Will 'Pensioners on Golf Carts' Be The Next Niche Genre?

In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a crew of unlikely heroes must stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.

Character Posters For The Last Airbender's Second Season

Independence Isn’t Just A Way Of Life

THROWBACK THURSDAY: At The Cinema With...

Pre-demolition: The derelict site of the former ABC Cinema in central Tunbridge Wells

These days I rarely see any movies at the cinema. I count myself 'lucky' if I manage the trip once in a 12-month period.

However there was a time - when I had a job - that I'd pop in to the cinema almost every week.

While the Tunbridge Wells town centre cinema (pictured above, years ago and well past its prime, and now - after a lot of faffing about - demolished) was still open, and I was friends with the manager, I saw pretty much everything that came out.

Of course, at the time, I was entertainments' editor for the local paper and self-appointed cinema critic.

I even had my own regular - and well-read (if not well-written) - column: At The Cinema With...

But when Odeon bought out the site then closed it so it didn't draw audiences away from their new, dismal, overpriced grottiplex on the out-of-town industrial estate, the rot started to set in.

I still went reasonably regularly, even though I had to pay(!), and got to see pretty much everything that interested me.

These days, now that I can't drive, it's just too much hassle. It's expensive, as well as inconvenient... and there are "other people" there when I'm trying to watch films.

To mangle Jean-Paul Sartre: "Hell is other people."

Despite what you might see elsewhere (in some movies, actually) watching a film is NOT a social experience, especially when you're paying the sort of money now being asked just to get through the doors.

If I've made the effort to go and see a film, I don't want to hear other people chattering, whooping, parroting dialogue, munching popcorn etc

I want to be in my own little bubble where I can sink into the story unfolding before my eyes.

And remember, more often that not, the people telling you that you HAVE to see a film on the big screen are those who will benefit financially from your inconvenience.

Truth be told - and it's probably a product of my age as much as anything - I find that far easier to do at home these days.

With the advances in home entertainment - the quality of TV screens and Blu-Rays, for instance - there is no longer the need to go to the cinema and pay a fortune to get annoyed with the unappreciative crowds of oiks who treat it as a social club.

Sure, I'll have to wait two or three months (sometimes a bit longer) for the movies I want to see to come out on Blu-Ray, Netflix, Prime Video, Sky Cinema etc, but I've realised I don't mind waiting.

It's a small price to pay for being able to watch a film how I want to, in comfortable surroundings with minimum distractions.

There's A Monstrous Cold War Brewing In Hawkins '85

Winter. Hawkins. 1985. Welcome back to a town crawling with secrets, where beloved heroes are facing fresh mysteries... and an all-new breed of strange.

The year is 1985, it’s a freezing winter in Hawkins, and our heroes are about to embark on an epic journey where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town..

The Little House Gets A Netflix Upgrade

They left everything they knew for a new life on the prairie. Meet the Ingalls family as they discover what “home” really means. Little House on the Prairie, based on the beloved books, premieres July 9, only on Netflix.

Neither the original TV series nor the books were part of my psyche growing up, so I'm looking forward to finally getting to know the Ingalls.

The Only Live-Action Avatar I'm Interested In

After a bittersweet victory saving the Northern Water Tribe from the invading Fire Nation, Avatar Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), and Sokka (Ian Ousley) regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King to aid in their battle against fearsome Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim).

Their journey to the impenetrable city of Ba Sing Se, home of the Earth King, is treacherous but also fruitful — Aang discovers Toph (Miyako), an audacious young master of earthbending, and convinces her to help him add earthbending to his powers of airbending and waterbending.

But even the city’s mighty walls cannot keep the Fire Nation’s forces at bay. Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) continues his quest to capture the Avatar — made even more difficult by his status as a fugitive traitor from the Fire Nation, and a nagging conscience that makes him question whether he is on the right path.

Even worse for our heroes, his formidable sister, Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu) now joins the fray. But the most dangerous enemies of all may be those unseen, for soon the Avatar and his companions will learn: Nothing is as it seems in a city of walls and secrets.

Character Posters For The Straw Hat Pirates

Set Course For Next Tuesday

New and Upcoming Western Movies and TV Shows

There's a lot of optimism (wishful thinking?) in Just Westerns':

"...preview of 40 new upcoming Western films and TV shows heading are way in 2026 and beyond, including Young Guns 3, Lonesome Dove remake, Blood Meridian, A Fistful Of Dollars remake, Horizon: Chapter 2, The Dark Tower TV Show, Butch & Sundance, Flint, The Magnificent Seven TV Show, Wind River 2 and many more, as well as new Westerns starring Tim Blake Nelson, Kevin Costner, Scott Eastwood, Kiefer Sutherland, Wes Studi, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Pine."

