Month: December 2017

TV Review – DOCTOR WHO: TWICE UPON A TIME (2017)

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (TV) (2017: UK: Colour: 60m) ***  pr. Peter Bennett; d. Rachel Talalay; w. Steven Moffat; ph. Richard Stoddard; m. Murray Gold. Cast: Peter Capaldi, David Bradley, Mark Gatiss, Pearl Mackie, Lily Travers, Jared Garfield, Jodie Whittaker, Jenna Coleman, Matt Lucas. Two Doctors stranded in a forbidding snowscape, refusing to face regeneration. And…

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Film Review – THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992)

Muppet Christmas Carol, The (1992; USA/UK; Technicolor; 86m) **** d. Brian Henson; w. Jerry Juhl; ph. John Fenner; m. Miles Goodman.  Cast: The Muppets, Michael Caine, Steven Mackintosh, Meredith Braun, Robin Weaver, Donald Austen. The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve. Delightful…

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Book Review – THE TEACHER (2016) by Katerina Diamond

THE TEACHER by KATERINA DIAMOND (2016, Avon, 396pp) *** Blurb: You think you know who to trust? You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong … The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall. Hours earlier he’d received a package, and…

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Film Review – HELLFIGHTERS (1968)

Hellfighters (1968; USA; Technicolor; 121m) ***  d. Andrew V. McLaglen; w. Clair Huffaker; ph. William H. Clothier; m. Leonard Rosenman.  Cast: John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Vera Miles, Jim Hutton, Bruce Cabot, Jay C. Flippen, Edward Faulkner, Barbara Stuart, Edmund Hashim. The story of macho oil well firefighters and their wives. Whilst it plays almost every…

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Shaft’s 2017

Well, here we are again. Another year on and it seems to have gone so quickly. At this time last year I gave a summary of activity in the world of John Shaft. It came at the end of an exciting two years, which saw the publication of two original comic books as well as a…

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Film Review – STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII – THE LAST JEDI (2017)

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017; USA; Colour; 152m) ****  d. Rian Johnson; w. Rian Johnson; ph. Steve Yedlin; m. John Williams.  Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Lupita Nyong’o, Anthony Daniels, Andy…

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TV Review – THE A WORD – SERIES 2 (2017)

A Word – Series 2, The (TV) (2017; UK; Colour; 6 x 60m) ****  pr. Jenny Frayn; d. Susan Tully, Luke Snellin; w. Peter Bowker; ph. Ruairí O’Brien, Ollie Downey; m. Rob Lane.  Cast: Lee Ingleby, Morven Christie, Max Vento, Molly Wright, Christopher Eccleston, Vinette Robinson, Greg McHugh, Pooky Quesnel, Leon Harrop, Lucy Gaskell.  Second series of the BBC drama following the Hughes family living in the Lake District and their young…

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TV Review – BANCROFT (2017)

Bancroft (TV) (2017; UK; Colour; 4 x 47m) **  pr. Phil Collinson; d. John Hayes; w. Kate Brooke; ph. Richard Stoddard; m. Edmund Butt.  Cast: Sarah Parish, Faye Marsay, Amara Karan, Adrian Edmondson, Linus Roache, Adam Long, Ryan McKen, Steve Evets, Charles Babalola, Anjli Mohindra, Lee Boardman, Art Malik, Lily Sacofsky. Detective Superintendent Elizabeth Bancroft (Parrish) is running an operation to against a vicious gang and adopts dubious methods to bring down…

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Regina Hall joins cast for Shaft sequel

Variety has reported that actress Regina Hall has joined the cast of the latest Shaft sequel – provisionally titled Son of Shaft – currently filming in Atlanta and New York. It is reported she will play the former love interest of Samuel L Jackson’s John Shaft (nephew of Richard Roundtree’s original Shaft) and mother to Jessie…

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