movies & tv »

The Duchess

Big wigs, beautiful dresses and cultured British accents can’t hide the fact that this BBC co-production is little better than Mills and Boon. Full article »

Up the Yangtze

While concurrently watching the Olympics and Paralympics on television which were being staged in Beijing I watched a documentary called Up the Yangtze which highlights the unfolding story of the building of the world’s largest hydroelectric scheme on the Yangtze River, and the resulting displacement of millions of people. Full article »
book reviews »

Paul Keating’s Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business: Paul Keating’s interrupted revolution is more a book about economics than a political biography; although it is not devoid of biographical detail about Paul Keating. Full article »

No Ordinary View

Naomi Reed’s No Ordinary View is the sequel to 2008’s Australian Christian Book of the Year runner up My Seventh Monsoon. Full article »
music reviews »

The Sound of Madness – Shinedown

Shinedown don’t list their musical influences in the sleeve of their latest album, but my guess is that Metallica would rank at number 1 if they had done so. Full article »

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace - The Offspring

For every fan the Offspring have made over the years, they have probably offended a handful of self-respecting people. That just seems to be the way they operate. They leave insulted people in their wake. Full article »