Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

                     Grace of Monaco. Film Review. " You came here to play the greatest role of your life. You are the fairytale. The serenity to which we all aspire. And peace will come when you embrace the roles you have been destined to play." The long-awaited release of this film disappointed critics when it opened the Cannes Film Festival 2014. It was slated. Peter Bradshaw was kinder when he referred to it as being wooden. Bad news for screen writer, Arash Amed and director, Olivier Dahan ("La Vie en Rose.") In fact savaged is closer to the truth. For me and people like me, it makes it that more appealing. The real-life descendants branded the film a farce criticising it for being "overly dramatic" with "historical errors and little depth." The controversy surrounds the point of whether it is meant to be a biopic film and the obvious answer is no. Hollywood screen goddess, Grace Kelly was born in 1929 and emb...

                    Song For Marion. Film Review. "I'm not the life and soul of the party and full of joy and guts. I'm miserable old Arthur. I've ruined everything I had and it's too late." Arthur Harris played by British veteran actor Terence Stamp more akin to playing the arch villain is struggling to deal with his wife, Marion's cancer. Undoubtedly he loves her, this is never in question being her main carer but to a point of over -protectiveness stifling her natural energy. His relationship with his son James is frosty. It seems as if James has proved a disappointment and Marion's illness has caused a huge rift between them. Arthur is bad-tempered, the antithesis of his wife, Marion played by the renowned actress Vanessa Redgrave, held in such high-esteem by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as the greatest actress of our time. Within the partnership, she is the life force whereas Arthur represses his emoti...

                             The Love Punch Film Review. "I think that liking them is much more important than loving them. Love is easy to fall into. Liking is much harder. Think of your wedding as a driving test. You take it, you pass and then you really start to learn how to drive. Or you crash." Don't expect any other pearls of wisdom otherwise you'll be grossly disappointed. No guesses that Kate and Richard's marriage has broken down. Recent statistics in the UK show that an alarming 1/2 marriages end in divorce. This is not just about a failed marriage. With hindsight both realise they were too young and become closer when they realise their financial security no longer exists. Time to take action. Written and directed by Joel Hopkins ( Last Chance Harvey ) "The Love Punch" is uncomplicated but rather contrived as a romantic comedy and as corny as they come. Four very well-known and well-like...

                 The Island by Victoria Hislop. "A single shot ricocheted across the water, the noise amplified by the echo from the mountains behind, and a crimson blanket spread itself slowly across the still sea."  Spinalonga was a former leper colony where people were exiled from 1903-1957 in northern Crete. During the second world war the Germans occupied the island as well as allied forces. Hislop has combined history with fiction, presenting the reader with a moving portrayal of four generations of one family blighted by leprosy, war and its legacy. Alexis Fielding is 25, working in a museum and likely to follow in her father's footsteps in archaeology. Ed was her boyfriend of 3 years and what was once a promising affair has now turned sour " like a sickly cutting that had failed to survive being transplanted from greenhouse to border." They were meant to be on holiday but conflict, arguments and lots of self-ref...

        Where There's Smoke: A Novella by Jodi Picoult. "I might as well be a ghost. Last week, I was famous. This week, if I speak, no one will listen." If you're into psychics and the supernatural you'll like this. It's available as an ereader, a prequel to promote "Leaving Time" which will be available this autumn and is expected to be another best-seller from the popular American writer. Serendipity Jones experienced visions from a young age. When she indicated to her mother that a little boy dressed in knee-length black velvet trousers with a lacy collar around his neck was stealing things from their home, she thought her daughter was telling tales. "That boy's not real." This was back in the seventies. "If this had been today I would probably have been shuttled off to a child psychiatrist and given some kick-ass medication." Serendipity's great-great grandma had been an Iroquois healer. The story mov...

                    Life With No Breaks by Nick Spalding. "There's got to be a point to a book hasn't there? Even one written totally off the cuff like this is." "Life With No Breaks" was Spalding's first self-published ebook in April 2012-stories so fabricated and embellished that they made politicians' expenses' claims look trivial. He worked as a media officer until he signed a contract with Hodder and Stoughton. He is considered the best-selling self-published author in the UK, having recently signed a six-figure deal. Two of his other comedies " Love..from Both Sides" and " Love..And Sleepless Nights" were the first and third best-selling self-published ebooks in 2012. "Life With No Breaks" was meant as a 24 hour non-stop project but in fact took no more than 30 hours before he had accomplished 54,873 words, dare I say gems? Presented as a monologue, he refers to his muse, the reader as h...

      From Sequins to Sunshine by Lorna Penfold. "We were like two expectant parents waiting for all our babies to arrive." Lorna qualified as a dance teacher when she was 17 and she soon became the owner and principal of an extremely successful dance school in Brighton with classes as diverse as Latin American, freestyle disco, country and western as well as the more traditional ballroom dancing. " I ate, slept and dreamt dancing." Once she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 2007 she was forced into giving up dancing so Lorna and partner, Alan had to consider other options. Alan was happy to emigrate to Florida. " I think Alan would have been perfectly happy to sell Coco-Cola in Sea World." And the second choice? Spain of course. Andalucia to be exact, a popular home for budding expat writers and farmers. Breeding alpacas was seen as a lucrative business. You might remember Alan Parks' book which also documented their move to The Olive ...