SNAPSHOT In the sci-fi thriller Midnight Special, writer/director Jeff Nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father (Michael Shannon), goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), and uncover the truth behind the boy’s special Continue Reading
Andrew turns the big Five-O: The 50 favourite singers and songs of my life
I can’t imagine a time when music wasn’t a major obsession. Granted I never took up the guitar or drums and joined a band, and my efforts to learn the paino were dismal at best (right Mrs. Noble?), but as a listener I was devoted beyond all reason. It didn’t Continue Reading
Book review: The Story of Alice – Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
Like many of us, Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Johnson, was a rich study in contrasts. Born to a moderately well off middle class family in the isolated Cheshire parish of Daresbury, Carroll was to all appearances a shy, studious man, more given to the pursuit of religion, mathematics Continue Reading
Alice in Wonderland at 150: Why fantasy stories about girls transcend time (curated article)
It’s 150 years since an Oxford mathematics don published the most important work of children’s literature and one of the most influential books of all time. The origins of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in a story that Charles Dodgson told 10-year-old Alice Liddell and her two sisters while rowing Continue Reading
Andrew turns the big Five-O: The 50 favourite TV shows of my life
I was not always as enamoured with television as I am now. Back in 1970, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and there were no such things as Apple TV or Netflix – IKR GASP! – my family and I had just returned from years spent living in rural Bangladesh Continue Reading
Andrew turns the big Five-O: The 50 favourite movies of my life
Ever since my mother took me to see Star Wars in a small wooden single-screen cinema in Ballina, N.S.W. in 1977, I have been enraptured by the power of movies to tell wholly-engrossing, utterly-immersive stories. It doesn’t matter if it’s fun lightweight blockbuster or a serious “issues” movie, cinema Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: “Heads Up” (S6, E7 review)
* SPOILERS AHEAD … AND THE ALL-NEW CRAZE “DUMPSTERCISE”, THE BIGGEST FITNESS CRAZE AMONG THE UNDEAD OF THE APOCALYPSE * So the big news of the quietly-paced by still dramatic penultimate episode of the first half of season 6 (penned by Channing Powell) was, as had been rumoured whether Continue Reading
Take off your nostalgia goggles: Stars Wars (the real first one) gets the Honest Movie Trailer treatment
I love Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope. Seriously love it – watching it for the first time in a small wooden cinema in Ballina, NSW, Australia back in 1977 (yes I’m that old; I saw it in the cinema the first time around when it was just Continue Reading
Andrew turns the big Five-O: My 50 favourite pop culture characters ever
1. Scooby Doo Hanna-Barbera cartoons in general were a major, beloved part of my childhood (and yes, they still are as an adult) but it was Scooby Doo, whose cartoons were one of the anchoring programs of holidaying programming on the one and only commercial TV channel available to Continue Reading
Love surprises in Hello, My Name is Doris
SNAPSHOT After the death of her mother, Doris, an isolated 60-year-old woman, becomes motivated by a self-help seminar to romantically pursue a younger coworker at a hip Brooklyn clothing company. As she finds ways to connect with John (going to an electronica concert, hanging out in hipster coffee shops..), Continue Reading