There is already a distinct of otherness about Tommi Grayson, way before the transformative (literal and otherwise) experiences of Who’s Afraid?, the impressive debut novel by Maria Lewis, take hold. Hers is clearly an identity forged in the fires of exclusion, of not quite fitting in growing up, of Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: Winnie the Pooh meets Star Wars as Wookie the Chew
If you’ve been paying keen attention since the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the newest addition to the venerable sci-fi franchise’s canon which has naturally does blockbuster business, you will have noticed that many talented artists have paid their own highly-original touching tributes to the much-loved film Continue Reading
Now this is music #61: Jasia, The Walking Sticks, Fran Seven, Baby Blood, Breakfast in Fur
A month into the new year and it’s time to chill a little and think about life. But to do that you need a great soundtrack right? OK sure spiritual gurus may disagree – but we all know they’re plugging into their iPods the moment you’re gone – but Continue Reading
Take pride in kicking ass: The undead face a well-bred reckoning in Pride, Prejudice and Zombies (new trailer)
SNAPSHOT A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Reilly) Continue Reading
Hooray Shaggy! Be Cool, Scooby Doo is, well, pretty cool
Beloved pop culture properties like Bugs Bunny, Star Wars and Scooby Doo are beloved for a very good reason – there’s a lot to like about them. In the case of Scooby Doo, one of Hanna-Barbera’s most enduring set of characters, the gang from the Mystery Van, whose best Continue Reading
They’re all Animals on HBO (posters + trailers)
SNAPSHOT ANIMALS focuses on the downtrodden creatures native to Earth’s least-habitable environment: New York City. Whether it’s lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs in the midst of a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of non-human urbanites prove startlingly similar to our own. Continue Reading
Spear: A foot in each world. A heart in none. (trailer + poster)
SNAPSHOT A young man reconciles ancient tradition with the modern, urban world in this debut feature from Stephen Page, artistic director of Australia’s renowned Bangarra Dance Theatre.This visually arresting film may be Stephen Page’s directorial debut, but Page is no stranger to the telling of stories through movement and Continue Reading
Rip’d from the pages of my Aussie childhood: Blinky Bill
Blinky Bill is an Aussie icon. First appearing in Brooke Nicholls’ 1933 book Jacko – The Broadcasting Kookaburra, Blinky Bill was the creation of Dorothy Wall who conjured up a young, feisty anthropomorphic koala who did everything a young boy such as I was then wanted to do. He had Continue Reading
Alan Rickman: great movie ‘villain’ and a star for all ages (curated article)
by Lucy Mazdon, University of Southampton As many of us are still reeling from the shock news of David Bowie’s death, it is with enormous sadness that we learn of the death of another great British star, Alan Rickman. Like Bowie, Rickman had been suffering from cancer and has died Continue Reading
Last year’s movies re-imagined in LEGO? Yes please mr minifig!
I have long maintained, and there are the copious numbers of blog posts to prove it, that everything looks better with a LEGO doppelgänger (likely the product of a childhood given over to much playing with the famous Danish building locks and a constant drip of pop culture goodness Continue Reading