A Monster Calls (2011) – Patrick Ness

It’s been a long time since a book has reduced me to tears, but Ness’ powerful, and beautiful young adult books, A Monster Calls has done just that. Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd who passed before she could tell it herself, the story is a singular experience that is heartbreaking in its truth…

Maximum Ride (2016) -Jay Martin

James Patterson’s young adult novel series, Maximum Ride, takes flight cimematically this week from Paramount Pictures. I read the first book when it came out in 2005. It was fun, engaging. Patterson is a very entertaining and imaginative writer, and Max seemed perfectly suited for exploration in other media. The downside to this big screen…

Allegiance: A Cineplex Event

George Takei’s passion project, and historically important musical, Allegiance is getting a one night Cineplex Event. Inspired by Takei’s own experiences during World War II, the story, featuring music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kou, Mark Acito and Lorenzo Thione, follows the Kimura family in America after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor….

The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1

Fantasy television series always have a hard time proving themselves on television. For every Game of Thrones or Xena: Warrior Princess, there’s a Wizards and Warriors or Covington Cross. While television viewers are happy to welcome superheroes and aliens into their living rooms on weekly basis, elves, dwarves and trolls have had a tougher time…

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) -Garth Jennings

Grab your towel and Don’t Panic! Douglas Adam’s classic tale gets a big screen adaptation, of his book/screenplay, which had previously been so well used by the BBC as a miniseries, and before that a radio programme. There are things that work in this version, and things that don’t, but the effort is there to…