Stephen Kelman’s book Pigeon English is one of those rags to riches fairy stories that new writers dream about. Found in a slush pile, Pigeon English was declared to be so good it resulted in a bidding war that saw Kelman awarded a “six-figure sum” for the publishing rights. Once published, it was short listed for the 2011 Man […]
Author Archives: lisathatcher
February
12
Pigeon English – Stephen Kelman and the death of children by bullying. (Book Review)
posted by lisathatcher
February
12
VA – Fukushima! Artists answer the call for beauty. (Music Review) Disc One
posted by lisathatcher
In Otomo Yoshihide’s beautiful lecture (you can read it here) entitled The Role of Culture: After the Earthquake and man made disasters in Fukushima, he makes a compelling case for the positive role of culture in combating human fear and limiting belief when combating the challenges of the day. This beautiful double disc set is […]
February
12
Whity – Fassbinder and the dark side of the Western. (film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
How interesting to see Whity just two weeks after I saw Django Unchained. Both Fassbinder and Tarantino pay homage / deconstruct the Western in the two films, while Tarantino goes the Blacksploitation route and Fassbinder goes the gay/subteranean-fucked-up-route. It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I preferred Whity. It displays […]
February
07
Milk Milk Lemonade – Josh Conkel and the complex adult world of children. (theatre review)
posted by lisathatcher
Gender is one of the roles that we play. At the very start of MilkMilkLemonade, the lady in a leotard (Leah Donovan) asks the audience if our bodies rule our minds or if our minds rule our bodies? This sets up the framework for the play as each of the characters have to struggle with […]
February
07
My American Uncle – Alain Resnais and the thing that drives us. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
My American Uncle is a metaphor for the happiness we all hope comes out of no where for no reason that we as human creatures for some strange reason think we deserve. There is a wonderful moment in the film when Janine (Nicole Garcia) is speaking with Zambeaux (Pierre Arditi) and she describes an assumption […]
February
04
Night and Fog – Resnais asks who is to blame and reminds us we have to know. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Night and Fog holds the illustrious place of being one of the most brilliant films I have ever seen and one of the most horrific. Resnais attempt to speak about the horrors of the Holocaust is a profound triumph of every aspect of film making, from the editing which Resnais is so brilliant at executing […]
February
04
Tremolo – Mike Majkowski’s writhing sound. (music review)
posted by lisathatcher
It’s only the start of February in this new year and I have already had one of the busiest years on record. By all accounts its only going to hot up over the next few weeks and months, but on Saturday night I am going to see one of my favorite Australian Jazz bands perform. […]
January
31
The Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell gives us a rom-com for the severely depressed. (film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
I wasn’t’ sure if I would like The Silver Linings Playbook when I went in to see this film, and now that I am out I’m still not sure if I like it or not. There are some really great things about it: A different take on the rom-com, Jennifer Lawrence, Jackie Weaver, Bradley Cooper […]
January
30
Pride and Prejudice turns 200 – Jane Austen and timless wit.
posted by lisathatcher
Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance you know. There will always be vexation and grief, and you’re better to know as little as possible of the defects of your marriage partner. You know it is not sound. You would never act like that yourself. Well it seems that Jane will not. so […]
January
30
Compliance – Craig Zobel and the Bullit County McDonalds Case. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
I just saw Compliance, a film I found very difficult to watch for several reasons. I can completeoy understand why the film evoked anger and walk-outs. I felt hugely manipulated while watching it. And yet, when I read up on the Milgram experiment and the completely bizarre account of the lengths human creates will go […]
Lisa Thatcher 