Category Archives: Film

The Greatest Showman. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zenaya, Sam Humphrey, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Keala Settle, Eric Anderson, Ellis Rubin, Byron Jennings, Betsy Aidem, Gayle Rankin, Fredric Lehne, Will Swenson.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, give it the three ringed circus appeal and dazzle the spectator with glitter, heartfelt illusion and a set of good numbers in which the audience is going to remember for a long time, add a sprinkling of stars in which to amaze and enthral and the final curtain that is raised upon the occasion, is sure to be a hit.

The Greatest Showman. Film Review. full post

(478 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd, Andy Serkis, Oscar Issac, Laura Dern, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kelly Marie-Tran, Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davies, Frank Oz, Jimmy Vee, Joonas Suotamo, Adrian Edmondson, Mark Lewis Jones, Hermoine Corfield.

You can’t keep a good franchise down; lord knows they tried with the release of the much maligned episodes one and two of the Star Wars saga, but no matter what, eventually the licence to entertain and print money, sell merchandise and hopefully the true point of making a good story realised on screen will see the series continue.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Film Review. full post

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

From The Vault: Man On The Moon, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Paul Giamatti, Gerry Becker, Leslie Lyles, George Shapiro, Vincent Schiavelli, Peter Bonerz, Patton Oswalt, Courtney Love, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Jeff Conway, Carol Kane, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd.

From The Vault: Man On The Moon, Film Review. full post

(615 words, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julia Walters, Vanessa Redgrave, Stephen Graham, Leanne Best, James Bloor, Frances Barber, Kenneth Cranham, Isabelle Laughland, Peter Turner, Tom Brittney, Edward Bourne, Susanne Bertish, Joey Batey, Tim Ahern, Luana Di Pasquale.

Imagine, if you can, what it would be to be in a relationship with someone who was once considered Hollywood royalty, who held audiences captive with their ability on screen and who made crowds love them. It is surely impossible to believe such a thing could happen, even if you do read about in the gossip columns and the world of social media, it is almost too good to ever believe it would happen to you.

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool. Film Review. full post

(468 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

The Man Who Invented Christmas. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Justin Edwards, Morfydd Clark, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McNeice, Donald Sumpter, Cosimo Fusco, Bill Paterson, Miles Jupp, Annette Badland, Anna Murphy, Ger Ryan, John Henshaw, Ely Solan.

The modern notions of how we celebrate Christmas has come to divide the way we view the period which should be about decency, fairness and that seemingly old fashioned notion of goodwill to all. Some see it as an excuse for excess, some wallow in the frenzy and find their time afterwards beset in debt and worry, others perhaps arguably more at peace with their lot, just surround themselves with a smile, a memory of a loved one no longer in their sights and the hands of a loved one still by their side.

The Man Who Invented Christmas. Film Review. full post

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

The Disaster Artist. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, June Diane Raphael, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzouskas, Andrew Santino, Nathan Fielder, Joe Mande, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Bob Odenkirk, Kelly Oxford, Bryan Cranston.

The Disaster Artist. Film Review. full post

(534 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

The Battle Of The Sexes. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carrel, Andrea Riseborough, Natalie Morales, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elizabeth Shue, Eric Christian Olsen, Fred Armisen, Martha MacIsaac, Lauren Kline, Fidan Manashirova, Jessica McNamee, Ashley Weinhold, Austin Stowell, Wallace Langham, Bridey Elliott, Lewis Pullman.

The Battle Of The Sexes. Film Review. full post

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

Paddington 2. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Noah Taylor, Peter Capaldi, Brendon Gleeson, Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins, Ben Miller, Tom Conti, Meera Syal, Samuel Joslin, Madeline Harris, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Simon Farnaby, Jessica Hynes, Richard Ayoade, Tom Davies, Cal McCrystal.

It is through the eyes of the innocent that we perhaps see beauty and good in the world, that we don’t just tolerate the storms and the fire that surround us but that we embrace it, we seek out the violence not to get a thrill from the fight but to hopefully offer a solution, a kind word spoken can make the difference in a day and in a person’s life.

Paddington 2. Film Review. full post

(451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Jigsaw. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Cle Bennet, Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, Brittany Allen, Josiah Black, Edward Ruttle, Michael Boisvert, Sam Koules, Troy Feldman.

Back on track, refreshed and full of deserved karma retribution; for where the Saw franchise arguably lost its way after the first two incredibly decent outings, what Jigsaw provides is shock and horror of the best kind. There is nothing wrong with cinema grappling and glorifying in supernatural horror, it is a staple, a diet that has meaning and an audience, the ghost story turned inward has always the power of eating away at some of basest fears. However, for a true sense of delightful repulsion, one cannot escape the scenarios dreamed up by the human mind and carried out in the name of science, vengeance and enjoyment.

Jigsaw. Film Review. full post

(446 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Camp.

Damnation of any kind can eat away at your soul, from the careless whispering challenge to the outburst in which people regret their poorly chosen words of anger, all is sent out into the world like a Pandora’s Box of ill will; the revenge of something taken and the need to redress the balance is uppermost in such human episodes of grief made sentiments taken to extremes.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. Film Review. full post

(450 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)