Some minor spoilers ahead... As best as I can tell, the enthusiasm ahead of the debut of Doctor Who spin-off Class (ABC iView and ABC2 in Australia) has been cautious, perhaps doubtful. Many (me included) would prefer more Who, than new. Or a return to Torchwood, rather than what could be considered Torchwood Senior High, … Continue reading Gettin’ schooled
Review
Review: De ga ga and state of the art
The Edgar Degas exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria is almost at an end. I have been thinking about it a bit, because while I was excited to attend, I didn't connect as I have to other 'blockbuster' exhibits. I wondered if it was me or Degas. Degas could be seen as a kind … Continue reading Review: De ga ga and state of the art
Review: Piecing it together I
For about another week, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image is home to The Nightingale and the Rose, a short film and exhibition reinterpreting the story by Oscar Wilde. The film is an animated lyrical piece featuring the art work of Del Kathryn Barton with filmmaker Brendan Fletcher. You don't need to be familiar with … Continue reading Review: Piecing it together I
Review: Crimson Peak
It's big news in Australia that apparently Tom Hiddleston is here filming the eleventy billionth Marvel film, Thor: Ragnarok. Although, I'm wishing it was just Ragnarok. In a not completely unrelated event, I finally got around to watching the luscious looking but ultimately ultra-Freudian Gothic-by-numbers Crimson Peak. It's a bit like Phantom of the Opera, … Continue reading Review: Crimson Peak
Review: Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad felt like a long introduction, followed by a self-generated plot, all to lead up to the next Batman film. I think the writers and producers should have taken notice of the marketing and lead ins for Marvel's Deadpool and ripped them off so as to knowingly set Squad up as a tale of multiple twisted love … Continue reading Review: Suicide Squad
Locavore
I enjoy over thinking the latest (or latest I can be bothered with catching up with) in genre fiction from Hollywood as much as anyone. So Star Trek Beyond was a good time, and across a couple of days I enjoyed Matt Damon sciencing the sh*t out of stuff in The Martian. I only just … Continue reading Locavore
Review: The Paper House
A fragile thread Finally, I've finished reading The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan. It could be the newly diagnosed a-typical asthma, but this novel has winded me. I had to pause while reading it, sometimes for a week, because it was painful, but also because I wanted to dwell in it in a way I … Continue reading Review: The Paper House
Darkness & then Light
If the work of Jan Sensbergs was heavy with the portent of industrial annihilation, across the corridor at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square) it was all feathery lightness. I wanted to see Sensbergs, but the bonus was remembering Luminous: Australian Watercolours 1900-2000 was also on display. It was a welcome contrast. The art … Continue reading Darkness & then Light
Sensbergs & Observability
Just before it closes I finally got around to seeing Jan Sensbergs' exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square). His lines and perspectives appealed to me and his vision of cities and interior spaces are not bleak exactly, but not happy. I feel like he and William Blake could agree on the damaging modern … Continue reading Sensbergs & Observability
Review: lessons on appropriation
The Dandenong Ranges, just on the edge of Melbourne, is full of Devonshire tea, tourists and the tallest flowing plants in the world. The other day I visited a particularly green and serene bit: William Ricketts Sanctuary. For decades this artist lived on the side of a mountain and dedicated his art and life to the … Continue reading Review: lessons on appropriation
Writing Bec 