Can You Ever Forgive Me. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin, Gregory Korostishevsky, Stephen Spinella, Christian Navarro, Pun Bandhu, Erik LaRay Harvey, Brandon Scott Jones, Shae D’lyn, Rosal Colon, Anna Deavere Smith, Marc Evan Jackson, Marcella Lowery, Roberta Wallach, Tina Benko, Sandy Rosenberg, Kevin Carolan, Ben Rauch, Ethel Fisher, Chris Lamberth, Joanna Adler, Mary B. McCann, Michael Laurence, Michael Cyril Crieighton, Alice Kremelberg, Moises Acevedo, Lucy DeVito, Josh Evans, Ricky Garcia, Charlotte Mary Wen, Marcus Choi, Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Tim Cummings.

Can You Ever Forgive Me. Film Review. full post

(504 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Rust Creek. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Hermione Corfield, Jay Paulson, Sean O’Bryan, Micah Hauptman, Daniel R. Hill, Jeremy Glazer, John Marshall Jones, Jake Kidwell, Virginia Schneider, Denise Dal Vera, Alexandra Jensen, Stu Pollard.

There are some films which unfortunately have the same effect on the soul as eating a dozen creme filled profiteroles has on the waist line, the desire for what you believe is substantial, soon leaves you feeling bloated, unsatisfied and underwhelmed, leaving you finally scratching your head at the thought of having to deal with the aftermath, the thought of pondering over what to make of the film which promised so much, but in the end left you battling cinematic fatigue.

Rust Creek. Film Review. full post

(403 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Midsomer Murders, The Point Of Balance. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, Annette Badland, Christopher Timothy, Tom Chambers, Jaye Griffiths, Natalie Gumede, Nigel Havers, Jack Hawkins, Ty Hurley, Michelle Jeram, Chen Yip Lai, Cassidy Little, Danny Mac, Carolina Main, Colin Murtagh, Guy Normas, Kazia Pelka, Steven Pereira, Luke Pierre, Mike Ray, Isabel Shaw, Faye Tozzer, Jo Wheatley, Susan Fordham, Tim Wildman, Chris Wilson.

Dance is not for everyone, like most art it can be a subjective pursuit, one that is open to interpretation and double meaning; like the lies we tell when we wish to impress, interpretation is one that either scores well or is seen to be lacking in its detail and glamour.

Midsomer Murders, The Point Of Balance. Television Review. full post

(456 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Motown Legend Martha Reeves And The Vandellas To Headline Hale Barns Carnival 2020.

Festival Enters Its Fourth Year With Three Headline Concerts.

Three headline acts have been announced for Hale Barns Carnival 2020 – and due to high demand, a third evening concert has been added to the increasingly popular community festival.

Last year organisers’ were thrilled with a record number of visitors to the event, which raised more than £100,000 for the local community.

This year’s event takes place across the weekend of Friday 17th July, Saturday 18th July and Sunday 19th July 2020 and this year’s event boasts its biggest headliners yet, including Motown royalty.

Motown Legend Martha Reeves And The Vandellas To Headline Hale Barns Carnival 2020. full post

(746 words, estimated 2:59 mins reading time)

Zombie Classic Night Of The Living Dead Recreated In Bold New Theatre Production.

A unique shot-for-shot stage version of George A. Romero’s classic 1968 zombie movie Night of The Living Dead – Remixvisits the Playhouse theatre in February.

Following Heart of Darkness, Imitating The Dog’s latest production takes on Romero’s apocalyptic vision of paranoia, the breakdown of community and the end of the American dream.

The original film is credited for not only reimagining the modern horror film but using the genre to address social issues of the time including race and the Vietnam War.

Zombie Classic Night Of The Living Dead Recreated In Bold New Theatre Production. full post

(320 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

Cerrone, DNA. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The best albums invoke memories, the same as all art, if it captures a moment in your mind where you can understand, where you can feel the empathy in your soul, then that it is that your DNA springs to life and fizzes with excitement at the images or sounds that once enraptured your heart.

Cerrone, DNA. Album Review. full post

(364 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Jeremiah Johnson, Heavens To Betsy. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

An exclamation of disbelief that we all proclaim in one variant form or another, the mouth open in shock and surprise, the eyes wide and staring at the unveiled grace; we can either accept that words of enduring memory will spring forth at such a time, or we can go against type, we can go against the manufactured spells of others and just declare with certainty Heavens To Betsy, this is the stuff of legends.

Jeremiah Johnson, Heavens To Betsy. Album Review. full post

(372 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

The Slow Readers Club Announce Brand New Album And Night At The Liverpool 02 Academy In March.

Opening to an energetic blend of driving drums and infectious guitar lines, the album builds through evocative verses and anthemic choruses, imbued with their idiosyncratic brand of insightful and confronting lyricism and set against relentlessly danceable and energy-provoking instrumentation, and premiered with Chris Hawkins on B.B.C.6 Music. “All I Hear” is about a lack of agency and an inability to affect change. That there’s something happening, and you have no choice but to go along with it”, explains singer Aaron Starkie. 

The Slow Readers Club Announce Brand New Album And Night At The Liverpool 02 Academy In March. full post

(402 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Bernard Allison, Songs From The Road. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Philosophy and temperament are normally passed down from one generation to the next, with a sprinkling of learning from others in between and yet we can see with almost perfect precision the depth of knowledge and wisdom gleaned by Bernard Allison from his much-missed father, Luther. It is arguably the easiest philosophy to grasp, that of leaving the ego at the door, and by doing so you embrace humility, a modesty that money cannot influence, and that pride cannot shatter.

Bernard Allison, Songs From The Road. Album Review. full post

(419 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Modern Relationships Under The Spotlight At The Liverpool Playhouse In Frantic Assembly’s I Think We Are Alone.

Frantic Assembly return to Liverpool this February with an exploration of relationships in the modern world, as the pioneering theatre company celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Written by Liverpool-based writer Sally Abbott, I Think We Are Alone is co-directed by comedian Kathy Burke and Frantic Assembly artistic director Scott Graham. The production premieres in Plymouth, before transferring to the Playhouse from 11th-15th February.

The story followssix people, looking at themes of isolation, connection and discovery. Chizzy Akudolu, Charlotte Bate, Polly Frame, Caleb Roberts, Simone Saunders and Andrew Turner will perform in the production – combining storytelling with powerful and physically dynamic movement, in Frantic Assembly’s inimitable style.

Modern Relationships Under The Spotlight At The Liverpool Playhouse In Frantic Assembly’s I Think We Are Alone. full post

(292 words, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)