Grant Watson
@fictionmachine.bsky.social
380 followers 230 following 2.2K posts
Rotten Tomatoes-accredited film critic. Award-winning playwright. Noted international education analyst. Serviceable theatre director. Has multiple sclerosis. www.fictionmachine.com
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fictionmachine.bsky.social
Finally checked out the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. Logged it on Letterboxd - the checkbox asked "Have you seen this film before?"
fictionmachine.bsky.social
I can imagine the editor now: "Well dang, Jimmy, I mean Cash was no Neil Sedaka but sure, immediately 1,000 words."
fictionmachine.bsky.social
Someone commissioned it too.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
No wonder she grew up with everyone calling her Dido - who names a child Florian?
fictionmachine.bsky.social
I love that the genre is feeling healthy enough to accommodate both.
Reposted by Grant Watson
lizbarr.bsky.social
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. Check out my top ten sins since my last confession -- you will not BELIEVE number eight!"

Weary sigh from the other side of the confessional. "Liz, we've talked about this."
nickdmiller.bsky.social
Heads up, you know who you are, it's official the Pope says clickbait IS A SIN. And not one of the fun ones.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
TIL that pop singer Dido's full name is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong.
Reposted by Grant Watson
dlammin.bsky.social
My ★★½ review of TRON: ARES, a mostly bland misstep away from the digital wonders of the previous films into a tepid almost-commentary on AI and tech company dominance. The lead performance is a charisma-vacuum and the film itself lacks any distinct personality of its own.
Tron: Ares Review: Leaving The Grid for the real world leaves little digital magic | SWITCH.
When I come to a 'Tron' film, I don't want to watch people driving around recognisable streets or blowing up buildings. I want to be taken to another world; a digital world of light and sound, where t...
www.maketheswitch.com.au
fictionmachine.bsky.social
I can think of at least one pretty fucking obvious sign of extremism...
fictionmachine.bsky.social
THAT COFFEE IS FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
My love for the cassowary knows no bounds.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
A cassowary won't *accidentally* kill you...
fictionmachine.bsky.social
So remember to love the almighty Southern Cassowary – but also remember: don’t hug it. (13/13)
A cassowary minds its own business, on an Australian beach.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
In 2019, a farmer in the US state of Florida tripped over in front of his pet cassowary. It kicked him to death. Cassowaries make bad pets, which is why you shouldn't import them. I assume police failed to apprehend the bird because its running speed maxes out at 50kph (31 mph). (12/13)
a person is standing in the middle of a dry grass field .
ALT: a person is standing in the middle of a dry grass field .
media.tenor.com
fictionmachine.bsky.social
That said, given the chance they’ll try eating anything. Items found in cassowary poop have included half-digested fish, a plastic toy car, children’s blocks, and a bandicoot. (Pictured: a bandicoot.) (11/13)
A bandicoot: a rodent-liked Australian marsupial with brown fur and a long narrow snout.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
Despite their fearsome appearance, cassowaries generally eat fruit. They swallow them whole. They can even eat toxic fruit, because they have a ridiculously short digestive tract. (10/y)
An adult cassowary and its chick. The adult is literally in the middle of swallowing a pineapple.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
The males nurse the eggs and raise the chicks, who leave the nest at about nine months. The females are off as soon as they lay, to have sex with other males. Do not slut-shame them. (9/13)
A male cassowary, which is black, with two chicks, which are brown.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
This photograph contains a cassowary. (8/13)
A rainforest.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
Despite this sort of take-no-shit behaviour, the Southern Cassowary is not the deadliest bird in the world. Ostriches kill 2-3 people each year. Why are Cassowaries less deadly? They are exceptional at hide-and-seek. (7/13)
A cassowary looks at you, beak open and ready to kill.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
The first recorded human death by cassowary was in 1926. 16-year-old Phillip McClean and his brother attacked a local cassowary with clubs. Phillip tripped while trying to hit the bird; it responded by kicking a half-inch hole through his neck. (6/13)
An angry cassowary.
fictionmachine.bsky.social
Cassowaries have three toes on each foot. The inner toe comprises a five-inch-long claw that would be better off described as “Jesus fuck that bird’s got a knife!!” (5/13)
A gloved hand holds a cassowary's foot. One toe has a five-inch-long claw on it.