Tag Archives: Liverpool

The Royal, Theatre Review. Theatre Royal, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Lynn Francis, Lindzi Germain, Philip Hesteltine, Danny O’Brien, Angela Simms, Alan Stocks.

Some institutions are so engrained into the fabric of society that to be without them is to argue that society is going backwards. The N.H.S., arguably the greatest and proudest contribution to British life in the last 100 years, is always under threat, always on the verge of being lost by those who believe that the health of the nation should be one that is allowed to make profit over care, yet, for now, still offers the best a patient can get and that always boils down to the people inside the hospitals, the doctors, the cleaners, the morticians, the nurses…those that wander in with a clip board one day and decide to stay.

Joe Bonamassa: A Tribute To The British Blues Explosion, Gig Review. The Cavern Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

With sweat sliding from the walls of the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool – holy home of The Beatles and one or two others – Joe Bonamassa stepped onto the stage at 8 pm, slung his guitar across his shoulders and thereby went on to rip the guts out of the place with two hours of the most sublime guitar work you are ever likely to witness.

Independence Day: Resurgence, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher, Bill Pulman, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, William Fichtner, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner, Patrick St. Esprit, Vivica A. Fox, Angelababy, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Deobia Oparei, Nicolas Wright, Travis Tope, Jenna Purdy, Ryan Cartwright.

Inevitable when you think about it, of course there would be a sequel to the glossy and fun Independence Day, the story line was just too enjoyable and fairly bonkers to not have left a film child behind somewhere in the dark, salivating over the prospect of taking a cinema audience on the road to yet another round with creatures from beyond our universe.

The Secret Life Of Pets, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Eric Stonestreet, Louis C.K., Steve Coogan, Tara Strong, Dana Carvey, Jim Cummings, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Lori Alan, Laraine Newman, Carlos Alazraqui, John Kassir, Brian T. Delaney, Bill Farmer, Bob Bergen, Mona Marshall, John Cygan, Michael Beattie, Sasha Lester, Jan Rabson.

If only pets could talk, if all animals were able to tell us exactly what they want and why they want it, perhaps the world would be a hell of a lot nicer place to live; till that becomes a possibilty outside of science fiction, there will always be the strain of human misguidance and misjudgement when it comes to The Secret Life of Pets.

Elvis & Nixon, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters, Tate Donavon, Ashley Benson, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Joey Sagal, Dylan Penn.

When a President meets a King it is with the possibility of diplomacy in mind, that deals are to be struck and offers of friendship talked over, normally with the idea of business in mind. When a President meets a King it is to smooth over mutual issues and create a shared and common goal, an interest that is beneficial to their respective countries. When a President meets the King, who knows what will happen inside the grandeur of the Oval Office.

Learning To Drive, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley, Jake Weber, Sarita Choudhury, Grace Gummer, Samantha Bee, Avi Nash, Matt Salinger, Michael Mantell, Daniela Lavender, Rajika Puri, John Hodgman, Randy Graff, Nora Hummel.

In times of trouble it takes faith to keep calm, to see the world beyond the mirror that has been put in front of you and look past the person you once were, to not give in under the pressure to the thought of the future; in times of trouble it takes faith to be who you are.

Tale Of Tales, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Hayley Carmichael, Bebe Cave, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Laura Pizzirani, Franco Pistoni, Guillaume Delaunay.

Be careful what you wish for, what lays in your deepest part of your heart, for inside the beating crevice where love may sit, instead comes bile and control, bitterness and bewilderment. By listening to the demons inside the head instead of the truth that you know, you condemn others to rebel and undermine your authority.

Titus Andronicus, Theatre Review. Liverpool City College, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Vincent Skyner, Emily Hargreaves, Natalie Bedkowska, Sarah Williams, Alishia Killian, Amy Robinson, Henrietta Martins, Ayesha Tarbuck, Christopher Braden, Micahael Emmerson, Alice Williams, Carly O’ Hare, Sammi Jo Christie, Jerome Griffin.

At times there just doesn’t feel like enough gore in the world, especially in theatre, something meaty to get the teeth into, something with anger and bite, and if it must be done then it deserves credit. Titus Andronicus is still after 400 years the one play that feeds off all the negativity and feelings of revenge that can be ravaged in humanity; take one life and you are a murderer, take them all and you become a god, as Stalin once wrote, it is just a matter of statistics.

The Diary Of A Hounslow Girl, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Ambreen Razia.

The Diary of A Hounslow Girl is the tale of a 16-year-old British Muslim girl in West London. From traditional Pakistani weddings to fights on the night bus, this play shows the challenges of being brought up as a young woman in a traditional Muslim family alongside the temptations and influences growing up in and around London.

Written and performed by Ambreen Razia the show is currently on tour around the country, with a one night stop at the Unity. This is Razia’s debut play and her performance is flawless, considering it is a monologue that lasts 85 minutes.

Elton John, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Life is a distraction filled with the sometimes endless search for acceptance, love and experience; it should never be about fear, about wondering if you are going to go out and come home alone, that the music might suddenly stop in a heartbeat or if the lights will one day turn out because of someone else’s intolerable beliefs.