*SPOILERS … AND ZOMBIES … AND DEATH ALL AROUND AHEAD* One of the most searing lesson from the near universally-well realised first season of Fear the Walking Dead aka When the World Went to Undead Sh*t has been how tenuous civilisation and all the ethics and conventions of upstanding, Continue Reading
This is not a simulation: The intense trailer for sci fi thriller 400 Days
SNAPSHOT Four astronauts sent on a simulated mission to a distant planet to test the psychological effects of deep space travel. Locked away for 400 days, the crew’s mental state begins to deteriorate when they lose all communication with the outside world. Forced to exit the ship, they discover Continue Reading
The Visit and other “accidental” horror films by Ari Mattes (curated article)
The Visit (2015), directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is one of the best of the “found footage” / mockumentary horror films that have proliferated in popular cinema in recent years (including Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, to be released October 22). Shyamalan is, regardless of the general banality of Continue Reading
Mickey Mouse battles his car in new fun-filled cartoon, “Shifting Gears”
Mickey Mouse, the pioneer and the pride of Disney’s animation powerhouse, is back in the short form cartoon business and the results are nothing less than marvellous. A pleasing mix of cutting edge animation and retro look and feel, the cartoons have been playing on The Disney Channel as 3 Continue Reading
Movie review: The Visit
On the whole, grandparents usually fare quite fare in stories. Think Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother or any one of the thousands of cosy nannas and granpas who populate Hallmark movies. They bake cookies, they beam with welcoming saint-like happiness, and they indulgently let their grandchildren do all the things Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: “Icons Unmasked” by Alex Solis playfully reveals the real identities of cartoon icons
Oh how I love someone who thinks creatively out of the box. In this case, it’s immensely clever artist Alex Solis who wondered what really lay behind the faces of some of animation’s most recognisable faces. His artistic musings resulted in Icons Unmasked, which pulls back the veneer to Continue Reading
Happy birthday *and* Merry Christmas Charlie Brown: USPS honours Peanuts with new stamps series
One very good thing about a lifetime spent with Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang is that you have a treasure house of special memories stored away. Without much effort, I can recall how I used to gather up pecan nuts from across the street in my primary school Continue Reading
Darth Vader and Frodo: Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings fan-made teaser trailer
If you think Frodo had his hands full with Sauron and his black power-obsessed minions, then ponder how busy he, Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf and assorted other Hobbits might have been if Darth Vader had decided to invade the fair lands of The Shire and its neighbours? Might have been Continue Reading
Movie review: The Diary of a Teenage Girl
It doesn’t take long to realise that The Diary of a Teenage Girl, written and directed with a playful yet dark intensity by Marielle Heller, is not your typical quirky indie teenage drama. Granted, the 1976-set film, based on the book The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Continue Reading
Call me! A whole lot of movie phone calls in one glorious mash-up
Phone calls – we either love ’em or hate ’em. Waiting for a good friend to confirm the details of your all expenses paid, big birthday dinner at the best restaurant in town? LOVE ‘EM. Boss calling at 11.24pm to check why you use a comma instead of a dash Continue Reading