However much derided the inspirational biopic might be, they are popular for one very good reason – we want to believe that adversity can make you a better person. Or, at the very least, that it doesn’t derail, to too great an extent, who you already are. The reality Continue Reading
Download. Play. Dance. Sing. My favourite songs of 2017
Music powers my life. Every last part of it in fact. Whether I’m commuting, exercising, sitting and working – but not when I’m writing alas; I’m one of those people who must write in monastic silence or the worlds will not flow – or simply sitting and watching the Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: Pombo Loves You (no, he really does)
SNAPSHOT A distant father confronts a heroic but troubled past-life as an ’80’s TV show mascot named Pombo. (synopsis via Vimeo) It’s pretty much a given that at some point in your life, and this will be different for everyone, your past will come back to haunt you. It Continue Reading
I need more popcorn and candy stat! My favourite films of 2017
What a difference a year makes! This time last year I was mired in the grief of losing my beloved father and while I still miss him dearly, life returned to normal, or whatever normal looks like after you lose a parent because nothing is ever the same again, Continue Reading
Movie review: The Florida Project
If you cast your mind back to the heady days of childhood, a feat that may be less taxing for some than others, you will recall how even the most troubling of events could be coated with a playful glow with little to no effort. That’s not because you Continue Reading
Lost in a sea of beautiful words: My favourite books of 2017
Ever since I was a kid, reading has been a central, if not the central, way for me to relax, to escape, to find adventure, excitement and quirky emotional resonance far from the banalities of everyday life. There is something deeply wondrous and magically exciting about the promise of Continue Reading
Happy Christmas everyone! May pop culture bless you every one …
What a big year it has been! Horrible in some respects – Trump, Australia’s treatment of refugees and North Korea sending off missiles I’m looking at you – but also delightful, wonderful, warm, funny and good for the heart, soul and spirit. Much of that joy has come from Continue Reading
Comics review: The hilarious omni-shambles of Asterix and the Chariot Race
There is something about the Roman Empire that has always cried out for satire. Perhaps it is that it was, and remains, the greatest empire in the history of humanity. Or perhaps that it was so domineering, so efficient, so all-encompassing and damn near omniscient and omnipresent, that besting Continue Reading
Love and belonging are the unexpected gifts in Christmas short film “Tag”
Christmas is one of the most special times of the year. Family comes together, friends celebrate and neighbours commune, collectively giving the laudable ideals of peace and love a tangible, soul-stirring workout. But what if you don’t have that special someone, that companion who turns a bright and beautiful Continue Reading
Movie review: Coco (+ Olaf’s Frozen Adventure)
Families are wondrous and complicated things. We draw so much of our identity and support from them and yet we can also be messily at odds with them, inextricably part of them through flesh-and-blood and life experience, but separated by differing personality, opinion and life ambition. Pixar’s latest masterpiece, Continue Reading