Christmas is a rollin’ round. It’ll be here in less than a week now. And just as we enjoy our annual visit from Chris Cringle, so too do we enjoy our annual movie debate. Is Die Hard a Christmas film?
Continue reading “Minimalist Moments: Die Hard”Review: Pokémon Violet
I’ve been out of the poké fandom for a while. There was a time when my nerdy self could name every pokémon from every generation, but there were only four generations then. And now there’s nine. I’ve placed Legends Arceus and enjoyed it, but I hadn’t played any game since gen 5 before then. To echo the sentiments of Grandpa Simpson, I used to be with it, but then they changed what with it was.
Continue reading “Review: Pokémon Violet”Minimalist Moments: The Snowman
You could argue that all of The Snowman is minimalist, since it contains no spoken dialogue, and narrative is cultivated solely through imagery and music. And what music it is.
Continue reading “Minimalist Moments: The Snowman”The Midnight Club: Cancer, Battles and Magical Realism
If you hear the phrase ‘magical realism’, the first example your mind might travel to is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Wizards, witches, monsters. Yet, at its core, there’s a human story about self-discovery and conquering one’s inner demons. Essentially, the term encompasses fictional narratives which discuss everyday lives that are interwoven with fantastical elements. One of the first cited examples of this genre in literature is Franz Kafka’s 1915 work ‘The Metamorphosis’, but magical realism ultimately became associated with many examples of Latin American literature. The term was first coined by Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier in the 1940s.
Continue reading “The Midnight Club: Cancer, Battles and Magical Realism”Review: Living
Adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 drama Ikuru, itself inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Living follows Bill Nighy’s reserved bureaucrat Mr Williams, who determines to live life to the full and mend his selfish ways after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He receives the news of his diagnosis with a torturously blunt stiff upper lip as he responds to the doctor with a brief acknowledgement (‘Quite’). A Christmas Carol this ain’t, with Williams first trying to seek refuge with brazen Lothario Mr Sutherland, experiencing decadent lap dances and alcohol in the dark hideouts of London before passing out.
Continue reading “Review: Living”