Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: David Warner, Susannah Harker, Kim Hartman, Lena Rae, Stuart Piper, Emma Kilbey, Joseph Lidster.
When the question is posed by a force or instrument of evil or dangerous intent, “Would you sacrifice yourself to save your family?, for the majority of us we would perhaps not hesitate to answer in the positive, that we gladly give our lives if it meant that those we love around us were to survive.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: David Warner, Susannah Harker, Mark Gatiss, Hugo Myatt, Jackie Skarvellis, Neil Henry, Claire Louise Connolly.
Guilt, or the shouldering of blame and responsibility, even if by all logical deductions incapable or culpable of the crimes committed, is a disease of the soul that will keep eating away at your mind until there is nothing left to be devoured. We should accept the blame, we must feel the remorse of actions that we undertake which has caused someone pain, inflicted misery, affected their life, or even taken it, however, there comes a time when the feeling and effects of guilt, especially when innocence is forced to accept or adapt to the cognitive association to which our own inner desires may not yet have asserted themselves.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill, Sacha Dhawan, Patrick O’Kane, Ian McElhinney, Julie Graham, Alex Austin, Matt Carver, Rhiannon Clements, Seylan Baxter, Kirsty Besterman, Paul Kasey, Nicholas Briggs, Jo Martin, Steve Toussaint, Matt Carver, Jack Osborn, Evan McCabe, Branwell Donaghey, Orla O’Rourke, Andrew Macklin, Coalyn Byrne, Matthew Rohman, Simon Carew, Jen Davey, Rochard Highgate, Richard Price, Mickey Lewis, Matthew Doman, Paul Bailey.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Ed Stoppard, Geoff McGivern, Heide Reed, Raad Rawi, Michael Cochrane, Amy Humphreys, Dianne Weller, George Bryan.
Dan Dare, the name for adults of a certain age which evokes memories that have never been allowed to fade, to be allowed to slip into the murky waters of the unreliable adaptation without a fight and for whom, with sadness, means arguably nothing to a generation or two that has moved on, tired of the escapism provided by the weekly comic strip and the collections turned to clutter in their rooms.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Toby Stephens, Ian McKellen, Rosamund Pike, Lisa Dillon, John Standing, Tom Hollander, Tim Pigott-Smith, Hector Elizondo, Alistair McGowan, Henry Goodman, Ian Ogilvy, Lloyd Owen, Jon David Yu, Anna Louise Plowman, Martin Jarvis, Nigel Anthony, Alan Shearman, Kyle Stoller, Tracy Patin.
There are many images that come to mind when you think of James Bond, the cars, the exotic destinations, the acts of heroism, the portrayals of the women to enter the British spy’s life, some of whom have left a lasting impression on the viewer’s mind, not only for their strength of character but for the way they became a symbol of the times, for the way some were murdered at the hands of Bond’s enemies in retribution for the spy getting too close to solving the mystery.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Toby Stephens, Samuel West, John Baddeley, Janie Dee, John Standing, Julian Sands, Jared Harris, Patricia Hodge, Katherine Kingsley, Nigel Anthony, Simon de Deney, Jon Glover, Ian Ogilvy, Matthew Wolf, Darren Richardson, Kenneth Danziger, Martin Jarvis.
There are many reasons for which a story needs to be altered dramatically to make it stand up the cinematic scrutiny in the modern age, and whilst the original tale might be in itself one of beauty, of fascinating intrigue, its very premise in the age of the blockbuster and the need for revenue return would not see it become an instant best seller, or indeed a memorable film in which, in the case of the James Bond franchise, to captivate an audience so they will keep coming back for more.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10
Cast: Toby Stephens, Tom Conti, Alfred Molina, Janet Montgomery, John Sessions, Lisa Dillon, James Callis, Josh Stamberg, Ian Ogilvy, John Standing, Janie Dee, Julian Sands, Nigel Lindsay, Matthew Wolf, Alan Shearman, Darren Richardson, Aaron Lyons, Simon de Deney.
A film that suffers under the weight of its writer’s history is one that finds itself developing the human disorder of duel personality, and whilst Thunderball is film that sparks the imagination, it also leaves the fan wondering how the series could hope to capture the brilliance of the previous film, Goldfinger.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Toby Stephens, Eileen Atkins, John Sessions, Tim Pigott-Smith, Mark Gatiss, John Glover, Aileen Mowat, John Standing, Janie Dee, Julian Sands, Matthew Wolf, Olga Fedori, Micky Stratford, Nathaniel Parker, Martin Jarvis.
It could be argued that the fan and the listener alike have been short changed when it comes to adaptations of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels for the radio; whether this is down to the estate not wishing to decry from the scores of films or because it has been long thought that such books cannot be captured with just a voice rather than the dramatic sequence that film provides is for another debate, and yet there is something to be said for being able to see 007 aim his trilby at the hat stand, to see the devastation of his actions take place, rather than just match your imagination to the actor’s voice.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Toby Jones, Henry Goodman, Stephen Rae, Maggie Steed, Peter Wright, Jamie Winstone.
Harold Pinter’s first major play, The Birthday Party, has either captivated or underwhelmed audiences since it first came to the stage sixty years ago. Even in 2018 as it was revived with Zoe Wanamaker, Stephen Mangan and Pearl Mackie amongst its cast, it left confusion in its wake, taken to heart by many, but leaving some distrusting of the playwright’s ultimate question which never truly gets spoken out loud.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Annabelle Dowler, Shaun Mason, Laura Dos Santos, Ian Conningham, Monty d’Iverno, Jane Slavin, Lile Marie Gibney.
There are many ways in which to celebrate or commemorate Christmas, chiefly amongst them is the act of memory, of remembering all those who have come into your life over the years but who, for whatever reason, have slowly disappeared from it, an act of forgiveness perhaps required on your part for the wrong they may have caused you, a meaningful gesture from the depths of your soul as you seek to be pardoned from the inappropriate action you may have caused distress with. It is though the act of forgiving yourself in which the time of year holds its greatest fear, a dread in which few are willing to face, and in which the Christmas ghost story deals with in spine-tingling relish.