(courtesy IMP Awards) For a film that’s ostensibly about a person who hates Christmas with such a ferociously ill-tempered passion that he steals it away from everyone else, The Grinch wears its Christmas-loving heart very much on its tinseled sleeve. Which really makes perfect sense since at heart The Grinch, Continue Reading
Movie review: Alcarràs #SpanishFilmFestival
(courtesy IMP Awards) Having your world blown apart is never an easy thing to handle, especially when that world has been formed over decades and generations and occupies a place in your heart and family lore that is woven into the fabric of who you are so deeply, strongly and Continue Reading
Are you ready for one last lesson of Sex Education? Season 4 drops a fun teaser trailer
(courtesy YouTube (c) Netflix) SNAPSHOTFollowing the closure of Moordale Secondary, Otis and Eric now face a new frontier – their first day at Cavendish Sixth Form College. Otis is nervous about setting up his new clinic, whilst Eric is praying they won’t be losers again. But Cavendish is a culture Continue Reading
The chaos and humanity of High Desert: Thoughts on the AppleTV+ series
(courtesy AppleTV+ via IMDb) Streaming platforms of late have developed a rather severe case of BroadcastTV-itis, a terrible disease that compels those who commission programs to cancel them after one season, or sometimes not even that, if they don’t attract 100 million eyeballs in the first ten minutes or so. Continue Reading
Book review: The Balloon Hunter (A found novel) by Hugh Howey and Elinor Taylor
(courtesy hughhowey.com) There are a great many horrible things about being caught in an apocalypse – any kind; take your pick – zombie, aline, viral, political – but what really strikes you as you watch or read stories about the end of the world is how lonely it must be. Continue Reading
Movie review: Too Many Chefs (La Vida Padre) #SpanishFilmFestival
(courtesy IMDb) It takes a deft hand to make a sparkling comedy also hum meaningfully with emotional substance but director Joaquín Mazón, working to a story he co-penned with Olatz Arroyo which as written by Joaquín Oristrellm manages it near flawlessly in Too Many Chefs (La Vida Padre). The film Continue Reading
The apocalypse’s silver lining: Zom 100 – Bucket List of the Dead has some fun with the end of the (working) world
(courtesy First Showing) SNAPSHOTAkira Tendo (Eiji Akaso) works at an abusive, soul-crushing company where he suffers endless late hours, power harassment from his boss, and illogical tasks. He spends his days feeling more dead than alive. One morning, the town is overtaken by zombies and the familiar landscape is already Continue Reading
Book review: Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) There is a prevalent idea out there that having money somehow solves all of a person’s problems. Driven no doubt by those without than those with who likely know all too well that while money might make you happy, or at least comfortable, it does not Continue Reading
Movie review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(courtesy IMP Awards) Approaching the ending of anything feels fraught and emotionally difficult. We all want and need goodbyes because open-ended anything isn’t good for the answers-hungry soul, unless it applies to indie and arthouse storytelling in which bring it on, but we dread them too because, for obvious reasons, Continue Reading
#ChristmasInJuly book review: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
(courtesy Sourcebooks Casablanca) From the gloriously mischievous play on the lyrics of an old Christmas favourite to the phrase adorning its back cover in Australia (or the front in this artwork) where Santa and “Joy to the World” get short shrift, You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky, Continue Reading