Year in Review: What You Missed on Hopscotch Friday

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Well it's not quite a year in review, as we've only really been around for four months, but for those four months we've enjoyed your company and support. So, thank you for that, we greatly appreciate it and hope to see you continue on the journey with us into 2014.

There's loads to come, with some new features and regular columns from our wonderful contributors. But for now, here's the top posts from 2013 for you to read as you nurse tomorrow's hangover.

People In Your Neighbourhood: Peter Neill


Year in Review - Top Posts - Peter Neill - Music Photographer
Coldplay by Peter Neill
In our second People In Your Neighbourhood feature I spoke with Peter Neill, wedding photographer turned concert photographer, who happens to also be a genuine and down to earth bloke who hasn't yet let hanging out with the likes of U2 and Justin Timberlake go to his head.

Read about Peter here.

The Time of the Doctor: The Long Con


Year in Review - Top Posts - The Time of The Doctor Review
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/photos/time-doctor-sneak-peek
Emmet reviewed the Doctor Who Christmas special, the Time of the Doctor arguing that the resultant bellyaching from fans and critics was unjustified. Instead Emmet suggests that this, Matt Smith's swansong, was presented just as it should have been, remembering, of course, that regeneration came about to provide the successful show with longevity beyond the retirement of the original Doctor, William Hartnell. Nothing more, nothing less.

Read Emmet's review of Time of the Doctor here.

Get Your Kinky On


Year in Review - Top Posts - Still Kinky - Sex Party

I'm wondering if this says more about you than it does us! Eliza's musings on sex with people watching and dancing like nobody is struck a nerve or peaked the curiosities of many. She's a straight shooter, but still showed us her vulnerability at this new experience, which I think many found to be both familiar and refreshing.

You can read Eliza's thoughts on the experience here, and in part two, here.

Totally Rad Adventure


Year in Review - Top Posts - Totally Rad Adventure - Space Pyrates to SPX

Giving a platform to an amazing comic creator has been a real pleasure for Hopscotch Friday, and Caitlin's detailing of her trip to the Small Press Expo (SPX) in comic form has proved that you like it too. Caitlin's comic proves that even in drawn form, sometimes reality is funnier than fiction.

Caitlin's SPX adventure in four parts can be found here, here, here and here.

See you in 2014!


That's a wrap for 2013! We want to thank you, our readers, for your ongoing support and hope to see you continuing the adventure with us in the New Year.

I'd also personally like to thank all of Hopscotch Friday's contributors. This blog would just be boring old me if it wasn't for the effort you put in out of the goodness of your own hearts and in pursuit of your passions. For your contributions I am thankful, but so too am I grateful for the opportunity to share your talents with the blogosphere.

Don't forget you can join the conversation via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram or Pinterest.

-Stevie O'C

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The Time of the Doctor: The Long Con

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In the interest of reducing angry letters, this article may contain what some consider to be spoilers. Seriously, welcome to the internet. Now, moving on...

Doctor Who fans are the worst*. They’re more annoying than Radiohead devotees.

There, I have lobbed the hand grenade of opinion into the electronic ether – come at me, Broseph!

The Time of the Doctor: Doctor Who, The Long Con
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/photos/time-doctor-sneak-peek
The airing of Matt Smith’s final outing as the Doctor on Christmas Day (Boxing Day in Australia) occasioned much kvetching and bellyaching, mainly due to confusion surrounding what actually happened. Was a story that skipped and jumped across centuries with the occasional block of narration to sum up amazing off-screen adventures of the Time Lord a fitting send-off to the actor’s version of the character? What is interesting is how much of this criticism has focused on Steven Moffat and his tenure on the show.

It seems not that long ago that fans were clamoring for him to replace Russell T. Davies, whom they felt had also outstayed his welcome, yet now revisionism has set in DaviesTennant-era is fondly remembered.

In truth, the difficulty with Moffat’s run is how ephemeral it all seems. Doctor Who has become a candy-floss confection of whimsy and misadventure that reduces sentiment to sickly sweetness and sadness to maudlin moping. You know it is time to feel those pesky emotions when the score performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales swells.

The Time of the Doctor: Doctor Who, The Long Con
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/photos/time-doctor-sneak-peek
Moffat is presiding over the most successful era of the show, sweeping up America and other foreign markets in its hipster British twee-ness. Despite the fears of long-time fans, his run has not been hindered by this success, which might have led to a desperate attempt to court mainstream tastes. That would be a criticism more appropriate to the John Nathan-Turner-era. In fact, Moffat appears to have been busily constructing a weirdly insular epic for The Eleventh Doctor.

