For those who would like to see an excellently staged Seventies piece, then look no further as this piece has excellent costumes, lights and acting – and you are stepping BACK into the Seventies for two and a half hours. However, despite all of the excellent sets and costumes and acting… one isn’t very sympathetic to the characters as the script, which is about people having an affair, is very heartless and souless. Worth seeing if you like light humour, otherwise give it a miss and go catch something with more substance. The short review is prompted by one not having much sympathy for the superficiality of the script, despite some witty quips and jokes.

Hmm where to start – should it be with the film or how beautiful Paris is in the film? Well done Woody Allen for capturing the magnificent city by day – and after hours in the graces of dark, cobbled streets and muted light from lamp posts, cafes and candles.

So we start there… and move on first to Paris…. If you have been to Paris – and you do not mind being in a city, then you are likely to fall in love with its lights, its gardens, its views and possibly the food. So for Paris lovers – and those who adore Woody Allen, the boyish charm of Owen Wilson (Gil) and the straightforwardness of Kathy Bates who plays Gertrude Stein for a few scenes then this is a film worth seeing. Woody Allen, as some might know is an expert at wry comments… so if you like sarcastic and dry humour you will like his work. He also loves “themes” whether it is old Eastern Europe (Love and Death), a sci-fi setting (Sleeper) or New York from any decade (Manhattan, Annie Hall, Manhattan Murder Mystery and more).

The dialog of Midnight in Paris is not as intellectually amusing as that of Love and Death,  Annie Hall or some other old works, but it is a lovely “dream” of a piece as a taxi pulls up every night after midnight to take Gil, a struggling writer of fiction, back to 1920s Paris – his favourite time period. And, during this clever Cinderella-like journey (which surreal artist Man Ray – who we meet one night at a café – thinks is no big deal), we meet many people including F Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, Pablo Picasso, Manet, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali and Picasso’s girlfriend of the time, Adriana, who turns out to be the main heroine and love interest for Gil.

Overall, the piece is a very amusing comedy and Owen doesn’t get Adriana as a girlfriend, but he learns to be happy in the present and the taxi rides to 1920s Paris are real but an escape. (Actually Adriana escapes back to an even earlier time period in Paris – turn of the 20^th century – as she loves it so much) but her new comrades of the era Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gaugain and Edgar Degas actually would rather be in the Renaissance period – so her golden age, which is the turn of the century (circa 1900) is boring to them but fascinating to her. And, unlike Gil, she decides to stay there… (psychology going on, yes, but at least Woody keeps it light).

Worth catching – even if you don’t know who everyone is. Stuff can be learned and Paris is really really pretty. Acting and dialog are mediocre overall but the concept is clever and the setting and way it is lighted and portrayed – after midnight – is noirly divine. The length of the film is also perfect as it feels like being in a dream and at the end, as Allen cleverly has let us in to yet another famous  era, and then we have to “go” makes the entire piece feel like a delightful and fleeting dream.

Further information:
Midnight in Paris (IMDB)

As usual, The Royal Opera House presents a beautiful two-piece production that had the entire audience enthralled from start to finish.

Choreographed by Frederick Ashton and arranged by John Lanchbery, The Dream brings to the stage, in dance, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – in which an argument between the fairy king Oberon and fairy queen Titania makes for a beautiful and fascinating story and ballet. And with the music – the Overture, Scherzo and Wedding March – by 19th century German romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn, one spends approximately an hour in artistic bliss as the dance, costumes, sets, lighting and music are absolutely stunning to experience.

Who could not love being brought in to a magical wood where things glitter and sparkle and there is much dance and merriment going on on a Midsummer’s eve? This is what is happening in The Dream, where the happiness, vibrance and excitement of the piece are owed to everyone on stage (including famed ballet dancer Alina Cojacaru, who was in last year’s Swan Lake ), behind stage (including designs by David Walker and lighting director John B Read)  and in the orchestra (conducted by Barry Wordsworth).

Song of the Earth, in contrast to the elaborateness of The Dream, is minimal but also touching as we experience the passionate and slightly pained music of Gustav Mahler brought to the stage as well and a premise of Chinese T’ang dynasty poetry showing the “transience of life”, especially “through the interactions of the Man, the Woman and the enigmatic Messenger of Death”. However, this show pales in comparison to The Dream, which is rich with splendid costumes and sets, as the stage of Song of the Earth is bare and the costumes are very minimal. But, the choreography (Kenneth Macmillan) and beautiful work of the dancers save the piece.  Song of the Earth is pretty, but probably would not have made it to the main house if not for its partner piece The Dream.

