Life is BIG and it is BUSY and there are lots of times, most of them seemingly happening right now in the midst of the ongoing horror show that is COVID-19, when the only appropriate reaction is to go loud and out there, singing and shouting from the rooftops until Continue Reading
A derelict hospital, friendship and love: Thoughts on Crashing (2016)
Just in case you hadn’t noticed, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a big deal. A really big deal. Much of the current high regard in which this supremely-talented and sharply observational writer and performer is held comes down to Fleabag, a two-season British series based on the 2013 stage play of the Continue Reading
Book review: Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar
We live in mysteriously varied worlds. That’s right – worlds. When Disney opined that’s a small world after all, they likely weren’t taking into account the theory of the multiverse which posits that the Earth we know and if not love, somewhat tolerate, is just one of many multiple versions, Continue Reading
Believing is everything: Over the Moon and the magically propulsive power of hope
SNAPSHOTFueled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. There she ends up on an unexpected quest and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures. Directed by animation legend Glen Keane, Continue Reading
Movie review: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga
The Eurovision Song Contest, whether you love it, hate it or are blissfully indifferent to it, is almost impossible to ignore. Taking place usually in May in the nominated city of whichever country won the event the year before (COVID-19 plagued years like 2020 aside), and established in the wake Continue Reading
Find your heart at the top of the world in The Sunlit Night
SNAPSHOTBased on author Rebecca Dinerstein’s novel, The Sunlit Night follows the story of an aspiring painter from New York City to the farthest reaches of Arctic Norway for an assignment she hopes will invigorate her work and expand her horizons. In a remote village, among the locals, she meets a Continue Reading
Book review: Wilding by Isabella Tree
We live in an increasingly blighted world. This is not an assessment borne of alarmism or sensationalist tendencies; study after study is showing that the Anthropocene age, the dates of which have not been conclusively agreed but which aligns roughs with humanity’s impact on the Earth’s geology and environment, is Continue Reading
Muppets Now – doing some fun things on Disney + (Is that OK, Joe from Legal?)
SNAPSHOT“At the core conceit of Muppets Now is that each Muppet has his or her own unscripted series – one could be a cooking show, the other a variety show, etc. And celebrity guests are invited onto one of these shows and madness ensues. It’s a mixture of classic Muppets like Miss Continue Reading
Book review: Devolution by Max Brooks
For all its love of creature comforts and security, humanity does loves a good scare. There is something soul-excoratingly visceral about sitting in your armchair or snug in bed reading about people in peril, especially when they are characters whose reality is not manifestly removed from our own. The residents Continue Reading
How animated characters got their groove: The inspired marriage of Rotoscope and Cab Calloway
SNAPSHOTIt started with Max’s brother Dave dancing on a roof in a clown costume. Footage of that was then used to model the classic Koko the Clown cartoons, which formed the basis for many Fleischer Studios films. Today, animators still use techniques like rotoscoping to turn real movement into animation. Continue Reading