THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Kite Runner, Sheffield Theatres

    ★★★ | The Kite Runner 

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Kite Runner, Sheffield Theatres

    Set against the historical backdrop of social and political change in Afghanistan, The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir and Hassan, who are best friends despite their difference in religion, class and social standing. The pair are inseparable, until Amir stands by as a shocking event tears apart their world and their friendship. But as the years pass, Amir has the opportunity to redeem himself and redress his guilt in a way which he would have never imagined possible.

    The play is based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini and is a heart-breaking tale of friendship, betrayal, divided loyalties, family acceptance and social pressure. It also touches on themes of culture, religion, terrorism and of the life experienced by a country faced with invasion, dictatorship and war. Whilst the central the themes are numerous and remain relevant, the staging is stripped back and straightforward; and the whole show is presented with no fuss or spectacle, which allows the writing, script and narrative to shine through. The play’s strength lies in its flowing language which reflects the source material and, as you listen to the actors, you feel like you are reading a book. The addition of traditional Afghan instruments providing an atmospheric, minimalist soundtrack which enhances the uncluttered approach and provides a real atmosphere to the proceedings.

    In terms of performances, David Ahmad was broadly engaging in his performance as the narrator and protagonist, Amir, although never fully convinced in terms of his emotions; whilst Jo Ben Ayed provided a subtle turn as the meek and withdrawn Hassan. Standing out from the ensemble cast was Emilio Doorgasingh as Baba, Amir’s father, with a commanding and intimidating stage presence befitting of his character.

    It is an ambitious play which encompasses many themes and many key aspects of the character’s lives over a number of years, meaning that there is a lot to get through, and the second act does feel slightly crammed and borders on being a little overlong towards the end; but the story overall remains absorbing and holds the attention.

    The Kite Runner is a visually restrained production which provides for a thought-provoking, relevant and touching story which carries with it a lot of emotion.

    The Kite Runner is at Sheffield Theatres until 21st October 2017 before continuing on its national tour.

  • ALBUM REVIEW | P!nk – Beautiful Trauma, An album of anthems

    ★★★★★ | P!nk – Beautiful Trauma

    P!nk has never been one to shy away from changing with the times. With her seventh studio album, the multi-platinum selling artist shows that she’s more than capable of keeping up with the times and with her fans. Beautiful Trauma is sure to be a hit with the whole of the LGBT community with enough attitude and timely angst to make any episode of Drag Race Untucked look more like Toddlers and Tiaras in comparison.

    Of course, there are the beautiful and heartfelt songs, such as “Beautiful Trauma”, “But We Lost It”, and “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” that prove P!nk still knows how to write a track that could – given the right/wrong day – bring you to tears. However, it’s the show-stopping anthems on this album that will really leave a mark for me. In such a delicate and politically fragile time worldwide having an artist like P!nk remind us all that we’re stronger together might be exactly what’s needed. The always empowering “What About Us”, which has already made its mark on the Billboard charts, will be sure to be a greatest hit of hers for years to come. The anthem train continues with tracks like “Where We Go” and “I Am Here”, both of which scream of a yearning to live life to the fullest – with catchy, toe-tapping, sing-along chorus’ that will undoubtedly remain in your head for days to boot.

    Now, if you’re worried and wondering where the sassy breakup tunes don’t you fret. Eminem is back again, featuring on yet another track with P!nk, for the brilliant “Revenge”, a perfect diss track to take your mind off of any ungrateful ex you might be struggling to forget. “Whatever You Want” and “Secrets” could also fall under the breakup tune umbrella in a slightly more solemn tone that harkens back to The Truth About Love Era ever so slightly and in the best way possible.

    Overall, Beautiful Trauma is a solid and fairly eclectic collection of 13 un-skippable tracks. Fans of the old school P!nk are sure to be just as happy as any new fans might be with this one. The one and only gripe from all of us – I’m sure – why isn’t it longer?

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | Young Frankenstein

    THEATRE REVIEW | Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre, London

    The classic comedy Young Frankenstein has finally made it’s way to the West End, and it’s just as funny, or perhaps even funnier, than the hit 1974 film.

