REVIEWS

 

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008

Interview with Jeff Merrifield
    Jacqueline Sharp speaks the writer of The Life & Rhymes of Ian Dury

The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury reviewed
    Great production about the life of the famous Blockheads singer

Britt on Britt
    Stories and insights galore

Samurai Spirit reviewed
    Explore the beliefs of the Samurai

Beowulf
    An ancient tale brought to life

Interview with Philip Wharton
    Jacqueline Sharp interviews the man behind Beowulf at the Fringe

Review of Anti-Winehouse
    'Punk Cabaret' at its best

Interview with Rio & Georgina
    Jacqueline Sharp speaks with the 'Anti-Winehouse' duo

Review of Discipline and Punish
    Exploration of the Psychology and experience of imprisonment

Interview with Chimera Theatre Group members
    Jacqueline Sharp speaks with the people taking Vivien to the Fringe

Review of Vivien
    Fascinating production about the life of Vivien Leigh

Review of Surviving Spike
    Play about the comedy icon Spike Milligan

Review of Sister Cities
    A dark comedy

Rex Futurus
    a fine retelling of the myth of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table

Lucky You
    Adapation from Carl Hiassen's comedy thriller

Lies have been told
    An evening with Robert Maxwell

Drum Drama
    16 young performers show skills form Shanxi

Drum Cats
    Great entertainment from Korea

Be my Baby
    A moving and poignant story

Camille: The Dark Angel
    impressive and unusual live performance

I kissed a frog and it gave me herpes
    Laugh-a-minute show

Waxing Cynical
    The Search for perfection

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
    Excellent production of a modern classic

FILM, VIDEO and DVD

The Dark Knight
    The Joker is back!

Queer as Folk US Season 3
    Dark themes and great characters in this Gay drama

Benny's Video
    A disturbing film

Michael Clayton
    Thoughtprovoking drama

Paranoid Park
    Skateboarding based thriller featuring new talent

Persepolis
    Moving film based on the graphic novel about growing-up in revolutionary Iran

The Bucket List
    A fun film raising serious questions

The Bucket List
    Syndicated interview with Morgan Freeman

The Bucket List
    Syndicated interview with Jack Nicholson

No Country for Old Men
    Chilling and sinister thriller

Sweeney Todd
    Sweeney Todd plots his revenge in early 19th Century London

Taking Liberties
    A polemic against our growing Police State

I Am Legend
    Action movie with deep themes

American Gangster
    Film based on the life of Harlem pusher Frank Lucas

Beowulf
    Anglo-Saxon epic poem re-interpreted

Spooks
    Complete Series 5 reviewed

Flyboys
    Good family film

Apocalypto
    Great film from Mel Gibson

Casino Royale
    Bond is back!

Blood Diamond
    Entertaining action film with a serious message

Hoodwinked
    Great take on a classic fairy tale

Apocalypto
    Question and Answer with Mel Gibson

Employee of the Month
    Question and Answer with Dane Cook

The Prestige
    Pat Harrington reviews this intriguing film

The History Boys
    Interview with Alan Bennett

Death of a President
    Details of the DVD Release and a competition

The Omen Pentology
    Pat Harrington reviews a treat for horror fans

The Wicker Man (2006)
    David Kerr reviews a remake that lacks the clarity of the original

Superman Returns
    Pat Harrington reviews a family film with stunning special effects

Poseidon
    Pat Harrington reviews the film that takes disaster movies to a new level

Question and Answer session with Wolfgang Petersen
    The Director talks about Poseidon

Jacinda Barrett Question and Answer Session
    Jacinda talks about her role in Poseidon

Howl's Moving Castle
    Animation with complex themes

Confetti
    A British comedy that is actually funny!

C.R.A.Z.Y
    Hilarious French language film with great music

The Proposition
    Q&A with Nick Cave and John Hillcoat

Syriana
    Review

Syriana
    Q&A with George Clooney

Syriana
    Q&A with Matt Damon

The Business
    Terry Burgoyne gives a thumbs up to this crime story

Beautiful Boxer
    Unusual true story of Thai kickboxer

The Dukes of Hazard
    Al Martin doesn't rate the remake

Batman Begins
    An Al Martin review

Kingdom of Heaven
    Interview with Eva Green

Kingdom of Heaven
    Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
    Reviewed by Terry Burgoyne

The Sea Inside
    Fascinating film dealing with the complex theme of assisted death

Bear in the Big Blue House dvds
    Bear teaches kids potty training and about shapes and colours

Miss Congeniality 2
    Sandra Bullock plays the 'FBI Barbie'

The Edukators
    German film about three idealistic, anti-establishment rebels

One From the Heart
    A Great film from Francis Ford Coppola

Constantine
    Film about the battle between demons and angels

Five Times Two, (Cinq Fois Deux)
    An intense French film about relationships

Finding Neverland
    Enchanting story of J. M. Barrie creator of Peter Pan

The Commander I, II and III
    Review of the Lynda La Plante production

The Yes Men
    Counter Culture interview with activist prankster Mike Bannano

Oceans Twelve
    Al Martin reviews the sequel to Oceans Eleven

Alexander
    an epic from Oliver Stone

The Polar Express
    A great Xmas film for both kids and adults

The Manchurian Candidate
    Big business and mind control

Question and Answer with Meryl Streep
    The Star talks about her role in the Manchurian Candidate

Birth
    An intense and controversial film

A Home at the End of the World
    Sexual tension and complex relationships

A Home at the End of the World
    Colin Farrell Q&A session

Exorcist: The Beginning
    Q&A with Renny Harlin the Director

Exorcist: The Beginning
    Facts and Figures

Exorcist: The Beginning
    The Counter Culture Review

Catwoman
    So bad it's good?

