For the past little while I’ve been entering a flash fiction writing competition run by the Australian Writers Centre. At 5pm on the first Friday of each month, the AWC reveals three elements that must be included in a story with a maximum of 500 words. You’ve got until midnight on Sunday – just over…
I want to say a few quick words about Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy (aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and friends). It took me a while to figure out why I’ve been enjoying these books so much, but I think I’ve finally nailed it. It’s the characters So many novels these days are based…
It was nearly three years ago that I wrote this article in praise of the music in the 2015 war-on-drugs thriller Sicario. Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the sequel to that film, and it was with great excitement that I fronted up to my local cinema to see what could possibly be done to…
Where have I been? You may have noticed it has been months since my last post. I would love to be able to reveal that my silence was because I was on a highly classified government mission to deepest Antarctica, or I that I finally took part in that round-the-world blimp race I’d always had…
To start 2018, Matthew is writing a blog series on masters. Not revered historic figures, but everyday people in the modern world who excel at what they do, whatever that may be. Each will teach us a little about how we, too, can pursue our own version of greatness. What better way to kick off…
Literally. In October last year, in rather innocuous circumstances that are not worth asking about, I broke my wrist. I had no idea. For months I carried the injury around, continuing to use the painful wrist, thinking it was only a sprain. I could type, I could swim, I could even do pushups (but probably…
To start 2018, Matthew is writing a blog series on masters. Not revered historic figures, but everyday people in the modern world who excel at what they do, whatever that may be. Each will teach us a little about how we, too, can pursue our own version of greatness. What better way to kick off…
To start 2018, Matthew will be writing a blog series on masters. Not revered historic figures, but everyday people in the modern world who excel at what they do, whatever that may be. Each will teach us a little about how we, too, can pursue our own version of greatness. What better way to kick…
My family and I are looking to buy a new house. It was a hard slog the first time we did it nearly a decade ago, so I thought there was a good chance we were facing another long, monotonous, dispiriting experience. In many ways I was right. In one surprising way I was very,…
Taika Waititi was a surprising choice of director of the third movie in the Thor series, Thor: Ragnarok. Primarily known for his quirky, feel-good comedies—most recently the surprise hit of 2016, Hunt for the Wilderpeople—Waititi does not seem a natural fit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it works. And not only does it work,…