Starting in Georgia in 1909 and spanning 38 years, The Color Purple is based around the struggles of African-American woman Celie Harris (Fantasia Barrino). Celie and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey), are brought up by their abusive father Alfonso (Deon Cole) since their mother died some time ago. Alfonso marries off Celie to an equally…
A book dealing with the modern-day experience of selfies, social media and cyber-bullying … it’s the kind of read that’s right up my alley. And Wendy James delivered the goods. With a bite. Here’s the blurb: Blogger Lizzy’s life is buzzing, happy, normal. Two gorgeous children, a handsome husband, destiny under control. For her real-life…
Frozen meets Shrek in Onward, the latest adventure from the Disney-Pixar stable. The hype around this film has been understandably muted; but even though it’s a little “off”, it still delivers exactly what most audiences will want. Like Shrek, the Onward is set in a kind of split dimension in which the world of fantasy…
Colm Bairéad’s The Quiet Girl is a deeply affecting work – I had tears running down my cheeks on the final scene. We’re in rural Ireland in 1981. Cait (Catherine Clinch) (aged 9) is one of five children who keeps to herself, says very little but observes much. There is no love shown to her…
Quick test – who was L. S. Lowry? If you’ve got no idea, I suspect you’re not alone. Lowry went from obscurity in the suburbs of Manchester to become one of the most revered British artists of the 20th Century. Director Adrian Noble explores the artist’s life in microcosm in Mrs Lowry and Son. Lowry…
This droll and offbeat fish out of water story is actually based on a 2001 urban legend about a Japanese woman who died while trying to find the money that Steve Buscemi’s character buried in the snow in the Coen brothers’ classic movie Fargo. That myth has provided the inspiration for this quirky drama from…
The latest film from Brandon Cronenberg (son of legendary Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg) is a hybrid mix of sci-fi, horror and trenchant social commentary. He takes on class, wealth, privilege, artistic conceits, power, western decadence, guilt and the breakdown of civilization. It comes across like a fevered, darker and more transgressive variation on the recent…
Magnificent, rich, rounded voices against the backdrop of musical excellence. Clarity of sound, stunning solos, delicious duets and rousing three-part harmonies. But wait. There is more. The six artistes that take to the stage at the Regent Theatre are all leading performers who have fronted the biggest musicals. I speak of The Phantom of the…
With overtones of the George Clooney action adventure drama The Perfect Storm, The Finest Hours is a slow moving story of courage and endeavour based upon fact. It starts out as a 1950s romance between a shy, respectful member of the US Coast Guard and the “say it as it is” love of his life,…
One for the American Bible Belt, Risen is the story of the resurrection as told through the eyes of a non-believer. Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a powerful Roman military leader and his aide, Lucius (Tom Felton), are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus (referred to by the Hebrew name Yeshua) in the…
