Reviews

The current generation of Royal Ballet dancers in the UK bring fresh life to Kenneth MacMillan's choreography for his ballet Romeo and Juliet (created in the 1960s), which has been filmed away from the confines of the stage. The leads William Bracewell as Romeo and Francesca Hayward as Juliet are outstanding. I cannot recommend this new, more realistic interpretation of the ballet more highly than by saying it is the perfect one to be seen in 2020. Congratulations to all involved in bringing this version to the screen.

If you love the sword-and-sandal genre, then this is a fun film to enjoy. Without a doubt, it is the best Hercules film since the era of Steve Reeves. Earlier this year we had The Legend of Hercules, a very weak effort and this is far superior on every level. Terrific battle scenes, nice references to Greek Mythology, great special effects and top notch wardrobe and costume design bring the Ancient world to life. A good vein of humour and a superb British supporting cast (now compulsory for this genre) all go to make this very above average for this type of movie. Dwayne Johnson is suitably heroic and turns out to be a great choice to play Hercules. Try to see the movie in IMAX if you can and enjoy the movie for what it is, an entertaining romp!

In my opinion, this movie is a very low budget B movie which is masquerading and being marketed as a blockbuster. The bad acting, plodding musical score, cliché scenes by the dozen, poor and cheap special effects are all present in a very sub standard effort. Loud bangs and constant gunfire are no substitute for a decent story and screenplay. If you are aged 13 and under, you may just get some fun from the constant gunfire and so called action that just plods along until you just get bored with the whole experience of watching it. See the movie District 9 instead if you want to see how this genre of movie should be made.

This is probably the best movie musical in the last 30 years. Why? Because it aims to be total fun, succeeds on almost every level and dares to give the movie going public what they want - entertainment. It is virtually critic proof, full of tried and tested catchy tunes and will delight even the most jaded of moviegoers. Released as the perfect antidote to 'The Dark Knight', this film enables one to forget about your worries of the day and indulge in a world of harmless fun.

How lucky we are that in the transition from stage to screen, 'Mamma Mia' has been given the care and attention that has created an instant cult classic. Many moviegoers will return to 'Mamma Mia' over and over again, with repeat visits by many who will have barely set foot in a cinema in the last year. A whole history awaits this movie on DVD.

The shimmering Greek locations, the toe tapping songs, the ingenious casting of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth and the delightful Amanda Seyfried (to name just a few) have created one of the most entertaining movies of the year. Leave your cynicism at the door and just look at the smiles on peoples faces after the movie has ended.