Author Archives: admin

Murder Is Easy. (2023). Television Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Mathew Baynton, Morfydd Clark, Douglas Henshall, Penelope Wilton, Mark Bonnar, Tom Riley, Tamzin Outhwaite, Sinead Matthews, David Jonsson, Jon Pointing, Nimra Bucha, Kevin Mains, Veronika Klimenko, Joe Fagan, Phoebe Licorish.

Murder is easy, it’s the consequences that are difficult to digest, the murderer’s intent and reasoning challenging to the minds of those to whom such an act is deplorable, an unacceptable reminder that the human soul is capable of such finality.

Murder Is Easy. (2023). Television Drama Review. full post

(448 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Still Dusk: The Garden. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Caught between the times of light and dark is the place where matters of perception can be honed and altered with what could be considered a human magic, and if we manage to hold back time in such a way that when we stare into the contrast of separation, we can envisage a Still Dusk, a forever twilight that illuminates the Garden of imagination that sings to us in a harmony, that can add a sense of definition to the surroundings.

Still Dusk: The Garden. E.P. Review. full post

(369 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Beyond Paradise: Christmas Special 2023. Television Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Kris Marshall, Sally Breton, Zahra Ahmadi, Dylan Llewellyn, Felicity Montague, Barbara Flynn, James Fleet, Eva Feiler, Kulvinder Ghir, Jade Harrison, Miranda Hennessy, Chris Jenks, Colin Matthews, Oscar Meredith, Sheila Reid, Melina Sinadinou, Isaac Vincent-Norgate, Amalia Vitale.

We make a display of forgiveness as one would give presents out at a specific time of year, not because we wish to absolve the sin, but because we wish to have our heart and mind settle in peace; the darkness and reflective hours spent in the will of counting out all we have left in the dust of our lives becomes more fragile, more delicate, as we soon realise that the year is coming once more to its close.

Beyond Paradise: Christmas Special 2023. Television Drama Review. full post

(469 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson, Davina McCall, Anita Dobson, Michelle Greenidge, Angela Wynter, Barney Wilkinson, Bobby Bradley, Mary Malone, Belinda Owusu, Gemma Arrowsmith, Hemi Yeroham.

The Christmas special of Doctor Who is arguably never meant to be taken as seriously as the series that follows it, it is after all a time for hope and the occasional moment of silliness, not one for frights and trepidation.

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road. Television Review. full post

(375 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Killing Sherlock: Lucy Worsley On The Case Of Conan Doyle. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Most novelists will find that their creations are their greatest nemesis, they are the mirror of themselves magnified to such an extent that the reader will actively prefer to be in the company of the image built up in their mind than the author who built up a sweat framing the narrative description of the hero to whom the reader adores.

It doesn’t seem fair in many ways, that when pushed the reader will often have no clue about the writer’s own exploits, only saving their hero worship for the drawn and perfect; in a way it is almost as if the creation held a gun to the author’s head and willingly pulled on the trigger.

Killing Sherlock: Lucy Worsley On The Case Of Conan Doyle. Television Review. full post

(594 words, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Ghosts. Christmas Special 2023. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Lolly Adefope, Matthew Bayton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Charlotte Ritchie, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Neil Edmond, Dare Emmanuel, Sutara Gayle, Neriah Johnson.

All good things must end.

Ghosts. Christmas Special 2023. Television Review. full post

(437 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Lot 249. Television Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Kit Harrington, Freddie Fox, John Heffernan, Colin Ryan, Andrew Horton, James Swanton, Jonathan Rigby.

A good ghost story at Christmas is fitting, it reminds us not to take life for granted, it urges us to think of those we have lost, not just in the passing of the calendar year, but throughout our lives; for in that memory, we understand that time is fleeting, it is corporeal, and at times the lesson it wishes to teach is one to which is required to scare us into doing the right thing.

Lot 249. Television Drama Review. full post

(542 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Not Going Out. Christmas Special 2023. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Lee Mack, Sally Breton, Hugh Dennis, Abigail Cruttenden, Deborah Grant, Geoffrey Whitehead, Richard Syms, Francesca Newman, Max Pattison, Finlay Southby, David Hargreaves, Delroy Atkinson, Angela McHale, Ketorah Williams.

To get a British comedy series to a hundred episodes is no mean feat, it is rare, it takes perseverance, and a following that almost pleads with the makers to continue the story line of a much-loved character and those who are family, friends, and the recipients of the farce that often ensues.

Not Going Out. Christmas Special 2023. Television Review. full post

(353 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karen Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Mahershala Ali, Amandla Stenberg, Jharrel Jerome, Andy Samberg, Jack Quaid, Rachel Dratch, Ziggy Marley, Jorma Taccone, J.K. Simmons, Donald Glover, Elizabeth Perkins, Kathryn Hahn, Ayo Edebiri, Nicola Delaney, Nina Lentini, Atsuko Okatsuka, Peter Sohn, Melissa Sturm, Lorraine Velez, Nic Novicki, Taran Killam, Metro Boomin, Josh Keaton, Sofia Barclay, Danielle Perez, Yuri Lowenthal.

There are cinematic events that deserve nothing finer than the glory of the largest screen available.

Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse. Film Review. full post

(505 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Invitation To A Murder. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Mischa Barton, Chris Browning, Bianca A. Santos, Giles Matthey, Grace Lynn Kung, Seamus Dever, James Urbaniak, Amy Sloan, Alex Hyde-White, Clark Carmichael, Rae Gray, Liz Pazik, Curtis Edward Jackson, Q’Ira.

There are some invitations that should be returned to the sender with the decline option fully enforceable and expected. For in the rush to entertain the public we allow a multitude of dramas to occupy our time that in all honesty are far from the stocking filler treat that is demanded, the thrill ride and the belief in the intelligence of collective humanity that we frame when presented eagerly to the world of the armchair detective.

Invitation To A Murder. Film Review. full post

(436 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)