SNAPSHOT Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time- uniting their talents, Continue Reading
Movies
Movie review: Arrival
Given the state of the world at the moment, awash as it is with IS insurgency, Brexit, the radicalised far right voting in extremist presidents in place as far removed as Turkey, the Philippines and even the United States, the idea of aliens arriving with a message of unified, Continue Reading
Splash! Plunge into an extra special dose of Finding Dory (DVD/Blu-ray release special features)
One of the loveliest movies to hit our screens this year, and further proof that some sequels are worth our time, Finding Dory is one those films that you want to watch again and again. It’s a reminder of the enduring bonds of friendship and family, of the innate Continue Reading
Bodies of clay: Rick and Morty’s The Non-Canonical Adventures
Rick and Morty, from the hilariously fetid, gloriously imaginatively trippy minds of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, is one of the best animated series to emerge in recent years. Not only does it sport brilliantly-realised characters who are over the top dysfunctional but authentically and humourously human, and a premise Continue Reading
For the love of animals: Shelter Me features Patrick McDonnell, creator of comic strip Mutts
The first moment I saw a Mutts comic strip, it was love at first sight. As I detailed in my post celebrating the 20th anniversary of Patrick McDonnell’s delightful creation, the appeal of a strip that Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz once referred to “One of the best comic strips Continue Reading
Poster me this! Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
SNAPSHOT Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who Continue Reading
Animals and us: How Sir David Attenborough shines a light on the life of planet earth
“I think we have a very fortunate time living a very fortunate – technology that can enable us to do things and we want to use it with some sense of responsibility for the next generation. And it is absolutely the case that animal species are disappearing and it’s Continue Reading
A Stray: The tale of one man, a persistent dog and a transforming crisis of faith
SNAPSHOT Musa Syeed’s film A Stray follows Adan (Barkhad Abdirahman), a Somali refugee living in Minneapolis with no place to go. His mom has kicked him out and his friends are tired of his headstrong ways. As a last resort, he moves into the mosque, and surprisingly, God answers his prayers. He quickly Continue Reading
My favourite kind of hilarious: Kate McKinnon’s improv outtakes from Ghostbusters
One of the standout stars of this year’s immensely-wonderful all-female addition to the Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, was Kate McKinnon who played the part of gloriously-unhinged but ferociously-intelligent scientist Dr Jillian Holtzmann. One of the current stars of Saturday Night Live (SNL), McKinnon is regrettably not hugely Continue Reading
Movie review: This Beautiful Fantastic
If you believe the near-constant barrage of ads glorifying the bold, the beautiful and the attractively conformist, then only those fitting a very narrow ideal of social acceptance have any chance of finding love. But Simon Aboud’s absolutely delightful film This Beautiful Fantastic (he both wrote and directed the film) Continue Reading