The Doctor has frequently faced death with the determined gait of a time traveler who can recover from physical death, regenerate and come at a problem from a different angle. Though, like any surgeon, death is something he has to be conscious of as a very real outcome. The Doctor gives death meaning – often he is unable to save the lives of people he meets on his travels, but their deaths will be put to some purpose. Hence the jubilation of his exclamation, given to him by Moffat, in The Doctor Dances:

"Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!"

The Matt Smith years have been dominated by the theme of the Doctor facing his own death. Hints were dropped by arc phrases such as ‘Silence will fall’, 'Doctor, who?' and mention of the planet Trenzalore, where the Doctor will die. In amongst it all, the Time Lord has already cheated the fate revealed to him during The Impossible Astronaut, where he was shot by his brainwashed lover River Song by a lake in Utah. The Eleventh Doctor has all this time been busying himself with the problem of how to escape his own imminent end, as he approaches his set limit of regenerations.

The Time of the Doctor: Doctor Who, The Long Con
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/photos/time-doctor-sneak-peek
This is the problem Moffat set out to solve. How to escape the canonically determined end-point for the character established back in 1976 with The Deadly Assassin, when viewers learned Time Lords were only allowed thirteen ‘lives’?

As it happens the Eleventh Doctor (‘Captain Grumpy’ aside) has the solution – and it is Clara (Jenna Coleman).

Picture the scene – the planet Trenzalore, where the Doctor will die, is inhabited by a small farming community living in a town called Christmas, where it always snows and no one can tell a lie. Here the Doctor, who lies, has to tell the truth. No clever prevarications to help him. So when every enemy he has ever had converges on the town to wipe it out, ‘silence must fall’. He could say his name and return the Time Lords to this universe, but that would only lead to the Time War all over again. Instead he is locked in a stalemate, supported by his former enemies The Church of the Silence.

What does it all mean though? Why can no one lie at Christmas? Why does the Doctor keep sending Clara away and maintain the stalemate, when previously he has always found an escape clause?

The Time of the Doctor: Doctor Who, The Long Con
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/photos/time-doctor-sneak-peek
The Doctor lies. He manipulates, uses and tricks his companions and those he meets to achieve the greater good. Versions of him that have tried to bluntly assert how things should be, see David Tennant in The Waters of Mars for example, fail. The Eleventh Doctor plays at being the fool in a similar manner to Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor. He turns up to Clara’s family Christmas dinner naked, to cause confusion so she’ll accompany him to Trenzalore. Then he sends her away, which only makes her more determined to return. Promises he’ll never leave her behind, and then promptly does so again. All the while making oddly poignant asides that he will die soon and oh, if only Gallifrey could save him and break this stalemate (like they did in Troughton’s War Games), but for him to involve them would be disastrous.

Which in a roundabout way is Eleven seeding the idea in Clara’s mind to beg the Time Lords to give the Doctor an escape from his mandated death. It works. He is granted a new regenerative cycle and can set about rescuing his home world while preventing the outbreak of a second Time War.

Another possibility – isn’t it funny that Christmas is a place that happens to suit Eleven’s sense of sartorial style right down to the ground? The Doctor lies.

Fans complaining about Moffat have begun to suggest that Neil Gaiman would be a good replacement. Funnily enough The Time of the Doctor is reminiscent of The Sandman, in that Eleven like Morpheus uses the insoluble dilemma of his own imminent death to gain a second lease on life. Moffat, like Gaiman, is a fan of the long con disguised as narrative. The real question for the writer though is whether a television show can succeed as a puzzle-box instead of a gripping central narrative that audiences warm to.

-Emmet O'Cuana

*This may, in fact, be stated for dramatic effect. We love, and may possibly be, Who fans. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Radiohead fans ;)

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Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Reviewed

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When I first heard that Peter Jackson would be making The Hobbit into a prequel film his Lord of the Rings series, I was excited. When I heard there was enough material to fill two films, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. When I heard it was going to be a trilogy, I became a little sceptical.

I'll admit I've not read the book since high school, and in the context of having read The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Silmarillion, it's a bit of a blur as to what was The Hobbit and was was added from the overarching lore. However, if my shoddy memory serves, the basic premise is that a homebody gets talked into going on a treasure-hunting adventure with a bunch of fun-loving Dwarves, serving to illustrate that the smarts of an unlikely hero can win the day.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Reviewed

Thus far the movies have made Bilbo (Martin Freeman) a bit player in the larger story, which is now more about a disenfranchised people questing to reclaim their homeland from a dragon, and redeem themselves from a fall-from-grace.