    Mel Brooks, still kicking around at the age of 91, directed and co-wrote (along with Gene Wilder) the Oscar-nominated film. Brooks wrote the music and lyrics of the stage version which had it’s Broadway debut in 2007 to rave reviews and several Tony award nominations. Its arrival in the West End is welcome because there is a lack of stomach-splitting comedies on offer, and Young Frankenstein is not only stomach splitting – it’s laugh out very loud funny!

    Scientist Frederick Frankenstein (Hadley Fraser), who insists his last name is pronounced Frankensteen in order to disassociate himself from his grandfather – the mad scientist Dr Victor von Frankenstein, and which becomes a running joke throughout the show, learns that he has inherited a castle in the town of Transylvania Heights from his grandfather. He decides to check it out and boards the Queen Mary Shelley ship (Shelley is the original author of the book of Frankenstein), says goodbye to his fiancé Elizabeth (Dianne Pilkington) who sings the camp song ‘Please Don’t Touch Me’ in reference to her devotion to Frederick. Once Frederick arrives in the town, he is greeted by Igor (Ross Noble), a man with a hump on his back which keeps on changing sides. Frederick also hires an assistant to help him at the castle, and this assistant is the blond, beautiful, buxomy and German Inga (a wonderful Summer Strallen – who practically steals the show with her looks, and dumbwitnedness). They ride up to the castle on a wagon to the tune of ‘Roll in the Hay (because they are literally on hay and during the bumpy ride Inga practically exposes almost every part of her body – it’s too funny to be seen! Once in the castle (the production designer cleverly takes up deeper and deeper into the castle through the use of darkness and doors that continually reveals amazing new sets). There we meet the fabulous housekeeper Frau Blücher (Lesley Joseph) who has an absolute scene-stealing number with the song ‘He was my Boyfriend’ in reference to Victor Frankenstein. While in the castle, Frederick and Inga find a secret entrance to the laboratory, which inspires Frederick to create a monster in memory of his grandfather. Well, Igor gets a corpse for the experiment, but it’s not exactly what Frederick had in mind, nonetheless, a monster is born, but knocking on the door are the town’s villagers, led by the one-armed and one-legged Inspector Kemp (Patrick Clancy) (it literally cost him an arm and a leg! Tha dump!). He and the townspeople know that something is up in the castle, that many years ago bad things happened there, and they want to find out exactly what is going on in there. And the rest, as they say, is history.

    Young Frankenstein continues with the laughs, and laughs, and laughs, culminating in the rib breaking song ‘Puttin on the Ritz’ sung by The Monster, Frederick, Inga, Igor and company. This show has got to be the funniest show I’ve seen in the West End in a long time (funnier, I think, than ‘The Book of Mormon’). And all the cast are excellent, but Strallen and Joseph are lucky enough to be given show-stopping songs to sing, and Noble as Igor is just too good to be true, and let’s not leave out Shuler Hensley who plays, to great effect, The Monster. This show is just about perfect for a comedy, and Director and choreographer Susan Stroman has created a masterpiece, while kudos goes to set designer Beowulf Boritt. It’s a shame that this show is at the small Garrick Theatre, it needs a bigger theatre just so that more people are able to see it and enjoy it, but nonetheless it’s one you definitely don’t want to miss!

     

    Young Frankenstein plays at the Garrick Theatre, book tickets now

  • DVD REVIEW | Keep The Lights On

    ★★★★ | Keep The Lights On

    Keep the Lights On is a powerfully charged plot following two men from New York City, Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and Paul (Zachary Booth), through an emotional wave of events.

    Their initial casual sex encounter forms a beautiful relationship which is explosive, climatic and heart-warming, creating a dichotomy of emotive highs and agonising lows. These fundamental parallels are significant, questioning how one can think they know someone, but at the same time know so little about their drive and purpose. But what are the implications of having casual sex with a stranger?

    The movie is set across a period of time, as the storyline gradually increases in momentum. The main couple are easy to relate to, joyfully expressing those heart warming feelings of being in the early stages of a relationship – the closeness, the ecstasy, the contentment. But along with the greatness of any relationship comes the sadness. The film explores the difficulties and strains of alcohol and drug abuse, but how much can a partner support and guide before they can take no more?

