No this is not a remake of the fluffy and lightweight 1966 rom-com that starred Elvis Presley as a part-time NASCAR driver. Rather, this is a raucous, at times bawdy and crude Ocker comedy along the lines of Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, Dimboola, Stork and even the more recent A Few Best Men. There’s…
Bridget Jones’s Baby, the third installment of the romantic fantasy about a woman not afraid to reveal her flaws and insecurities is a crowd pleaser. The original director Sharon Maguire returns but they have introduced a couple of new writers, including one of the stars, Emma Thompson. Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth are joined by…
Disney seem intent on remaking live action versions of their back catalogue of animated classics, and we’ve had the likes of The Jungle Book, Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella and even Beauty And The Beast undergo this treatment. For the most part they have been very successful and put a new spin on familiar stories. And…
Some books grab you and don’t let go. Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry is one of them. Here’s the blurb: When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she expects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks into Rachel’s…
One of the most extraordinary, engaging and intriguing documentaries I have seen, I couldn’t seem to get enough of this erudite American politician who appears to be a slave to his sexual fantasies. Not surprisingly, Weiner claimed the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Anthony Weiner (born in Brooklyn, New York on…
If you want proof that Scientology is a cult and not a religion then you should see the fascinating first-hand documentary, Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie. I say first hand because Louis Theroux is front and centre throughout. He wanted to get inside the so-called Church of Scientology and interview people associated with it. When…
Two Snow Whites in a week, both dark, sexy and totally entertaining, one a contemporary dance piece from Ballet Preljocaj and one from La Boite that combined opera, theatre, dance and even burlesque and audience participation. It was an odd combination but it worked splendidly and with technical brilliance to link the story it produced…
A tough and resolute, factually-based crime drama, The Infiltrator is centred on the actions of the drug cartels that infiltrated the US in the 1980s. The film, directed by Brad Furman and written by Ellen Brown Furman, comes from an autobiography of the same name by Robert Mazur. Mazur (played by Bryan Cranston), a US…
Gloria is a play by Benedict Andrews. Says Mr Andrews in his note in the program: “Gloria depicts an actress in the grip of an emotional breakdown.’ Performing, onstage, Gloria cannot distinguish her ‘play’ role from her ‘life’ role. Through fraility, both become entwined and a personal calamity ensues.” This production of Gloria, by the…
On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from New York’s La Guardia Airport. A few minutes after take-off the plane was struck by a flock of geese, which disabled both engines. Veteran pilot Chesley Sullenberger (played here by Tom Hanks) was forced to make an emergency landing, bringing the plane, carrying 155…
