As if eight inexplicably popular movies, in the mind-numbing Fast and Furious franchise weren’t enough, the series, like a mutant beast, has sprouted another limb in the form of the ludicrous but not particularly fun spinoff, Hobbs and Shaw. This film is as punishingly loud, soulless, chaotic and utterly preposterous as previous instalments in the franchise, even though it moves
Read moreThis week on ‘Built For Speed’ we take a look at two films on opposite ends of the movie spectrum: muscle flexing, action high jinks in ‘Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw’ and a historical documentary about a pioneering female filmmaker in ‘Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache’. We’ll also tell you all about the Alvvays
Read moreThe 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,
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