• Movie review: The Dry

    Saturday, December 19, 2020 Permalink

    The Dry, the movie based on the book by Jane Harper is officially being released in Australia on 1 January 2021. But my local cinema (and others I assume) is offering advance screenings so I decided to get in early.

    I didn’t ‘love’ The Dry as much as most people. I read a similar book that year which I preferred. Thankfully I’ve a mind like a sieve and read far too much so I was very murky on the details of the book. Which was good as I’d forgotten whodunnit.

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  • Life lessons from Palm Springs – the movie

    Sunday, December 6, 2020 Permalink

    I watched Palm Springs (the movie) a couple of days ago. I like Andy Samberg in his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine but actually had little idea what the movie was about. I figured it to be some sort of rom-com. And it is… kinda. Except with a groundhog day theme activated by some weird phenomenon in a desert cave.

    But if you ignore the mystical element (required if you’re a logic-lover like me who needs to understand how and why) it’s a really enjoyable movie.

    I found however that I was struck by something more profound than I expected from a light romp.

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  • Taking Stock – March 2020

    Monday, March 2, 2020 Permalink

    I started writing two versions of this. One blunter, more honest than the other. I’ve talked before about that fine line between being open about one’s life when it feels as if the overwhelm is, well… overwhelming; and the fear of pushing others away because of constant negativity, or having them eye-rolling at the never-ending pity party.

    I know I’m often surprised and appreciate it when others share the bad stuff, but think I react better when they’re not people who do nothing but share the bad stuff.

    Anyway… today I’m checking in and taking stock. In a mostly upbeat way! *insert beatific smile here*

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  • What I’m watching – December 2019

    Monday, December 23, 2019 Permalink

    I’ve cut back on my reading over the last couple of years. Initially it was because of work commitments, but almost a year of unemployment has meant this hasn’t been an issue.

    So though I’ve continued to read and review I’ve spent evenings in front of the television rather than in the bath with a book. I loved both television and books when younger and it seems little has changed.

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  • June 2019 check-in

    Thursday, June 27, 2019 Permalink

    Almost the end of the month AND the financial year here in Australia. As I’ve only worked for a few months this year I have my fingers crossed for a tax cheque which will make a nice change. And keep me off the streets (ie. pay my mortgage, electricity and hefty brownie-mix bills) for a while.

    After dipping a little mood-wise earlier this month I’m feeling much better** so….

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  • What I’m watching – May 2019 (Part 1)

    Thursday, May 16, 2019 Permalink

    My reading has dropped off over the last couple of months and my television viewing has picked up – something I mentioned in my ‘April: What I’m watching’ post. In fact, the last couple of weeks have actually seen me barely pick up a book.  Instead I’ve been watching sh*tloads of Netflix. So much so that I’ve decided I should – in fact – do a mid May ‘what I’m watching’ update lest the end of month version become toooo long. So here we go. (IMDb links in titles)

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  • Square eyes

    Thursday, March 7, 2019 Permalink

    I’ve not been doing as much reading of late. I felt like a break at Christmas. (Well, a break from reviewing, not reading!) But that has pretty much extended and I took only a couple of books to Brisbane with me on my recentish foray (aka 3wks of cat-sitting).

    I have however, rediscovered my television addiction over the last six months; although I’ve not watched much live TV cos here in Australia we’ve had mostly sport and reality TV shows foisted upon us, so I’ve delved into Netflix and online viewing (SBS-on-demand) instead.

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  • TV show: The Cry

    Saturday, February 9, 2019 Permalink

    I don’t usually review TV shows, though I used to write about TV and movies quite a bit. Television more so probably as I used to be quite a TV addict. It comes and goes now. Box sets and Netflix is my catnip as I’ve always been prone to watch stuff in a binge and then not turn the television on for a few weeks.

    So after some positive (well, glowing) local reviews I decided to tune into The Crya 4-part BBC production, showing here in Australia on ABC TV. Naturally I didn’t watch it live, rather watched it online via iView over a couple of days after the first episode aired.

    Of course I write this as someone who’s not read the novel on which it’s based, by Helen FitzGerald. Having done some post-viewing research (googling) however, I understand the plot is pretty consistent but the structure deviates a little from the book.

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