Among the great animation houses of our time, there are four nearest and dearest to this reviewer’s heart – Pixar, Aardman Animations, Studio Ghibli and Laika, who have gifted us with the inestimable delights of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and most recently, Missing Link. Laika, Continue Reading
Book review: The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele
When it comes to the end of the world, a subject with which humanity, especially in pandemic-plagued 2020, seems to have an endless fascination, the assumption almost always is that nothing good can come of it. That’s fair enough – on the surface, and even deep down among the zombies, Continue Reading
Swirly vague ideas made real: Watch the final table read for The Good Place
There is no doubt The Good Place was, and will always remain, a very special TV show. Just how special is articulated beautifully by creator Mike Schur who begins the table read of the final two episodes or chapters of the show with as eloquent, poetic and heartfelt a tribute Continue Reading
Book review: The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde
If there is one thing at which Jasper Fforde excels, and let’s face there are many (have you read his books? Read and learn the breadth of this writer’s extensive talents), it is the ability to wrap hard, made-of-steel truths inside an outer wrapping of appealing wit, whimsy and quirk. Continue Reading
10 years on, Inception remains Christopher Nolan’s most complex and intellectual film
Daryl Sparkes, University of Southern Queensland Ten years on from its release, and hitting cinemas again, Christopher Nolan’s Inception still puzzles and intrigues. It is one of those films in which you discover something new each time you watch it. Or, more likely, it makes you reinterpret what you thought Continue Reading
Bill & Ted Are Doomed: The most excellent prequel comic to Bill & Ted Face the Music
SNAPSHOTAfter defeating the evil dictator De Nomolos in Bogus Journey in 1995, things aren’t looking as excellent as they should for either Bill and Ted or Wyld Stallyns. There’s tension in the band and worry at home. Bill and Ted’s obsessiveness with writing the one song to bring peace to Continue Reading
Julie and the Phantoms: You only live once, but you can rock forever
SNAPSHOT“[Julie and the Phantoms] stars Madison Reyes as Julie, a talented singer who’s feeling uninspired after her mother died. But then three musicians come into Julie’s life and convince her to join their band, giving her a chance to rediscover her voice…and maybe fall in love along the way.” (synopsis Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs #33: Cut Copy, Jónsi, River Boy, Myd, Motez + #Eurovision update
Feeling alone? Goofy? thoughtful? Out of control? In love but fearful? Yep, that’s a lot of emotional states coming together all at once but then this is a big messy, emotionally jumbled up year so it all fits together. Even more so, when you listen to these five talented artists Continue Reading
Mystery runs in the family: The delightful sleuthing chutzpah of Enola Holmes
SNAPSHOTWhen Enola Holmes-Sherlock’s teen sister-discovers her mother missing, she sets off to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right as she outwits her famous brother and unravels a dangerous conspiracy around a mysterious young Lord. (synopsis via IMDb) OOOO Enola Holmes premieres on Netflix on 23 September.
Book review: The Last Migration by Charlotte McConaghy
Is there hope at the slow end of a dying world? You could be forgiven for thinking not in Charlotte McConaghy’s The Last Migration where the climate changed-induced creeping apocalypse at its heart has ushered in the demise of moose and elephants, wolves and bees and the big cats, and Continue Reading