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Wine time: The Frogs - Southwark Playhouse

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For a show called The Frogs, there isn’t much amphibian activity in the piece. But being a show with music by Stephen Sondheim, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s a critical theatrical piece. But like Sondheim’s final musical playing at the National Theatre, while it may not be a musical that fills you with provocative thoughts, it’s a fast-paced romp through hell and back to save the world for the sake of arts. With rousing choruses, thrilling choreography and plenty of cheap laughs, what more can you want from the theatre? It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) . There isn’t much to the plot, except that Dionysus (Dan Buckley), disillusioned by the state of a divided world, and his sidekick and slave, Xanthias (Kevin McHale), cross the river Styx to the underworld to find a great writer who they can return to the world to teach the world about life. He has his mind set on bringing back George Bernard Shaw until he hears the poetry of Shakespeare.  This v...

Film: Physique er Casino Royale


Casino Royale, originally uploaded by peter-noster.

Tuesday night I managed to catch Casino Royale at the Odeon at Leicester Square. It is a big cinema with a big screen and every inch of screen counts with this Bond outing. There are explosions, there are chases, there is a fantastic free-running stunt and there are those swimming trunks. You need a big screen to take all of that in...

I have to say I was very impressed with this Bond flick. Sure the script had some pretty bad dialogue at times and the direction wasn't always slick, but as a package it all hung together very well. It helps with Daniel Craig in the lead as someone who can act and fight too. This film has set him up very nicely to set Bond in a new direction (if that's what the punters end up wanting).

I have never read any of the Ian Flemming novels and I understand that the film version is fairly faithful to the book as it explains how Bond gets his double-o status. It is what is referred to as a "reboot" of a franchise. Well after all the special effects overkill of Die Another Day it was good to get back to some great stunts and great set pieces.

Ultimately Casino Royale surely has to be remembered primarily as a series of fighting and action scenes held together by lingering shots of Daniel Craig's muscular physique. This physique was on show naked, partially naked, or wearing those swimming trunks throughout the film. Actually even when he was clothed you could still tell which side he dressed, but I lost count the number of times his shirt was ripped off to reveal his ripped torso... Then there was the testicle torture scene (don't ask) which showed off his very well-developed hamstrings and glutes (among other body parts)... And then there were the beach scenes which showed off his lats, his pectorals and well you get the picture... The Bond girls couldn't compete with this physical perfection. They were flat-chested without tone and had to wear bizarre gowns that looked inspired by some sixties futurist/modernist movement.

And as for those James Bond swimming trunks, apparently only Selfridges in London sell the £55 Grigio Perla trunks Craig wears (twice) in the film and reportedly are close to selling out of them as WAGS snap them up. Pity that it is too cold to be wearing them here... Perhaps next summer every beach will have a few James Bond wannabes on them... Here's hoping by then they will have the body to match. It is definitely a Bond for our times... The time when the metrosexual gym bunny reigns supreme... I can't wait to see what they do next time... But lets hope it isn't "Pumping Iron 3: the Bond Flick"...

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