films

To All the Boys I Loved Before, the 2018 Netflix YA hit that launched a franchise and in-house star in Noah Centineo, was integral to the platform’s revival of the rom-com for a reason: it had the ineffable “it” factor. The film, written by Sofia Alvarez and based on the novel by Jenny Han, updated the best of teen romance tropes to the present – awkward yet attractive girl, charismatic yet sensitive Romeo, harmless frenemies; insular school traditions, thwarted flirtations, a good dose of heart and a larger helping of…

After a couple of hairy years for the Sydney film festival – delayed in 2021 after an online-only instalment in 2020 – things look to be more or less back to normal, with the event running from 8 to 19 June, and offering its first full program since 2019.As per usual the programmers have left no cinematic stone unturned, scouring the globe for filmic delights. Here are 10 films to check out at this year’s festival.Director: Various / Country: Australia/New ZealandFor the second year in a row, the opening night feature is…

Famous American romance novelist and screenwriter Nicholas Charles Sparks celebrates his special day on December 31. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Sparks wrote his first novel, The Passing, in 1985, while a student at the University of Notre Dame. And there was no looking back thereafter. Sparks is known for publishing twenty novels and two non-fiction books. Sparks got his breakthrough in 1993 with his novel The Notebook. He wrote it during his spare time while selling pharmaceuticals in Washington, D.C. The novel was…

If you set out to design the most deluxe version of The Lord of the Rings books imaginable, I think you might end up close to The Folio Society’s latest edition. They’re hardback, obviously, and quarter bound in burgundy leather with silver page tops — the perfect accompaniment for an apartment that smells of rich mahogany. Most importantly, however, they feature illustrations by Alan Lee, whose conceptual design work on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films helped establish the visual style of J.R.R. Tolkien’s…