FILM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW: Gladiator 2 starring Paul Mescal & Pedro Pascal

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Mescal returns to the West End stage in 2025 in Rebecca Frecknall’s A Streetcar Named Desire and that performance as swarthy and brutish Stanley Kowalski gives a sense of the physicality he brings to Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 5 Oscar-winning film Gladiator.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is absolutely ridiculous but also a riveting romp through its 148 minutes that requires a suspension of disbelief
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FILM REVIEW: Wicked (Part 1) starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Jonathan Bailey

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Released Friday 22 November 2024 RUNTIME: 165 minutes

Q: How does the 1st act of a beloved stage show lasting 90 minutes or so become a compelling film of almost 3 hours?

  • Read on for reasons including how this is visualised with such flair that musical theatre fans should be enthralled
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FILM REVIEW: The Substance starring Demi Moore

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Be careful what you wish for is the sentiment that comes to mind as Demi Moore’s faded celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle is dismissed from the aerobics TV show she hosts on her 50th birthday.

  • Read on for reasons including how this has an over the top climax that seems apt given the madness that has preceded it
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FILM REVIEW: Joker: Folie à Deux starring Joaquin Phoenix & ALBUM OF THE WEEK Harlequin by Lady Gaga

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *** (film)/ **** (album)

Harlequin tracklist: Good Morning; Get Happy; Oh, When The Saints; World On A String; If My Friends Could See Me Now; That’s Entertainment; Smile; The Joker; Folie à Deux; Gonna Build A Mountain; Close To You; Happy Mistake; That’s Life

Lady Gaga is definitely the best thing about this sequel to the 2019 original Joker film which won Oscars for Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Score.

  • Read on for reasons including how this film proves what a musical talent Lady Gaga is
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FILM REVIEW: Alien: Romulus

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

‘In space, no one can hear you scream’ ran the tagline for the 1st Alien film and these days the all-too-obvious sound of audience screaming was more likely the response to the poor quality of the franchise’s follow ups to its 2 big hits.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the best Alien film since Aliens in 1986
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FILM REVIEW: Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor & Mike Faist

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this story of a love (match) triangle with a tennis backdrop is that its screenplay was written by Justin Kuritzkes whose wife Celine Song was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Past Lives, our film of 2023.

  • Read on for reasons including its success in making tennis riveting and occasionally raunchy
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FILM REVIEW: Back To Black starring Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Lesley Manville & Eddie Marsan

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

We only saw Amy Winehouse live once at what is now the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, in late 2007 where she arrived late, slurred throughout and didn’t get a great reception from a disappointed crowd.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is Amy – the love story
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FILM REVIEW: Monster

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

UK release: 16 March 2024

This story of a pre-adolescent boy who may be being bullied at his Japanese school is told from 3 points of view – his mother’s, his teacher’s and his own.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a sensitive film about how individuality should be nurtured
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FILM REVIEW: Wicked Little Letters starring Olivia Colman & Jessie Buckley

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Tuesday 20 February 2024, UK release Friday 23 February RUNTIME: 100 minutes

Wicked Little Letters is based on a true story from 1920s England of neighbours Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton when a series of obscene letters begin to target Edith and others, with suspicion falling upon Rose.

  • Read on for reasons including how the quality of the laugh-out-loud trailer is maintained throughout the film
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FILM REVIEW: Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Wednesday 31 January 2024, also showing in selected cinemas Sunday 4 February 2024

‘A Friday night in Copenhagen – what could be better?’ asks Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant as the duo follow Taylor Swift and Beyonce into cinemas.

  • Read on for reasons including how some of the band’s greatest hits have recently featured in films
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