Vienna Blood: The Lost Child. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Matthew Beard, Jurgen Maurer, Luise von Finckh, Jessica De Gouw, Conleth Hill, Amelia Bullmore, Charlene McKenna, Oliver Stokowski, Raphaek von Bargan, Simon Hatzl.

A fellowship is only as noble as its intentions, one may look to the ideals of any organisation and believe that it is possible to fit in, to strive to be accepted into the ranks in which opportunities lay and reward follows suit, but in amongst such pursuits we may find that we become a little less whole, that the uniform handed to us fits uncomfortably and the handshake of acceptance is one that crushes the fingers.

Vienna Blood: The Lost Child. Television Review. full post

(472 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Jumanji: The Next Level. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Madison Iseman, Marin Hinkle, Ashley Scott, Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, Colin Hanks, Dania Ramirez, Morgan Turner, Rory McCann, Rhys Darby, Massi Furlan, Bebe Neuwirth.

The intrepid gamers return to the jungle, though as with every sequel of a franchise, something new must stir in the bushes, a different set of rules must be applied and adhered to, and for fans of the original film starring the unforgettable Robin Williams, Jumanji: The Next Level is a respectable attempt at capturing some of the original mayhem and exposed danger that won the hearts of many of its fans.

Jumanji: The Next Level. Film Review. full post

(392 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Motherless Brooklyn. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Willem Defoe, Bruce Willis, Ethan Suplee, Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, Josh Pais, Radu Springhel, Fisher Stevens, Peter Gray Lewis, Robert Wisdom, Michael Kenneth Williams, Isaiah J. Thompson, Russell Hall, Joe Farnsworth, Jerry Weldon, Eric Berryman, Nelson Avidon.

The art of adaption may lay in the prospect of change, of finding another way to describe the heart being fulfilled and the mind being able to reflect on the need for stimulation; occasionally this approach works in cinema, sometimes it fails and bombs, the memory of what came before holding a tight rein on the audience’s appreciation.

Motherless Brooklyn. Film Review. full post

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

Elizabeth Is Missing. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Glenda Jackson, Helen Behan, Sophie Rundle, Liv Hill, Nell Williams, Mark Stanley, Neil Pendleton, Maggie Steed, Sam Hazeldine, Michelle Duncan, John-Paul Hurley, Tom Urie, Julia Hannan, Linda Hargreaves, Neil Pendleton, Tony Atherton, Anne-Marie Nabirve, Begonia Villalba, Nabs Aziz.

To gradually forget what has happened in your life is one of the great sources of unhappiness that anyone could arguably go through. To leave behind moments of love and tenderness, to fail to recall an event, to not recognise your child, to be powerless to get through the day without being capable of remembering the basics to be able to function, that is the greatest act of cruelty that the mind can play on a human being.

Elizabeth Is Missing. Television Review. full post

(378 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

The Name Of The Rose. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: John Turturro, Rupert Everett, Damian Hardung, James Cosmo, Michael Emerson, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Greta Scarno, Richard Sammel, Stefano Fresi, Roberto Herlitzka, Fausto Maria Sciarappa, Maurizio Lombardi, Nina Fotaras, Guglielmo Favilla, Piotr Adamczyk, Tcheky Karyo, Benjamin Stender, Claudio Bigagli, Corrado Invernizzi, Max Malatesta, Alessio Boni, Sebastian Koch, Rinat Khismatouline, Camilla Diana, David Brandon, Peter Davison.

If life is about having faith, then to tackle a classic novel over the course of several episodes on television and pray that it hits home with even greater intensity than it did in the cinema, then that is devotion and conviction in one fell swoop to the cause of the writer’s pen.

The Name Of The Rose. Television Review. full post

(520 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Cinderella, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Sammy Winward, Crissy Rock, Sarah White, Warren Donnelly, Lewis Devine, Andrew Geater, Samantha Palin.

Senior Dancers: Abi Gibbs, Ellie May Fook, Mia Gibbons, Olivia Smith, Marcus Grimaldi, Ryan James Abbott.

Cinderella, the heroine to whom we all perhaps first fall in love with on our first trip to the theatre has fallen foul of her Ugly Sisters’ wrath and bitterness, the guiltless and faultless young woman is given no chance to shine in her own right and as each child understands, the ugly of heart must never prosper, they must be taught a lesson to play fair.

Cinderella, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Merry Christmas, Carol. Theatre Review. Royal Court Studio, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Eithne Browne, Jessica Dives, Rachel Hinton, Molly Madigan, Paislie Reid, Angela Simms.

Faith, hope and charity, depending on your point of view, and what your station is in life, seems to be out of favour, nestled somewhere between ignorance and damnation, lies and misdeeds.

Yet for some these qualities exist under the strong umbrella held aloft like a sword up by compassion and sometimes we need to remind others that they too can benefit from this intervention of the soul, that not everything in life should or needs to be about money, that we should be thinking of the effect the world is having on our family, to listen without needing to reply but to understand; faith, hope, charity, compassion and love, these are the gifts we should be looking to bestow.

Merry Christmas, Carol. Theatre Review. Royal Court Studio, Liverpool. full post

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Miracle On 34th Street: The Musical, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Caitlin Berry, Nicole Deon, Kevin Harvey, Tim Parker, Chloe Pole, Stuart Reid, Mark Rice-Oxley, Liam Tobin, Taylor Walker, Maddison Thew, Eva Connor, Saara Gurjee, Romi Hyland-Rylands, Isaac Lancel-Watkinson, Marlis Robson, Seth Woodason, Natalie Vaughan.

Musicians: George Francis, Ros Jones, Alex Smith, Nick Anderson, Niall Mulvoy, Simeon Scheuber-Rush, Emma Haunton.

Miracle On 34th Street: The Musical, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Vienna Blood, The Queen Of The Night. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Matthew Beard, Jurgen Maurer Luise Von Finckh, Jessica De Gouw, Conleth Hill, Amelia Bullmore, Charlene McKenna, Ursula Strauss, Oliver Stokowski, Raphaek von Bargen, Simon Hatzl.

We stoke the fires of revenge in our minds with ease, by refusing to let go of every conceived sleight, every disgrace against our body and our mind, we become trapped by our own belief, we wish to create an anarchy of feeling in which we can enjoy the employment of justice by our own hands.

Vienna Blood, The Queen Of The Night. Television Review. full post

(518 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Vienna Blood: The Last Séance. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Matthew Beard, Jurgen Maurer, Luise Von Finckh, Jessica De Gouw, Conleth Hill, Amelia Bullmore, Charlene McKenna, Oliver Stokowski, Raphaek Von Bargen, Simon Hatzl. 

Modern investigation into murder and criminal action has moved on in the last one hundred years to such a pace where now we arguably rely on technology with more certainty than we do with the greatest resource available to us, that of the mind.

Vienna Blood: The Last Séance. Television Review. full post

(518 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)