The Aladdin story has been the subject of numerous cinema adaptations including the 1940 classic The Thief of Baghdad, the much-loved animated 1992 version with the late Robin Williams and outrageously camp English pantomimes. The latest version, a musical directed by Guy Richie, is elaborate, colourful and energetic but tonally inconsistent and not always as funny or charming as it
Read moreAfter 11 years and a seemingly endless procession of ear drum and eyeball pummelling films, the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to a close with the three-hour behemoth Avengers: Endgame. This collision of superhero action flick, high-tech sci-fi film, Tolkienesque fantasy epic and pompous Wagnerian myth has so far received reviews verging on the orgasmic with some
Read moreThis week on ‘Built For Speed’ we review U’s’ director Jordan Peele’s much-anticipated follow-up to horror sensation ‘Get Out’. We’ll also take a look at believe it or not, a superhero film but a slightly different one to the normal po-faced, Wagnerian CGI-overloaded Marvel efforts, it’s ‘Shazam’. Our theatre correspondent CJ will also tell us about the live musical extravaganza ‘Muriel’s
Read moreArriving fairly late in the all-consuming Marvel movie franchise is Captain Marvel an origin story not only for the title character but for a couple of Marvel Comics Universe characters and in some ways a prequel to a few of the Marvel films. While this movie provides occasional amusement, moments of impressive spectacle and excitement and finally a female lead,
Read moreThis Friday is International Women’s Day and ‘Built For Speed’ will play a selection of our favourite tunes from female artists including Liz Phair, Courtney Barnett and Patti Smith. We’ll also review two films with two remarkable women we never would have thought would appear in the same sentence: Maria Callas (in ‘Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words’) and
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