Orwell: 2+2=5 (film review)

Raoul Peck’s ambitious new documentary pays homage to George Orwell’s intellectual achievement by exploring contemporary manifestations of the authoritarianism the writer so deplored. Since his premature death from tuberculosis in 1950, Orwell’s novels and essays have become authoritative primers for several generations of readers seeking insight into the dark arts of political propaganda, surveillance and […]

2+2=

Which edition of George Orwell’s most famous novel is on your shelf and why does it matter? The first British and American editions of Orwell’s great satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in June 1949, conclude with the protagonist, Winston Smith, intellectually and physically broken by an oppressive totalitarian regime. This is symbolised by the disturbing image of […]

My #reading: February 2016

“We are creatures made as much by art as by experience and what we read in books is the sum of both.”  Andy Miller “I wanted to possess all the books I had already read, as well as all those I had not – every book in the whole wide world, in other words.”  Andy Miller  Filmish: […]

Review: The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann

“I think he got it just right” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s granddaughter Fresh from viewing the dazzling, 3D kaleidoscope, that is Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, it is imperative that my disbelief at reviewers, who have castigated or had mixed feelings about the film, is written down. Luhrmann’s Gatsby is quite perfect and a faithful rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s […]

Where the Wild Thing Are…

My kids love this book almost as much as I do and I await Spike Jonze’s adaptation eagerly: [vodpod id=Groupvideo.3198605&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]   more about “Where The Wild Things Are Trailer (HD)“, posted with vodpod   [vodpod id=Groupvideo.3193877&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]       more about “Where the Wild Thing Are…“, posted with vodpod