Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

June was honestly an emotional roller coaster for me - not to mention cosplay crunch time as South African con season ramps up. My digital content output was relatively limited as a result, and, well, this recap post is a week late. Better late than never though, and I think it does include some cool stuff because of the slight delay. I had an amazing time at ICON , South Africa's longest-running comic and games convention, at the end of June. I got to bust out my Catwoman cosplay for the very first time, meet a professional inspiration, do the lesser-spotted-cosplaying-couples thing, take part in an exclusive event to promote upcoming video game Shadow of the Tomb Raider and catch up with friends. Next up: ICON Durban in my hometown at the end of this month. Hope to see some of you there! Features Ten things we learned about Shadow of the Tomb Raider at ICON 2018 [Critical Hit] Get lost in geekdom at ICON 2018 this coming weekend [Critical Hit] ICON 2018 recap ...

I'm deep into cosplay preparation territory as the South African geek convention season ramps up. This means my free time involves a lot more fabric, foam and glue than words, but here's all the content I got out during the month of May - which includes the last feature I would ever write for now-retired Gamecca Magazine . *sniff* Features Shadow of the Tomb Raider: A Cosplay Diary (Introduction) [vlog]: Accompanying article to the above video: Shadow of the Tomb Raider – A Cosplay Diary [Critical Hit] GeekFest – South Africa’s ever-evolving, ever-morphing geek event [Critical Hit] Chimichanga Time! - Deadpool 2 movie feature  [Gamecca Magazine] From Sunstone to Swing and Sugar, sex positivity takes hold at Top Cow comics [Critical Hit] Reviews Pitch Perfect 3 – An un-acca-ceptional end to the musical comedy series (DVD Review) [Critical Hit] The team’s thoughts on Solo: A Stars Story  [Critical Hit] Miscellaneous May DVDs – Oscar ...

A couple of days late with the April content recap, but it was another rather disrupted month for writing between holiday weekends, family weddings and being stuck in some long paralysing patches of self-doubt and FOMO-induced melancholy. Here's everything that I did manage to get out in my free time from 1 April to today. Reviews Two Marvel movie fans review Avengers: Infinity War [vlog]: The team's spoiler-free thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War  [Critical Hit] Flatliners – FLATliners is right (DVD Review) [Critical Hit] Features Change is coming... - Avengers: Infinity War movie feature  [Gamecca Magazine] Paddington – The little bear who makes us better people [Critical Hit] Fiction Writing You Winston, You Lose Some - Banter at Croft Manor between Lara and Winston, the butler. Miscellaneous April DVDs – One mega-blockbuster and a whole lot of drama [Critical Hit]

A couple of days late thanks to the Easter long weekend, but here's a brief look back at my creative output of the past month. There was a bit more video content than usual in March, as Tracy came back to graciously discuss movies with me on camera. You can see our new review vlogs below. In fact, my content creation skewed heavily towards reviews last month, and that was largely motivated by the release of one film in particular... *cough* I'm sure you'll recognise it when you see it. Anyway, before that, did you know I have an Instagram account ? Check it out for daily pics of cosplay, comic stuff, cats, general geekery, travel and food. Reviews Tomb Raider review: A fan’s spoiler-free take on the movie reboot [Critical Hit] Two women review the 2018 Tomb Raider movie [vlog]: Two lady geeks review Ready Player One [vlog]: Scribblenauts Showdown – A colourful and cute party game that’s likely to disappoint franchise fans (Game Review) [Critical Hit]...

Fan fiction is, sadly, a dirty word, and will probably stay that way. Still, I will always remain a supporter of the activity for its writing skill development and audience-building capacities. If I hadn't started producing Tomb Raider fanfic, I probably wouldn't be 50 000+ words into my own novel. But anyway... This post is really for people who maybe want to read more Lara Croft adventures in the aftermath of the new movie 's release, and the announcement about trilogy-concluding game Shadow of the Tomb Raider . So, welcome! You can find all my Tomb Raider stories on FanFiction.net , as well as a smaller selection of the same set on Archive of Our Own . The following places the spotlight on some of my personal faves, or stories I consider significant for one reason or another. Currently Ongoing Three or so chapters from the end, Living Legend is my Tomb Raider-Wonder Woman crossover. Its basic premise is that what if, instead of Steve Trevor, the first person...

Another month, another recap of all the online content I created during the previous one. February was a bit quieter from a writing perspective, but there was more video, and a hefty research piece on all the geek and gaming events South Africans can look forward to this year. It's not just about the first-ever Comic Con Africa, let us never forget. Features South Africa's gaming and geek con 2018 calendar  [Critical Hit] Long Live the King - Black Panther profiled  [Gamecca Magazine] Reviews Two South Africans review Black Panther: Also posted on Critical Hit here and this blog (with written summary ). News South Africa's star-studded and Afro-chic Black Panther premiere  [Critical Hit] February DVDs - Little romance but loads of choice [Critical Hit]

Wakanda, forever! Happy Black Panther Day , everyone. To celebrate the release of this groundbreaking new superhero film – the first solo comic book adaptation to centre on an African hero and his world – here you can find my spoiler-free review. Huge thanks to Tracy and Potato the cat for joining in the discussion. Because I know not everybody has the time to sit and watch a 20-minute clip, below the video you can find our thoughts in summary form – which we used to guide our discussion in the video. The notes should give you the gist of our feelings about the movie. “Tell me something. What do you know about Wakanda?” Introduction: No spoilers in this video. It's also not our place to discuss race and how the movie truly delves into African / black experience. Synopsis:  Straight after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to claim the throne and take over as king of the hidden African nation of Wakanda. ...

