(courtesy Hachette Australia) Character is everything in an epic space opera. Some may disagree, and no doubt will, claiming that its very storytelling DNA is given over to massive moments and breathtakingly huge narrative twists and turns and that it’s that which defines it and makes it so undeniably thrilling Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: The Last West by Evan Young & Lou Iovino (writers) and Novo Malgapo (illustrator)
(courtesy Alterna Comics (c) Evan Young & Lou Iovino) Alternate histories are a flourishing genre and a really creative way to already established events that we now take for granted but which substantially changed the way our world is and how it works. The Last West by Evan Young & Continue Reading
Book review: Happy Place by Emily Henry
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) One of the things that no one tells about getting older is that all those people you knew and valued and loved when you were younger might not be the same people as you move further into adulthood. If you think about it logically, that makes Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs #94: Jessie Ware & Róisín Murphy, THEIA, Chappell Roan, Lawrence + Bombay Bicycle Club
(Photo by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash) Can something be fun and thoughtful all at once? Yes, indeed it can and these five songs all manage to have some fun, four more than the remaining one which is darker than its post-mates, while taking some pretty incisive deep dives into what Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: DUST presents the what-is-my-purpose rumination of Big Boom
(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTThe mysterious disappearance of every human on earth leaves a service robot wondering what his purpose is. (courtesy YouTube (c) DUST) The end of the world is not generally a happy or freeing time. It’s usually marked by death and destruction and a quite pronounced end of things, Continue Reading
Does the dark of night bring more clarity? Thoughts on Still Up (S1, E1-4)
(courtesy IMP Awards) Lisa (Antonia Thomas) and Danny (Craig Roberts) have a problem. Well, two in fact, one quite obvious which literally defines their waking hours and the other, lurking just out of reach, which subconsciously tinges and influences their every conversation, all of which happen in the dead of Continue Reading
A mini-mass of movie trailers: A Happy Day, Match Me if You Can, Nyad, Quiz Lady, One life + Fingernails
(via Shutterstock) Whether it’s heading out to a darkened cinema with wine and popcorn in hand, or snuggled up at home streaming on a device on your choice, there’s no doubt that movies gift with us with some pretty amazing stories. The fact that we can lose ourselves in these Continue Reading
Book review: Everyone in My Family Have Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Is it possible to improve on Agatha Christie, or indeed, any of the great mystery writing greats? Many would say no, but then there’s a fair chance they haven’t read the brilliantly sleuthful concoction that is Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, Continue Reading
Movie review: Flora and Son
(courtesy IMP Awards) When a schism develops slowly and over time between you and someone foundationally woven into your life, it can feel well nigh impossible to bridge it in any meaningful way. Years of quiet warfare, not wished for or intended can leach the bedrock of this primal connection Continue Reading
When you Wish upon a new trailer … Be careful what you wish for
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTIn Disney Animation’s Wish, Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove Continue Reading