Tag Archives: Hamlet

Hamlet, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay, Angus Wright, Juliet Stevenson, David Rintoul, Barry Aird, Calum Finlay, Joshua Higgott, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Marty Cruikshank, Amaka Okafor, Daniel Rabin, Luke Thompson, Peter Wright, Matthew Wynn.

There is always mileage in the heart of a universal play that means it never runs out of steam, it might falter and choke once in a while, it might be considered as bloated, overweight, have the wrong driver, be overwhelmed by passengers who contribute nothing to the aesthetics of the piece but on the whole it is one that often purrs along. The luxury on the outside replicated on the inside, the joy of seeing the production vehicle out on the road is a radiant sight and even when it is via the medium of television, the excitement and drama is one on which to celebrate.

Hamlet, Television Review. full post

(561 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Hamlet, Theatre Review. R.S.C., Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Paapa Essiedu, Clarence Smith, Cyril Nri, Natalie Simpson, Hiran Abeysekera, Doreene Blackstock, Eke Chukwu, James Cooney, Bethan Cullinane, Kevin N. Golding, Marcus Griffiths, Marieme Diouf, Romayne Andrews, Byron Mondahl, Tanya Moodie, Theo Ogundipe, Ewart James Walters, Temi Wilkey.

The king is dead, a usurper and a murderer sits on the throne and the man who would be king sits and procrastinates to the point of lethargy and inaction; hardly the calling card for one of the greatest plays in the English language to be treated, the single red rose that was visible at the local church in front of Shakespeare’s stone perhaps wilting under the pressure of the enormous task undertaken by the R.S.C. as Hamlet once more roared into Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Hamlet, Theatre Review. R.S.C., Stratford-Upon-Avon. full post

(487 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Sonata Artica, Pariah’s Child. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It used to be noted that an album must be worth at least listening to if the band had obviously spent money on the cover. The use of dramatic and in some cases exceptional pieces of art that would adorn the sleeve was a good indication that the group or artists were proud to have something memorable on the front rather than a picture of the band, something in which to capture the whole essence of what was to come. Marillion, Pink Floyd and Magnum always knew how to employ the method and now the eighth album by Sonata Artica, the wild and untamed Pariah’s Child joins that list of recordings that backs up the theory.

Sonata Artica, Pariah’s Child. Album Review. full post

(507 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Iron Man Three, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ty Simpkins, Paul Bettany, Ashley Hamilton, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Shaun Toub, Mark Ruffalo.

Visually the third instalment of Iron Man sums up everything you would expect from the people who have changed the way in which to showcase big budget superhero films. Wonderfully filmed, the senses get rocked and moved beyond experience before and they set out a challenge to D.C. to come up with the goods that would finally see a clean and fair fight between the two superpowers of international comic books. Visually, the film is as near perfect as you can wish for and is perhaps only bettered by the mass ensemble of last year’s The Avengers.

Iron Man Three, Film Review. full post

(667 words, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)