I absolutely loved Nita Prose’s The Maid and The Mystery Guest. I love her writing style, I love the way she creates her story and mystery and the characters she’s created, over the course of two books have become friends. So, when I heard there was a Christmas novella, The Mistletoe Mystery, I wanted to…
Tag: family
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) – Trish Sie
There’s, arguably, a good film and story in Pitch Perfect 3, something about the family we’re from and the family we find, but from the opening sequence, which involves an exploding yacht, I knew this one was going to be a mess. There’s some wonderful ideas, casting John Lithgow in the role of Fat Amy’s…
Farscape (1999) – Through the Looking Glass, and A Bug’s Life
When Moya overhears the discussion of her passengers about perhaps leaving her and her unborn child, the leviathan with Pilot’s (voiced by Lani John Tupu) guidance triggers a starburst, and gets them stuck. Through the Looking Glass was written by David Kemper and was first aired on 10 September, 1999. Moya seems to be split…
Farscape (1999) – DNA Mad Scientist, and They’ve Got a Secret
Getting hooked on PK Tech Girl was the beginning. DNA Mad Scientist cemented my Farscape addiction, because in this episode we see what some of Moya’s crew will do to get home, and how much it may cost them. Written by Tom Blomquist, this episode was first broadcast on 18 June, 1999. When the crew…
Northern Exposure (1991/1992) – Seoul Mates, and Dateline: Cicely
Northern Exposure’s Christmas Episode walked away with the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in A Drama Series. Written by Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov,this episode first debuted on 16 December, 1991. Lots is going on in Cicely, Joel (Rob Morrow) gets his first Christmas Tree and learns that the Raven is important…
Stargate SG-1 (1998) – Message in a Bottle, and Family
SG-1 investigates a planet that requires them to wear spacesuits, so it’s cool to know Stargate Command has access to that kind of thing. I mean after the shuttle rescue at the beginning of season two, i guess they have all kinds of access. But that’s only the precursor to Message in a Bottle. Written…
TIFF24: K-Pops dir. Anderson .Paak
Anderson .Paak stars and directs alongside his son, Soul Rasheed in a formulaic but incredibly energetic and entertaining family comedy filled with lots of tunes. BJ ( .Paak) is a drummer who fell for Yeji (Jee Young Han) but couldn’t choose between a real romance and possibly more and his music career, which never seems…
TIFF24: A Missing Part dir. Guillaume Senez
Senez delivers a moving drama that examines familial connections against the backdrop of Tokyo and Japan’s clean break policy when it comes to family separation. Jay (Romain Duris in a role that allows him to deliver a stellar performance) drives a cab at night, while he spends his days trying to find the daughter he…
TIFF24: Flow dir. Gints Zilbalodis
Animated films have taken us to a variety of places and let us encounter all manner of characters, and they make us feel, which says something incredible about the fact that they started out as sketches or lines of code in a computer. Flow does something we don’t often see in animated films, its characters,…
TIFF24: The Seed of the Sacred Fig dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof examines the patriarchy and religious law in the microcosm of the family in The Seed of the Sacred Fig. For some it can be a tough watch, as it incorporates actual footage from the 2022 protests in Iran following the death Masha Amini who died while in police custody, charged with improperly wearing her…
The Mind Reels 