Love, Actually is deservedly one of those films that makes an appearance every Christmas come what may. Featuring eight interwoven couples whose own stories come with humour and special poignant meaning, the festive rom-com by Richard Curtis, is a touching reminder that everyone has a story, and that what Continue Reading
Movie review: Suffragette
Humanity, by and large, has a very short memory. In no time at all, rights won with blood, sweat and tears, and a wilful and necessary disregard of the established order, are seen as near ubiquitous and entirely natural. While that is good in one sense, and reflects how Continue Reading
On 12th day of Christmas … I hung 5 pop culture ornaments on my tree
It will not surprise you to learn that I am a pop culture addict. It’s most obviously evident in this blog, but my great love for TV and movies, (and of course books and music) and the characters that inhabit them makes its presence felt in all sorts of Continue Reading
Movie review: Joy
Next to Christianity and Manifest Destiny, the other great religion of the United States has always been the American Dream, the idea that anyone from any background can come to America and make it big. It’s empowered generations of newly-arrived migrants, and even people who have been in the Continue Reading
On 11th day of Christmas … I read Hester & Harriet by Hilary Spiers
Hester & Harriet look like they’re on track for another bog standard Christmas at The Laurels, the small cottage the two widowed sisters share in a small, reasonably uneventful English village. Invited to cousin George’s home where they will endure his wife Isabelle’s ghastly cooking and their insufferably insolent Continue Reading
7 movie trailers! Fantastic Beasts, Star Trek Beyond, Ice Age Collision, Monster Hunt + more
Yes 7 trailers! 7 gloriously big and small, blockbuster-y, and not, trailers for you to delight in, get excited by and wish the movie was opening tomorrow by. Trailers are the windows to a movie’s soul – well they are if the marketing department behind them is any good and Continue Reading
On 10th day of Christmas … I listened to “It’s a Holiday Soul Party” by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
With a rousing 1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5 … 6 … 7 … 8!, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings live up to their self-titled mission to start a Holiday Soul Party. Kicking off with “8 Days of Hannukah” which brings a bluesy chilled vibe Continue Reading
Now this is music #60: MÖWE, Matoma & Frenship, Tirzah, Meg Mac, Nimmo
Who said Christmas had to be all about carols and musical odes to lovers far away? Not that I don’t love that kind of music – the house is reverberating to it over and over again at this the most wonderful time of the year – but you need Continue Reading
On 9th Day of Christmas … I read Klaus #1, first in a series about Santa’s dark origins
SNAPSHOT Set in a dark fantastic past of myth and magic, Klaus tells the story of how Santa Claus really came to be. Where did he begin? What was he like when he was young? Why does he do what he does? How does he do what he does? Continue Reading
Movie Review: Star Wars The Force Awakens
Returning to your childhood, especially when it comes to the movies and TV shows the defined it, can be a fraught activity. There is an excitement certainly, how can there not be, but there’s also a sense that this nostalgic excursion may not be quite the enjoyable embrace with Continue Reading