering through the park on a fine summer’s day? It goes without saying? What about saving the universe, for a second time no less? As if Continue Reading
Get ready to go into battle with Thor: Ragnarok (and some great oneliners)
SNAPSHOT In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor will arrive in Asgard after hearing about trouble in his home world, and when he arrives he finds Loki’s style of ruling (while impersonating Odin) has led to some lapses in the rules and leads to the freeing of prisoner Hela. Thor Continue Reading
A Ghost Story: A quirky tale of very real love, loss … and time
SNAPSHOT A ghost (Casey Affleck) silently observes his grieving widow (Rooney Mara) in his beloved home. (official synopsis via Coming Soon) Losing someone you love is gut-wrenchingly, near world-endingly sad. There is simply no way, at least at first, to begin to process the enormity of your loss, how Continue Reading
Movie review: The LEGO Batman Movie
If you are to believe the naysayers, and quite frankly you shouldn’t if you value any sense of fun or inner child-likeness, films like The LEGO Batman Movie are nothing but crass commercial undertakings, barely-disguised toy advertisements that somehow sully the noble art of filmmaking. The truth is, of Continue Reading
It’s one small step for … wait, no, someone said that! Hyper Jump astronaut struggles to be inspirational
Rich in encouragement and emotional resonance though they are, we all too often take inspirational addresses from major figures like Abraham Lincoln, President John F Kennedy, Maya Angelou and others of their calibre for granted. But as one panicking astronaut discovers in Hyper Jump, a short film from UpbeatXProjects about Continue Reading