By the end I was bawling like a baby. CATS, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical as a Tom Hooper-directed and co-written (with Lee Hall) film, is a triumph of theatrics – costuming, make-up, choreography, colour and emotion. In the original 1980s stage musical, CATS takes place on the night of the annual Jellicle Ball, when…
Quite the epic, Little Women – directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) – is a moving adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s award-winning novel. The story unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), reflects on her fictional life. It is the tale of four young women – sisters Jo, a writer, Meg…
The Two Popes gives us the behind the scenes story of how one Pope stood aside for another in a move not seen for more than 700 years. The pair – Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) – didn’t see eye to eye on several issues and yet had mutual respect. One…
Gritty realism at its ugly best. That’s Ken Loach’s latest working class, slice of life film. As painful as it is to watch the struggles of the family at the centre of it, it is another beauty. It is a story about decent folk who get a bad deal in life, which keeps on delivering….
Rural noir being the big thing at the moment, it’s sad that many seem to have forgotten that there have been superbly talented authors like Garry Disher telling beautifully crafted, intelligent, and informed stories of the urban fringe, and the rural regions for many years. Peace is the second book now to feature Constable Paul…
A crowd pleaser based around sea shanties. That is Fisherman’s Friends, set in the picturesque fishing town of Port Isaac in Cornwall. Danny (Daniel Mays) is one of a group of four lads from London who work in a music talent agency. They decide to spend a stag weekend in Port Isaac and rock up…
Morning Wars (or The Morning Show, if you are viewing from anywhere other than Australia) was heavily promoted as the premier launch drama of the new Apple TV+ streaming platform. With Reece Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup and Steve Carrell all contributing their considerable star quality to the production, you know up front that some…
A comment often made about Bruny is that readers going in did not know it was going to be such a political read. Bruny is one of those works that very effectively puts the frighteners on for many fronts; climate change, politics, foreign investment, cultural divides – swing the proverbial, you’ll find it here. The…
Being a teenager … trying to make your way in the world can be challenging and scary. So it is for this group of seven Year 12 students at a high achieving Stockport (a town near Manchester, where playwright Simon Stephens grew up) grammar school, who are about to sit their end of year exams. A…
A con man tries to fleece a widow; but there’s more here than meets the eye. A crime caper and a dramatic thriller, The Good Liar stars two of the UK’s best known and most beloved actors – Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan. Consummate swindler Roy Courtnay (McKellen) has set his sights on his latest…
