Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Cristian Milioti, Christian Ebersole, Shea Whigham, Katarina Cas, P.J. Byrne, Kenneth Choi, Brian Sacca, Henry Zebrowski, Ethan Suplee, Barry Rothbart, Jake Hoffman, Madison McKinley, Spike Jonze, Bo Dietl.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Saïd Taghmaoui, Michael Peña, Shea Whigham, Alessandro Novola, Elisabeth Röhm, Paul Herman, Robert De Niro, Anthony Zerbe.
In the minds of many this side of the great ocean divide that separates the United States of America from the U.K. the glitz and glamour that is seen in various television shows and films centres on the likes of Miami and Las Vegas, further down the list is Atlantic City, a bolt hole for gambling in the upper portion of the great state of New Jersey but one in which too few ballads, poems or dreams are made of.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgård, Sam Reid, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tanroh Ishida, Marta Dusseldorp, Masa Yamaguchi, Keiichi Enomoto, James Fraser, Shoota Tanahashi, Akos Armont.
The Railway Man might face strong competition for the title of Best British film in 2014 but it won’t for the want of being an absolutely brilliant film with a cast that shines throughout and with the horrors of war not glossed over and forgotten. It is not a film to be taken lightly; it should be approached, just like the other film out this weekend, 12 Years A Slave, as not just a piece of cinema, to be sat through and then left discarded at the foot of the mind as other films get shown throughout the year, but as a piece of history, cinematic or otherwise.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Adepero Oduye, Paul Giamatti, Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Taran Killam, Chris Chalk, Michael K. Williams, Kelsey Scott, Alfre Woodward, Quvenzhane Wallis, Devyn A. Taylor, Cameron Zeigler, Rob Steinberg, Jay Huguley, Christopher Berry, Bryan Batt, Bill Camp, Dwight Henry, Ruth Negga.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The New Year is a week old and whilst many are feeling their way back into the way of 2014, the first stirrings of music can be heard through the alleyways and shelters from the inclement weather. If 2013 was a huge year for music in Liverpool, new artists and groups offering new blood to the sage, wise and considered, many brilliant bands from outside of the area and beyond making their way in some sort of momentous pilgrimage to the natural home of popular music and declaring that love with many hands on heart, then 2014 should be even better.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Caitlin Clough, Jack Murray, Karl Falconer, Rhea Little, Sam Walton, Stewart McDonald, Abi Taylor Jones, Siobhan Crinson, Albert Hastings.
Quite simply you can never have too much of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off placed before you. It is a sumptuous comedy banquet that keeps giving and each serving is captured differently as the last. It is rightly regarded as one of the finest stage comedies of its time but it has to be captured right, one person miscast, one mistimed moment and the momentum goes completely. It is a play that is so giving and yet one wrong step, it can be a cruel mistress and leave the feeling of undiluted suffering in the audience and it takes real guts to even attempt to put it on. Thankfully PurpleCoat productions weren’t put off by the thought and gave a performance of high ability and virtue at the Arts Centre on Myrtle Street.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
No matter the venue, no matter the time of day, to catch one of the finest female performers around live is a must.
Natalie McCool has already cemented her growing reputation, not just in a city that looks to her as one of their own, but also further afield. Anybody who makes their way to see her and sees the unhindered blaze in her eyes stoking fire from the very pit of her stomach and channelling it through her incredible talent; will be taken on a journey by a woman who epitomises the very heart of music. She is a woman whose devastating, almost coy, smile can bring as many goose bumps to the skin as the simple yet haunting way that her guitar manages to with stunning effect.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It doesn’t seem like five minutes since Dominic Dunn was hoisted upon stage at the Rodewald Suite Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and bought his music to an even wider audience. The young man from Kirkdale has been championed by one of the city’s finest in the form of Ian Prowse and no matter where he seems to be asked to perform this young 16 year old lad gives off the kind of confidence, a stark understanding of his guitar that you can only feel safe in his company.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are times when Williamson Square can seem like a veritable oasis, calm in an ocean of the oncoming Christmas storm. Whilst shoppers make the most of the last weekend before the festivities begin, Williamson Square’s bandstand plays host to some of the great talent that not only braves biting cold but can grab people’s attention as they bathe beneath the neon lights of The Playhouse Theatre and shadow of the Radio City station and its imposing beacon.
Liverpool Sound and Vision 9/10
Cast: Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Paul Duckworth, Gillian Hardie, Keddy Sutton, Lenny Wood.
Before a word is spoken inside the Echo Arena, before Andrew Schofield and Alan Stocks pass that wonderful look between them and the marvellous Keddy Sutton manages to bring her array of much loved admired voices to the table, just to know that these six amazingly funny and versatile actors are about to bring Dave Kirby’s work to life, there is already a broad smile on the audience who braved the December storms to watch Dreaming Of A Barry White Christmas.