Ed Gamble, Blizzard. Comedy Review, Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is in the power of a storm that makes a Blizzard one of high tension and drama, the subtle falling of a snow that catches the lights and makes the gentle smile brighten up any face, can soon become a torrent, a fast flowing tornado of expression, a gale of the stuff that will keep you penned in your seats, absorbing every drop of nature that falls from above, and whilst it might catch you unawares, believing for a while that it will just be an inch or two to snip through with ease as you place your toes into the world of snowflakes and warm memories, instead the outpouring leaves you helpless, submerged, unable to do anything but admit that a Blizzard is a gamble worth enjoying.

Ed Gamble, Blizzard. Comedy Review, Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Endeavour, Apollo. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Sean Rigby, Anton Lesser, Simon Harrison, Caroline O’ Neil, Sara Vickers, Richard Riddell, James Bradshaw, Abigail Thaw, Matthew Cottle, Michael Parkhouse, Benjamin Wainwright, Oliver Chris, Sargon Yelda, Sasha Willoughby, Sophie Winkleman, Alison Newman, Mary Stockley, Katie Faye, Robert Hands, Terenia Edwards, Alice Orr-Ewing, Blake Ritson.

To be defiant is a virtue, standing up to the lazy attitudes and closed mindedness of others is to show integrity, and yet there will always be those who seek to undermine such morality as insolent, insubordinate, they do not seek out the person who suggests with reason that something can be done a different way, preferring the hand over fist approach and the quick solution, drawn in fire and never logic.

Endeavour, Apollo. Television Review. full post

(550 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

A Private War, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Tom Hollander, Faye Marsay, Corey Johnson, Greg Wise, Alexandra Moen, Jesuthasan Antonyhasan, Raman Srinivasan, Natasha Jayetileke, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Amanda Drew, Hilton McRae, Fady Elsayed, Tristan Tait, Toma Shelmon, Nadeem Srouji, Mahmoud Al Fari, Rani Jalal, Thaer Manakhi, David Modigliani, Pano Masti, Stanley Tucci, Mo’ath Sharif, Rami Delshad, Bassam Hanna Touma, Jeremie Laheurte, Raad Rawi, Emil Hajj.

The line between truth and distortion lays not only in the hands of the reader, but in the sincerity of the journalist whose name appears before the attention-grabbing headline.

A Private War, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

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

The Kid Who Would Be King. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Louis Ashbourn Serkis, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, Mark Bonnar, Denise Gough, Dean Chaumbo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Noma Dumezweni, Angus Imrie, Louis Martin, Joey Anash, Adam Leese, Alexandra Roach, Nick Mohammed, Myra McFadyen, Adam Buxton, Genevieve O’Reilly.

It is a desired mirror held up to our uncertain, even dangerous, times that we undoubtedly look to stories and myths in which to console us, to see us through the damage done and the spectres and evils that haunt our land. We look back through time to draw parallels, to join up the dots of mayhem and division, and come to the conclusion that it all comes down to one thing, we have become infatuated with stuff, rather than the joy of simply being free.

The Kid Who Would Be King. Film Review. full post

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

A Foreigners Journey, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A Foreigners Journey, Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

To tackle and cover the songs and emotional response of one of the greatest and intensely loved bands of all time is one thing, to do justice to two, that takes more than just the idea of a tribute, it is a carnival of appreciation brought to life as if it was theatre, a series of beautifully balanced songs, highs, expectations and genuine love for a genre’s creativity.

A Foreigners Journey, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(376 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

DNR (Do Not Resurrect), Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre Studio, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Pauline Davies, Faye Caddick, Paul Codman, James O’Brien.

To honour the past is one thing, to find yourself unexpectedly in the back garden of time, spade in hand and ready with the synaptic electricity burning ready to resuscitate it so you can bring it back to life to examine it in greater detail, so you can relive the pain and the grief of all that you lost, all that was once loved. Such moments should be left to stay hidden and yet as we face the uncertain end and all we have is time, it is into that garden we go and the shovel and the spade dig eagerly.

DNR (Do Not Resurrect), Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre Studio, Liverpool. full post

(477 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Alita: Battle Angel. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Keean Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Casper Van Dien, Eiza Gonzalez, Lana Condor, Michelle Rodriguez, Ella LaMont, Jeff Fahey, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Ed Norton.

If you dare to make a film that immerses itself into a version of Earth’s future, a science fiction cake to which all will chow down upon and take delight in every ingredient, then it could be argued that what is needed is to make the characters as relatable to our current perception of life or at least incorporate that future vision as an understanding of what we fear, what will be the point of impact in which we as a species will no doubt either lose and become meaningless, or rise up, renewed, buoyed by narrowly avoiding the apocalyptic disaster.

Alita: Battle Angel. Film Review. full post

(501 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

The Cat In The Hat, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Sam Angell, Melissa Lowe, Charley Magalit, Nana Amoo-Gottfried, Celia Francis, Robert Penny.

An acrobatic skill weaved around one of the most beloved children’s books and characters to come out of America in the last 100 years, a set of beautiful nonsense in exacting verse and perhaps the first pull of the magic that is theatre, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat is not just meant to inspire young minds, it allows them free range to see the world as a place in which the creativity that is possible goes hand in hand with anarchy and order, that learning can be fun rather than insipid, dull and routine.

The Cat In The Hat, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Big Up!, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Jack Hobbs A.K.A. Hobbit, Dorcas Sebuyange, Iestyn Evans, Clarke Joseph-Edwards.

Outwardly we might forget what it was like to be little, to see through the eyes of a child, we neglect the belief in what playing can achieve, we turn our back on the youngster we once were because we fall into line with the conviction that at some point it is not the done thing, simply unacceptable, and then we wonder why we have such trouble identifying with the young, with the children who look up to us; we want them to grow, to be adult, to lose their sense of questioning and creativity, yet all the time we should just be imploring them to Big Up!

Big Up!, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(462 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

All Is True, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Lydia Wilson, John Dagleish, Kathryn Wilder, Sam Ellis, Alex MacQueen, Jack Colgrave Hirst, Margaret Wheeler, Gerard Horan, Doug Colling, Lolita Chacrabarti, Philip Dunster, Freya Durkan, Flora Easton, Matt Jessup, Sabi Perez, Michael Rouse, Kate Tydman.

It is a beautiful story and one that will break the heart of anyone with half a romantic soul in their body and yet like all beautiful whispers that we seek to take advantage of by seemingly learning something of the poet’s soul, fiction, that forgiving beast of bounty, leads to a comedy of inaccuracies and yet we still pursue it as if it were a fair maiden covered in buttercup petals or a rueful youth displaying muscles and brawn on the beach.

All Is True, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool. full post

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