She could light up a room like no other and yet her tragic fate was sealed early on. I speak of the sparkling, enthusiastic Lucia Joyce, daughter of famed author James (Ulysses – 1922). This is her story, as it is that of the relationship between her and Samuel Beckett, and between Beckett and James Joyce. Lucia…
Not to be confused with the so-so 2014 supernatural themed thriller starring Eric Bana, Deliver Us From Evil is a frenetic and violent hard-boiled action thriller from Korean director Won-Chang Hong (who wrote films like The Yellow Sea). It delivers plenty of action and will delight fans of this genre. Korean action cinema seems to…
With police corruption at its dark heart, The Good Turn is another solid entry in a police procedural series that has been pure gold for crime fiction fans since the first book. Adjusting to the new reality of his long-distance relationship with girlfriend Emma, Cormac Reilly has less patience in the tank than usual to…
An Easter Saturday night opening at the Old Fitz. And what an opening. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, by Rajiv Joseph, presented by a young independent company, Mad March Hare Theatre, directed by Claudia Barrie, was an unexpected pleasure. One of the highest order. On the eve of the celebration of the Resurrection of…
Rivers Solomon describes themselves on their website as follows: Rivers Solomon is a dyke, an anarchist, a she-beast, an exile, a shiv, a wreck, and a refugee of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Fae writes about life in the margins, where fae’s much at home. So it is perhaps unsurprising that Vern, the protagonist of her…
The Father showcases the horrors of dementia with standout performances by its lead actors. First-time director Florian Zeller adapts his own stage play with limited settings and cast, but powerfully wrenches at the heart with the psychological turmoil felt by the eponymous character Anthony. Anthony, played by his namesake Anthony Hopkins, has lived in his…
Nicole Kidman’s star turn as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos is an acting masterclass. She gives an awe-inspiring, nuanced performance (an Oscar nomination awaits) alongside another seriously good showing from Javier Bardem; and impressive turns from JK Simmons and Nina Arianda. The action takes place during a single production week for an episode of…
Hands up those who thought we’d grow up to be Nancy Drew, although I will confess I was more in the Trixie Belden camp. But those books, The Secret Seven, The Famous Five and the Three Investigators series probably had a lot to do with anybody around our age addicted to mysteries, thrillers and crime…
So much fun. Eddie is just perfect (bad pun for lead Eddie Perfect) as the smelly old demon Beetlejuice, in the riotous musical of the same name. Beetlejuice is bemoaning the fact that he is invisible and ignored by all unless he can get a living person to say his name three consecutive times. He…
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, which generally refers to the period from the late 1920s to the early ‘60s, with the peak in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were regarded as royalty. Both were nothing if not colourful characters. Davis, whose maxim was “no guts, no glory” was wed four…
