Tag Archives: Musical

Review in Brief: Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)

Posted on June 29, 2021 by Sam S-P

INSIDE is a feature film, no question. At the very least it’s a musical, with elements of documentary and insightful monologue mixed in. Comedy musician Bo Burnham spent over a year crafting a unique special for Netflix and decided to … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: In the Heights (2021)

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Sam S-P

“Feelgood film of the year” is an overused poster quote, but as far as IN THE HEIGHTS is concerned it’s probably true. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-HAMILTON hit brought to the screen by Jon M Chu has the same confidence and similar … Continue reading →

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‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at 25 – Review

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Sam S-P

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/hunchback-of-notre-dame-25-year-review/ SSP

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Review: Cats (2019)

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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 Sam S-P

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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