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Oscars 2025 - My Nominations Predictions

Here are my Nominations Predictions for the #Oscars2025 - we'll see tomorrow how well I do!

It’s becoming tradition, at this time of year, for me to predict who the nominees will be at the Oscars. This remains more fun than guessing the winners, as often the winners start to become clear once you know who the nominees are. The announcement has been understandably delayed this year, due to the terrible California wildfires, but at the moment the nominations are due to be released on…

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Film Review - Better Man (2024) - A thrillingly creative and deeply emotional biopic that everyone should see (whether you know Robbie Williams or not)!

My review of the superb film, Better Man. Go and see it!

As a Brit of a certain age, Take That and the solo career of Robbie Williams was a central component of my musical experience growing up. They were huge and although I liked them, I didn’t love them back then, but I did have a favourite band member – Robbie. I bought Everything Changes on cassette because of Robbie. Then he left the band, although even then I remember having a clear sense that…

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Theatre to See in 2025!

Yes, I know we’re in mid-January, but there’s so much exciting theatre coming to the UK (and beyond) this year that I wanted to take my time with this post. It includes the theatre shows I’m most looking forward to (hopefully) seeing in 2025, that we know of so far, because the great thing about theatre is that new shows continue to be announced during the year for the months ahead. I always love…

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Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2025

Here are my Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2025! Is yours here? Maybe you'll discover something new too.

With my look back at 2024 complete, it’s time to look ahead to what’s in store in television, film and theatre in 2025. I’ve already posted my Most Anticipated Films 2025, so now I’m turning to TV shows for the upcoming year. I’ve separated this post into returning series and new series and where the date and channel/streamer is known, I’ve added that information too. Returning Series The Last…

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Most Anticipated Films of 2025

Time to look ahead! Here are my most anticipated films of 2025!

Having completed my look back at 2024, it’s time to look ahead to what 2025 has in store and I’m starting with a look at the films I’m most looking forward to / most curious about this year. There are bound to be plenty more not on my radar as yet, but even taking that into account, it does feel like 2025 is a year with more franchises releasing their next instalments than we had in 2024, some…

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Favourite TV Shows of 2024

Before we get any further in to this New Year, I’m rounding off my reflections on theatre, film and TV in 2024. I’ve posted about my favourite theatre shows and my favourite films of the year, so that leaves television. Overall, it’s been a great year for television and with the number of platforms on which to watch shows now, it’s impossible to see everything. As with Films, this isn’t a “Best”…

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Favourite Films of 2024

Time to continue my reflection on 2024 before we get any further into the new year! This time it’s films and I saw some fantastic ones in 2024. Perhaps, it wasn’t as strong a year as 2023 for me, but there was still a good mix of big budget studio fare and indie films. As with previous years, this isn’t a “Best” list, as I’ll never see everything and so this post includes my Favourite films of…

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Theatre Review 2024

It’s that time of the year again. Should I have posted this before New Year arrived? Probably, but now is when I have the time, so here it is. 2024 saw me inching closer to pre-2020 theatregoing levels, although with ticket pricing getting more and more silly for bigger West End venues in particular, I think perhaps I’ll never reach those numbers again, but you never know. I saw 44 shows in 2024…

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Oscars 2024 - My Predictions (& who I'd vote for)

It’s almost time for the biggest night of the year for us film fans. It’s Oscars time! Every year I try and watch all of the nominees. Sadly, unlike last year, I won’t achieve it, with too many of the documentaries and short films not yet available to me, but I’ve seen all of the films from most of the other categories. I did fairly well with my predictions. In terms of likely winners at the…

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Oscars 2024 - My Nominations Predictions

My Predictions for the 2024 #Oscars Nominations! We'll see tomorrow how many I get right!

For the last two years, I’ve made predictions about who the nominees would be at the Oscars and so I thought I’d do the same this year, before the nominations are announced tomorrow. To be honest, trying to predict the nominees is more exciting than predicting the winners, especially when certain categories feel fairly locked in already. Thanks to the stellar programme at October’s London Film…

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Favourite TV Shows 2023

My Favourite Television Shows of 2023

It’s that time of year to reflect on the year and having already discussed my favourite theatre shows and my favourite films, it’s now time to reflect on another year of television and 2023 is a year in which there were some fantastic new shows, as well as returning series. I’m also going to write about my favourite television episodes this year in a separate post, so look out for that later. As…

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Favourite Theatre Shows of 2023

My Favourite Theatre Shows of 2023

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again, when I look back at my theatregoing year and look forward to the year to come (that’s coming soon in another post). Although 2023 has seen me see more shows than last year, I’ve still only seen about a third of the shows I’d see pre-lockdowns. I’m slowly getting back in the routine of planning ahead and booking theatre (which is something I’d…

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Favourite Films of 2023

My Favourite Films of 2023.

It’s that time of year to reflect on the year and I’m starting with my film highlights of 2023. Personally, I think it’s been a fantastic year for films, with many smaller indie films rising to top, while some big budget offerings underperformed. Hopefully the film industry will see that you don’t need to spend crazy amounts of money to have a successful film. It was also the year of the…

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Theatre Review - Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse (2023) - David Tennant is back where he belongs - on a Shakespearean stage!

Theatre Review - Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse (2023) starring David Tennant & Cush Jumbo!

(Photography: Charlie Gray Studio / Artwork: AKA UK) It’s always a great year for me when it’s announced that David Tennant is returning to the theatre and especially to Shakespeare and last night I was lucky enough to have a front row seat to the final preview of the new Donmar production of Macbeth. In recent years, there’s been more of a tendency to find a new way to tell some of these…

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Celebrating the National Theatre's 60th Birthday!

On 22nd October 1963, the National Theatre Company, founded by Sir Laurence Olivier, opened their first show – Hamlet starring Peter O’Toole. Yes, their initial home was the Old Vic until their Southbank home, which we all now know as the National Theatre, was ready, but it still means that Sunday was the 60th birthday of the NT! I can’t quite believe it’s already a decade since the 50th was…

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Theatre Review - Groundhog Day is as magical as ever...every time!

Did I mention I love Groundhog Day? 7 years since I first saw this show, here's my review of the current run. You have until 19th August to go!

(Photo credit: Manuel Harlan) For anyone who was reading this blog in 2016, you’ll perhaps remember that the show I absolutely adored that year was Groundhog Day and no one was more surprised than me. I wasn’t a huge fan of the film. Perhaps I was a bit too young when I first saw it, I don’t know, but it’s never been one I’ve returned to much and when it was announced that it was being turned in…

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Television Review - Succession 4.10 "With Open Eyes" - An intense, compelling, perfectly tragic end to one of television's greatest series

What a way to end it. My review of the series finale of Succession.

“You don’t have it.” – Frank Well, we’ve reached the end of Succession. I’m still trying to process the reality of that, but at least the series ended on a high, with a truly perfect close on the world of the Roys after four superb seasons. Having not put a foot wrong all season, I was feeling hopeful I wouldn’t be left disappointed, but it’s still a relief to now be able to reflect on the…