British
Begin Again
When I sat watching writer/director John Carney’s latest movie that was hoping to follow on with the surprise success of his last hit, instead of being enthralled by the warbling tones of singer/songwriter Gretta on screen I just couldn’t get a certain Sondheim lyric out of my head. ‘Once, yes, once for a lark, Twice, though,…
Bashment
British filmmaker Ricki Beadle Blair’s movies are never ever subtle, but this one made in 2010, insists on literally screaming about the cacophony of issues he crams into a rather manic 110 minutes. It tackles homophobia, hate crimes, racism, class, poverty, prison brutality, sexual identity, redemption plus there is the white star’s hangup for not being…
Topsy Turvey
In 1884 when ‘Princess Ida’ their latest Operetta for the D’Oyle Carte Company fails to ignite audiences like their previous hits it looks like the celebrated duo Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert’s run of success may be finally over. Sullivan, although newly knighted by Queen Victoria, is depressed and ill decamps to Europe vowing never…
Belle
This extraordinary tale from 1789 of the daughter of a West Indian Slave and an aristocrat British Navy Captain was so far fetched that it had to be true. Like something out of the pages of a Jane Austen novel, it is the tale of Sir John Lindsay taking charge of his illegitimate daughter after the sudden death…