    The film work is a mature and honest investigation into a couples intimate bond. It doesn’t try to make a point of this being a gay relationship, which is usually my biggest criticism. It is simply a love story full of anguish and confusion like any other. With poignant shots throughout the movie and set to a stunning soundtrack, it has to be placed right at the top of the must see movie category.

    BUY ON AMAZON | BUY ON iTUNES

     

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Number 90 Bar and Kitchen, London

    ★★★★ | Number 90 Bar & Kitchen

    There is practically only one place to be in Hackney Wick, and it’s Number 90 Kitchen.

    Luckily enough to be right on the River Lea with the water and boats and the Olympic Stadium in its backyard, Number 90 Kitchen is a pub, restaurant, and it is also an amazingly cool place to hang out.

    Let’s start with the outdoor terrace. Now is there anywhere else where you’d want to be – sipping fabulous drinks and cocktails amidst the cool ambience? It’s a very large terrace, perhaps almost as large as the restaurant itself, wooden tables with wooden benches, some raised, overlooking the beautiful canal (well, the canal is actually very dirty, and the water is not exactly blue, but at nightime, you can’t tell!). However, it’s nice to be near the water anywhere in London. Overall, Number 90 is a massive venue, with a cool atmosphere – and includes a D.J. booth. Number 90 also has a great food menu and an even better cocktail menu – the drinks are superb!

    The N199 Lemon Pie cocktail was so unlike anything you’ll ever drink. Infused with vodka, lemon mousse, lime juice and topped with gingerbread it was both sweet and delicious. If you want something a bit less desserty, try the N31 Gin drink, which is made with apple juice and cucumber garnish. It actually tasted a bit too healthy! Another recommendation is the drink named after the restaurant – the refreshing N90. It’s made with Appleton Rum, mango juice, Angostura bitters and topped with ginger beer. Please do order this! I would remiss to not forget about the N68 (no, it’s not a night bus) midnight expresso bourbon drink, with Frangelico, Kahlua, Orange Bitters, and topped with whipped cream. I recommend ending the night with this drink – it’s perfect!

    Food at Number 90 Kitchen and Bar can be summed up as comfort food. While it’s not a culinary lovers delight, the food does satisfy the need to fill an empty stomach while at the same time slamming down cocktails. The night my dining companion and I went we had a variety of menu items, all very affordable and good. The BBQ pulled pork burger, served with crunchy slaw, was good, as was the beef burger, topped with the delicious chutney and bacconaise sauce. The Halloumi Sticks, with tomato salsa on the side, was a bit bland and not very sexy, but the sweet potato fries were a winner. For dessert, it was the polenta cake that won hands down, an absolute delis of a dish!

    But as mentioned before it’s not really the food that people go to Number 90 for. It’s the hipster location and the vibe, along with it being one of the few bars/pubs around in the area (It’s a 15-minute walk to Stratford and a 3-minute walk to Hackney Wick overground station). Number 90 also houses a small gallery where they hold exhibits from time to time, as well as some of the finest DJ’s, are showcased, and they will also be serving up a Christmas menu (yes, it’s less than three months away – so book now).

    For any and all information about Number 90 Bar & Kitchen, please go to it’s website:

     

    90 Home

    T: +44 (0)20 8986 0090

    90 Main Yard, Wallis Road, E9 5LN London

    Opening hours:

    Brunch on Saturdays: serving from 12 -2 pm. Yum! To book: bit.ly/2jveVFq

    Their food menu is available all day between 12-9.30 PM.

    WED, THUR & SUN: 12:00 – 23:00

    FRI & SAT:  12:00 – 01:00
    On Sunday, they serve only roasts from 12pm until all roasts are gone, after which we switch to our regular menu.

     

  • CAR REVIEW | Citroen DS3 Performance

    ★★★ | Citroen DS3 Performance

    I don’t feel cheated by this car. The Citroen DS 3 Performance is all the name suggests. It has it in abundance.

