Dora And The Lost City Of Gold. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Isabela Merced, Benicio Del Toro, Eva Longoria, Michael Pena, Joey Viera, Pia Miller, Jeff Wahlberg, Adriana Barraza, Nicholas Coombe, Natasa Ristic, Christopher Kirby, Temuera Morrison, Christopher Rawlins, Eugenio Derbez, Isela Vega, Danny Trejo.

One of the moments you know you have become an adult is when you can sit through what is being billed as a film for young adults, the teenage market and find that not only have enjoyed the absolute sense of fun that was intended, but that you can find the sense of the pearls of wisdom dispensed enlightening, rather than sneering at them through misguided eyes.

Dora And The Lost City Of Gold. Film Review. full post

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

Chappaquiddick. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Bruce Dern, Jim Gaffigan, Olivia Thirlby, Clancy Brown, Taylor Nichols, John Fiore, Gillian Mariner Gordon, Katie Henoch, Lexie Roth, Angela Hope Smith, Vince Tycer, Victor Warren, David De Beck, Barry Press, Matthew Lawler, Beth Petrou, Thomas Kee, Andria Blackman, Donald Watson, Walter Driscoll.

Chappaquiddick. Film Review. full post

(648 words, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

John Cee Stannard, When The Time Is Right. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

A Little Bit More, the Dickensian call out for those who understand they still need nourishment from a valuable source or those that aren’t quite willing to let go just yet of what gives them pleasure.

The final act recorded is such that an audience may call for the actors and even the author to return to the stage, the poet being beckoned to perform one final favourite for the crowd, the rejected lover hopelessly imploring for one last kiss or heated, passionate argument, it is the act of continuing the dream, one that we want to live forever.

John Cee Stannard, When The Time Is Right. Album Review. full post

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

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong’o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Greg Grunberg, Shirley Henderson, Billie Lourd, Dominic Monaghan, Nick Kellington, Mandeep Dhillon, Alison Rose, Amanda Lawrence, Tanya Moodie, Simon Paisley Day, Geff Francis, Amanda Hale, Amir El-Masry, Warwick Davis, Denis Lawson, Jodie Comer, Billy Howie, Harrison Ford.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Film Review. full post

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

Britain’s Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

As a society we look upon the criminal fraternity with a mix of fear and incredulity, the same contempt at times we reserve perhaps for members of government, but there was a time when a certain kind of forbidding figure would be lauded by many, praised, admired and have songs written about them that would be known the length and breadth of the country.

Britain’s Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues. Television Review. full post

(650 words, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

Ed Brayshaw, Fire Without Water. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Intensity without the ability to recognise that succumbing to rage can lead to a proposition of fate that will engulf all who come into contact with it, is akin to setting the world on Fire Without Water being on hand to control the engulfing concentration of passion, the ashes of integrity burning long after all who sought refuge have looked back with sadness at what could have been.

Ed Brayshaw, Fire Without Water. Album Review. full post

(413 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Van Der Valk: Only In Amsterdam. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Marc Warren, Maimie McCoy, Luke Allen-Gale, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Darrell D’Silva, Emma Fielding, Taj Atwal, Juliet Aubrey, Tim Dutton, Taheen Modek, Paul Tylek, Eva Marie de Waal, Teun Kuilboer, Mike Libanon, Martijn Nieuwerf, Martijn Oversteegen, Anniek Pheifer, Jeroen Spitzberger, Gonny Gaakeer, Frieda Pittoors.

Art has the ability to provoke dialogue, the close examination of light, colour and shadow, the heated exchange of whether a Master produced the piece or is it a copy faithfully offered or with nefarious intent; such is the opinion of one person that the copy itself can take on greater significance, offer a greater mystery than the original could hope to incite.

Van Der Valk: Only In Amsterdam. Television Review. full post

(494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Lucinda Williams, Good Souls, Better Angels. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To display strength comes with its own warning, to do so, you have to be careful that you don’t crush the spirit of those you hoping to inspire with that one unrivalled extreme state, that of intensity, the comparison between the noble cause and the worthy pain, the contrast between Good Souls Better Angels and the penetrating voice which concentrates of the urge of passionate temptation; there must be the understanding in all who hear such a call that the soul is always going to waver romantically when they encounter the sound and strength of the siren.

Lucinda Williams, Good Souls, Better Angels. Album Review. full post

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

John Jenkins, Growing Old… Songs From My Front Porch. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It will be argued that in uncertain times we are never more acutely aware of the passing of the hours and days as we find ourselves fighting against the clock, against nature and the system which has somehow fostered the lie that we must be constantly be on the move, not just be productive, but to somehow have a schedule which is thirty hours a day long and ten days a week in breadth. It is the insanity of speculation which stops many of from dreaming about a future of reflection, looking back and understanding that growing old gives you the opportunity to tell all your stories in comfort and with a view.

John Jenkins, Growing Old… Songs From My Front Porch. Album Review. full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Wendy James, Queen High Straight. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

To be considered fearless is not always in the best interest of the soul, it offers little, or arguably no leeway in how you deal with the unexpected disaster, the issues caused by others that are out of your control; you might be able to meet them head on and defeat them with impunity but where is the growth, where is the humility?

Wendy James, Queen High Straight. Album Review. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)