Media reviews

OK I'm cheating a bit here; I first saw Wicked before Christmas 2024. But it was showing and I fancied a second viewing; especially as I can't see some of the best scenes on Youtube yet.  I am so torn on this film. It's absolutely beautiful, the opening song (No One Mourns The Wicked) is colourful and great fun. The camera angles are great. The opening shot, where we follow the flying monkeys as they break out of the castle and fly over Oz is shot to capture the movement so it feels like you are flying with them in a way that feels like you're in one of Disney World's new rides. The singing is epic; Cynthia Erivo gives a rendition of "The Wizard and I" that makes me actually enjoy the song (I've never liked the Idina Menzel version) and Jonathan Bailey did the same with "Dancing Through life). The choreography is also wonderful. On second viewing, I noticed the movement of the characters during the musical numbers. Every move is solid, precise, an...

Sigourney Weaver plays Prospero in this production of Shakespeare's Tempest. There are so many wonderful things to say about this production. The lighting was the best I've ever seen in live theatre (and probably any art media I've seen). The pitch black lighting at the beginning created an eerie atmosphere, with flashes of light to create an amazing concept of a nautical tempest without resorting to traditional requirements of the sound of rain or thunder to imitate a storm. The set was also wonderful; the use of an extremely light curtain to simulate waves was phenomenal, and the implicit mountain (a steep-looking rise in the background where actors bravely rushed up and down the steep hills) created an impression of a stormy windswept island without resorting to sound. Full kudos to the Director.  The actors were also excellent. Sigourney Weaver was great - dramatic and expressive at all times. The spirit Ariel was a standout star, and I particularly loved the sound effe...

 We live in time is a modern rom-com between two people (Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh) with a few twists. It's fine, but it's not the most engaging film I've ever seen.  The film is split across three timelines and we cut across them over the course of the film. In one section, the couple are pregnant and waiting to give birth, in another the couple have their young daughter and are dealing with Almut's recurring cancer, and in another Tobias is leaving his failed marriage and is meeting and romancing Almut. The technique works quite well, and keep the film engaging.  The plot is OK I guess. There are some great bits of comedy with Tobias the Weetabix man (as he's known to Almut's friend), and the birth scene in a petrol station bathroom is very good. But the plot is a bit thin. It boils down to Almut not being sure if she wants children, having cancer, winning, having a child, having cancer again, taking part in a cooking competition, then death. The main ...

I first read Merchant of Venice in my first year of secondary school. The main thing I remembered about it was that it included a venture gone wrong for the hero, who had made a deal with a financier (Shylock) who wanted his pound of flesh in return for the loss of the loan he had made, and that it was pretty anti-Semitic.  It's interesting what one remembers about a play. This version (with Tracey-Ann Oberman) is the first time I've seen it live and there are clearly some adjustments to the text with the inclusion of the 1936 Battle of Cable Street into the narrative, but otherwise I think it was quite faithful. I was surprised about how much of the plot I'd forgotten. In particular, the clear anti-semitism of Antonio, the close relationship between Antonio and Bessanio, and how Portia dominates the legal trial (while pretending to be a man - which I'd completely forgotten).  These aren't particularly nuanced pieces in the play. Antonio clearly despises Shylock, lo...

  Phenomenal film, but the last 15 minutes needed work This is a beautiful film. The shots are gorgeous. Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes are strong actors with a powerful supporting cast. The classic themes of "man vs society" and "man vs himself" are played out very well as Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) goes on a journey from a man who is desperate not to be pope to recognising that he may be the best option within a flawed (and very human) institution.   If the film had ended with Pope John (Fiennes' intended name), it would have been a good story about a flawed institution trying to find its way through a difficult world. And then a terrorist attacks. There's a slightly-hammy scene where Tedesco (Italian conservative) calls for a holy war against Islam (in so many words). This is eloquently opposed by the Cardinal of Afghanistan whose speech is so powerful that the Conclave then votes for their new Pope Innocent.  The pope is Intersex and Lawrence must wrestl...

There are no new themes in this film. It covers the brutal impact of fame, cruelty in the music industry, how desires for personal achievement can outweigh personal relationships, and the classic message that fame/money/success don't bring true happiness.  The film covers well known themes. But it does it extremely well . Better Man covers Robert Williams' life from a cheeky schoolboy who is bad at football (I deeply sympathised with the opening scenes of Robbie failing to be a goalkeeper) then through the ups and downs of his music careers before culminating in a reconciliation with his family and friends. The twist is that we need to see Robbie as an outsider the way he does, so he's portrayed as a chimp. This is awkward for about five minutes, and then it works because it allows Robbie to manifest clones of himself in the audience when he sings who set out all of his self-doubts. The chimp's engagement with other actors (all kept as human) quickly fades into normalit...

This is a brief starting note to explain the purpose of this blog. It's a place for me to review media I consume this year in the hope that it will increase my ability to consciously choose my media and keep track of what I enjoy, and why. It will focus on films and books in particular.