The Stepford Wives
    Wooden acting from main roles but great supporting acts

Godsend
    Just watch it for the horror

The Passion of the Christ
    Mel Gibson's controversial film

Goodbye Lenin!
    East Germany lives!

Memories of Murder
    A great film from Korea

Troy
    A fantastic ensemble cast deliver a great epic

Cold Creek Manor
    An Unusual Thriller

Stella Street
    Celebs move into Suburbia with hilarious consequences

Taking Lives
    A thriller with great suspense released in UK Theatres 23 April, 2004

Winnie The Pooh: Springtime with Roo
    An Easter Party is planned

Brother Bear
    A great family film

Ulysses
    A day in the life of Leopold Bloom

The Balcony
    A brothel, a revolution and the playing of roles

The Last Samurai
    Fascinating tale of honour and war

The Quiet American
    The consequences of colonialism

Signs
    a thoughtful film

The Importance of Being Earnest
    interesting take on Wilde's classic play

The Count of Monte Cristo
    Alexandre Dumas' timeless story of betrayal and revenge. [also book]

On The Line
    a good vehicle for 'N Sync's Lance Bass

The Shipping News
    based on Annie Prouix's prize-winning novel; story of a broken man, salvaged in wild Newfoundland.

Michael Collins
    we're off to Dublin etc.... a portrayal of the Irish Republican hero

Evita
    putting on a smart frock, Madonna tries to be someone important....

Drifting Clouds
    Finnish tale of an ordinary couple struggling in today's modern world

Trainspotting
    the film that's set in Edinburgh and focussed on druggies....

Some Mother's Son
    a Republican-angled storyline, at the time of internment and hunger strikes in Ulster

Gabbeh
    an interesting Iranian film (released in 1995) by Mohsen Makhmalbaf

 

 

CLASSIC FILMS

The Seventh Seal
    Set during the Black Death, in 14th Century Sweden

Psycho
    From the master of mystery and misdirection


MUSIC

Heaven on Earth
    Dave Kerr reviews the latest CD from Tim Bragg

Panic at the Disco
    Gig review from Anna Erickson

Mad About the Boy 12
    Review from Jacqueline Sharp

Klone Icons 5
    Great tracks from Rumour Records

Platinum Blonde NRG 2
    NRGised versions of Madonna classics

Planet Ulster and Endangered Species
    Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra

They Called Her Babylon
    Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span - the Early Years
    Steeleye Span

Lionhearts
    Maddy Prior

Glance
    Rose Kemp

Avebury
    Abbie Lathe

BOOKS

Gents
    A book with humanity and beauty set in a public lavatory!

Biting Tongues
    Reviewed by Michaela Laudicina

Louise Michel
    Reviewed by Betty Wood

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
    Reviewed by Tim Bragg

The Mafia in Havana
    Documents the corruption of pre-Revolution Cuba

A Place in France: An Indian Summer
    Enjoyable page-turner based on the hit C4 series

Tolkien and Politics
    Reviewed by Edward Canfield

Gilbert & George, Obsessions and Compulsions
    Reviewed by Pat Harrington

English Martial Arts
    Reviewed by Al Martin

The Last Samurai, The Life and Battles of Sigo Takamori
    Reviewed by Jacqueline

45RPM: A Visual History of the Seven-Inch Record
    Spencer Drate (Editor), Introduction by Chuck Granata published by Princeton Architectural Press

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
    Louise Jenkinson and David Kerr give their views

Bacardi: The Hidden War
    By Hernando Calvo Ospina, published by Pluto

Aliens R US: The Other in Science Fiction Cinema
    Ziauddin Sardar (Editor), Sean Cubitt (Editor) published by Pluto

1985 - A Sequel to George Orwell's 1984
     by Gyorgy Dalos. Pluto Press, ISBN 0-86104-720-6

Left Shift : Radical Art in 1970s Britain
    by John A Walker... published by IB Tauris

Returning Home
    poems by Raymond Tong. University of Salzburg Press, 1996

So This Is Ecstacy
    by Bernard O'Mahoney. Mainstream Publishing, 1997

Monster (the Autobiography of an LA Gang Member)
    by Sanyka Shakur, aka Monster Kody Scott... published by Pan

Ancient Tales of Ulster, Book 1.  Cuchulainn, Champion of Ulster
    by Gary Hamilton and Michael Hall. Island Publications, ISBN 0-95141-941-2

Burning Chrome and Other Stories
    by William Gibson. Harper Collins, ISBN 0-00-648043-8

Another Time, Another Place  ... British Folk Tales - New Versions
    by Kevin Crossley Holland. Orchard Books, ISBN 1-85213-021-0

The Intelligence Game : Illusions and Delusions of International Espionage
    by James Rusbridger. Bodley Head, ISBN 0-370-31242-2

Merlin the Wizard
    by Ann Lawrence. Methuen Children's Books, ISBN 0-416-961-0-1

Book Summary : The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture
    by Daniel Harris. Hyperion, ISBN 0-7868-6165-7

 


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