Let’s get a few things out of the way first. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising and its sequel Golden Son are well-written, intelligent sci-fi. The world-building’s solid (if a bit cliche- seriously why is Greco-Roman the go-to influence for future dystopias?) and the books generally have complex things to say about the limits and and effects […]
If anyone ever told me that they didn’t like science-fiction, or thought it had nothing to offer as serious literature, I would gently lob a copy of Hyperion at their head. On the surface, it looks like everything that turns people off about sci-fi. Just look at the cover. Not only is there a vague, […]
WIth that rather off-putting name and the fact that the show only consists of six episodes, I wouldn’t be surprised if most people never bothered to watch Scrotal Recall. Which is a shame because it’s terrific.
For someone who consumes as much fantasy literature as I do, I’ve never really dipped my toe into the vast amount of Arthurian retellings. I’ve never even read The Once and Future King, which may make me a bit of a failure as a fantasy nerd. However, I have recently read the kick-ass feminist retelling […]
This is my first post about a movie that isn’t happily living in Netflix Instant Watch, but when you come across something as unique and brilliant as Attack the Block, you just can’t help but plug it. I heard about this movie nearly three years ago, knowing only that it was “teen gang vs. aliens” […]
Bachelorette is a nasty, audacious little movie that tries to pull off the trick of having its three antiheroes be as unlikable as they are redeemable. It doesn’t really work, to be honest. Save Kirsten Dunst’s self-obsessed, steely narcissist, the other two bachelorettes have too much in the way of tragic backstory and/or endearing sweetness […]
Some Like It Hot ends up on a lot of “best lines” and “best ending” lists, as its last scene is a thing of absurd and delicious beauty. So when I watched it for the first time, I was a little sad that I already knew the famous punchline (which I won’t spoil for you). […]
The Woman Upstairs was brought to my attention by a controversy that erupted over the question of how important it is for female characters to be likable. The author, Claire Messud, was asked whether she would be friends with her main character, the obsessive “spinster” Nora. To which she magnificently replied, “For heaven’s sake, what […]
Well that was weird. Interesting, moving in parts and fantastically creative. But still. Really quite strange. Impressively weird. In The House Upon The Dirt Between The Lake And The Woods (Take your fill of that title now because I shall not be typing it again.), written by Matt Bell, is a novel written in the […]
I’ve always found it amusing when people go, “Oh the older films were so much sweeter and moral than the immoral rubbish we have today,” because it’s just not true at all. Classic Hollywood is full of satire and snark and moral grey areas and reprehensible decisions. I could say, ok, hypothetical person, watch a […]
Rabbit Hole 
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