I vowed to get better at recapping here, particularly for people who haven't followed my Facebook page , which is my other collection of content updates. Here though is everything I wrote and produced during the first never-ending month of 2018. Opinion Tomb Raider and the suppression of heroine agency [Critical Hit] Annual birthday blog post: 2018 thoughts edition [This blog] Reviews The Emoji Movie (DVD) - Technically not terrible, but soulless and lazy [Critical Hit] Bright, and the Critic vs. Home Viewer opinion wars [YouTube video] News The second Tomb Raider trailer ups the island action  [Critical Hit] January DVDs - Starting the year with a bargain bin selection [Critical Hit] Features Look Forward - Ten movie must-sees for 2018 [Gamecca Magazine]

I said I was going to try and get better at keeping this blog updated with my latest work. So here is my first vlog of 2018, looking at Netflix's big budget urban fantasy film, Bright , starring Will Smith, directed by David Ayer and written by Max Landis. I also briefly look at two recent incidents where critical opinion clashed violently with that of ordinary cinemagoers and home viewers. You can watch my video review below. Alternatively, if you're not a vlogging fan or can't watch the clip for whatever reason, you can read my script notes beneath the video as a rough written review. -------------------------- Happy New Year and I wish you all the best with your personal projects for 2018. Looking back a little bit, we ended December with an interesting situation in entertainment. Two cases in the past few weeks where movie critics and the public have been at strong odds with each other Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is a helluva lot more divisive than I e...

Apologies for this blog looking so deserted. Just a friendly reminder that I do a lot of my pop culture commentary and reviews for Critical Hit these days, in addition to the movie feature every month in Gamecca Magazine . Occasionally, I also contribute to IGN Africa. That said, I promise to become better about linking to my work here (expect a huge catch-up post soon), but don’t forget I highlight my latest work almost daily on my Facebook page , which I recommend you Like. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel , which I’ve committed to updating more frequently this year. Speaking of 2018, here we are a week and a bit into January. I always struggle mood-wise this time of year. Having a birthday in early January makes you extra contemplative about yourself, your achievements and your place in the world. So, to look back… 2017 highlights I managed to attend all the major geeky cons and expos in South Africa (Cape Town’s FanCon , Durban's  ICON by the Sea , and...

It's been a while since the last one of these posts, collecting all my creative output . In that time I've created a Facebook page , as well as put a lot more effort into my YouTube channel . These are alternate ways to stay on top of my writing and other work, so please Like/Follows and Subscribe if you're interested in keeping up to date. Anyway, here's the latest collection of my reviews, articles and stories, etc. and where to find them. Written movie reviews: Wonder Woman second opinion - A comic fan's reflection [Critical Hit] Baywatch  - More like Borewatch, amirite? [Critical Hit] Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge - About as fresh as Tortuga tavern stew [Critical Hit] Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge - Second opinion [Geek Node] Beauty and the Beast  - Ultra-faithful, for better or worse [Geek Node] Feature articles and opinion: The  Mini Me Memorables  experience "Female superhero movies are the w...

Because it's Wonder Woman day, or weekend, or hopefully forever, I had to invest my pent-up (p)fangirl enthusiasm into something. The result was this video, delving into the characters of Wonder Woman and Lara Croft , and how they compare as two substantially different heroines: If you don't want to watch me ramble on, here's the video script to read instead: Lara Croft and Wonder Woman are both icons. One is the First lady of video games (literally) and the other the first female costumed superhero. Being icons they’ve had to bear a lot of representational burden over the years. What was interesting to me to discover was, especially among cosplayers, the number of Tomb Raider fans who are also Wonder Woman fans. Why are people drawn to these two characters in particular - who I see as being quite different? I’ve given this a lot of thought. There’s my ongoing fan fiction Living Legend, on FanFiction.net and Archive of Our Own . It’s a Wonder Woman-Tomb R...

Just a little fun for today, following yesterday's post on making a custom LEGO minifigure through Mini Me Memorables . Well, after my little Lara Croft arrived, I did what most adults do: I used it as an excuse to haul out my childhood LEGO (the Knights and Castles stuff of course, because that was always the best!). More specifically, I reenacted the third act of Rise of the Tomb Raider , because the Deathless Ones were far more challenging (and therefore satisfying) opponents than the military goons employed by Trinity. Deathless Ones sighted. The Divine Source must lie beyond those gates. Not advisable to go toe to toe with this frustratingly tough, armoured enemy, but what the hell... The supreme satisfaction of taking these guys down! Making sure to put all those skill points into the Brawler tree's brutal finishing moves. Stealth kill XP bonus imminent. More sneaky-sneaky satisfaction. Lara is clearly enjoying this a bit too much.