Film Reviews by RP

I remember first hearing the original London Theatre recording when I was still at school. My Sister had bought the record and as all annoying little brothers do I made her life miserable by playing and replaying it. Since then there have been many casts and many interpretations and many different styles and singers of the powerful songs. Some more successful than others. But this live version, all the years after the original, actually works very well. John Legend makes a surprisingly good and vulnerable Jesus. Sara Bareilles a more comforting Mary, busy going around trying to make everybody happy. The hardest part of Judas played by Brandon Victor Dixon is delivered with power and conviction. All in all I was transported back to the first time I heard the music. Well worth a watch if one is a fan of the music.

If you love films about the film World. Especially one that carries the atmosphere of an era so well. If you don't mind the mixture of total fiction surrounding a true event. Then frankly this film is pure delight. It is set around the time and place of the Manson Murders. I read about how people were shocked and upset by the violence of the fictional ending. All I can say is that the reality was far more horrific than the typical Tarantino cartoon violence. But the acting and the struggle of a one time lead actor in a top tv western and his ever present stunt man turned assistant is well realised. If you remember the old tv of Branded and Gunsmoke and Land Of The Giants etc. Then the movie will have you remembering the era with delight. Just a delightful nostalgic imagining of an time and place and events that never happened in the way portrayed but how we wish they did.

Not often that a film one saw back when it was released in the early 70s still manages to engage. It could have been just another thriller that is based on an Agatha Christie story. Easily forgettable and quickly dismissed. However even after all this time Endless Night still manages to hold the atmosphere with some lovely casting and acting. The twist in the tale, the change of direction. All are well done and delightfully joined together. The elfin Hayley Mills was never lovelier. Britt Ekland was never so believable. A lovely little thriller that will draw you in. Delighted to see it again after all this time.

Although I am really sorry to see the end of the series. It is probably fair to say it could have ended a season before. This final season was really a chance to say goodbye to some of the characters from the previous six seasons. All of whom, even if they were only there as a baddie for one episode, are very memorable. There is a new force for evil in this shortened final season. One that has money and backing and power. Surely a match for Holmes and Watson? There is a tragic end for somebody and a few needlessly written possible ends for others. But hurriedly they are explained and by the end we are left with the feeling the writers were split between happy and sad denouements So goodbye then to one of the most entertaining detective series around. Far more relatable and fun than the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes, although other will disagree. I for one will miss male and female lead characters managing to be friends without any needless romantic attachments. Both being as important as the other.

If you are old enough to remember the First series when it was shown. The odd originality, the continual mystery and the who killed Laura Palmer questions, made the series a must see. The second series started to unravel and seemed to lose much of the originality. It became an interesting yet ultimately flawed bit of storytelling. Stunning to a few and too bizarre to others. This third new series takes place many years later and again has some wonderful moments and some bizarre ones. But ultimately it feels like a good idea that just runs out of steam. Some episodes make you question the chair you are sitting in. A comfy cushion would come in handy. While others move along the legend and story nicely. A mixture of nostalgia and confusion and moments that will make you happy you bothered while others will make you ponder your sanity. Watch the original series, watch the film and then watch this. Some questions will be connected and make sense. Much of it will not. You will have to be a fan to get through it with a smile and a knowing nod. I was pleased I saw it but have decided not to take the exam if there is one. I just feel a little too peaky to turn up.

A film about allowing friends to move on without suffocating them. A bit heavy? Well it is all done in typical bright lights and whistles and tongue in cheek humour. Delightful nonsense while sending up the studios many franchise and the internet. Nicely paced for kids and adults with plenty going on. Thought it was one of the better recent Disney Films which was a delight and a surprise.

Enjoyable, light musical about Christmas at a school. The loss of a parent and abandonment. Clinging onto the need for relationships. Some nice catchy songs and a Zombie apocalypse. All in all I found it enjoyable and other than some dreadful over the top acting by some of the more experienced actors. A delightful waste of an hour and a half.

Despite finishing on a shock twist. The series was cancelled after just one season. A spin off from The Blacklist. Redemption had characters connected to it's parent and tried to go the spy thriller route. Who was fooling who and who was the real baddie? All in all the episodes were exciting in a typical, smack a few keys on a computer and the baddies address is found. Plus the twist in the tail was clearly made for the seasons to continue. Alas it was not to be.

