Rockets and Blue Lights at National Theatre review September 3, 2021 First performed in March 2020 at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, Rockets and Blue Lights ran for just three weeks before the pandemic yanked down the curtain. Now this strange, urgent, flawed, exasperating and occasionally brilliant play finally opens in London on the National Theatre’s Dorfman stage. Winsome Pinnock’s play focuses on the legacy of [...]
Cinderella review – Amazon’s enthusiastic but forgettable fairytale September 3, 2021 An unspoken rule of Hollywood is that a new version of Cinderella has to be attempted at least once a decade. Brandy (97’s Cinderella) and Drew Barrymore (Ever After) gave it a go in the 90s; while Anne Hathaway (Ella Enchanted) and Hilary Duff (A Cinderella Story) gave the tale a modern spin in the [...]
Wildfire film review – an understated family affair September 3, 2021 Generating some buzz through last year’s festival circuit, Wildfire comes to cinemas followed by sadness both on and off screen. Just as the sisters in the story live with loss in their lives, a dedication at the end alludes to the passing of star Danika McGuigan shortly after the film’s completion, aged just 33. There’s [...]
Misha and The Wolves review: A stunning mystery documentary September 2, 2021 Winning fans at Sundance this year was Misha and The Wolves, a documentary that covers a story that gained a lot of press coverage, but may be new to a number of viewers. It’s the 90’s, and an American publisher Jane Daniel believes she struck gold when she comes across the story of Misha Defonseca, [...]
What If…? episode 4 catch-up – grief takes a Strange turn September 2, 2021 We’re approaching the halfway point of What If…?, and so far the glimpses of an alternative Marvel Cinematic Universe have been positive. Peggy Carter heroically took up the mantle meant for Steve Rogers, T’Challa proved he would be a hero whatever galaxy he is in, and even if the original Avengers were wiped out, Nick [...]
Playhouse, a shrine to video games, launches at Selfridges as industry sales surge August 31, 2021 Video games have been big business for decades, with the top titles vastly out-grossing the most popular cinema releases. Were there any remaining doubts over whether the medium now represents one of the cultural megaliths of our time, lockdown answered those. Almost two third of UK adults played video games over 2020, with every age [...]
September culture in the City: The best of music and performance August 31, 2021 As you begin to return to your workplace, make sure your time in the City is packed with culture… Here’s our September roundup to keep you busy. City Music Foundation is hosting a concert on Tuesday 7 September at 7pm at the Great Hall, St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Helen Charlston will be performing a world premiere [...]
What If…? Episode 3 review: A Phase One Murder Mystery August 26, 2021 *** WARNING: This review contains spoilers for all current episodes of Disney’s What If…? *** Disney+ show What If…? has thus far presented some interesting questions, with satisfying answers. We see that Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) would have made a brilliant Avenger, and T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) would have been a hero wherever he called home. [...]
Souad review – a sobering Egyptian coming-of-age tale August 25, 2021 There are a lot of dramas that make you question the number of times you look at your phone in a day. For her debut narrative feature Souad, Egyptian director Ayten Amin takes the familiar posts and emojis of social media and put them in the contexts of her homeland. Set in a strictly religious [...]
The Nest review – Jude Law is brilliant in this yuppie horror story August 25, 2021 The career of Jude Law took an interesting turn as the actor entered his forties. While he’s maintain his movie star looks, age has allowed him to move away from heartthrob roles and into the darker characters that announced his arrival in the 1990s. He was despicable in the overlooked satire Vox Lux, a super [...]