Thursday 11 November 2021

OCTOBER 2021 - THEATRE + FILMS (CINEMA)

Five cinema trips and a theatre outing for my birthday, courtesy of an incredibly generous daughter (she takes after her mum). She also treated me to dinner along with my better half and her worser half!


Dial M for Murder - Milton Keynes Theatre 

Synopsis
THE GENRE-DEFINING THRILLER FOR ALL TIME


Can you ever get away with the perfect crime?

A brand-new production of the blueprint for the modern thriller, Dial M for Murder is back.

TV and stage favourite, Tom Chambers, (Top Hat, Strictly Come Dancing) stars as the charismatic and manipulative Tony Wendice, a jaded ex-tennis pro who has given it all up for his wife Margot, played by Diana Vickers, West End star (Little Voice), no.1 chart-topping recording artist and The X Factor finalist. When he discovers she has been unfaithful his mind turns to revenge and the pursuit of the ‘perfect crime’.

Made famous by Alfred Hitchcock’s world-renowned film of 1950, the iconic Dial M for Murder will leave you spellbound as Tony becomes more tangled in the web of his own making. Also starring Christopher Harper (Coronation Street) this ultimate masterclass in suspense is guaranteed to entwine you with its spine-chilling twists and turns.

Dial M for Murder is the definitive seat-gripping drama that is not to be missed!
Left to right - Beast and the Beauties!


A stage adaptation of the famous Hitchcock film which I possibly saw as a teenager back in the late 70s. It's the sort of thing I would have watched with my parents back in the day. Suffice to say I couldn't remember anything about it.

There's a small cast of five..... a man, his wife, a writer/boyfriend, an old school friend-cum-victim and a policeman. Tom Chambers (recognised from Father Brown) and Diana Vickers (previously seen on X-Factor) star, as well as Christopher Harper (in dual roles) and Michael Salami.   

Really really good. Entertaining and fun and a fantastic outing in brilliant company!


No Time To Die (2021)

Well it's been a long time coming and when it evenually arrived I have to say I enjoyed it. Hand on heart, I'm not the world's biggest James Bond fan. A decent evening's entertainment and when it rocks up on TV at some point, I'll probably tune in again. I do like Rami Malek. Loved him in The Little Things, Papillon and Bohemian Rhapsody.

From Google...

James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who's armed with a dangerous new technology.


The Many Saints of Newark (2021)

I think I was lucky insofar as I haven't yet seen anything of The Sopranos. I did get the boxset for my birthday, so hopefully I will correct that oversight one of these years.

I enjoyed this one - a bit of crime, action, violence, late 60s setting, Newark Race Riots. But it didn't really go anywhere. 

PS I do like seeing Ray Liotta on screen.

From Google ...

Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, N.J., history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, whose influence over his nephew will help shape the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss, Tony Soprano.



Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Not as much fun as the original. But not one I felt the need to flee the cinema from either. OK. I do like Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson.

From Google ...

Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror.

   
Halloween Kills (2021)

I've probably seen a few of the earlier ones in the series. I think I was misled by the trailer which prominently feaures Jamie Lee Curtis. I think they must have crammed all her scenes into that, as she wasn't around much here. Seen better, seen worse.

From Google ...

The nightmare isn't over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode's trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Ill., to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.

Dune (2021)

Enjoyable enough. I found it more entertaining than the original insofar as I didn't fall asleep during it. No real ending as such, I'm surmising it's a kind of part one? 

From Google ....

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.

Ranking
1. No Time To Die
2. The Many Saints of Newark
3. Dune
4. Halloween Kills
5. Venom: Let There Be  Carnage

4 comments:

  1. I like Rami Malek's work, too, Col, so it's good to hear he did his job well. And I love it that you saw Dial M...; that's a classic story, in my opinion. As for Dune? I was so badly let down by the earlier film that I'm quite gun-shy about this one. I'm glad you found it enjoyable, but I haven't quite worked up what it takes to see it. Oh, great 'photo, by the way!

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    Replies
    1. Margot, Malek is very watchable isn't he. Dial M was a fantastic night out and a lovely treat. I think the new Dune is a story in two parts, which is just as well as I seem to recall the original being very long.

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  2. Nice to see you all out together at a show, Col. Thanks for the picture and the tips on what to see.

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