I was tucked up under a duvet feeling ill and sorry for myself and figured an old-school musical might lift the blues a bit. I couldn’t have picked a better one for it. I didn’t know anything about this going into it, although turns out I do know the song The Company Way. But it was entertaining from start to finish, funny and a really good jab at the world of business and marketing.

I’ve seen this quite a few times as a kid but not for a long time, so I was interested in what I would think of it from a slightly more knowledgeable position. I really love the music, the songs, the dancing, Tevye and his many sidebars and thoughts and stroking his beard. The situations are irritating, because they are so patriarchal, but they are of their time. And then there’s the tragedy of ongoing Jewish persecution. The musical is too long for my tastes, and the second half is really so depressing it’s hard to push through it, but overall, it’s just as good as I remember.

Any musicals fan has to read this. I know Andrew Lloyd Webber isn’t so popular at the moment after the disaster that was the Cinderella musical, but there’s no denying what he has done and continues to do for musical theatre. This autobiography is written with wry wit and humour, more self-deprecating than I was expecting, and also a lot harsher - there’s a lot of details and communications and back and forths about who did what to whom in which business deal, and I was quite surprised!

At the end of the June, the fabulous West End live celebration returned to the heart of London - two days of various musicals and productions putting on their best efforts to show the crowds what they can see in the West End at the moment. I missed keeping track of what was on during the weekend, mostly because of Wimbledon, but was surprised and thrilled to find lots of clips on YouTube.

I’ve been wanting to watch this since Apple TV+ released it on their streaming platform, but was waiting for the right moment - I knew it was going to be a bit of an emotional watch, so the mood had to be right. I’m so annoyed I waited so long, because it’s brilliant!

This is a great little feelgood movie about a theatre kid and his BFF going on an adventure to Broadway - so if you like musicals, there’s going to be something in here for you. It was a good story, with interesting characters (in a weird world where Joshua Bassett plays the jock!) and a good message. I loved Lisa Kudrow, obviously, and the friend that discovers her hidden agent skills is hilarious and brilliant.

I can’t believe I’ve never seen this film before. Oddly, I have read the novelisation of the movie, and have dug out that book from a dusty old box, ready to read again. So I knew what was coming up but still wasn’t quite prepared for it. It was so good! So ahead of its time, in casting, in the issues on show, in the way it was just a snapshot in the life of these kids that comes to no specific conclusion but let’s them get on with their life afterwards.

Just like the first one it was nothing too groundbreaking - adorable animals singing popular songs, but it was all the extra bits and bobs around it that made it great. Good jokes, lovely side-stories, a way of everything coming together by the end in a satisfying and not-too-hokey way. Plus, hold on to your hats, Bono was actually really good! If I hadn’t known it was him, I probably wouldn’t have known it was him.

The animation is gorgeous, the setting divine, and the first half of the film is absolutely brilliant. I didn’t even notice that the songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, except perhaps the rap in the aforementioned Rock song, but it was all good enough to keep me engrossed. Things went off the rails a bit towards the end, specifically once Maui left her alone. Then it seemed the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. Why couldn’t she just do it all herself? Come to that, why couldn’t the somehow sentient ocean just have returned the heart itself?

It knows it’s a cheesy movie and it leans into it - they’re not trying to be too serious so that if you can relax and go with it, you get swept along in the magic and colour and recognising the pop songs and singing along. It’s fun, it’s a bit of rubbish fun. It’s slightly unfortunate for Camila, who has a great voice, that she has to stand and sing next to Idina a lot… but then I was impressed by some of her comedy moments.

This was an interesting experience. First up, as a musical, it was so-so. I’m not a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop style, it feels like words thrown together in the hopes it might work whereas I like a bit more structure to it. But that’s fine, it was way better than Hamilton, anyway.

I think I liked this more than the first one - the story seems to hold together better and it’s interesting to see where the characters are growing together and growing up. Snowman having constant existential crises is incredible. There were areas that felt quite dark for a kid’s film, but you can’t underestimate kids these days, I guess.