An unfinished series with interesting subplots whose characters didn't quite capture the interest.

After a few iffy seasons. Or at least iffy half seasons. Season Five of Blacklist is back to its best. We have a shock in an early episode and plenty of good characters and twists and turns in every story. Yes we have to put up with a needless mushy bit that slows down the pace. Last season was a baby that was the centre of the story. Now the kid is almost totally forgotten in a throwaway line. But pointless romance between characters has to get in the way.

On the whole though, the episodes are almost all strong. Even the lighter ones. Then we have a big pay off at the end. Big secrets that run for a season are usually anticlimactic. But not this one. You mean he .............Didn't see that coming. Others probably will. But a great season with good plots and consistent stories. Great to have it back to its best.

If viewers have watched the first two series then while it was weird it worked. But the last series seems superfluous. Yes it wraps stuff up and makes things tidy. But the already weird inhabitants of Fortitude behave even more oddly and it has nothing to do with any evil Parasite. The wide eyed acting of the evil ones. The calm acting of those not yet under any influence and the confused acting of the rest. Sort of mirrors the viewers reaction. The first two series we just about could handle. But these extra 4 episodes feel like filler. Best to leave on ice.

When they first said they had made a sequel of one of the best loved children's films of all time. One had to ask why? Who could possibly play Mary Poppins once Julie Andrews is so comfortably singing in your brain. I do love Emily Blunt though and so despite the weird accent She uses I did watch it, with much trepidation. Annoyingly it works and works well. We could do without Meryl Streep character that adds nothing but a reminder of the original better song. We could do without some of the constant reprises of the songs. However that is being a bit harsh for the sake of it. The song by Dad to his late wife is a tearjerker and much of the story rides along happily with a'will they or wont they' solve the big problem given to them. As much as it annoys me to say. I was taking into the film and I guess my fears made me underestimate it. I never give five stars to any film other than the ones I intend to add to my collection. To my surprise I loved it.

I have been a tennis fan for many years. In the UK this event caused less of a news story than it did in the States. But it was the dawning of an era where Women were making themselves heard and men were sitting back wondering what was for tea. A bit like today's puzzling sexual identifying and multiple sexual identity. It seemed all a bit of a mystery to those of us brought up in a different era. Nowadays equal pay in the work place seems still to be a problem. But I was being paid the same as my female colleagues when I started work around this time. Although in tennis the irony of men playing longer matches and the argument that they therefore deserve more money is tempered with the game needing to be shortened for tv and a younger audience.

The film is very good at taking us back seamlessly to those 70s days where things were different. They even changed the modern film logo introduction to throw us back to the day. The acting is not over the top as I had feared but well done and may be an eye opener to those that were unaware of the story. All in all a much better then expected piece of entertaining social history. I have seen Billie Jean King play live and was aware of her battles. The film is informative, entertaining and fun. Not a bad evenings viewing.

Despite having the feel of a final season. There will be a final Season 7. We will see how that goes but in a way it's a shame as this had a nice full stop feeling about it. The episodes are as usual well written and interesting. The characters always likeable. A season baddie that clearly had an arc but when extra episodes were added to the season he goes missing until the final conclusion. When we finally say goodbye it will be with a heavy heart. However there is now a feeling that we have seen the best of what was on offer. A delight to watch.

A well acted oddity of two people who have never liked each other and in the end result to slapstick violence. But there is a serious tale to tell as well if you want to see it. How easy it is to think you have everything but in an instant it can disappear. Be kind to the people you meet on the way up as you will meet them again on the way down. However if you just want a nice bit of entertainment with the undercurrent of farce than this is surprisingly entertaining. The facade of good times can soon give way to struggle. We all knew that but having it told by a fun script and some interesting characters is always worth the time.

'Requiem for a Dream' was a brilliant and powerful film about addiction. Covering many lives and many painful stories. 'Oslo, August 31st' is just as powerful but concentrates on one single life and one single day. There is hope as a normal young man battles with his addiction having gone through the help, advice and self loathing. What as he done with his life? He has let down family and friends. Some friends are there to help him still. Some are not and family is a broken and scattered remnant of the past. Oslo is changing but still has all the beckoning traps if somebody is willing to walk into the trap again. The question is when is the release of addiction better than the pain of normality?

A typical day when an addict tries to climb out of the trap. Just another day for some, a battle for others and a decision made for a few. Powerful stuff.