Reviews Writing

Film review – Pandorica

Pandorica could be categorized in a number of ways – thriller, horror, apocalyptic, dystopian – and I think that’s one of the really appealing aspects of the film.

It picks up several generations after what they call The Great Reset, some sort of worldwide disaster that decimated all but the most isolated communities. Three youth of the Varosha tribe – Eiren, Thade, and Ares – are preparing to take part in a selection test, during which the tribe’s current leader Nus will select his replacement.

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Reviews Writing

Film review – Refuge

If you’ve been around the blog long enough, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for an apocalyptic tale. Even though I tend to gravitate to zombies, I’m an equal opportunity end-of-the-world enthusiast. In fact, having spent six years living in Beijing (with a population of over 20 million crammed into tight quarters), I really connect…

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Reviews Writing

Film review – The Witch

There has been a lot of buzz floating around about The Witch ever since it hit the festival circuit last year. Rolling Stone promised it would “scare the hell out of you” and declared it “a crafty calling card brimming with beauty and terror” for first time writer/director Robert Eggers. The Atlantic gushed over it, saying it was…

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Writing

Nachos for One

This idea started a few days ago with an offhanded comment as I shared a link on Facebook. My friends, of course, responded in kind with their own quippy remarks. “Nachos for Two… for One, Please,” said one, replied to by another with “Nachos for Four…One Fork, Please.” (And so on, and so on…) The thing is, these…

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Reviews Writing

Film review – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I have been excited for this movie to be released since I first heard about the project.

When I first walked out of the theater, I felt like they had made an admirable attempt at translating the adapted text to the screen. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like something wasn’t sitting right with me. Not having read it since it was first published, I went back and thumbed through the book and figured out what felt so… off.

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Lists Reviews Writing

The year in reviews

Recently I’ve had a bit of brain spark on an idea for a novel that has been stewing in my head for a while. I’m going to try to focus my creative energy on outlining it, which probably means fewer blog posts for a few weeks. Rather than leave you in the lurch, I thought I’d pull together everything I’ve recommended you watch over the past year.

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Writing

Resolute reflections

It’s a funny little dance we all do – We get to the end of December and wonder where the year went. We look back on the past twelve months, focusing on all the things that didn’t go as planned, the things left undone, and tell ourselves that next year will be different. We resolve that…

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Lists Reviews Writing

Summer Reading

I’ve been on a bit of a creative consumption kick again, voraciously devouring books. It’s helped that this past week has been perfect patio weather to settle into lunchtime reading, so I thought I’d kick myself back into writing mode and share what’s been on my book list of recent. The bad: Armada (Ernest Cline) I desperately…

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