(via Shutterstock) It’s almost blockbuster time, people! That time of the year when the movies go BIG based on budgets that are BIG with (hopefully) BIG stories and characters of depth and quality to match. We don’t always get that but a guy can hope, can’t he? Certainly, these three Continue Reading
Eurovision under the shadow of war: how the 2023 contest highlighted humanitarianism, empathy and solidarity
In 2022, Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest in a landslide victory. Traditionally, the winner hosts the following year but due to the significant security issues posed by the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine was unable to host. As the 2022 runners-up, the United Kingdom stepped in to assist with hosting Continue Reading
Movie review: Franky Five Star (German Film Festival)
(courtesy IMDb) Beloved though the established romantic comedy tropes and cliches may be, there is something refreshing about a film that dares to take them all, throw them in the air, and smartly and quirkily rearrange on their way down. A film like Franky Five Star which takes the rom-com Continue Reading
Heroically beyond Gaul: Asterix & Obelix – The Middle Kingdom (L’empire du milieu)
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTPrincess Fu Yi, the only daughter of the Chinese Emperor Han Xuandi, escapes from a rogue prince, Deng Tsin Qin, and flees to Gaul, seeking help from Asterix and Obelix. (courtesy Wikipedia) I can remember exactly when in my long-go childhood that I discovered the comic book Continue Reading
Book review: Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin
(courtesy Hachette Australia) Falling in love is sweet in a million different wonderful ways. But how much sweeter, especially if you’re a book lover, is it when it all happens against a backdrop of a bookstore, and concerns said owner of that literary retail establishment and a hunky writer who, Continue Reading
“Look alive, foolish mortals!” First full-length ghostly trailer releases for Haunted Mansion
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTInspired by the classic theme park attraction, Disney’s Haunted Mansion is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. Disney’s Haunted Mansion movie is directed by the American filmmaker Justin Simien, director Continue Reading
Put your platform shoes away and get up from the stage: The Eurovision Song Contest wraps up for another year “united by music”
(courtesy Eurovision.tv / Corinne Cumming / EBU) What another amazing year of musical togetherness! With the Eurovision Song Contest have run its unifying course for another year, and Sweden having been crowned the winner with Loreen becoming the first woman with her atmospheric song “Tattoo” to win the contest in Continue Reading
“It’s time Empire had a reckoning.” Foundation debuts epic season 2 trailer
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTBased on the award-winning sci-fi novels by Isaac Asimov, Foundation chronicles a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire. The premise of the stories is that, in the waning days of a future Galactic Empire, the Continue Reading
Back to Greece! Fun trailer drops for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
(courtesy YouTube) SNAPSHOTOur favorite Big Fat Greek Family is back – again. From writer and director Nia Vardalos, the worldwide phenomenon My Big Fat Greek Wedding is coming back to theaters with a brand-new adventure. Join the Portokalos family as they travel to a family reunion in Greece for a Continue Reading
Eurovision 2023: why the stage itself is the silent star of the contest (curated article)
(The stage of the 67th annual Eurovision Song Contest at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool. Adam Vaughan/EPA Images) This week, Liverpool stages one of the world’s largest live televised events, the Eurovision Song Contest. I grew up watching it as an annual family get-together. Now, as a lecturer in Continue Reading