For my personal tastes there are a few too many "neo-Westerns" here (although I love Yellowstone... and there's an abundance of Yellowstone-adjacent projects on this list) and, maybe, not enough classic, period Westerns.

From Hulk To Hermit

In his first creature role since CBS’s The Incredible Hulk, global icon Lou Ferrigno returns to the screen, and steps into the horror genre for the first time, in the cannibal horror/thriller The Hermit.

Uncork’d Entertainment will release the film on Digital and On Demand platforms March 3.

In this dark horror tale with a quirky edge, Ferrigno plays a cannibalistic pig farmer who makes and sells jerky made from human flesh.

The film is also led by Malina Weissman (Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Anthony Turpel (Hulu’s Love, Victor), two familiar faces for younger genre fans.

This is destined to become a cult classic - either for the right reasons or the wrong ones.

I'm loving the Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Halloween vibe of the set-up, but the trailer doesn't wholly convince me that they stick the landing.

But it's Lou Ferrigno...

Luffy and Crew Sail Back Onto Netflix Next Month

Straw Hats! Grab your crew! One Piece: Into The Grand Line sets sail on March 10!

Netflix’s epic high-seas pirate adventure, One Piece, returns for season two — unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet. Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line - a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. 

As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world’s greatest treasure, they’ll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.

Everything's Better With Dinosaurs

Welcome to The Dinosaurs – an epic journey into a lost world.

From executive producer Steven Spielberg, Amblin Entertainment, and the award‑winning team behind Our Planet, this groundbreaking documentary series follows the rise and fall of the dinosaurs across hundreds of millions of years.

Narrated by Academy Award–winner Morgan Freeman.

Watch The Dinosaurs – only on Netflix, March 6.

New Stranger Things Show Takes Us Back To 1985

Something from the Upside Down must’ve survived… Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 premieres April 23, only on Netflix.

Do we need this... so soon after the main show ended (and especially with none of the original cast seemingly returning to voice their characters)? Is it even canon? Does that matter? 

The animation style will probably take a moment to get used to, but we see the kids are playing Dungeons & Dragons in the trailer so that's a bit tick in the "yes" column. 

It's set between the end of season two and the start of season three... but clearly nothing that happens in this series is ever mentioned in the later seasons of Stranger Things!

This is why, as a general rule, I don't like prequels (and this is... kinda) unless they are earlier enough in the timeline to have faded into legend or they are specifically written to answer unanswered questions from the original material (and, yes, I am referring to the Star Wars Prequels).

I'll definitely be watching the first episode, of Stranger Things Tales From '85, to see if it can hook me as quickly as live-action Stranger Things did.

And, honestly, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

You'll Have To Pry My Blu-Rays From My Cold, Dead Hand

My new Frieren blu-rays along with the Frieren Funko Pop! Paul got me for Christmas

One of the few things I picked up for myself in the Boxing Day/New Year sales this year was the blu-ray box set of the first part of the first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

But, you say, that's available "for free" on both Netflix and Crunchyroll, so why buy it?

To which I retort that not only does 'solid media' rule, but that just because the show is currently on those two streamers that doesn't guarantee it will always be.

Netflix, for instance, is always churning through its contents and removing great swathes of material to make way for new stuff. 

But, owning a show or movie on solid media (Blu-ray, DVD, even VHS) means it's always yours for as long as you have the means to play it (and you treat the media with enough respect to prolong its life).

Even if you purchase something digitally, you're essentially just renting it.

The Case of The Missing Music

Several years ago I purchased - via iTunes - the album Stand By For Action! The Music Of Barry Gray, which was essentially all the beautifully bombastic and inspirational themes and tunes from the Gerry Anderson shows I grew up with.

A magical collection of music that could very quickly carry me off to my happy place, thanks to some of the greatest theme tunes ever composed: UFO, I'm looking at you in particular.

Only, when Rachel and I went for a car journey the other week and I fired up my "driving playlist" (a mix of tracks from throughout the ages and across multiple genres) I realised that the opening track - Stand By For Action - wasn't there.

