The Hollow Places is a wonderfully creepy novel, laced with humour and pop culture references, and less than three chapters in I decided that I definitely needed to read more of T. Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon. We’re introduced to Kara, 34, newly divorced, and moving in with her Uncle Earl, taking up residence in a…
Tag: pop culture
The Kaiju Preservation Society (2022) – John Scalzi
John Scalzi knows how to tell a great story, and he proves it with The Kaiju Preservation Society, which is a thunderously enjoyable tale that gives us a fun and unique look at the horror/science fiction subgenre that is populated with stories of kaiju. Throwing nods to classic kaiju like Godzilla and newer ones like…
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) – Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow not only directed Kung Fu Hustle, but he starred in it and had a hand in the script. And what he delivers is a wild action-comedy seasoned with some pop culture references as well as seeming to exist in a Warner Brothers cartoon. Set in 1940s China, the story follows a troubled man,…
Batman (1966) – Hi Diddle Riddle, and Smack in the Middle
I have never seen the original Batman television series. I did see the movie that was released between seasons at a Saturday matinee when I was a kid and it inspired hours of play, but I’d never dug into the 120 episodes that comprised the series. I’m determined to fix that, so here we go…
Troll (2022) – Roar Uthaug
Troll is a fun Norwegian monster movie that ticks off a number of boxes for a kaiju movie. While it doesn’t do anything in terms of stretching character development or plot twists (the big one is seen in the trailer, so that doesn’t do the film any good) it does prove to be a bit…
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – John Hughes
My journey through some classic John Hughes continues with this 1986 classic that, like so many of his films, came along at just the right time for me. Matthew Broderick is the titular Ferris Bueller, and despite already hitting his quota of sick days for the year, he’s taking a day off to show his…
Roanoke Ridge: A Creature X Mystery (2020) – J.J. Dupuis
The search for truth and proof combine in a fast-paced, enjoyable read from Toronto’s J.J. Dupuis in Roanoke Ridge. Classified as A Creature X Mystery, the novel combines a mystery (though easily solved) with a healthy dose of, and balanced look at, cryptozoology. One cryptid in particular is at the heart of this story, that…
Free Guy (2021) – Shawn Levy
Inane, silly, and filled with laughs that gamers will delight in Ryan Reynolds new film, Free Guy, hits theatres this week. With a story that feels a little bit like a riff on the classic 1982 sci-fi film, Tron, a programmer, Millie (Jodie Comer) is working her way through the program and game known as…
Whispers Under Ground (2012) – Ben Aaronovitch
The third book in what has become known as the Rivers of London series takes Peter Grant beneath London in the next volume of the urban fantasy series. Working a murder case, while still hunting down the Faceless Man and his students, Grant, alongside Lesley, who has now joined the Folly (where they work from)…
Moon Over Soho (2011) – Ben Aaronovitch
Constable Peter Grant returns to investigate the supernatural in the second novel in the Rivers of London series written by Ben Aaronovitch. Picking up about six months after the first book, the novel sees Grant still dealing with the fallout from the events of the first novel, particularly the attack that left his friend, and…
The Mind Reels 