Limerance, Not In My Name. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is a justified anger that needs to be addressed in this world, one which has the even the most sympathetic, kindest and empathy driven people declaring the mantra Not In My Name as though it is fire being expelled from the mouth, and rightly so, for in a world that seems hell bent on dividing itself over every detail, to actively declare you are against the machinations of a system forcing itself upon you, insisting that its dogma is more worthy than your own thoughts, it is no wonder the world is on fire.

Limerance, Not In My Name. Single Review. full post

(386 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Shakin’ Stevens, Singled Out. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It has been noted by less than forgiving critics over the years, that a mark of popularity does not earn someone the right to be called incredible, to be labelled as a person to whom we owe respect to the status fostered upon them, nor that the popularity which is so quickly gained in less than enlightening times would prevail with a more discerning audience who have been immersed in a wider circle of influence…perhaps such critics are correct, maybe they understand the universe with greater authority than mere mortals could ever hope to comprehend; they will point the finger and single out an artist, a figure head and run off a list of their flaws and disasters and smile smugly as they do so. But maybe, just maybe, they are wrong. 

Shakin’ Stevens, Singled Out. Album Review. full post

(631 words, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)

Resistance. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Clemence Poesy, Felix Moati, Vica Kerekes, Matthais Schweighofer, Geza Rohrig, Ed Harris, Bella Ramsey, Martha Issova, Karl Markovics, Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey, Alex Fondja, Aurelie Bancilhon, Alicia Von Rittberg, Louise Morell, Wolfgang Ceczor, Philip Lenkowsky, Edgar Ramirez, Klara Issova, Dimitri Storoge, Felicity Montague.

It is perhaps understandable that we look at life with a sense of myopia, a lack of seeing the larger picture, only content to know what have already gleaned from our youth and dismissing any further layering of contextualisation or adding to our knowledge of events, of other cultures, or indeed how different people view and appreciate art; understandable but not a train of thought that should be approved of, must not be allowed to prevail.

Resistance. Film Review. full post

(538 words, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Richard Jewell. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates, Nina Arianda, Eric Mendenhall, Mitchell Hoog, David Shae.

“Get it first, but first get it right“, these words of journalistic lore have somehow become lost in the advent of wall to wall news coverage, the search for constant ratings, and the salaciousness that can be relayed to a baying public who have forgotten the meaning of seeing any breaking headline and then dismissing what the article has to say.

Richard Jewell. Film Review. full post

(677 words, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

The Invisible Man (2020). Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Michael Dorman, Benedict Hardie, Renee Lim, Brian Meegan, Nick Kici, Vivienne Greer, Nicholas Hope, Cleave Williams, Cardwell Lynch, Sam Smith.

Alongside The War Of The Worlds, The Invisible Man is perhaps H.G Wells’ most adapted piece of literature, and like its literary predecessor it has suffered under the enormous weight of thought that has gone into the writing to ever truly ever be captured perfectly on more that one occasion.

The Invisible Man (2020). Film Review. full post

(554 words, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

Above Suspicion. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Johnny Knoxville, Austin Hebert, Thora Birch, Karl Glusman, Kevin Dunn, Brian Lee Franklin, Omar Benson Miller, Chris Mulkey, Brittany O’Grady, Luke Spencer Roberts,  Lex Kelli, Landon Durrence, Nettie Kraft, Taxo Michaels, Joshua Mikel, Katie Campbell, Daniel R. Hill.

Above Suspicion. Film Review. full post

(677 words, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

The Sister. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Russell Tovey, Bertie Carvel, Amrita Acharia, Nina Toussaint-White, Paul Bazley, Ewan Bailey, Colin Blyth, Tim Plester, Fluer Keith, Amanda Root, Chirague Amarchande, Simone Ashley.

There has always got to be a way to redefine the classic ghost story, it can’t all be bumps in the night, the unexplained sound that catches the ears, nor can it settle on finding the way to redeem a soul that has suffered torment and looking for vengeance; it must continue to evolve, to seek new ways of telling a story that is older than Shakespeare’s Hamlet, that has captivated cinema and television audiences and, aural story tellers, book readers, alike for what may seem an eternity

The Sister. Television Review. full post

(525 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Just Mercy. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan, Rob Morgan, O’ Shea Jackson Jr., Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, Tim Blake Nelson, Greta Green, Michael Harding, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jacinte Blankenship.

You can throw all the money in the world at a film and it can still fail, possibly not in box offices returns, but in terms of the message that it’s director, its writer and cast wish to deliver to the audience. What it may have in on screen content abundance, does not always mean it has character woven through it, that it may have personality, but it is sure to be missing integrity, absent of honour.

Just Mercy. Film Review. full post

(568 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

The Twilight Zone: Ovation. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jurnee Smollett, Tawny Newsome, Sky Ferreira, Dan Martin, Paul F Tompkins, Thomas Lennon, Jordan Peele, Aliza Vellani, Murat Alvarez, Chris Webb, Silver Kim, Derek Morrison.

The whole world seems to crave fame, to either prove they existed at one point in time, or because they believe that their life will be better for it, the chance to be driven round in luxurious cars, eat at the best restaurants, have people at their command and carrying out their every whim and desire…fame is an evil in the guise of luminosity, in which celebrity is more lethal than any drug, which can be more destructive than any disease and the reason is because it is shallow, it feeds on vanity, sadness, the superficial and arrogance.

The Twilight Zone: Ovation. Television Review. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Villain. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Craig Fairbrass Robert Glenister, George Russo, Mark Monero, Izuka Hoyle, Taz Skylar, Tomi May, Nicholas Aron, Lauryn Aiufo, Eloise Lovell Anderson, Jade Asha, Selom Awadzi, Cassie Bancroft, Jamie Crew, Sergio Dondi.

There is a certain nostalgia over what is considered the criminal class to which Britain seems to have wrapped up in hues of golden perspective, a thought of how you knew where you stood with the likes of The Krays and all who worked alongside them, that they looked after their own and really only ever took on others out to cause their neighbours harm. It is almost as if we imagine them to be walking down the street looking like John Steed from The Avengers, whilst being able to throw a punch like Lennox Lewis and portraying a face that a grandmother could love.

Villain. Film Review. full post

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