Mel Bracewell is comic gold. She is a delightful yarn spinner, who turns the ordinary into the special. Appropriately, she has the audience in fits of laughter as a result. Well named, A Little Treat is exactly that, a memorable hour of mirth and merriment, although the title is also drawn from her final salvo….
James Hawes’ One Life is an emotional, heart-felt journey, jumping between the onset of World War II and the late 1980s. The film opens in December 1938. Nicholas “Nicky” Winton is a mild-mannered British stockbroker headed for a week in Prague. Increasingly, refugees have fled there to try to outrun the growing Nazi presence in…
A steady stream of mum and dad jokes lay the foundations for Then Came You, written and starring Kathie Lee Gifford. Depending upon your perspective, you might find it pleasant or painful. Over a year ago, 60-something Annabelle lost her beloved husband Fred in an accident at their hardware store in Nantucket. The would-be entertainer…
Talk about disgraceful conduct and an attitude of entitlement when it comes to being a man calling the shots among women trying to make a name for themselves and get ahead in their careers. That is the story of Fox News chief Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), as told in some gory detail in Bombshell. The…
Tea with the Dames provides a fly-on-the-wall look at four grand dames of British theatre. This quartet have been friends for ages. They get together periodically and now, for the first time, they have let the cameras record their interplay. At the same time, we take a look back at their careers through clips of…
Charlize Theron’s character is put through the wringer as the Berlin Wall comes down in Atomic Blonde. This stylish and violent spy thriller is based on a graphic novel series, The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart. The screenplay is by Kurt Johnstad and directed by David Leitch (John Wick). It’s 1989 in Germany. The Berlin…
A six-month affair with a best mate’s wife is the starting point for a French comedy about deceit, which has been translated into English. The central focus is businessman Michel (Stephen Curry). His bestie Paul (Bert LaBonté), with whom he plays tennis, was unceremoniously dumped from his job three weeks ago. Michel has been with his wife…
I’m starting to lose track of all the Marvel characters. I mean, it was easy when it was just Iron Man, Thor and Captain America (yeah, I know the X-Men and Spider-Man were in there too, but they somehow didn’t count as much). Then came all manner of other superheroes; and on top of that,…
Veronica Lando’s first novel The Whispering won the 2021 Banjo Prize for best unpublished manuscript. That book, set in the rainforests of Far North Queensland involved a man returning to a small rural town, and being caught up in a mystery involving two deaths seventeen years apart. Her follow up, The Drowning Girls, feels cut…
Noted for her interpretation of French ballads, Edith Piaf (19th December 1915 – 11th October, 1963) was one of the world’s most lauded singers. Forever searching for love, her dramatic style and expressive voice appeared to reflect the troubled and difficult life she led. Her small stature (she was only four foot eight inches tall) and stage…