    To the trained eye and fact finding motor buff you might be thinking this is a re-bodied Peugeot 208 GTi Sport. You will in fact be correct in thinking this. However Citroen have tweaked it a little to suit its customers preferences. These included a change in spring rates that make it feel a little softer. If truth be told there is a bit more fluidity in how it rides on the road compared to the manic 208.

    Now here comes the surprise. For me THEGAYUK tested the DS cabrio in 2016. I wasn’t complimentary about it in all areas. One thing I did mention was the ride. It wasn’t as good as the now replaced C3 yet in this hard as nails street racer I can live with it. It fills a void that the normal DS3 missed perhaps because this is a somewhat different car.

    The handling is taught. The traction is amazing. Even on really wet roads it holds on like I have never known anything to do so. One very wet roundabout was tackled with spirit and it held the line I pointed it in. The torsen differential is an amazing bit of kit. Added to the wide 18” alloy wheels and it all adds up to one sticky road slug. It won’t let you down. Just watch out for the curbs. The smart Nemesis lightweight alloys have a protruding lip.

    What helped the feeling of ultimate security in fast cornering was a set of body hugging bucket seats. From the outside they don’t look welcoming at all in their black cloth covering. Sit in and you are very much placed in control. It’s all very easy to get set up comfortably and you’ll need it. The interior is very dark. It did feel like I was stepping into the depths of hell. Not such a bad thing knowing how hellishly fast this DS3 could be.

    Unlike its Peugeot 208 sibling, there were things I didn’t notice. The exhaust boom was gone and the throw of the gear lever didn’t feel as long. The DS Performance felt much more fluid in its behaviour. Even in dense city bumper to bumper traffic it felt quite at home in.

    Out on the open road the engine of a modest 1598 cubic centilitres wrings out a very useful 208bhp at a 6000rpm. 221 Ib.ft of torque is at a lowly 3000rpm giving you almost 4000rpm to play with in ripping up the asphalt in the 0-60mph sprint of 6.5 seconds. The 6 speed gearbox makes rapid climbs through the rising speed easy. Sometimes too easy and the rapid climb is sometimes abruptly halted by the rev limiter thankfully there to prevent you throwing a piston through the bonnet. It happens all too quickly and yet sneakily. It’s not a power pack that makes you abundantly aware of what it’s doing because it’s so smooth.

    Stopping the rapid Avantgarde delight is a beautiful all discs Brembo braking system. Stupid hard application of these plus the wide wheels and torsen differential make it all to easy to get carried away. Even mid cornering when you think you might just have bitten off more than you can handle will see you safely out the other side unless you really are stupid. More likely will be the rear end letting you know first. It’s nice to know it has a few surprises. It does though feel less of a handful with the different spring rates compared to the 208 GTi sport.

    The DS Performance is an easy car to live with. In someways I wanted it to be a little more raw. Despite its bright yellow exterior paint and black wheel arch extensions, it was subdued to those outside of the car. In someways it looked like a normal DS3 with some options added. It’s I suppose my place to say if that is a good thing or not because it is ultimately up to you to decide if you want your rapid hatchback to be discreet without external bells and whistles.

    I can recommend the DS 3 Performance. For my money I’d buy the convertible. A little less rigid I’ll grant you but I can’t think of a faster and affordable way of getting wind in the hair this side of wing walking on a Cessna aircraft. And you can’t do that every time you want to pop to the shops.

    Likes

    Price
    Easy to live with
    Available with a soft top

    Loathes

    Alloy wheel lip exposed to curbing
    The DS3 looks are getting old
    Very dark interior

    The Lowdown
    Car – DS 2 Performance
    Price – £ £23,355 (as tested)
    MPG – 52.3mpg (combined)
    Power – 208 bhp 6000 rpm
    0-62mph – 6.5 seconds
    Top Speed – 143 mph
    Co2 – 125 (g/km)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Toxic Avenger The Musical, Arts Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | The Toxic Avenger, The Musical

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Toxic Avenger The Musical, Arts Theatre, London

    There’s a monster loose at the Arts Theatre in London; it’s toxic, it smells, and it’s completely hilarious!

