Bad Neighbours, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *

Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Brian Huskey, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Halston Sage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lisa Kudrow, Jerrod Carmichael, Craig Roberts, Ali Cobrin, Hannibal Buress.

 

It seriously makes you worry for the future of American comedy if all a studio can come up with is a film that relies far too much displaying the bodily differences between the two main male leads, more needless swearing than you find underlined in a dictionary by somebody with limited vocabulary and an over reliance on showcasing the university fraternity system and their spat with modern day suburbia. It has been down before, with better artistry, finer scripts and with a couple of notable exceptions with better leads and supporting cast. Bad Neighbours is no Animal House. It even has the dubious pleasure of somehow managing to make the National Lampoon films seem like gold dust.

Bad Neighbours, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T. Liverpool. full post

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

Frank, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scott McNairy, Tess Harper, Matthew Page, Hayley Derryberry, Travis Hammer, Mark Huberman, Jamie Powers, Kevin Wiggins, Stephen M. Hardin, Paul Butterworth, Morse Bicknell, Jessica Stotz Harrell, Crystal Miller, Alex Knight, Lauren Poole, François Civil, Abe Bueno Jallad, Philip David Pickard, Katie Anne Mitchell, Bruce McIntosh, Jean Effron, J.B. Tuttle, Laura-Love Tode, Andy Brooks, Jordyn Aurora Aquino, Dean Satriano, Rosalind Adler.

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

(570 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

The French Revolution: Tearing Up History. Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is a certain joyful glee upon the face of Dr. Richard Clay as he talks of revolution and the overthrowing of church and state in B.B.C. 4’s The French Revolution: Tearing Up History. It isn’t the smile of a man revelling in the blood and gore of history but rather the knowledge that art and perhaps its wilful destruction during times of great political upheaval, is a doorway to understanding the past that can only be rivalled through its literature and music.

The French Revolution: Tearing Up History. Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

(530 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

Locke & Key: Head Games. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The deadbolt should have been kept padlocked; the catch on the memory firmly kept in place and armed guards placed on every conceivable exit and as for the imagination…well that’s best left to Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez to care for. For the Locke family certainly need them to keep them safe or at least care for them in the same manner throughout as they do in Locke & key: Head Games.

Locke & Key: Head Games. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(599 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Moonflesh. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Tim Bentinck, Rosanna Miles, John Banks, Francesca Hunt, Hugh Fraser, Geoffrey Barton.

There are many precious stones that lay on the floor unnoticed, some that have fallen from the stars and lay undisturbed until the right pair of eyes gazes upon them and sees something extraordinary in its shape and form. Scratch beneath the surface though and not all stones are what they seem and instead can hold a hidden danger that once woken becomes a hunter, a hunter in which only The Doctor can hope to stop in Mark Morris’ latest audio drama for Big Finish, Moonflesh.

Doctor Who: Moonflesh. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

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

Plaything Of The Gods.

 

I am a plaything of the gods

And when they crush me

Into a little ball

Throw me

Hard into the wall

I will soften to rubber

Bouncing

Harmlessly

And when they

Heedlessly

Fling me

High, high into the air

I will open up my wings

And sweetly soar

Far across the cerulean blue.

 

Dr. Erica Wright 2014

Permanent link to this post (62 words, estimated 15 secs reading time)

This May Hurt A Bit, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Frances Ashman, Stephanie Cole, William Hope, Natalie Klamar, Hywel Morgan, Brian Protheroe, Jane Wymark, Tristram Wymark.

The patient has been seen by many consultants over the years, some with the very best of intentions, some whose intentions are perhaps dubious at best and down- right scandalous at worst and yet somehow the patient is still here and still keeping society going. The N.H.S. still carries on delivering from cradle to the grave.

This May Hurt A Bit, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Beside The Seaside, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 71/2 /10

Cast: Jennifer Bea, John Burns, Anna Hudson, Leon Tagoe.

There is almost nothing better in life than a day at the seaside. The chance to eat an ice cream as the sun causes it to dribble and linger upon your fingers, to take in the maritime air and generally have the type of day that at one time was the staple of British life up and down the country. The seaside was where it was at and families flocked there in their thousands. Places like Blackpool, Scarborough, Southend and Brighton were the destinations of choice in which to blow off steam and have some much needed downtime.

Beside The Seaside, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Goin’ Home. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You don’t get much fresher than Kenny Wayne Shepherd when it comes to bringing out an album of exquisite note only a few short months after being part of the supergroup The Rides’ magnificent piece of work Can’t Get Enough. For fans of Kenny Wayne Shepherd that really shouldn’t be a surprise as Goin’ Home is an album that is delivered with the same strutting style, the same admirable honesty as you would hope to find attached to each person who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Goin’ Home. Album Review. full post

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

Alex Cottrell, Untold. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It can be infuriating when going to the theatre, in any form or of any size, hearing a superb piece of music which captures the play in all its glory and then realising that you will probably never be able to hear it again unless the company get together and try to evoke the feeling that was hopefully felt by all.

Alex Cottrell, Untold. E.P. Review. full post

(410 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)