Wicked: For Good

Last year, we had the first part of an epic musical adaptation of Wicked, the hugely successful Broadway and West End hit. Now we have the sequel, Wicked: For Good, or as it should be called, Wicked Act Two, for this is precisely what it is. The first film was predominantly the first act, with…

Disney’s Snow White

This is a call-out to someone who has influence over the executives at Disney. Could you tell them to stop green-lighting these live-action remakes of their classic animations? They are ruining a legacy that has had over 100 years of quality entertainment for the family. By creating these monstrosities like The Lion King, Pinocchio and…

Better Man

Imagine the scene. You have decided to make a film about the early life and career of Robbie Williams. You are pitching the idea of the troubled singer to studio executives, and you are going through the motions of the story, but you leave the most critical part till last. You don’t want Robbie to…

Moana 2

Disney’s Moana was the surprise hit that no one saw coming. A delightful and impressive tale set in ancient Polynesia with a strong female lead who wasn’t a princess, taking on an incredible journey with a demi-god. While the film was an enormous cinema success, it found its audience on the streaming service Disney+. We…

Wicked

I didn’t get it when I saw Wicked in the West when it first opened. I thought as a show, the songs were great, but it had been massively hyped up. I went again a few years later and understood it better, but I still wasn’t impressed. So entering the cinema for the first part…

Joker: Folie à Deux

Todd Phillips’ Joker was a huge smash in 2019, both commercially and critically. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an Oscar for its star, Joaquin Phoenix. The dark tale of a lonely man battling the demons in his life was a powerful, often shocking film miles away from the DC…

The Color Purple

It was a Pultizer-prize-winning novel by Alice Walker that was turned into a hugely acclaimed movie 1985 by Steven Spielberg. Then, it became a West End and Broadway musical. Now we have the film version of The Color Purple, based on that musical. While there is so much to admire, there is something that doesn’t…

Wonka

We are living in very dark times. With wars and political upheaval, the cost of living crisis and corruption all around, you feel downhearted every time you switch the news on. Fear not, good people, for there is a way to feel joy for a few hours, in the form of the latest film from…

Wish

It’s Disney’s 100th anniversary. Since 1923, one of the biggest and most successful film companies has produced family-friendly entertainment. And so, this, their centenary year, they wanted to give us something memorable, something exceptional that will go down in the history books alongside Pinocchio, Bambi, The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Frozen. Instead, they…

The Little Mermaid

I was looking through some old movie posters and came across an advert for a film called Escape From The Dark. This was a Disney production about pit ponies in Northern England. Very dark and very moving. I remember vividly seeing this original tale and being blown away by it. A British-produced Disney live-action that…

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical

Cinematic musicals have had a rough time in recent years. The genre was almost killed off in one fell swoop by Cats back in 2019, but thankfully it has been saved by the likes of Encanto and last year’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Now, one of the biggest hits on the West End stage has…

Sing 2

Director: Garth Jennings Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Edgerton, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Bobby Cannavale, Bono, Letitia Wright Written by: Garth Jennings Running Time: 113 mins Cert: U Release date: 28th January 2022 Some say that bigger is better. That isn’t strictly the case with Sing 2, the sequel to the hugely successful…