    It’s The Toxic Avenger, the show that was originally a movie (circa 1984) and just last year played at The Southwark Playhouse to rave reviews. Well, The Toxic Avenger is getting revenge by coming back to a much larger theatre, with a superb cast!

    In a nutshell, the show takes place in New Jersey. You know the place, people only pass through there to get to the bright lights and big city of New York. Well, New Jersey is where the denizens of Manhattan dispose of all of its waste – not just garbage but everything and anything that they don’t want, New Jersey, unfortunately, gets.

    But in a town called Tromaville, New Jersey, which gets the worst of the wasted, there is nerd and aspiring earth scientist Melvin Ferd the Third (Mark Anderson), his mom Ma Ferd (Natalie Hope), Sarah the blind librarian (Emma Salvo), and host of other characters played by Ché Francis and Oscar Conlon-Morray, named appropriately as black dude and white dude. But when Melvin decides to find out who is responsible for the vats of toxic waste in Tromaville, he plans to put a stop to it. His investigation leads to the Mayor (Hope again), but when she finds out Melvin is on her case, she gets her two goons to get rid of Melvin, and they throw him into a vat of toxic sludge. But Melvin does not get killed, he comes back bigger and better than ever – he’s been transformed into “The Toxic Avenger” (a/k/a Toxie)!

    Toxie attempts to get his revenge, but in the meantime, blind librarian Sarah has a thing for him because she thinks he’s French (though when Toxie was Melvin he had a huge crush on her but she rebuffed him). Meanwhile, the Mayor is still up to no good and vows to kill Toxie no matter what it takes. But hilarity (and lots of physical comedy) ensue; lots of running on and off the stage by the cast, Sarah doing everything she can to get with Toxie, and the brilliant Hope has a scene with herself as both the Mayor and Ms Ferd – and one time she’s on stage as both characters! It’s a tour de force performance! Will Sarah and Toxie find love with each other? Will the corrupt Mayor have her way and turn Tromaville into more of a toxic waste dump? Will the front row of the audience escape unscathed? You will have to find out and buy tickets to this must-see show. And did I mention that it’s a musical? Everything you want and more is this show! And the cast are brilliant!

    It’s hard to single out any one performer, but I’m going to. Of course, Hope gets the most exercise (and laughs) as both the Mayor and Melvin’s mother, but it’s Salvo’s performance that is most memorable because she’s playing a blind woman, and it’s so believable! And she’s so funny! Kudos to the cast, and production team, including director Benji Sperring, for bringing us a show that’s one not too miss. It’s got everything a musical should have; escapism, fantasy, great story, amazing performances, and some rocking songs. Buy tickets for this show now!

    From Joe DiPietro and David Bryan (original founding member and keyboardist/vocalist for Bon Jovi), the Tony Award-winning team behind the hit West End musical Memphis.

    The Toxic Avenger The Musical is now playing at The Arts Theatre in London until December 3, 2017

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Band – Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Band – Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    ★★★★★| The Band 

    In 1993, teenager Rachel and her best friends are obsessed with The Band, and sneak off behind their parents back’s to a concert where, on the way home, they discuss the future, make promises to each other and swear that they will be best friends for ever. But when something happens that shatters their world, the girls go their separate ways. 25 years later, The Band brings them back together, when Rachel wins a competition to see them in Prague, and decides to invite the group she had lost touch with. But with an awkward reunion on the cards, it’s going to be a trip they will never forget.

    Photo Credit – Matt Crockett

    Launched primarily off the back of a Saturday night TV talent show, The Band became the UK’s fastest selling theatre tour; but now that the TV show has ended and the hype has died down, the question is, is it actually any good? And the answer is a resounding “yes”.

    What elevates The Band high above other jukebox musicals is the story written by Tim Firth. Firth successfully interweaves great characterisations with nostalgia, comedy and genuine emotion in a heartfelt story about friendship, self-belief, realising that it is never too late to achieve your ambitions and that life doesn’t always pan out how you planned.