While this second Hobbit film is, in some respects, better than the first, I found it to be riddled with pointless scenes. For much of the film I truly wondered where this garden path was leading me, desperately seeking some sort of arc in the story. With no beginning and a cliff-hanger ending I find the pursuit of a grand finale, some 12 months away, a flimsy excuse for stringing together a bunch of disconnected scenes of our heroes’ quest to the Lonely Mountain.

In The Desolation of Smaug we continue to explore Middle-Earth with our heroes who are still being pursued by the pack of Orcs that found them at the end of An Unexpected Journey. They encounter Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) - a were-bear and giant spiders, and are captured by the Elves of Mirkwood Forest, only to escape and be smuggled into Lake-town by Bard (Luke Evans).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: A Review

Familiar LOTR tropes are rehashed but not built on or treated in any unique way: Elves still hate Dwarves; if you're cut by a Morgul blade, you need Kingsfoil (a weed) and Elven magic to heal the wound. Yep, we know.

Unfortunately, neither are the characters progressed much here, rather passing relatively unaffected from ordeal to ordeal. Instead, most seem to serve a function: Balin (Ken Scott) is the wise advice-giver and problem-solver, Thorin (Richard Armitage) plays brooding hero, Kili (Aidin Turner) provides some comic-relief, and poor Bilbo has been demoted from titular protagonist to ‘that guy who'll always get them out of trouble’.

Despite this, it does all seem worth it when our band of heroes finally reaches the Lonely Mountain and encounter Smaug the Dragon (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

By this stage in the film I had a serious need to pee. But from the moment Bilbo entered the cave of riches and awoke the slumbering, smooth-talking dragon, every scene featuring this amazingly realised character was worth crossing my legs for.

It is here that the film really begins to shine. Perhaps the dialogue is lifted wholesale from Tolkien’s original, or maybe it’s because Bilbo is finally given a chance to talk rather than bumble along, but something changes and the film is all the better for it.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Sketch by Paul Caggegi
The Hobbit by Paul Caggegi (http://processdiary.com/)
Unsurprisingly, The Desolation of Smaug ends on a cliff-hanger which will leave you wandering exactly how they are going to fill another 2 to 3 hours with what seems to be a pretty succinct set up of an epic battle. But given much of these prequels have been consciously made to tie in directly to the LOTR films I'm pretty sure Jackson figured it all out years ago.

All in all, I am glad I saw it, even if I did risk a bladder infection. As with each of Jackson’s interpretations there are plenty of beautiful moments, both visually and emotionally. And despite some pithy dialogue we get to escape to Middle-Earth for yet another few hours. It is spectacular but certainly feels drawn out, maybe we didn’t need that second breakfast after all.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is in cinemas from Boxing Day.

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5 Flicks for Christmas

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Dig your couch groove - it’s the holidays!

For some distressing reason - apparently the ten year anniversary, but I suspect a plot to drive me to the brink of madness - Richard Curtis’ inexplicably popular Love, Actually is bounding across social networks as the most popular Christmas movie this season. Clearly It’s A Wonderful Life’s reign as the must-watch holiday movie has well and truly ended (does anyone even watch Capra anymore…?)

Well at least people are not queuing up to watch Santa Claus The Movie, so give thanks for small mercies. I only recently learned Australia never had a cinema release of this product-placement stuffed ‘holiday classic’ - truly this is the Lucky Country.

At any rate, here are five films that happen to be both seasonal and not so cloying you’ll want to drown in the egg-nog.

Bad Santa [Terry Zwigoff (2003)]


5 Flicks (Movies) for Christmas - Bad Santa

The more acceptable 'Christmas' offering with Billy Bob Thornton that doesn’t happen to feature some lazy attempt at global politics commentary - and instead serves up an alcoholic con-man who poses as a department store Santa Claus while getting his end away with as many shopping complex customers as he can, before ripping off the holiday takings.

Not exactly suitable for watching with the kids, so.

Despite the foul-mouthed shenanigans of Thornton’s visibly pissed Claus - clearly the man is a method actor - there is actually a sweetness buried deep, deep, within this film. Willie Stokes is a great part for Thornton to show off his ornery charm, becoming a reluctant father-figure to an abused young boy (not that it stops him taking advantage). Able support is given from an ensemble that includes Parenthood’s Lauren Graham and Bernie Mac as a corrupt security guard.  Sadly Bad Santa is also John Ritter’s swansong on the big screen. Terry Zwigoff’s film inspires many a guilty gut-laugh, but is no guilty pleasure. Great fun.


Kiss Kiss Bang Bang [Shane Black (2005)]


5 Flicks (Movies) for Christmas - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

The words 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang', which I saw on an Italian movie poster, are perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies. This appeal is what attracts us, and ultimately what makes us despair when we begin to understand how seldom movies are more than this. - Pauline Kael.

