The Virgin Suicides

Posted 1:26pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Jessica Thompson

The Virgin Suicides, written in 1993, is, I suppose, a haunting depiction of the ‘enigma’ that is girl-hood. Set in small town Michigan in the 1970s, the novel is narrated by an anonymous group of boys who obsess over the Lisbon sisters. There are five sisters: 13-year-old Cecilia, Read more...

Frog Fractions

Posted 1:31pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Lisa Blakie

Rating: 5/5 Miniclip and Neopets were the only experiences I ever really had with browser based games made in Flash and as it turns out, I’m missing out on a lot.   My mate Jack: “Lisa, have you played Frog Fractions?” Me: “No way, maths is Read more...

Marvel’s The Defenders | Netflix TV Series

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Samuel Rillstone

Rating: 4/5 Marvel Entertainment’s latest Netflix release offers a miniaturised street level version of the Avengers in the form of the Defenders. Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) make up the roster, following their Read more...

Ethel & Ernest

Posted 1:09pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Alex Campbell-Hunt

Rating: 4.5/5 What a nice film. Ethel & Ernest is an animated film based on a book by Raymond Briggs, the author of a number of beloved ‘80s and '90s children’s picture books, about the lives of his parents, milkman dad Ernest and lady’s-maid mum Ethel, voiced superbly Read more...

6 Days

Posted 1:12pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Diana Tran

Rating: 3.5/5 6 Days tells the true story of the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London. The embassy was stormed by six individuals, who held 26 people hostage for six days. The film follows police negotiator Max Vernon (Mark Strong), who aims to resolve the situation diplomatically and Read more...

The Secret History

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 10th September 2017 by Zoe Taptiklis

The Secret History is difficult to place into a temporal setting. Initially, based on the characters’ diction and the elaborate descriptive passages, I thought it was set in the ‘50s. The excessive use of home phones, the ones wired to the wall, made me think it was the ‘70s. Read more...

Apple Tree Yard

Posted 12:34pm Sunday 10th September 2017 by Shaun Brinsdon

Rating: 3.5/5 Following the likes of successful BBC mini-series like Happy Valley comes Jessica Hobbs’s Apple Tree Yard. Based on the novel of the same name, Apple Tree Yard centres on Dr Yvonne Carmichael (Emily Watson), a scientist who is unhappy in her marriage. She begins an affair with Read more...

Kalinka

Posted 12:37pm Sunday 10th September 2017 by Diana Tran

Rating: 4/5 Kalinka is an honest and thoughtful portrayal of the true experiences of André Bamberski in his quest to find justice for his daughter Kalinka, who was raped and murdered. While spending the summer with her mother and stepfather, Dr Dieter Krombach, Kalinka suddenly dies of an Read more...

The Case of the Missing Body

Posted 2:14pm Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Zoe Taptiklis

It has been a treat reading this book. It took me under an hour to read, but it’s taken days to digest. Imagine not knowing what your body is. I’ve always said that I have parsnip legs; they’re long and effing pale, wide at the top, tapering out into teeny little toes Read more...

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Lisa Blakie

Rating: 5/5 The Symphony of the Goddesses tour started in 2012 after the 25th anniversary celebration of the Legend of Zelda at E3 2011. Playing for just one night in Auckland (on a SCHOOL night too!), I was determined to go; it had been a dream to see this show live since I heard the orchestral Read more...