The music was brilliant and the staging really good, if a little bit busy at times. But I don’t know anything about history or politics and was too stupid to follow the story when it was being told so fast. So by the end, I still didn’t know who this Hamilton guy was, what he’d achieved, or why we should care about him. He didn’t seem like a particularly nice guy.

Actually, the story made more sense than the trailer made it seem. It was still loud and bright and glittery but I didn’t end up with a headache. I felt like the songs weren’t as strong, but I did enjoy country trolls and there was quite a lot of fun in guessing who all the famous people behind the voices were. So that’s something.

This is a childhood favourite, an absolute classic, and one that it’s taken far too long to Film Watch. However, I had to wait until Mr C was ready for the brilliance of it and today was the day. There’s a lot to love, obviously, the music is incredible, the story fun, the performances hit and miss. There were more layers to it than I remembered though.

It’s clear that Zac Efron was the star of the show, he was given some of the best songs and sequences - I really loved his piece inside the school alone, and the bit with the friend in the scrapyard, also great. When he was with the others, it didn’t quite seem to gel so well, but hey, High School Musical has always been awkward-fest.

OKAY. Well. This was an experience. It’s one of the few films that we’ve watched where it was alright and almost enjoyable whilst watching but genuinely the second it ended, we started discussing, questioning, realising how terrible it was and growing to hate it. Quite remarkable.

This week, I got to see The Bodyguard musical on the final stop of its UK tour. Based on the film of the same name, Alexandra Burke heads the cast with her phenomenal vocal powers bringing to life those infamous Whitney Houston classics. She was joined by Ben Lewis in the role of Frank Farmer (portrayed by Kevin Costner in the movie). And therein lies the problem. I was forever comparing it to the movie, which is an absolute favourite of mine.

No one is going to argue that this is a good film. But it’s fun and it’s the characters that guided us through the first one, and it’s just a quite enjoyable ride after a wine or two. It’s most fun to be able to pick holes in the entire thing, which probably isn’t what the makers were going for but is how it goes down best.

It’s definitely just your traditional Disney TV movie, with the fade outs for the ads and everything, and to be honest, I’m not even sure it’s the best musical Disney thing I’ve seen - Camp Rock was probably more fun and inspiring. But still, this is the one that captured the world’s imagination, and it has Zac Efron in it to boot!

John Carney’s Dublin movies are really good, and I wonder it’s taken us this long to watch this one. The music is obviously fantastic, and it’s nice to see a different side to Dublin rather than the more glamorous and Guinness-soaked side. It was relaxing and chilling, and a nice story.

It’s unfortunate that this came out around the same time as Bohemian Rhapsody because it’s impossible not to compare the two - but they’re different beasts really. Bohemian Rhapsody felt like the story of Freddie with some Queen songs thrown in. This was more of a crafted jukebox musical, dancing in the street, and the family doing an early group number. I loved this movie, Taron does an absolutely stunning job and in some of the shots and outfits looks eerily like the man he’s trying to portray.

I’ve watched this one a lot when I was a kid but not so much since then, and when it was recently released on Apple TV, I wanted to snap it up and watch it again. Convincing Mr C to get on board wasn’t easy but eventually I wore him down. I couldn’t promise him that it was a good film, because in my memories it wasn’t the best, despite the fact that I loved it. But actually, on this latest watch, I was pleasantly surprised.

I didn’t know much about Hairspray before seeing the live version in 2016, and since then have also seen it in the theatre. I thought it was about time we saw the musical film version because, my god, what a cast! Every single person is a huge name and together it becomes a melting pot of talent. In fact, the only person that doesn’t really work for me is John Travolta. And that’s not because he’s not brilliant, but I didn’t like his Dr Evil take on the mum.

I loved this and I’m not ashamed of it - it’s exactly what you think it’s going to be. A group of Disney teens running around singing, dancing and getting into scrapes both romantic and otherwise. It took a minute or two to adjust to seeing all the baby-faces, and let’s be honest there are a lot of flaws in the way the story comes together. But it’s fun, and it’s musical, and everyone is friends by the end of it. What’s not to like?

