I love books with quirky titles. They have become quite popular over the last few years ever since The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time became a hit in 2003. But a quirky title is only truly memorable if the novel is equally as creative and well-written, which Continue Reading
I didn’t think I would: watch zombies on TV
Well, strictly speaking I am not watching the zombies themselves. Just the show they’re in, thank you. Naturally in the sacred tradition of children everywhere when they are watching anything remotely scary on TV, the moment the actions moves from the surviving humans to the zombies, I either put my Continue Reading
Review: “The Vow”
The Vow is a story about love triumphing in the most dire of circumstances, and by all rights it should be deeply moving. Movies with that kind of theme always are right? Well, they should be. Taken at face value, The Vow hits the bills perfectly. It is a heart Continue Reading
Review: “My Weekend With Marilyn”
My Weekend With Marilyn, manages against the odds, to say something fresh about Marilyn Monroe, surely one of the most documented figures in modern pop culture. That in itself is an achievement. That it manages this, and is a warm, rich and engaging movie into the bargain, (something that eludes Continue Reading
Astropolis (book review)
Humanity is deeply flawed. But despite this, not ultimately doomed. This is the recurring theme throughout this book, which is the first volume in what is styled as an epic sci-fi trilogy. And epic it is! The story covers vast amounts of space and time in its quest to tell Continue Reading
The Temperamentals (New Theatre)
It is easy to brave behind closed doors. You can articulate the most intimate secrets and no one will hear you, unless you choose to let them. But the whole equation changes when you are suddenly thrust into the spotlight, or like Harry Hay (Doug Hansell), and his lover, Rudi Continue Reading
Review: Harvest (Stadt Land Fluss)
I need to say from the outset that I normally like slow-burning indie dramas. In fact, it’s the greater bulk of the movies I see. I like to watch them because they take the time to craft a rich and fulfilling narrative, and create fully-formed characters that you care about, Continue Reading
I love my Scandinavian pop! 2
Who doesn’t love a sequel? Hollywood adores them. Book publishers are having them written by living authors for books by dead authors. And even artists like Mary J Blige are doing album Part 2s. It’s all in the rage, and not wanting to miss the sequel boat – which looks Continue Reading
It’s raining cat and dog memoirs
It started way back in 1933 when Virginia Wolf published Flush, a cleverly written biography about Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s dog which told his story from abandoned stray to much loved pet. Then fast forward to 2005 when Marley and Me, by John Grogan, was released, telling the story of one Continue Reading
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (Review)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is grief writ large, and yet also taken down to it’s most raw and intimate. And you don’t get much more raw and intimate than the 11 year old boy at the centre of the absorbing drama, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), who loses his much Continue Reading