Spectrum
The best movies, TV, music, podcasts and books of the year (so far)
As a sort of mid-year stocktake, our critics have picked their favourite pieces of pop culture from the first half of 2022.
- by Debi Enker, Garry Maddox, Melanie Kembrey, Barry Divola and Robert Moran
Latest
Forget girl bosses, I’m just here for the insane nanny
Magic or not, Mary Poppins is still lugging enormous lamps around in her handbag and claiming to be able to speak to dogs.
- by Deirdre Fidge
Computer mouses or computer mice? Let the people decide
After years of fielding language questions, I’ve learnt it’s unwise to be definitive about definitions.
- by David Astle
‘I’m not doing it unless it shoots here’: Chris Hemsworth brings Hollywood home
The Aussie A-lister weaves a tangled web in Netflix’s new dystopian film Spiderhead.
- by Robert Moran
It is hard to make Picasso surprising - but this remarkable show succeeds
He may have dominated the 20th century like no other painter, but Picasso saw himself as a talent that could not be constrained by time.
- by John McDonald
No one would publish my novel, and now it’s up for the Miles Franklin
Rightly or wrongly, being a self-published author feels undignified. Second-best.
- by Michael Winkler
‘It’s Sydney. We’re boiling’: A city of winter sceptics strikes again
We know our weather’s not perfect. But through chattering teeth and subzero homes, we just pretend it is.
- by Richard Glover
Chill out, what ya yellin’ for? Avril was the best, and we took her for granted
It’s been exactly 20 years now, since June 2002, when Avril Lavigne released her breakout debut album Let Go.
- by Robert Moran
Reading this dazzling book is like ‘quaffing the finest champagne on earth’
Charmian Clift is the greatest essayist this country has produced, letting us discover the magic of words that tingle with feeling.
- by Peter Craven
Supernatural and bizarre: the new worlds of short stories
Two new collections of Australian stories offer plenty of rewards for readers.
- by Owen Richardson
How Perkins Paste and an Elvis obsession saved me
Fandom is often portrayed as ridiculous. I prefer to think that it’s a brave heart that can show so much love.
- by Richard Glover