So look, we may not have been exactly in the right frame of mind to start watching another film - it was late, we had been drinking. But this was so not good. I love Baz Luhrmann’s work, so arty, so well-crafted, so fitting with strong music that gives you a sensory overload sort of vibe and really sucks you in.

Blimey, this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Things to like: that it’s about two princesses, and they aren’t squabbling or fawning over a prince (well, kinda are but not in the way most Disney’s go). Also, the snowman, who I loved except am also traumatised by because his one desire is heat and that bit by the fire, oof, no.

Just awful. Was I watching the right thing? I don’t get why people love this so much? The audio was terrible, the ADR incredibly distracting. There was a hint of a story there but the songs didn’t make much sense in situ. How could a cast this brilliant create such a terrible movie?

So I managed to get Mr C to watch The Lion King, and after viewing that one, I realised he probably needed to watch Aladdin as well, because I was going to want to see the live action remake next year. We finally got round to it, and yay!

This is one of the better Disney animations, it’s basically a perfect movie. Incredible cast, moving and brilliant story, lots of laughs but some dark moments too, and a great message to take home. And that’s all before we even talk about the music, wherein every single song is brilliant.

I’ve wanted to watch this for a while now, knowing just how well it did with audiences and how popular the soundtrack was, but the timing has never quite been right. Thankfully, the despondency that followed watching the Avengers: Infinity War debacle put us in exactly the right mood for something a little more lighthearted and a lot more musical.

Huge fans of the Pitch Perfect series, it seemed inevitable that this would be another brilliant outing to finish off the trilogy nicely. And it does that. There are a few gripes, of course, but overall it was almost as perfect as the title suggests.

At first glance, this film looks like it pushes all the right buttons. A lonely man with a big idea fighting against all odds, some misfits who just want to be accepted, and… well, and Zac Efron. But all you need to remember from this trailer, and hopefully from the movie is this:

This was a good film, very much in the same vein as the other John Carney ones, although not as good as Begin Again, I’d argue. It was intensely eighties, and portrayed an Ireland that is sometimes hard to fathom, but I did enjoy how the main kid kept adapting his look as he watched more and more pop videos.

I’ve been looking forward to this one since I saw the trailer. Okay, yes, it’s probably a bit childish and not at all groundbreaking (so like Zootopia, it’s kinda painful) but also it’s animals singing. Bunnies doing Nikki Minaj, a German pig with sass, what else do you need?

It didn’t quite blow me away though, as other kid’s films have. It was intensely bright and psychedelic, which made it a bit hard to focus on. The songs felt like they were shoehorned it at times - except for True Colours and the earworm that is Can’t Stop the Feeling. Knowing the good remix work Anna has done on Pitch Perfect, these songs didn’t feel as though that much effort went into them.

Mr C has been wanting me to watch this for a while but my background in music wasn’t good enough to make it worth while. With my album adventure upping my musical knowledge, we figured now was as good a time as any. I was nervous about the film, as I am with any that I know people have expectations about, but as soon as I realised it was set in Dublin, I was keen.

Thankfully, it lived up to the high expectations. Great returning characters, with some nice surprises along the way. Fab new characters too, with Hailee Steinfeld squeezing in seamlessly with her own brand of craziness to add to the group. Love the concept of the girls being knocked down a peg or two and having to claw their way back up, particularly against the absolutely terrifying Das Sound Machine.

It was beautiful. Moving and well crafted, miserable and joyous at the same time, predictable but refreshingly new. The blurb describes it as a comedy, which I wouldn’t necessarily agree with, it was more of a drama with plenty of music and singing involved. Mr C loved eyeing up all the music production side of things, and I mostly just enjoyed the simplicity of it all. Lovely film.

