Depending on which side of the aging fence you stand, there is one of two axioms that will guide your approach to life. The first, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” presupposes that you reach a certain point in life after which all new experiences and skills Continue Reading
Little girls everywhere she turns: Miranda Hart to play Miss Harrigan in Annie
Is there anything that Miranda Hart, star of her eponymous sitcom, budding Hollywood star (Spy), author extraordinaire and lover of the word “moist”, cannot do? I say no – she is simply too much “such fun” to not be absolutely brilliantly, fabulously, hilariously jolly good and far too versatile. Continue Reading
Movie review: Moonlight
There is a point towards the end of Moonlight, an achingly poignant examination of identity, loss and love, that you realise how much damage can be done to one person’s sense of self by the thoughtless words and ill-thought-out deeds of those closest to them. Chiron (Travant Rhodes as Continue Reading
Daffy Duck finds his Gangsta’s Paradise in this marvellous mashup
In the unexpected cartoon/musical marriages made in mash-up heaven, may we introduce you to the joining together of Daffy Duck in all his gloriously hilarious cantankerousness with Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”, which you’ll recall was the standout song on the soundtrack for 1995’s Dangerous Minds film. This impressive mash-up is Continue Reading
Book review: Love, Lies and Linguine by Hilary Spiers
There is something inordinately comforting about rejoining the company of book characters you have grown to know and love. If an author is doing their job properly, and Hilary Spiers mostly certainly is, it is akin to meeting up again with old friends, people you wish you could have Continue Reading
Movie review: Loving
In a perfect world, the union of two people in wedded bliss would simply be a celebration of love and devotion and not some devious threat to the social order. Alas, none of us live in such an untroubled idyll, so instead marriage often comes loaded with a whole Continue Reading
Now this is music #83: Golden Coast, Darling James, Julie Bergan, MUNA, Maribelle
Life is not easy on us. There are twists and turns all over the shop and coping with it all, whether it’s resolving what troubles us, or finding some temporary sanctuary in the midst of the hurt and madness, can be a real challenge. None of the five artists Continue Reading
Simon Says: Lessons of history from a famed real-life Nazi hunter
It is an oft-used phrase, particularly in these perilous times when far right nationalists seem intent on trying to reshape the earth in their poisonously dark image, but one that very much deserves repeating: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: “Rock in the Road” (S7, E9 review)
*SPOILERS AHEAD … ABD BBQ’D ZOMBIE ROADKILL* Ladies and gentlemen step right up, step right up! It’s time to play everyone’s favourite apocalyptic game “Kill the REALLY Bad Guy!” Yes, yes we’ve played it many times before, to varying degrees of success, but the rules are essentially the Continue Reading
The pain and laughter of Youth in Oregon
SNAPSHOT When 79-year-old curmudgeon Raymond (Frank Langella) makes arrangements to be euthanized in Oregon, his family refuses to accept his decision. But when another family emergency arises, Raymond’s daughter Kate (Christina Applegate) turns to her husband Brian (Billy Crudup) for a little help. So Brian reluctantly volunteers to drive Continue Reading