Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

Cheers to the first year of my thirties... with highlights being an awesome milestone celebration with mates, an  adventure-packed vacation in Vietnam, watching Linkin Park live in concert in Cape Town and getting a new car. In 2013, here's to a new job - starting at the beginning of February - new opportunities, new experiences and progress on goals both old (read the Bible; do an open water dive course) and new (jazz up my web presence and start a vlog). Watch this space! A very merry un birthday to me .

Disregarding the gleeful attacks on him by gossip columnists, Tom Cruise is still an A-List movie star who fills cinemas and knows how to pack his filmography with slick, crowd-pleasing entertainment. His latest effort, Jack Reacher is no different. Based on the novel One Shot by Lee Child , Jack Reacher brings Child’s hard-hitting drifter hero to the screen for the first time. One part Mentalist , one part Walker , Texas Ranger , Cruise’s Jack Reacher is a man with a rigid moral code. He’s drawn to Pittsburgh after a deadly mass shooting is committed by a sniper Reacher previously investigated, back when he was a member of the military police. When the evidence doesn’t add up, Reacher finds himself working with the killer’s defence attorney, Helen Rodin ( Rosamund Pike ) to uncover the truth. The Jack Reacher books are page-turners, combining action and mystery-solving. They’re the literary equivalent of popcorn flicks, and that comes through strongly in the film. Jack R...

Despite the fact that women are typically depicted as catty and competitive, there are dozens if not hundreds of films depicting a clash of male egos in fields as diverse as classical music composition , motor racing , professional figure skating and... magic. Yes, we've already had The Prestige - one of my all-time favourite films - but here's a more comical take on feuding illusionists. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone brings together some serious names in big screen comedy. Steve Carell stars as the title character, a Las Vegas magician who has been entertaining the crowds with his partner Anton Marvelton ( Steve Buscemi ) for 30 years. Their high-glam, Siegfried and Roy -style act has grown as stale as their friendship, however, and they're laughing stocks in comparison to unpredictable street magician Steve Gray ( Jim Carrey ) - no doubt modelled on  Criss Angel  and  David Blaine . Somehow Burt must find an illusion to top Gray, and rediscover his origin...

Four new films open in South Africa this first Friday of 2013. And generally they're of a lighthearted nature, most likely designed to cheer people up as they return to the rat race after the holidays. Parental Guidance : 80s comedy heavyweights Billy Crystal and  Bette Midler are back on the big screen in this family film about a couple who agree to babysit their grandchildren while their daughter ( Marisa Tomei ) and son-in-law ( Tom Everett Scott ) are away with work. Unsurprisingly, old styles of parenting clash with the new. Parental Guidance sports an aggregated Rotten Tomatoes rating of 18% Fresh . It's bland, it's predictable and it alternates sentimentality with gross-out jokes. It's harmless enough for undemanding audiences though. Butter : The antithesis of feel-good Parental Guidance is this indie ensemble comedy about the craziness triggered by the Iowa State Fair Butter Carving Competition. Jennifer Garner is a deranged housewife with polit...

So, what pop culture goodies, gadgets and toys did you find under the tree on Christmas morning? Let me know. This was my 2012 haul...

And we're back... Happy New Year! May 2013 be chock-full of opportunity, and may it also be the year that Humanity universally embraces the importance of compassion and responsibility. Originally posted on my web comic, Girlz 'N' Games . I seemed to spend a lot of 2012 playing through my gaming backlog. Few of the year's big releases had any appeal for me. One of the exceptions though was Telltale Games ' The Walking Dead . Even though I only got around to it in December (post Fall Steam Sale), it was definitely a highlight experience, well deserving of its currently expanding Game of the Year awards haul . Granted the puzzle aren't particularly difficult, and granted the game yanks your emotional strings in the most obvious way – like being forced to look at the grave of a boy and his beloved dog as you shovel soil over it, one spadeful at a time). However, The Walking Dead is an outstanding adventure game for grown-ups: dark, affecting... and a ver...

