Kinks Choral Collection, The - Ray Davies & The Crouch End Festival Chorus

The Invasion of Crouch End

Advantages: Funny and very British
Disadvantages: Very British

/co-writer ? Edgar Wright Co-writer - Simon Pegg Producer - Nira Park Shaun?s girlfriend Liz is tired of going to the pub every night. She wants to go out for a meal and persuades Shaun to book a restaurant. Something he forgets to do instantly. She decides that she will never get anywhere with Shaun and breaks up with him. His mate Ed is unsympathetic. Pete is tired of Ed living in the house. He came to visit one day and never left. Unexpectedly, Zombies begin to invade Crouch End. No-one knows what is causing the dead to walk, but it is important not to be bitten by one. Bitten people die and return as zombies. Shaun realises that they have to find a safe place, and concocts a plan for him and Ed to rescue Liz and his mother and get to safety. Safety, in Shaun?s eyes, is the Winchester pub. As with all good ...

Shanksey 21.04.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Shaun Of The Dead (Chart Driver) (DVD)

Ray Charles on my mind

Advantages: Superb performance by Jamie Foxx
Disadvantages: Long and dull at times

Born Ray Charles Robinson in 1930 in a poor part of Georgia, the singer and pianist we know simply as Ray Charles did not have the easiest of starts in life. Cared for by his single mother, he witnessed the drowning of his brother at a young age, and by seven, was blind in both eyes. Despite this, his mother entreated him to keep working and to never let his disability get the better of him. His drive and enthusiasm for life was soon to pay dividends in the form of a successful music career, with hits in the charts and a lucrative record contract. Yet his life was not all roses - addicted to heroin, Ray was nearly imprisoned more than once and had extra-marital affairs. Would heroin be the end of his family life? And how would it affect his musical career? I am not a big fan of biopics; the problem with the story of someone's life ...

sunmeilan 21.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ray (DVD)

Ray DVD - It's a shame about Ray

Advantages: Well acted, great music
Disadvantages: Too long

(Regina King) put in convincing yet contrasting performances as wife and mistress respectively. Both win the audience's sympathy and to an extent their respect without really dominationg the screen or influencing the movie. Ray Charles obviously had an interesting, dramatic life and the film concentrates on 30 years of it. However, I feel it may have been better for the film to have focussed on one particular aspect of his life. As it is, it seems to skirt around all the issues, hinting at a deeper meaning but leaving much unresolved. The effect of the death of his brother, for example, is hinted at in a couple of scenes but never really explored. The ending is also deeply unsatisfying; it feels contrived and tacky, almost as though the film-makers ran out of time, money and, worst of all, ideas. This is the story of a life that misses ...

stevek181 24.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ray (DVD)