Whatever your thinking about the merits of streaming platforms or production studios holding big, bold splashy all-day events to herald their upcoming shows and movies – crass commercialism or a tantalising glimpse into an eagerly awaited future? – the just-staged inaugural Disney+ Day 2021 was worth its existence alone for Continue Reading
Book review: How to Survive Family Holidays by Jack Whitehall (with Hillary and Michael Whitehall)
Families are, by and large, rather wonderful things. They give us a sense of belonging, a place to call home, people who notionally, and often, literally have our back and a vital brick in our identity. We need our families – but do we, for all those laudable positives, want Continue Reading
Lives changed beyond all recognition: Thoughts on Invasion (S1, E 4-6)
The second half of 2021 has been a tale of two slowly unspooled series. Rather counter to the counter, and often well-done trend for huge epic moments in every episode, cliffhangers seemingly falling from the narrative sky like confetti, both Foundation and Invasion have taken a welcome slow-and-steady approach to Continue Reading
Weekend movie poster art: Encanto and the magical gift on finding yourself
SNAPSHOTWalt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming feature film Encanto tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family who live in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Each child has been blessed with a magic gift unique to them—each child except Mirabel. But when the family’s home is threatened, Mirabel Continue Reading
Christmas movie review: The Claus Family
As anyone who has ever experienced great loss will tell you – grief does not take a holiday. When you are wrapped in its necessary but deadening hold, it’s hard to remember that there was a time when you laughed, when you simply let yourself relax and be, and when, Continue Reading
Mini mass of animated movie trailers: Sing 2, Even Mice Belong in Heaven, Back to the Outback
My inner child is delighted. There’s a slew of brightly-coloured, cute and sweet, not to mention very funny and heartfelt animated features coming the world’s way, all guaranteed to make things better after another tough year in the bowels of the COVID pandemic. Happily, one of the three is Sing Continue Reading
Book review: Miss Treadway & the Fields of Stars by Miranda Emmerson
Those jarring sounds you hear as you dive deeper and deeper into the emotionally complex but thoughtful accessible novel Miss Treadway & The Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson are illusions being comprehensively and almost irretrievably shattered. In the world of 1965 London, smack bang in the middle of the Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs #59: Child of the Parish, Little Boots, Annie, Akurei, Glass Animals + thoughts on #ABBA “Voyage”
COVID has done a number on us. We know it, our friends and family know it, and while I could be ascribing more sentience that is deserved, the virus knows it too. As we climb our way tentatively out of the hole the pandemic has dug for us, and start Continue Reading
World Beyond: “Quatervois” and “Who Are You?” (S2, E 5 & 6 review) / Fear the Walking Dead: “Cindy Hawkins” and “Breathe With Me” (S7, E 3 & 4 review)
THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND SPOILERS AHEAD … SNEAKING AROUND, ESPIONAGE AND BLACKOUTS AT PRECISELY THE RIGHT, AND WRONG, MOMENTS … Operation take down the CRM is in full swing in Quatervois” and “Who Are You?” which sees a plan to bust-em-outta-twisted-utopia quickly morph into “taking down the man!” thanks Continue Reading
The brilliance of Ted Lasso and the written word + interviews with the show’s stars
SNAPSHOTTed Lasso allows the absurdity of the characters to play out in front of us and allows characters to make contained logical choices and see it actually played out in the reality the show has created…Lasso’s writers are very economical about how and what they write and don’t let anything Continue Reading