Just one more sleep... Wishing all my blog readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. No matter your faith, I hope you have an enjoyable day and a well-deserved, rejuvenating rest. [ Source ]

And so it begins… An epic 18-month, 9 hour cinematic adventure as audiences return to JRR Tolkien ’s Middle-earth , with The Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson once again leading us through this vast fantasy world. The Hobbit Part 1 of 3 is a journey definitely worth taking on the big screen but it’s also not without flaws – the chief being that the film feels its full 170 minute running time. Jackson frequently subjects viewers to unnecessary material that would honestly be better saved for an Extended Cut DVD . Anyway, on to the chief question: What is the brand spanking new format of HFR (Higher Frame Rate) 3D like? After all, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film to be released in 48 frames per second, as opposed to the standard 24 fps. Well, the effect is not dissimilar to the often hated True Motion setting on many HD TVs. And ultimately I think it will be a matter of individual taste how easily you accept/cope with it. The most important thing ...

Before The Avengers ( my review ) was released, probably the greatest concern was that, with a cast of multiple heroes – all of whom have strong, distinct personalities – the film would feel over-stuffed and too busy. Somehow, writer-director Joss Whedon managed to hurdle that trap. The makers of Rise of the Guardians , however, are less fortunate. It’s not there’s little to recommend about the latest effort from DreamWorks Animation . Rise of the Guardians is easily the most beautiful CGI-animated film of the year, with rich colours and vivid world creation that demonstrates incredible attention to detail (just examine Jack Frost ’s hoodie for a moment). Although the film’s 3D isn’t exceptional, it certainly adds to the visual richness. It’s just that plot-wise, Rise of the Guardians feels like it contains enough content for a trilogy at least. And the film is only 97 minutes long. Based on the children’s book series by William Joyce – who was heavily involved in the making o...

Getting in the peaceful spirit today with the Green Lantern Corps .

Just a few more days to go, and hopefully all the office Christmas parties are over. Here several high profile members of the Marvel  crowd celebrate.

Today begins the Christmas holidays for many South Africans and I too will be taking a break from blogging for the next week or so (starting Tuesday). For this reason, here are all the new releases opening at local cinemas before the end of 2012. See you in the New Year. Friday, 21 December Life of Pi : Visionary director Ang Lee brings Yann Martel 's "unfilmable" fantasy adventure novel to the big screen in spectacular 3D (and 2D) style. Suraj Sharma stars as a young man who survives a shipwreck but finds himself adrift on a lifeboat for 227 days with a Bengal tiger. A commercial and critical hit, Life of Pi has been racking up awards - most recently 3 Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Picture. My full review will be posted soon but my feelings towards the film are mirrored in Kervyn's review at TheMovies.co.za . In short, the film is the most beautiful 3D movie to date but it falls a bit short in terms of emotional and philosophical impact....

Let's take a step away from superheroes today, and instead enjoy some festive cheer with one of the world's most beloved comic characters - Tintin .

Ah, the holidays! When that desire to reconnect with family and friends can sometime backfire horribly - as a combination of end-of-year frenzy and close quarters quickly fray tempers.

Ah, the holidays! A great opportunity to devote more time to your (often neglected) social life, and reconnect with old friends and family...

It's a very strange time of year to be running this annual "fun" competition seeing as many people are already on Christmas vacation or distracted by the festive season's various demands. Still, if you would be so kind as to vote for this blog in the Entertainment/Lifestyle category of the 2012 SA Blog Awards , it would be much appreciated. To do so, simply click on the Vote button below. Some other basic rules: You can only vote for one blog per category. Voters will be sent a confirmation email which they will have to respond to in order to confirm their vote. You can vote from anywhere in the world. Voting closes on 28 December 2012.

And here's a sister post to yesterday's kiss under the mistletoe. Bruce Timm 's man-hating  Poison Ivy and abusive relationship poster girl  Harley Quinn have certainly had a more suggestive relationship once they made the leap from small screen to printed page  ( check this out as an example ). They're always marvelous fun together though .

It doesn't quite compare to the famous movie kiss , but here's Spider-Man pulling mistletoe moves on Mary Jane Watson. [ Source ]

Not to be outdone by Superman yesterday, Thor pops up in pretty much the exact same setting.

Alex Ross 's painterly  Superman adds some spectacle to Metropolis's Christmas celebrations...