In the movies of Shane Black it is always Christmas. This self-aware comedic thriller manages to drop sly references to Sunset Boulevard and poke fun at the conceited Hollywood community at large, all the while gunning along on great dialogue banter between stars Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan.

Throw in a pointed dig at Peter Jackson’s bloated Lord of the Rings trilogy and you’re set.

From the gorgeous Saul Bass inspired opening titles, to the riffing on film noir tropes, Black has produced a tightly  packed love/hate-letter to the movies full of magic, missing digits and wordplay loving henchmen. Tarantino wishes he could be this disciplined.

Scrooged [Richard Donner (1988)]


5 Flicks (Movies) for Christmas - Scrooged

Bill Murray survived the debauchery of the Saturday Night Live years, became the comedy star of the 1980’s and had enough taste to not piss away his talent multiple cash-in pics (paging Chevy Chase…). Scrooged is a satirical look at the greed is good mentality of the 1980’s and commercialism posing as holiday good cheer that had reached its apex by then, with Murray playing the gleefully Gordon Gekko-esque ‘Scrooge’ who is visited by three ghosts in a modern update of the Dickens fable.

Richard Donner was inspired by the sad fate of Margot Kidder following her Superman success, hence the homelessness subplot of the story. The film walks a thin line between sentiment and mockery – the Richard Pryor joke still leaves a bad taste in the mouth – but when it gets it right, Scrooged nails it, descending into pantomime by the end.

Trading Places [John Landis (1983)]


5 Flicks (Movies) for Christmas - Trading Places

Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd work beautifully together in this film. It’s a sign of John Landis’ sense of comic timing that their characters, Valentine and Winthorpe, only meet in the third act of the film. Their two lives turned upside down by a bet between the Duke brothers (Golden Age matinee idols Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) to decide whether it is nature or nurture that is the deciding factor in a person’s life.

The Christmas backdrop of the film serves to emphasise the casual excess of the Duke’s lives, contrasted sharply with the poverty of life on New York’s streets. Winthrope's incredulous reaction to being framed and stripped of his privilege is a thing to behold - as a comedian Ackroyd had already perfected that marvelous machine-gun delivery - whereas Valentine’s sudden transport into the upper echelons of the wealthy leaves him at first paranoid that this is a con, only for a sense of entitlement to quickly develop. Trading Places remains razor-sharp and very, very funny.

Die Hard [John McTiernan (1988)]


5 Flicks (Movies) for Christmas - Die Hard

Think of it as the worst Christmas party ever. Terrorists take prisoner the revelers at the Takanomi Plaza, with Alan Rickman’s Hans a sharp-suited, silver-tongued villain, playing a long-game that accounts for every possible response of law enforcement. What he did not plan for is the presence of New York cop John McClane.

Now I have a machine gun. Ho, ho ho.

Bruce Willis has never been better as the anarchic McClane, an all-too-human unstoppable force, who begins picking off the terrorists guerrilla style. Sadly the sequels have long since spoiled the appeal of the original, with McClane becoming a callous Terminator who can leap on fighter jets and destroy Moscow at a whim. However, here he is a frightened and desperate man fighting to save his estranged wife and outwit the deadly Hans.

Still thrilling, still the pitch-perfect action film - it is easy to forget that at the time, Willis was cast against type in this role.

- Emmet O'Cuana

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My Neighbor Totoro Turns 25

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I am mildly ashamed to admit it, but I was a very late convert to the magic of Studio Ghibli and the genius of Hayao Miyazaki.

My introduction was Spirited Away and only due to the attention it gained post-2003 Oscars at which it won Best Animated Feature. But even then it was a good few years before I ventured into anything else by either the studio or the director.

My Neighbor Totoro Turns 25

Made in 1988, My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro - となりのトトロ) only came onto my radar in at least 2007 long after I had first noticed him in those Morning Glory stores filled with brightly coloured Japanese figurines.

Totoro is the story of two young girls who move into a house in the country with their father, which they find is inhabited by small sooty house spirits. The spirits guide the children's discovery of their new home and leave the house once the children become used to their new environment.

Later Mei is led to a tree nearby her home and happens across another spirit, whom she dubs Totoro, and magic ensues.

My Neighbor Totoro turns 25

What I find wonderful about Miyazaki's work is the way that he balances emotions and wonder in his films. In Totoro the children have been uprooted and moved to a new and unfamiliar place because their mother is sick. Moving home and having family members in hospital are generally not easy situations to deal with, however here they are guided through the transition by the house spirits, initially, and the guardian of the forest, Totoro

As they wait for their father at the bus stop, the whimsical Totoro appears to Satsuki providing her with a comfort, reassurance, and almost distraction, until her father arrives. In the cold, he brings her warmth and this radiates throughout the film.