It was an impromptu trip to the theatre, a last minute decision to snap up tickets to The Phantom of the Opera on a spare Friday night nestled in the midst of a very hectic couple of months. I like musicals, as they have been ingrained in my life since childhood, but I haven’t had as much chance to indulge recently as I’d like. Since watching We Will Rock You five times, I haven’t seen much else.

I was sad to hear that We Will Rock You will be closing, after 12 years as a mainstay of the West End theatre scene in London. Long time readers will know I was completely obsessed with this musical when it first came out, seeing it no less than five times in just a couple of years. I’m not a huge fan of the so-called “jukebox” musicals, but this one worked for me right from the start.

It was so much better than I thought it was going to be! Funny in all the right places and cultural references galore. The music was a bit saccharine in places, but it had some excellent mashups and songs that got us talking. I was surprised that the big Cups song was actually just a tiny scene in the film, but it just made me want to learn how to do it. So, really enjoyed it, very entertaining and likely to stand up to several rewatches as well.

Very mixed feelings on this one. Firstly, it was beautifully done, whether they were live action shots or the extensive amount of CGI, it was good to see the realism that is often missing in musicals. I was also very intrigued to see the strength of acting, whereas musicals tend to focus more on singing, this was absolutely the other way round. Seeing these characters and their real pain was incredible.

It’s good! Well, no, that’s not true. It was terrible, dreadful, corny, silly, but totally brilliant at the same time. I really think Russell Brand’s accent was unfortunate, and it got to the point where every time he opened his mouth, we cringed. Post-film research proved it was meant to be Birmingham, like Ozzie Osbourne.

It’s a bit long, for a start, but the story is just about good enough to hold it for that long. The songs are good, as expected, but I really wasn’t a fan of all the coloured filters and things. I don’t need a purple sky to be convinced that Bali Hai is a special place to visit, and I certainly don’t need a yellow screen to believe these two are in love. Why yellow?

I did enjoy it, even though I felt like it was going to be really dated from the start. Having some prior knowledge of the plot probably helped because some of the conversations get a bit jargon heavy. The songs tend to sort you out though. I do feel like the film is too long, but having said that, I’m not sure what they could cut out without losing something important (maybe just the bit with the cats).

Ovation for Darius’s Rhett Butler I didn’t know this was what he’s doing now. A step up from Popstars, eh? Still, if the critics hate it, it’s bound to be good. McDonald’s savours designer look Wow. How much do I want a scarf with a big fat M on it? Driver fined for Bond car crash Right, sorry, isn’t he a stunt driver? How can it be dangerous driving when it’s his job?

Have you seen that sketch in Catherine Tate where the woman gets her colleague to guess something, and then gets really annoyed if she gets it straight away? I was reading somewhere about MiG Ayesa finishing in the top three to be the new lead singer of InXs. There was a programme or something, I think. I was quite upset about this because last I heard, MiG was still in We Will Rock You, trying to replace Tony Vincent and failing. This means that I am now officially out of date with news of the musical, and I can’t seem to find any new cast lists anywhere. (Not on any website does it tell me who’s in it at the moment. Even Google can’t help me. Although, it doesn’t help that the main website is about six months out of date as well.)

Obviously, this isn’t set in stone and could change at any moment, considering I haven’t seen every single musical under the sun. I haven’t included any songs from We Will Rock You, because that would just be called Top Ten Queen songs, and I’d be hard pushed to narrow that down to ten. The Epilogue - Les Miserables Seasons of Love - Rent Had to Be - Heathcliff The Sun - Metropolis This Is The Moment – Jekyll & Hyde Past the Point of No Return – Phantom of the Opera People Will Say We’re in Love - Oklahoma Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat – Guys & Dolls I Just Can’t Wait to Be King – The Lion King Tell Me It’s Not True – Blood Brothers

I think I knew before we went, that the replacement wouldn’t live up to the outstanding performances of my favourite Tony Vincent. But I like to think that I was willing to go in there with an open mind and give him a fair shot. And he pretty much blew it. I just think his voice wasn’t clear enough to pull off the songs and I didn’t notice but Mr C said his dancing skills weren’t exactly on top form.