So, both make for an exciting trip to the Royal Opera House, but if one falls more in love with The Dream than Song of the Earth it is understandable as fairies and beautiful dancing are always likely to steal any show. Hurry and fly to the box office to get your tickets before The Dream and its amazing sets, costumes and dancers are gone!

Further information:
Royal Opera House London – official site

As always, Cirque du Soleil is a flurry of pleasant noise and colour when it comes to London (and the UK). However, this time, Totem, which depicts man’s evolution from an aquatic and amphibian being in to a species that wants to fly is pretty but does not take one’s breath away as Quidam did at the Battersea Power Station, when Cirque du Soleil first introduced itself to Britain in 2001.

Make no mistake, the costumes are pretty and the music is upbeat but most of the acrobatics, and the comic interludes, are not as sharp or enticing as past shows. And, for the expense of the tickets, one would be better off getting cheap seats at the opera, doing something outside for free like walking a dog or flying a kite or staying at home and playing a game while listening to good music.

However, although not as electrifying as some of Cirque’s other shows, there are still a few “as always” that hold true.

As always:

• costumes are incredibly beautiful such as “crystal man’s” and the “crystal ladies” who “emerge from the fiery bowels of the earth to evoke the creation of the world and the beauty of minerals” (the ladies also spin shimmering crystal plates for their act)
• the orchestra has a beautiful sound
• the performers try their hardest – and what they do, they do extremely well
• the sets, costumes and lighting are extremely imaginative and eye-catching

So what is the problem? The problem is that the tickets are way too expensive, the plotline is too watery and unimaginative, and because of the vague storyline the acrobatics – such as plate-spinning and tight-rope walking – just don’t come across as exciting as they could if there was a focus purely on either acrobatics or on storyline.

So for a minimum of £27 per ticket after you pay all of the booking fees, is it worth a trip to the Royal Albert Hall to sit in the dark and possibly have an obstructed view? Er, no. Be happy with the website (for clips of the show and artwork) and advertising that you might see around London.

Further information:
Cirque du Soleil: Totem (official site)
Cirque du Soleil (official site)
Royal Albert Hall (officiall site)

In dark January 2012, we have another link in the chain, chapter in the ongoing series and story – or however you want to classify it. More interesting than the last two movies – Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) and Underworld: Evolution (2006) – in the series and even darker (literally).

Gloomy Kate Beckinsale, as Selene, is in top form killing all the “baddies”, which in this case equates to ‘mean’ Lycans (ie modern day werewolves) and corrupt humans who want to help the Lycans. But besides Kate, there is also her hybrid daughter (the offspring of a Lycan and a vampire) Eve (India Eisley) and her lover Michael (Scott Speedman) is kept frozen (until the very end) in a lab where they experiment on “infected” individuals because he is too boring. We also meet new vamp hero David (Theo James) who is attractive and gets extra points with the filmmakers for having a British accent and rugged human police detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy) who helps Kate because his wife became a vampire, who was killed.

On the big screen in 3D and in a dark environment, Underworld: Awakening is very similar to Gotham in the Batman film series. Kate gets points for being superstrong on screen (fun to watch her) moving so fast and the cool effects on her eyes. The film, itself, is very vapid, but fun. Worth seeing if you are a vampire movie fan. Otherwise, go catch a sunset, moonlit night or something more rewarding that won’t give you the chance of eye strain.

Further information:
Underworld: Awakening (IMDB)
Underworld: Awakening (official site)

Although this has been regaled as one of Natalie Portman’s best roles, sadly this is actually quite a sick movie that myself and others walked out of. Natalie Portman (who plays Nina Sayers) is given the role of prima ballerina to play both Odette, the White Swan and Odile, the Black Swan although, being more kind and sensible, she is perfect for the role of the White Swan. Within the movie, she replaces the prima ballerina Beth McIntrye (Winona Ryder), and Lily (Mila Kunis) is her understudy with whom she begins a twisted rivalry and friendship, and also she must fight against oppression from her obsessive, former ballerina mother Erica Sayers (Barbara Hershey) and her overbearing and sexually sadistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell).

Although the costumes are beautiful and recently won awards at The 13th Annual Costume Design Guild Awards (February 2011), the plotline is trite and very unpleasant. Worth skipping, to be honest – one is better off seeing a ballet in the theatre or on television.

