You know that old classic Christmas song “O Christmas Tree” which contains the very appreciative line – “How lovely are your branches”? It’s a lovely sentiment, and as a piece of lauding nature, pretty damn exultant, but what it misses, and yet even with all the gushing positivity it misses Continue Reading
Forget phoning home! ET comes back to see Elliott and the result is magical
SNAPSHOTDuring this [year’s] Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Xfinity dropped an incredibly nostalgic commercial reuniting Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster alien with his former co-star Henry Thomas. It’s a moving commercial, all things considered, mostly due to all the callbacks and the use of John Williams’ iconic score. Die-hard fans will no doubt Continue Reading
Book review: After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
As a species, humanity is deeply attached to the idea that adversity builds some kind of nobility of purpose, that by going through metaphorical fire we are somehow purged of our lesser selves and emerge with a flawless, unimpeachable self. It’s a heartwarming idea and so it’s no surprise we Continue Reading
Comics review: Star Wars – Allegiance
To whom or what do you owe allegiance? Is it to an unshakeable set of ideals or unassailable principles? Is it to those who hold and fight for those beliefs? Or is it simply to the highest bidder, to whomever offers the greatest opportunity for wealth, advancement or power? These Continue Reading
Movie review: Frozen 2
You have to applaud the bravery of directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee (the latter also wrote the screenplay) who took on the challenge of crafting a sequel to arguably the biggest animated hit of the last decade, Frozen. Bestriding the cultural landscape in late 2014 and well into 2015 Continue Reading
Book review: The Best Kind of Beautiful by Frances Whiting
There is something almost indescribably wonderful about watching someone come to life again. Perhaps that’s because of the simple of beauty of watching something rich and vibrant spring forth from seemingly nothing – that’s never strictly speaking completely true; there’s always something there, it’s usually just deeply repressed and dormant Continue Reading
Ho! Ho! Ho! Uh-oh! The festive baking mishaps of Nailed It! Holiday! season 2
Following a recipe is easy. A dash of this, a pinch of this, a cup of this, and a handful of that and voila … something that looks nothing at all like the picture in the book (or, of course, on the iPad). NOTHING AT ALL. For most of us, Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The bright lights and dedication of Mr #Christmas
SNAPSHOTAn offbeat, touching portrait by director/editor/producer Nick Palmer of a man who has spent three decades turning his small Northern California home into a beautiful, towering Christmas display people travel across the country to see. (synopsis courtesy Vimeo) As someone who adores, lives and breathes Christmas – now, I think Continue Reading
Book review: Star Wars – Resistance Born by Rebecca Roanhorse
One of the more curious aspects of human nature is the lengths that people will go to, and the pernicious accommodations they will make, for the sake of a perceived peaceful existence. Politicians, particularly those of a more authoritarina bent, of which the world has a surfeit right now, take Continue Reading
Movie review: Knives Out
If you think you have seen every possible cinematic permutation of classic whodunnit storytelling, then Knives Out is here to show you that there’s some mileage left yet in this classic genre. Sporting an exuberantly zestful approach to its narrative that is in evidence even in the more nuanced parts Continue Reading