    The back catalogue of Take That songs is ripe for the picking, and with plenty of hits spanning their 30 year career, including Relight My Fire, Greatest Day, Prey, Shine and Back For Good, the show primarily presents the musical numbers not as standalone songs, but almost as if it is the soundtrack to the character’s lives; and cleverly places them naturally into the story; meaning that they are there to support the narrative and not because the fans expect them to be shoehorned into the show somehow.

    In a cast which is fairly faultless and which works incredibly well together, Rachel Lumberg excels as Rachel, the bubbly woman whose love of The Band brings her friends back together; Alison Fitzjohn provides many of the laughs as the self-depreciating Claire and the young ensemble who play the teenage friends are brilliantly put together.

    As for the Let It Shine winners, they were everything you would expect; putting on a great performance as they belted their way through the musical numbers,  singing and dancing their hearts out with confidence and professionalism; and looking great to boot; meaning that it’s not surprising at all to hear that they are working on their first album.

    The presentation of the show, especially for a touring production, is big budget and incredibly well done, with inventive staging, immersive lighting, a solid sound design and direction which keeps the show moving along flawlessly. The production is incredibly slick and polished and barely stops for breath as it speeds along.

    The success of the show is how all of the individual elements are present and come together to produce the whole package; and in the audiences relatability to the story and characters. We have all had a band which we have obsessed over, we have all had songs which remind us of a particular time in our lives and we have all had friends who we lose touch with.

    The Band surpassed all expectations and is a crowd-pleasing, foot tapping, fun packed show crammed with genuine warmth and emotion at its heart.

    The Band is at Sheffield Lyceum until Saturday 14th October 2017 , before continuing on an extensive national tour until July 2018. Visit The Band Official Website for details.

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | I Knew You, The Rep

    ★★★ | I Knew You, Birmingham Rep

    I Knew You, written by Steven Camden, aka Polar Bear – the renowned spoken-word artist, comes to The Door with a delicate yet powerful domestic tale.

    Growing up in a non-nuclear family is more custom in this generation, but what is not often seen, is the repercussions of a family break up. Through the stories of Angela (Lorna Laidlaw) the mother; Nathan (Brenton Hamilton) the son; Patrick (Roderick Smith) the father, we see the nucleus of the family drama.

    The writing is sublime with poetry ringing alongside the emotional speeches. Lorna showcased comedy and emotion very well, carrying the story – very good crescendo of emotions as the story progressed. Brenton did a great job with anger, but a little one-dimensional with the less climatic stuff. Roderick was a good choice for the sullen Patrick, giving the audience a good look-in to the other side of the argument, but a little lacklustre in the final speech. What was nice about the production was the feeling of provenance with actors hailing from Birmingham, with local accents adding to the comfort.

    The play was only fifty minutes long, and I am wondering if story beat opportunities were missed as the story appeared to be presented in chunks, in places, and the build-up of the drama was lost with a very sudden ending at Patrick arriving in the house.

     

  • FILM REVIEW | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

    KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE – The camp as Christmas Jason Bourne/James Bond piss take is back for number two with big laughs, endless extreme bloodshed and more anal sex jokes again.

    FILM REVIEW | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

    Nutshell – Eggsy and the sexy as fu*k Merlin (The shaggable Mark Strong) go on the run after Julianne Moore and her henchmen totally destroy the Kingsman spy organisation. So it’s off to Kentucky in the USA to meet the even bigger and better Statesmen organisation of great looking spies like Channing Tatum and Halle Berry, cue car chases galore, gadgets, robo attack dogs and the kidnap of Elton John via Glastonbury, The Alps and Cambodia in the sequel twice as explosive as the first.

    Running Time – 141 minutes;

    Certificate – 15.

    Tagline – ‘Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated
    The Gay UK Factor – Taron Egerton – fit, Mark Strong – masculine, Pedro Pascal – Hairy Latin stud, Channing Tatum – Uber fit and loads of other thugs and good guys that no-one would kick out of bed – this is a true wank fest.

    Cast – Egerton, Strong, Pascal and Tatum are backed up by Colin Firth (didn’t he die in the first one?), Keith Allen, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Michael Gambon, Jeff Bridges and Elton John with a real major part so plenty here to keep you occupied – how big will the cast be in part three and will Bennie and Jet the Robodogs be back?