Further information:
Black Swan (IMDB)

The countries are:

1. Norway

2. Denmark

3. Finland

4. Australia

5. New Zealand

From the brochures, this exhibit, which replicates the ‘Red Light District’ of Amsterdam looked excellent.  The exhibition leaflet showed  shadowy figures, deep colours and it seemed quite intriguing. However, upon arriving the exhibit was NOT that interesting. The mannequins were weak Madame Tussaud’s figures and it was quite small and poor quality – something that one would find in an old county/town history museum.

And, although these American artists, who have done similar work in the past were trying to convey a sleazy mid-1980s European street, it came across as something that might also appear in The London Dungeon.

Despite being free and an example of these American ‘beat’ artists Ed and Nancy Reddin Keinholz’s work, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you were a fan of their work impaticular – as some of their other sculptural installations – such as Bout Round Eleven (1982)  and Installation View are much more interesting and better examples of what they can do. Figural works like the two named previously have a lot more that one can read into them instead of being so straightforward with nothing for the mind to interpret on one’s own.

Ed Keinholz and wife Nancy, upon further research are fantastic ‘off the beaten track artists’, who were born in America in the 1940s and have a prominent underground history -w ith Ed having done jobs from being a psychiatric nurse, to being in a band to being an artist.

Further information:
Keinholz Exhibit – National Gallery (Official site)
Ed and Nancy Keinholz – examples of work (Artnet)
Ed Keinholz (Wikipedia – biography)

For those who loved the series, you will find this ok. It has some witty dialogue and the girls – particularly Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall),  and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are all excellent and very characterised in their roles. Carrie is – as always – very fashionable, Samantha is the OAP sex kitten who can’t stop talking about her hormones and Charlotte keeps talking about her children. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is also there, but is more in the background.

The film starts wittily with all of them at a gay wedding – with excellent dialogue. It then shifts to them being at home and gearing up for their trip to Abu Dhabi where an old flame of Carrie’s is filming a movie. Sadly, it gets a bit boring in Abu Dhabi, thus the film only gets three stars.  The fashion etc, is nice, but how many times can you hear vaguely about Dior and Valentino without getting bored. The crux in Abu Dhabi is the tension between Carrie and Aidan, dealing with being Western women in a Middle Eastern country and their escaping after Carrie loses her passport and Samantha’s condoms are seen in public.  And, finally, going home to be grateful for what they have.

Recommended if you are a huge fan of the series – although other fans got bored too.

Further information:
Sex and the City 2 (IMDB)
Sex and the City 2 (Official site)

I was extremely privileged to be able to see this ballet – as there is a story to tell behind it and I went on an ‘intuition’.  I had a thought in my brain that if I don’t go, I will “miss something really pretty”. Firstly, every one had said the ballet was sold out, even the ticket desk staff, but then, oddly, just as I was turning away to go home and give up, a man in charge of the queue for people waiting for returns said… “oh wait, there is one Ampitheatre ticket left”.  So I went and when I asked the front desk again, not only did they say “oh yes we do have a ticket (£22.00 and a non-restricted view)”.  Also, when I asked, “what should I expect?”, they said, “it’s something really pretty”.

So, a wonderful pre-cursor of what to expect of this ballet, I can say it was something more than ‘pretty’. It was spectacular and I am extremely happy I went. This is, just like the fairytale, the story of how when the Beauty  (Aurora) was born, a wicked fairy named Carabosse put a curse on her because she was NOT invited to her christening. The curse was that she would place her finger on a spindle and die. However, The Lilac Fairy, who is one of her ‘fairy godmothers’, changed the curse so that she would only fall into a deep sleep and could be awakened when a prince comes and gives her a kiss to wake her up.

The ballet then, like the fairytale, focuses on how Aurora lives her life with no spinning wheels around her till her 16th birthday. Then, on this date, she comes across one, pricks her finger and falls in to a deep slumber. The Lilac Fairy then arrives, puts the entire court to sleep and makes a large forest grow over the entire palace.

The ballet is a beautiful dance and enchantment of this fairytale with some of the most elegant and glittery costumes you will ever see as well as vibrant and elaborate sets.  Plus, the music was mellifluous, floating like a rich floral scent in the air. Scene changes were also quick and everyone was extremely happy and awestruck with the ballet.

In the second act, one sees the scene where Prince Florimund, with the help of the lilac fairy, has a vision of how to find Princess Aurora and awakens her and in the third act, one sees their wedding.

With so much beautiful enchantment going on – in the dance, colours, costumes and music, it was a perfect outing for a January evening.

Further information:
Royal Opera House (Official site)