WE have had a quieter Easter holiday than we had hoped, given the quality of films we have had on offer.

The weather has meant that curiously people have gone to the coast and gone walking to take advantage of the weather, rather than coming inside for a brilliant film. Well the weather has broken and we have become the destination of choice again. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has received a lot of attention and the other films have carried on bringing people in.

Films this week: Captain America, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Divergent, Rio 2, Muppets: Most Wanted and Khumba: A Zebra’s Tale will be back to weekends, including bank holidays, only from now.

We have The Other Woman (12A) joining us. This is one of those annoying preview scenarios where they launch a film on a day other than a Friday.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (12A) – is still very popular with good response from those leaving at the end.

Our winner for the Easter holiday was Rio 2. Divergent was busy but not as busy as it deserved for the film it was.

It is a really great film and well worth seeing. The story is believable and credible. We were “living” the story in parts as it went along.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 started last Friday and I really liked the look of this film before it arrived. I had been saying that having been a fan of Toby McGuire as Spider-man I couldn’t see the point in re-imagining this series of the Spider-man franchise.

I got really involved in the story and Andrew Garfield was brilliant.

Emma Stone was excellent as love interest Gwen Stacy. Jamie Foxx is brilliant as the baddy Electro.I am so pleased to have seen Sally Field in a role I have enjoyed seeing her in (I have never forgotten her in Mrs Doubtfire). All in all, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a beautiful, witty and enjoyable retelling of the superhero’s story.

The Other Woman (12A) starts today (Wednesday) and is the story of the girlfriend, the wife, and another girlfriend. The poor man in the middle of this love rat story gets what he deserves. It looks a great entertaining tale of getting one back on the male in the story. There’s no such thing as a woman scorned, but three of them scorned.

 

Stage productions:

Royal Opera House Live: The Winter’s Tale shows on Monday and there are still some seats available. Based on Shakespeare’s enduring tale of love, loss and reconciliation, the Winter’s Tale follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love represented in ballet. This is said to be one of the highlights of The Royal Ballet season.

Ticket are on sale for National Theatre Live: Medea, starring Helen McCrory. Medea is a wife and a mother. For the sake of her husband, Jason, she has left her home and had her two sons in exile. But when her husband abandons his family for a new life, Medea faces banishment and separation from her children, she begs for one day’s grace and there is a lot she can do in a day. Medea is live on Thursday, September 4.

King Lear looms on May 1 and still has some seats available. King Lear stars Simon Russell Beale in the lead. The aging King Lear decides to split his kingdom between his three daughters according to the way they praised him. His favourite daughter, Cordelia, says nothing and from here King Lear’s world descends into chaos.

Romeo and Juliet from Broadway is aimed at those who are not experienced Shakespeare devotees or who are coming to a Shakespearian play for the first time. This production of Romeo and Juliet is a modern take on the play and is part of marking the 450th anniversary of the birth of “the Bard”. Romeo and Juliet is on May 6 at 7.15pm and has plenty of seats to choose from, at the time of writing.

Royal Shakespeare Company Live: Henry IV, Part I, live from the home of Shakespeare, is on our screen on Wednesday, May 14, with some fairly good seats available. This is the time when Henry IV prepares for war against enemies, both foreign and domestic. Henry had disposed of the previous king and is aware of his precarious position.

The season from Glyndebourne is booking up nicely considering the way we have launched it. Der Rosenkavalier (June 8), Don Giovanni (July 6) and La Traviata (August 10) are here during the summer. Glyndebourne really seems to have a phenomenal reputation and the reaction we have had from those to whom we have mentioned the season.

André Rieu’s 10th Anniversary 2014 Maastricht Concert is selling steadily with about two thirds of the seats gone. André Rieu’s concert is on Saturday, July 19, and booking is definitely advised, early, to avoid disappointment.

We are still holding Sunday, July 20, for a very exciting show, but have no idea of when the official announcement will be made – watch this space.

Another date for your diary is Thursday, July 10, but I genuinely don’t know what for at this stage. So, we are really interested to know what it is when (or if) it is finally announced.