Oh, and of course there's a Catbus.

My Neighbor Totoro turns 25

I think there's a special something in Miyazaki's films that is just for grown ups. It's a feeling of nostalgia and an awakening of that long lost sense of whimsy and belief in the unbelievable. For me, this experience is heightened by listening to the characters speak in their native Japanese, a language that is far more expressive, at least in my experience from Miyazaki's movies, than any English dub. I think that's something children miss from these films, but at the same time it is these elements that I hope they too come to appreciate some day.

So as it turns out, My Neighbor Totoro is now 25, and to celebrate the lovely people at Madman have released a special anniversary limited edition box set, which includes a DVD and Blu-Ray as well as an official Art of My Neighbor Totoro book and exclusive art cards. This would make a great gift for anyone passionate about Miyazaki and Ghibli or, alternative, a keepsake for those children in your life who one day you'll be able to share it with.


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Awesome Christmas Gifts: Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

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Less than ten days to go and you're sure you've forgotten someone, but not sure who? Yup, know that feeling. To help you out here are some last minute stocking stuffer suggestions, or those 'just in case I forgot someone, but if I haven't I'll just keep it for myself' gifts!

Pop! In Vinyl


Christmas 2013 gift guide last minute stocking stuffers

Those crazy cats at Funko know what's hot and use melted plastic to mould it into dust gathering goodness! Don't get me wrong, I love my Pop! Vinyl figures. Whether it's Game of Thrones, WWE, Disney, Batman, Marvel or Adventure Time (and many, many more) you'll find a Funko Pop! Vinyl figure for everyone.

Popcultcha currently has loads of figurines, including bobble heads, SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) exclusive releases and metallic limited editions, but you can find them at pretty much any geek-y game-y stuff shop.

A Bit of Comedy Luxury


Last minute stocking stuffers gift guide Christmas 2013

This one really could go either way - the recipient will love it, and you for it, or you'll be taking it back home with you. So, win-win! To my mind, Fielding is the ultimate hipster and his comedy is a commentary on art, popular culture and absolute ridiculousness.

My favourite sketches are the nonsensical adventures of a plasticine Joey Ramone. When purchasing the Luxury Comedy DVD for someone, what you really need to decide is whether you're going for a joke or a concept.

Ice and Stones


Last minute stocking stuffers gift guide Christmas 2013

Ice is good for many things, cooling drinks in particular. Fred's ice trays both cool drinks and present a talking point, with whimsical shapes and witty names including the brain freeze, abominable ice men, and gin & titonic.

Alternatively, if you're going for cold but without the melt, try whisky stones instead.

Bow Ties are Cool


Last minute stocking stuffers gift guide Christmas 2013
http://www.bties.com.au/
I'm actually astounded at how often I find myself in that old dilemma of how exactly to accessorise my outfit. The result is that I would love to find a bow tie in my Santa stocking this Christmas! Because, you know, bow ties go with just about everything!

Check out B.Ties, a Melbourne-based brand that brings funk and quirk to this old fashioned accessory - for the fellas and also for the ladies.

Nerftastic!


Last minute stocking stuffers gift guide Christmas 2013

You might need a large(ish) stocking for these ones, but if you want to get the kids - big and small - out of the house for a bit on Christmas Day, I reckon a few Nerf guns are the way to go. Some shoot foamy things, while others are soakers, but either way fun is almost guaranteed to ensue. Just a tip - if you get a foamy one, you might want to stock up on darts - thank me later.

That's it for our 2013 Christmas gift guides! If you missed them, here are our gift guides for her and for him. Happy shopping!

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5 Frightful Tales for Friday the 13th

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When I was first asked to do a list of films to mark Friday the 13th….well I’ll be honest, I may have sobbed a bit. Quietly. Just out of sight.

There are twelve films in the Friday the 13th series, including the one where Jason went into space, the one with Freddy Krueger and the remake. That is a lot of time I am not going to get back.

Thankfully I was assured I could pick *any* five films I wanted, as long as they're horror pictures.

You can imagine the relief. So here we go – five different horror films, for five different moods, and five different frights.

For the Gorehounds: Night of the Living Dead [George A Romero (1968)]


Top 5 Horror Movies for Friday the 13th

The original and still arguably the best zombie film, Romero starts proceedings with typical B-movie tropes. The opening feels amateurish, overlong, another cheaply made independent picture. Then as the shock of a sudden zombie attack changes the tone, Romero injects the proceedings with an increasing sense of tension. Gruesome imagery lead to an unforgettable climax. A deathless horror classic.