    Key Player – Matthew Vaughan the director and man behind Kick-Ass, The X-men, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Eddie The Eagle etc is a master at mixing light content with bouts of extreme gore and action and he has the perfect vehicle here. He also writes the film here alongside Jane Goldman (Mrs Jonathon Ross) and their endless invention is here for all to see and boy is it giving the fans what they want.

    Budget – $104 Million way up on the first film and its cash registers are ringing like crazy making that back in just 5 days so it is off into the land of mega profit from now. This is a big hit and some.

    Best Bit – 1.31 mins; A breathtaking assault on an Alpine mountaintop stronghold climaxing in a truly stunning cable car sequence one of the best action beats of the year and it even beats the opening London Taxi fight/chase which is as good as any sequence of the Summer but the film just gets better as it goes on .

    Worst Bit – 0.21 mins; Julianne Moore as the bad guy who has a thing for Grease style 1950’s Americana and her HQ is a Fonzie/Happy Days style diner is just not nasty enough even though she does have a mean trick of putting her enemies through a burger mincer – she is a bit like a fourth division Bond villain when we needed a nasty as f*ck Blofeld type.

    Little Secret – There just having fun here but this movie stars a mega five Oscar winners in Firth, Berry, Moore, Bridges and Elton the latter for The Lion King. The original film length was over 3 hours 40 minutes which would have made it the longest blockbuster of the Millenium and beating Titanic/Avatar & any Lord Of The Rings film until the Studio insisted on cuts. This is Elton’s 21st acting credit and by far his biggest, he has starred in everything from SpiceWorld, Tommy and Bob The Builder in the past but here he gets to kick butt instead of shagging it.

    Further Viewing – Kingsman 1, James Bond circa Roger Moore, Spy, Austin Powers, The Bourne Identity, Kick-Ass, Carry On Spying and The Johnny English films.

    Any Good – Matthew Vaughn said if you didn’t like the first one you are gonna really hate this one and likewise we believe the converse is just as correct. More of the same just bigger and brasher all in all not as good as the number one but isn’t that normal with sequels.

    Rating – 69% out of 100.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Le Grand Mort, Trafalgar Studios

    ★★  | Le Grand Mort

    THEATRE REVIEW | Le Grand Mort, Trafalgar Studios

    Acclaimed musical theatre writer Stephen Clark, who died last year, penned this two-hander play as a vehicle for uber camp legend Julian Clary. The play concerns ageing architect Michael (Julian Clary) who is cooking dinner for a younger man (James Nelson-Joyce) who’s he’s picked up in the pub. As he slices, boils and fries the food in a functional on-stage kitchen he shares his thoughts on sex and death. Naturally. Once Tim arrives it’s not clear whether it’s sex or death that’s on the menu and who is in charge of the situation.

    Let’s get some important things out of the way first. Yes, Julian Clary can cook. To be fair, it’s a simple recipe, though. Shirley Valentine had to fry chips and egg. He just chucks a few things in a pan and rustles up a pasta sauce. Can he act, though? Partially. He manages to deliver the tight monologue that forms the first part of the ninety-minute play but once the action heats up he flounders a little. His character’s uptight and rigid persona suits his physical presence and makes the job an easier one.

    The main issue here is the play itself. It just doesn’t quite work and although mildly engaging it misses the mark more than it hits it. It’s a fairly relentless onslaught of thoughts about the death of celebrities. What should be sinister feels absurd and what should be absurd feels humdrum. What feels like a calculated move to shock comes across as tedious. It’s also, bafflingly, partly in rhyme and there’s a bizarrely intrusive soundtrack to the piece.

    On the plus side, the kitchen is stylish and attractive as is the young actor James Nelson-Joyce. Spoiler alert: expect full nudity. Julian Clary is an interesting spectacle and the faults of the piece aside it’s good to see him tackle something that’s different from his usual milieu.

     

    Le Grand Mort plays at Trafalgar Studios until 28th October 2017