When I later checked the listing for my Barry Gray album on my iPhone, I saw more than half of the tracks were "faded out" (see picture at top of this article), and when I tried to click on them a message would pop up saying these tracks weren't available in my country!!!

WTF? I bought and paid for this music years ago.

This being Apple there's no customer service, no recourse for the angry customer to get an explanation.

Then late last year the tracks magically reappeared in my library, without a word or an apology. So now I can start blasting them out again.

But how long before they disappear again? Or tracks from other artists? God, what if all my Atarashii Gakko! music vanished over night? I don't even want to contemplate such an apocalyptic scenario.

But this isn't really a dig at Apple per se, as I love my iPhone (thank you, Rachel!), it's more about the fact that when you're talking about digital media... it doesn't really exist, it never feels truly your own, and it is vulnerable to the whims of the digital realm. 

Combine this with the numerous hic-cups I've had buying movies from Sky Cinema (I've given up pre-ordering movies this way and have reverted to Blu-rays), it's no wonder I'm sticking to physical media.

I know they take up room (not as much as a VHS cassette, of course), but they look cool and have all those spiffy extras that someday I'll get round to watching.

When you have a solid disc - or book, or whatever - in your hand, it's yours until you give it up. No megacorporation can arbitrarily decide - without explanation - that that object is no longer yours and remove it from your possession like a thief in the night.

Admittedly, on the music front I still actually err towards digital these days, but most of the time now I simply stream tracks via Rachel's Spotify account anyway.

PS. I know this is slightly hypocritical as I am a massive proponent of audiobooks, particularly the material produced by Big Finish, which I primarily purchase as digital downloads and play through their own app. 

My theory here is that these will exist at least for as long as Big Finish does... and I couldn't imagine living in a world without Big Finish!

Unwrap The Penultimate Stranger Things This Christmas

The Live-Action Last Airbender Returns Next Year

I'm On A Crunchyroll

As well as helping me get my Christmas shopping finished nice and early, this year's Black Friday also saw Amazon  offering some cut-price Prime Video subscription deals for the many, many channels available through its central hub.

So, I got myself a sub to Crunchyroll, which I'd been circling for months.

But what is Crunchyroll, you may ask?

Google summarises it as follows:

Crunchyroll is a streaming service for anime and other Japanese entertainment, owned by Sony Group Corporation. It offers a vast library of anime series, films, and manga, with content available to stream both with original Japanese audio and subtitles or with English dubs.

I had two main reasons for this subscription: (a) I was fed up waiting for more episodes of My Hero Academia to be released on blu-ray and wanted to see the final season and the spin-off series, Vigilantes; and (b) I wanted to see what other fantasy anime were available that gave off similar vibes to my new favourite shows: Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Now, I knew there were a LOT of animes out there, but I don't think I was fully ready for the full Crunchyroll library (and this is nowhere close to all the animes, as there are several other streamers offering similar content, such as Prime Video itself and Netflix, the home of the Studio Ghibli movies).

The first thing I did was finish season seven of MHA, but then I wanted to save the show's final season and spin-off, allowing myself time to explore what else there was in Crunchyroll's portfolio.

I make no bones about the fact that I suffer decision paralysis when being faced by too many options, but endlessly scrolling through the shows and movies I now had access to nearly melted my little brain.

I watched the first episodes (or two) of several almost random choices that looked like what I was looking for - which is really easy when episodes are a little over 20 minutes long - but found myself being extremely persnickety. They were good, but not EXACTLY what I was hunting for.

One thing I did quickly learn though is that I much prefer anime that's dubbed into English. When I was watching Japanese language shows I found the subtitles were changing much too fast and I couldn't keep-up and was also missing the visuals while trying to read.

This is odd because I watch subtitled movies and a lot of Japanese documentaries on NHK World-Japan and have no issue with their subtitles.

I've currently settled on The Water Magician, which is - so far - an easy-going isekai serial with 12 episodes in its first season.

Being a lifelong fan of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, I'm interested in the the isekai genre as it's something I've often thought about introducing - somehow - into a roleplaying game set-up. A number of recent Japanese-inspired systems I've been looking at fully embrace the idea of "people from our world finding themselves in a fantasy world".

Of course, I've now found my own fantasy world - Crunchyroll - and may be lost for some time as I ferret around to find the magical MacGuffin that will solve all my problems... or give me the inspiration I need for my next roleplaying campaign.

STRANGER THINGS: It's Nearly Time For One Last Adventure