For the Film Snobs: Peeping Tom [Michael Powell (1960)]


Top 5 horror movies for Friday the 13th

Not only was this picture about a murderous psychopath who films his victims at the moment of their deaths – with the audience made implicit by sharing his visual point of view – banned, it ended the career of film-maker Michael Powell. Carl Boehm plays the cherubic Mark, whose mind has been distorted by the invasive psychiatric theories of his father. His crimes are in fact a twisted continuation of the father’s work. Peeping Tom is innovative, chilling – and even features a dance number performed by Moira Shearer, the star of Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes. Unmissable.


For the Conspiracy Fans: The Shining [Stanley Kubrick (1980)]


Top 5 horror movies for friday the 13th

Stephen King disowned this cinematic adaptation of his haunted house story – then later (in 1997) directed his own television miniseries starring Rebecca De Mornay. Kubrick’s earlier film is a tour de force of audio and visual depth, a layered masterpiece of technique. It’s a nightmarish echo chamber that draws in the audience and allows their imagination to drag them deeper. Recent documentary Room 237 for one demonstrates just how much fascination the film still holds.

For the Romantics: Braindead (Dead Alive) [Peter Jackson (1992)]


top 5 horror movies for friday the 13th

While Shaun of the Dead popularized the ‘rom-zom-com’ term, Peter Jackson had already ploughed that gunky furrow with this gruesome comedy. Timothy Balme and Diana Peñalver play our star-crossed lovers Lionel and Paquita (“zoo….what is zoo?”). Standing between them is Lionel’s terrifying mother (Elizabeth Moody, unforgettable), who is then zombified by a weird rat-creature.

Cue kickboxing priests, undead sex and a very Freudian final confrontation between Lionel and Mother. Also, a lawn-mower figures prominently in the proceedings. Finally, a romantic comedy that trades suggestive glances for gushes of bodily fluids of all kinds flying at the screen. One more time everyone – I kick arse for the Lord!


For the Chills: Ringu (Ring) [Hideo Nakata (1998)]


top 5 horror movies for friday the 13th

Hideo Nakata’s film is Kubrickian in its use of sounds and repetitive images. That it takes the theme of Koji Suzuki’s novel – which updates traditional Japanese ghost stories to modern times – and then uses film to illustrate how this takes place shows not only an understanding of storytelling, but a fantastic technical imagination as well.

Ringu terrifies because it stays in the memory. Its scares are based around the idea of a virus that passes from host to host – just as viewers of this film are then compelled to share it with others, in case maybe there is something….other happening here. 

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Awesome Christmas Gifts: For Him

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Time is ticking! Only two weeks until Christmas and Santa waits for no man. So, to help you out here are some suggestions for the fella(s) in your life.


Keeping Cosy: Ugly Christmas Sweaters


Christmas Gift Guide: For Him

Just in case Christmas Day turns out to be a little on the chilly side, here is a selection of ugly Christmas sweaters for you to choose from. But wait, they're not just ugly jumpers, they're actually heavy metal band merchendise! Oh, so that totally makes it okay. You can get Motorhead and Slayer jumpers from Backstreet Merch, and Queens of the Stone Age via Rekords Rekords.

Beer Snob: Your Very Own MicroBrew


Christmas Gift Guide For Him

Apparently beer making is as easy as cake making, especially with a BrewSmith home brew kit. A Melbourne-based company founded by Adrian MacGeraghty, BrewSmith aims to bring premium beer making into the home at an affordable price. The kit is reusable, with a number of 'refill' flavours available, including Summer Citrus Blonde, Chocolate Paradise Porter, and Aussie Wattle Pale Ale. They also have a Simple Cider.

They say that without the preservatives or filtering agents of commercial beers, home brewed beer leads to a lesser hangover. That alone makes the $70 reusable starter kit worthwhile, and the $20 refill kits an absolute bargain. The only drawback is the delay, as each batch takes around three weeks to ferment, so some planning ahead may be required.

Keeping with Tradition: It's What's Underneath that Counts


Christmas Gift Guide For Him

Those good old staples of socks and undies now come in a vast array of funky and colourful varieties - perfect for any man in your life, including Grandpa! Nothing says hipster Christmas quite like an amazing pair of paisley, sprinkled or patterned socks from Swedish company Happy Socks. And what about a pair of Sponge Bob, Star Wars or fruit inspired underpants from Pull In. Grandpa, uncle Bruce and your boyfriend will all love you for it.


