I have a soft spot for fractured fairy tales. This film on the face of it really fits that bill. While much of this film was very enjoyable, ultimately I think it fell short. A modern day protagonist is troubled by dreams of a sleeping princess, weird-looking creatures and a sinister building. He is surprised…
Review “A Wrinkle in time” by Madeleine L’Engle
The release of the movie made me want to revisit this book which I have not read since I was a child. This trip down memory lane was fun, though with the eyes of an adult I can see flaws I would not have seen as a child. The main theme is the tried and…
Review “Jurassic World”
By the time I had finished wading through this mess, ‘dear god what did I just watch’ was my conclusion. Fans of the original “Jurassic Park” will be forgiven for a feeling of déjà vu when watching this, and I don’t mean this in a good way. The plot is virtually identical to the original,…
Review “The Light Fantastic” by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett looked at the world in a way that was true, relentless, cynical, and yet hilariously funny. “The Light Fantastic” is the second in his fantasy Discworld series, and it continues the story of the failed wizard Rincewind and his reluctant adventures. The Discworld is a flat world, which rests on the back of…
Review “Maze of Death” by Phillip K Dick.
A group of people in an isolated place start dying one by one, which immediately sounds like a cliché. The story is full of unpleasant people being unpleasant to each other. It doesn’t sound good, does it? And yet, somehow, it is. The extreme neuroticism of most of the characters becomes weirdly fascinating. It is…
Review “Stormfront” by Jim Butcher.
This is the first of a series of books called The Dresden Files, about Harry Dresden, a professional wizard in modern day Chicago who has a business helping people with magic-related issues, and who also consults for the police. I found this book to be great fun. The protagonist, Harry Dresden, is a world-weary, private…
Review “Split”
Two words – James McAvoy. Words cannot describe this amazing performance. This is a truly scary thriller, and a fantastic comeback for the director M Night Shyamalan, who has helmed some rather lack-lustre films in recent years. Young girls being held prisoner by a deranged mad man does not seem like a particularly original idea.…
Review “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The end of the world is nigh. The antichrist is born, and promptly mislaid. An angel and a demon, who have gone native, decide they really don’t want the world to be destroyed as they quite like it. This is a very funny read. It takes a poke at religion, concepts of heaven and hell,…
Film Review “Snow White – a tale of terror”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119227/ This is not your regular Snow White. There is no Queen, no Prince, and no dwarves (well, technically there is one dwarf.) Also, thankfully, Snow White is not called Snow White (a silly name), and instead has the much more believable name of Lilliana Hoffman. But there is a very wicked (and extremely crazy)…
Film Review “Chronicle” (2012)
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706593/) Three teenage boys come across an alien artefact and gain mysterious powers. Sounds like a million superhero movies we’ve seen, right? Not this time. “Chronicle” is a clever look at what might actually happen if something like that occurred. Do our heroes turn into heroes? Do they turn into villains? Well, initially at least,…
Eclectic Assemblage 