Tag Archives: Musical

Review: Cats (2019)

Posted on January 17, 2020 by

I’m not trying to offend anyone who genuinely enjoys Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit musical – I like some strange things too – but I personally found CATS on stage unbearable. Even the better songs on the soundtrack just cling … Continue reading →

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Review: Rocketman (2019)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

ROCKETMAN is the second musical I’ve really loved this year. Whereas the first, WILD ROSE kept its cowboy-booted feet firmly on the ground, the story of the man formally known as Reg Dwight’s formative years and breakthrough floats off into … Continue reading →

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Review: Wild Rose (2018/19)

Posted on April 22, 2019 by

WILD ROSE is the feel-good movie of the year, and that’s not damning it with faint praise. There’s just so much passion evident in this project from start to finish, and plenty of lively crackle along the way, it’ll leave … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: A Star is Born (2018)

Posted on March 12, 2019 by

For his control over A STAR IS BORN’s live performance scenes alone, Bradley Cooper should have been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. I guess he’ll have to be content with his directorial debut just getting nominations for Best … Continue reading →

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Review: Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Posted on January 16, 2019 by

Like everyone who’s reviewed this what I’m going to ask is (brace yourself) is MARY POPPINS RETURNS practically perfect in every way? Not quite, but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses and its style and intentions are quite admirable. The … Continue reading →

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30s Review: The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

A couple of weekends back I attended my first ever outdoor film screening as part of Film 4’s Summer Screen at Somerset House in London. It was a dream-themed double-bill of LABYRINTH followed by what I think most of the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Lure (2015)

Posted on May 30, 2018 by

Mermaid horror-musical THE LURE is something else. Mostly because it’s a mermaid horror-musical, and I, like many others I’m sure, never thought I’d ever watch, let alone want or need, such a thing. It’s also apparently the first proper musical … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Sing (2016)

Posted on August 9, 2017 by

SING is a pleasant surprise. It may be a clichéd underdog/competition story retold with singing animals, but it’s got a lot of pep and ends up being the most soulful and best-realised animations Illumination have produced so far. The characters are … Continue reading →

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Review: Ted 2 (2015)

Posted on January 19, 2016 by

It would be nice if TED 2 avoided the comedy sequel trap of doing the same thing again only bigger and less funny. It doesn’t. This is first-draft “that’ll do” comedy with recycled FAMILY GUY riffs to fill in the … Continue reading →

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Review: Into the Woods (2014)

Posted on February 14, 2015 by

Musicals, like comedy films, are very difficult to review. Musical taste, just like what makes you laugh, is such a subjective thing. Generally you’re either a Stephen Sondheim fan or you’re not. For me, INTO THE WOODS isn’t a great … Continue reading →

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