I Like to Play: Get Steamed


Christmas gift guide for him

Steam is a platform and community that digitally distributes games (for PC, Linux and Mac), from smaller independent titles to those from larger and better known developers. All the cool kids are on Steam, which has over 2,000 available titles and a community of some 40 million potential competitors or compadres.

While there are loads of free games, paid games include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Batman: Arkham Origins, Final Fantasy VIII and Football Manager 2014. And for under $20 you can get award winning indies like Super Meat Boy and Gone Home. There are bundles available for a range of prices, so there's pretty much something for everyone on Steam.

For the Young: Or the Young at Heart


Christmas gift guide for men

I could have made some serious grown up DVD recommendations, like Danish cop show The Killing, the boxed set of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, or Luther starring Idris Elba. Instead, My Little Pony, Adventure Time and Phineas and Ferb make the list this festive season. Why? Because each is mostly harmless and utterly enjoyable!

I asked Aussie comic writer, Ryan K Lindsay, author of My Little Pony Micro Series: Rainbow Dash #2 (available on Comixology) why he thought MLP would make an awesome gift this Christmas, 'What's not to love about ponies who think friendship is magic? Sweet characters, plenty of horseplay [see what he did there] and when I write 'em stolen Batman lines, Blade Runner speeches pony-fied and room for a David Bowie reference'.

The intertextuality (that's a wanky word for references to other pop culture etc) alone makes all three worth watching. Adventure Time will leave you wondering what the heck you just watched, Phineas and Ferb will make you feel smarter than everyone else in the room, while MLP will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling, yup, even for the fellas (see bronies). And the best part - you can legitimately watch each of them along side the younger nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and grandma.

Did you miss our gift guide for her? Find it here.

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Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk: A Review & A Competition

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Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk is the charming tale of what happens when Dad gets waylaid on the way home from the shops, to which he went to pick up some milk.

Somehow between the shops and home, Dad manages to find himself travelling through time with a dinosaur in a hot air balloon, moving through time and space, and fending off a tribe of natives, a family of vampires and a gaggle of aliens!

It truly is treacherous on the way home from the shops.

Fortunately the Milk Neil Gaiman Chris Riddell

You know he's just run into a neighbour, stopped for a chat and lost track of time, but that's far less enjoyable than dinosaurs, time travel and world saving milk!

The interludes from the children are especially lovely, as they patiently and attentively listen to their father's long-winded excuse for being delayed.

The writing is quintessentially Gaiman, by which I mean thoroughly English, and pleasantly whimsical. Gaiman has such a great command of language, making Fortunately, the Milk almost lyrical in expression and a joy to read.

The illustrations are beautifully detailed, and quite mature for a children's book, or at least compared to what I remember from children's books when I was younger.

Presented in black and white, Chris Riddell's illustrations compliment the story as it is being told, with the text printed in and around many of the drawings. I particularly liked the portraits of characters staring out from the book and drawing readers in.

Fortunately the Milk Neil Gaiman Chris Riddell
Funny how Dad looks just like Neil Gaiman himself!
The result is that you can't help but smile reading Fortunately, the Milk, be you grown up or child.

As someone who is lactose intolerant, I thoroughly recommend Fortunately, the Milk, and although it's aimed at kids in the 8-12 age range, I don't see anything wrong with having a few great children's books tucked away in a grown up bookshelf.
Thanks to the lovely people at Bloomsbury, we have a copy of Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk, to give away! Yay!

All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in with a chance! And don't forget to share the love on Twitter or Facebook. Good luck! *Fine print below the form.

Competition closed! Congrats to our winner and thanks to everyone who entered!


The fine print: Entries close 11.59pm on Friday 13 December 2013. Your details will not be used for any purpose other than for the delivery of your prize. Hopscotch Friday and Bloomsbury Publishing do not take any responsibility for the damage to, loss or delay of prizes sent to winners - unfortunately, that's in the hands of Australia Post. The decision of judges is final and no correspondence will be entered upon. One entry per person. Any subsequent entries will be void. Incorrect answers are void. Prizes are not redeemable for cash or any other currency. This competition is open to Australian residents only. Any comments or queries should be submitted via the contact form or in the comments below.

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Totally Rad Adventure: The Final Leg

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This is the last in Caitlin's series about her adventures taking the Space Pyrates to SPX in the USA. Missed parts 1-3? You can get them here!

