SNAPSHOTA lonely girl is living in the sky, far from the world on the ground that frightens her. One day, an unexpected visit will turn her routine upside down and make her fall from her cloud. (courtesy Filmaffinity) There are a lot of truly remarkable short films out there that Continue Reading
Book review: When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
If you have ever thought that love, in all its many-splendoured glory has a supernatural feel to it. then you will find much to love in When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo. An evocatively written novel that seamlessly and affecting melds a love story with a ghost story, Continue Reading
M*A*S*H, 50 years on: the anti-war sitcom was a product of its time, yet its themes are timeless (curated article)
Daryl Sparkes, University of Southern Queensland MASH, stylised as M*A*S*H, is the story of a rag-tag bunch of medical misfits of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital thrown together against the horrors of the Korean war in the 1950s. The series endured for 11 seasons, from September 1972 to the Continue Reading
Book review: A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie
We all need family. Whether it’s flesh or found, family is the glue that binds to a very special sense of time and place, which gives us a place of unconditional belonging and which helps us to make sense of the world. It may not always be an idyllic place Continue Reading
A tiny ton of TV trailers! Avenue 5 (S2), National Treasure: Edge Of History, Oddballs + Willow
Fun and adventure! Together these gloriously intoxicating things make life feel a whole lot less banal, excitingly more possible and thrillingly exciting in a way that commuting to work and paying your taxes simple does not. Thankfully while real life may not always have them in multitudinous abundance, TV/streaming does, Continue Reading
Movie review: The Perfect Dinner (La cena perfetta) #IFF22
Redemption is never an easy thing to achieve. Sure, religions chuck it around like luminously promising confetti and self-help coaches guarantee it’s but a mantra and a positive attitude away, and while they are all very compelling and attractive options that attract a great deal of attention and devotion, the Continue Reading
UPCOMING READS: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
SNAPSHOTAbandoned by his father as a small child, Sir Gareth Inglis has grown up prickly, cold, and well-used to disappointment. Even so, he longs for a connection, falling headfirst into a passionate anonymous affair that’s over almost as quickly as it began. Bitter at the sudden rejection, Gareth has little Continue Reading
Still Kringle and ready to jingle: The Santa Clauses series explores a changing of the reins
SNAPSHOTScott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can’t be Santa forever. He’s starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, he’s got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially two sons, one that Continue Reading
Book review: The Shattered Skies (The Cruel Stars trilogy 2) by John Birmingham
If our current day and age has taught us anything, beyond of course cementing the realisation that the world is an inherently selfish place, it is that fascists and those who inhabit the murderously bleak extremes of the human experience never really go away. Oh, but if they had only Continue Reading
Movie review: The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin)
No one should ever mistake quietness for lack of presence or emotional power. Case in manifestly resonant point is the 1981-set The Quiet Girl, written and directed by Colm Bairéad, which is matches the titular mood in just about every possible way – slow, thoughtful exchanges between characters, none of Continue Reading