SNAPSHOT Jellyfish Eyes tells the story of Masashi, a young boy who moves to a sleepy town in the Japanese countryside with his mother in the wake of a natural disaster. After returning home from his new elementary school one day, Masashi discovers a flying jellyfish-like creature whom he Continue Reading
Movie review: Any Day Now
As a concept, morality would seem to fall, without equivocation, into the realm of the blindingly obvious. Do the good, the decent, the upright thing and you are behaving in a moral fashion; indulge in behaviour that is demonstrably hurtful, cruel, malicious and you are being, quite clearly, immoral. Continue Reading
My 5 favourite TV show opening themes of the moment: Orphan Black, Helix, Sleepy Hollow, Portlandia, Parks and Recreation
A TV show’s opening theme music is something you either notice or you don’t, love or you loathe but either way, it can vitally important in both giving you an idea of the show to come and establishing a mood or sense of time and place. And while they Continue Reading
The importance of Decoding Annie Parker (poster + trailer)
SNAPSHOT Based on true events, this touching film follows a 15-year war against a cruel illness, waged on both scientific and emotional fronts by a pair of women demonstrating extreme bravery under pressure. Annie Parker (Samantha Morton) is on intimate terms with breast cancer, having watched both her mother Continue Reading
Orphan Black: “Nature Under Constraint and Vexed” (S2, E1 review)
Whoosh! And just like that, and understandably so given her daughter Kira (Skyler Wexla) and foster mother of dubious intent Mrs S. (Maria Doyle Kennedy) have just been kidnapped, Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) is once again off and running, frantic to save the only family she really knows. A Continue Reading
Road to Eurovision 2014: Week 5 – Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovenia
WHAT IS THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST? Started way back in 1956 as a way to draw a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open Continue Reading
Marvellous massing of movie trailers: Chef, Sex Tape, Lucky Them, Blue Ruin, Lucy
From indie to mainstream, and somewhere pleasingly in-between, this mixed bag of trailers offers pretty something for everyone. While I am, as always, partial to festival-friendly movies, I am willing to also believe that Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz can be funny, and that Luc Besson’s movie will make Continue Reading
Book review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
At first appearance, Don Tillman, the handsome 39 year old geneticist with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome (and a love of lobster every Tuesday night without exception) who anchors Graeme Simsion’s delightful debut novel with his quest for a wife via questionnaires, and Shakespeare may not look to have a great Continue Reading
FUNx3: Welcome to Sweden, Everything Wrong with The Matrix and When the Easter Bunny attacks!
Welcome to Sweden! Moving to a whole other country is never the easiest of undertakings, something that accountant to the stars, Bruce Evans (Greg Poehler, brother to Amy Poehler who produced the series) discovers when he heads to Sweden to live with his girlfriend Emma (Josephine Bornebusch). Telling a Continue Reading
Can’t wait to see: Shaun the Sheep
SNAPSHOT From Aardman, the creators of Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, comes the highly anticipated big screen debut of Shaun the Sheep. When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he baa-rgained for! Shaun’s mischief accidentally causes the Continue Reading