It’s quite the thing these days to take a classic novel as inspiration, or even an ancient one in some cases, and take it to new and exciting places that honour the original work and author but explore new territory. In many cases, it’s done brilliantly and originally well, as Continue Reading
Halloween
The spirit of Halloween future: Teaser trailer for 2026’s Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTShaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween – until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns into mad scientist to help fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… With Continue Reading
Halloween retro animated movie: Coraline
(courtesy IMP Awards) There’s often admittance by people that they are “late to the party”, as if watching or reading or whatever something long after it’s come out – or sometimes, mere weeks, such is the frantic and unforgiving pace of the modern digital age which eats its newly-released young Continue Reading
Halloween book review: The Last Bookstore on Earth
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Any time any author decides to take a well-established genre, give it a good shake-up and reshape its form entirely is a good time. Especially when it comes one as well-trafficked as the end-of-the-world genre which has been pretty much full-to-bursting with zombies and aliens and Continue Reading
Halloween Family Guy special 2025: “A Little Fright Music” (review)
(courtesy IMDb) Halloween is definitely the one festival of the year where you are fully and absolutely allowed to get your freak on, to let loose, defy assumptions and expectations … and lie to your wives about going trick or treating? Hmmmm, not sure the last one is really part Continue Reading
Hooray for Halloween #3: Review of Grimm S3 premiere “The Ungrateful Dead”
… and we’re RACING! Barely pausing for breath, and picking up just a few minutes before season 2 ended with Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) racing through the container yard, a pack of snarling, ultra-aggressive zombie-like people hot on their heels, Grimm kicked Continue Reading
Hooray for Halloween #2: My 5 favourite hilarious and/or scary sitcom episodes
It’s not that often that “BOO!” is followed by thigh-slapping gales of laughter and raucous guffaws – unless of course someone thought to turn True Blood or The Walking Dead into sitcoms (it can only be a matter of time surely) in which case laugh away as you have Continue Reading
Hooray for Halloween #1: Funny or Die’s pop culture fright night
You think werewolves, and skeletons and goblins and vampires (oh my!) are truly scary? You don’t know scary! Wait ’til you’ve seen Billy Eichner and Rachel Dratch from Funny or Die, a “comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s production company, Gary Sanchez Productions” (wikipedia) go through Continue Reading