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Alex First

Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.

The Wedding Singer: The Musical Comedy (Athenaeum Theatre) – theatre review

A fun-filled, comedic musical with some choice one liners, crowd-pleasing scenes and ear-pleasing songs, The Wedding Singer is a spirit lifter. The path to true love is littered with casualties. That single line probably best describes the theme running through The Wedding Singer, which is based on the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore hit movie, released in…

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Matador (Her Majesty’s Theatre) – theatre review

A fusion of dance, burlesque and circus, Matador sizzles and bedazzles. The show is characterised by pulsating, ear-pleasing beats, brilliantly choreographed, fast paced routines, superb athletic and acrobatic prowess, a phenomenal array of sensual costuming and outstanding, colourful lighting design. Written, directed and produced by Bass G Fam, Bass used his own life experiences as inspiration for…

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Berlin (MTC) – theatre review

Passion, intellectual rigour and the Holocaust collide in Joanna Murray-Smith’s intense, high verbiage, sexually charged drama Berlin. Australian Tom (Michael Wahr) has just landed in the German capital, keen to get to know the real city, not the tourist offering. He’s directed to a small, hole in the wall bar, where he meets and is immediately drawn…

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Every Breath You Take – movie review

A family is traumatised by the tragic death of a child in Vaughn Stein’s Every Breath You Take. Philip (Casey Affleck) is a psychiatrist and lecturer, his wife Grace (Michelle Monaghan) a real estate agent. They have a young son, Evan (Brenden Sunderland) and he has a senior school age daughter, Lucy (India Eisley) –…

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Mortal Kombat – movie review

Brutality, cynicism and tongue-in-cheek humour mark Mortal Kombat – a video game franchise turned big screen fight night. The story thread begins with an ancient fight to the death. It is 1617 in Japan. A warrior and father of two carries a tattoo of a dragon. He confronts an opponent who can literally freeze people…

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Supernova – movie review

In Harry Macqueen’s Supernova, Sam (Colin Firth) is a classical pianist, and his partner Tusker (Stanley Tucci) is a writer. Now middle-aged, the couple have been together for decades. They know how to press each other’s buttons, but are still very much in love. One day they decide to dust off the old camper van…

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