Totally Rad Adventure Space Pyrates at SPX Caitlin Major
Totally Rad Adventure Space Pyrates at SPX Caitlin Major
Totally Rad Adventure Space Pyrates at SPX Caitlin Major
Totally Rad Adventure Space Pyrates at SPX Caitlin Major
Totally Rad Adventure Space Pyrates at SPX Caitlin Major

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Awesome Christmas Gifts: For Her

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With only three more weeks until Christmas (I know, where has the year gone?), we thought we'd give you a hand with coming up with gifts for your loved ones, and even those you don't like very much but should probably get a little something for anyway. You know, get into the spirit. It's not about the gift, it's about the giving...or something like that.

So here we go, a completely random list of absolutely awesome Christmas gifts for her.

A Light Read: Fiction, Facts and Comics


Christmas gifts for her

Danielle Hawkins' Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is the story of Helen McNeil, a country vet, and her whirlwind romance with All Blacks rugby player Mark Tipene. Just as they're getting to know each other their courting is suddenly interrupted by a 'little something', which changes their relationship forever (read our review here). Thoroughly chic lit, Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is one to take on holidays or throw in with the towel and sunnies for an afternoon on the beach. Chocolate Cake for Breakfast is published by Allen & Unwin.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is a collection of short comic strips detailing various food related journeys from Lucy's life. Food discoveries, rebellion and comfort through food, the way certain kitchen smells transport you back to another time and place...this is Relish (read our review here). Relish is available through Macmillan.

Rose George's Deep Sea and Foreign Going is a detailed account of her journey from Felixstowe in the UK, though the Suez Canal, via Somali pirate waters to her final port in Singapore. The point George makes is that shipping in many respects, is a hidden industry, yet it's one that brings us '90 per cent of everything' (read our review here). Deep Sea and Foriegn Going is published by Allen & Unwin.

Brighten Up: Colourful Beads


Christmas gifts for her
See: emilygreen.net
Emily Green is based in Melbourne and makes various colourful wonders, including necklaces, scarves (both silk and knit), earrings and now shoes. Emily's necklaces have become iconic in and around Melbourne, with the brightly coloured polymer beads popping up in all manner of trendy places. 

The best thing about Emily's necklaces is that they're versatile and can be worn with just about anything - adding colour to a monochrome professional outfit, or pulling from a colourful spring dress. Either way, you can't lose with one of these. You can buy an Emily Green necklace here or find stockists here.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Beauty and the Geek


Christmas gifts for her
See: Bellabox.com.au and Lootcrate.com
What about a gift that just keeps turning up, month after month? Sound like something to get you and keep you in her good books? Well, that's the idea behind both Bella Box and Loot Crate - you subscribe and received a box of goodies delivered to you each month. The catch is that it's a bit of pot luck as you don't know what's inside until you open it.

For the lady in your life who loves fashion and beauty there's the Bella Box, which comes filled with sample sized products that effectively allow you to try before you buy in full size. Their website has a long list of the brands you might receive covering the spectrum of beauty products. They also have a men's range and baby range.

But for the lady geek in your life, maybe a Loot Crate is more up their alley. Again, the crates come on a monthly basis, but this time they're filled with 'epic geek and gamer gear'. Past crates have included The Zombie Survival Guide, TMNT Pop! Vinyl figures, an 8-bit bow tie, and various sweet things like PEZ and Warheads.

It's Alive: Great Balls of...Moss?


Gift guide for her for Christmas
See: mister-moss.com
Mister Moss is another Melbourne-based company taking an interesting approach to keeping plants. Instead of pots, Mister Moss plants are balled up in moss and tied with string. Although intended to be hung, with a specially made stand also available, a Mister Moss will happily sit all on its own, bringing a feature and a little colour to your home.

Mister Moss plants, including a Christmas tree and Poinsettia are available from here or through stockists found here.

Nice Wheels: Just Like Riding a Bike...or Skates


Christmas gifts for her
See: reidcycles.com.au and moxirollerskates.com/shop/
You don't have to wear lycra to ride a bike, and in fact, I probably recommend you don't if you're going to be riding a vintage style bicycle from Reid Cycles. The ladies bike comes in a variety of bright colours, from red, yellow, baby blue and sunshine yellow, and you'll probably want to add a basket for all your shopping. If you're feeling truly nostalgic, I'd recommend some spokey dokeys - you know, those things that clack back and forth along the spokes as you coast along, and well, because we are grown ups here, a wine bottle carrier too.

But if cycling isn't for you, what about a pair of roller skates?! Roller skating seems to be having a bit of a revival, possibly due to the growing popularity of roller derby, but maybe because skating is just good clean fun (off the derby track that is). Moxi skates bring retro glamour to skating with their animal print, candy colours and Hello Kitty themed boots. These skates are definitely made for showing off. Skater HQ has a selection of recreational skates, as well as those for derby and speed. 

Next time: awesome Christmas gifts for him!

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