The chromatic filigree of “The Curlew” insinuates all his other work. It’s time – despite himself – we took this supremely gifted composer seriously.. The much-hyped British cartoon Chicken Run has taken the US by storm – finishing second in the list of North American box office hits after its opening weekend. The much-hyped British cartoon Chicken Run has taken the US by storm – finishing second in the list of North American box office hits after its opening weekend.
The film, which premieres in Britain tonight and opens across the country on Friday, was second only to the comedy Me, Myself and Irene, which features comedian Jim Carrey.
It took a total of $17.5m compared to $24.2m for Carrey’s film.Chicken Run, a low-budget (£22m) film featuring voiceovers by Mel Gibson and Julia Sawalha, tells the story of a group of chickens who try to escape a battery farm. It is the first full-length feature from the Wallace and Gromit team, Nick Park and Peter Lord, and has received glowing reviews from critics in the US.In the film, Gibson plays the role of Rocky, a Rhode Island Red rooster. The directors persuaded him to take the role by appealing to his children who were Wallace and Gromit fans.In Me, Myself & Irene, Carrey plays a Rhode Island policeman who develops a split personality after his wife leaves him for a black midget postman.. The devil in the pulpit at York Minster? The word “bollocks” intoned with unmistakable clarity in the nave? There are, you’d have thought, safer places in which to tempt fate. The last time the Almighty allegedly showed his hand as a reviewer (over an ecclesiastical appointment up north), it left this particular cathedral with a smoking transept and a hefty restoration bill. But if the divine Number One String isn’t smitten with Gregory Doran’s spectacular staging of the York Mystery Plays, He certainly managed to keep His displeasure to Himself during the opening performances. The devil in the pulpit at York Minster? The word “bollocks” intoned with unmistakable clarity in the nave? There are, you’d have thought, safer places in which to tempt fate.
The last time the Almighty allegedly showed his hand as a reviewer (over an ecclesiastical appointment up north), it left this particular cathedral with a smoking transept and a hefty restoration bill. But if the divine Number One String isn’t smitten with Gregory Doran’s spectacular staging of the York Mystery Plays, He certainly managed to keep His displeasure to Himself during the opening performances.
This community event, which involves hundreds of local people, comes round every four years. Mirroring the way in which God humbled himself by becoming man, one professional actor (here the physically imposing, gently powerful Ray Stevenson) traditionally slums it as Jesus among the hoards of amateurs. Often, there’s controversy over the casting of the deity (in 1988 a Hindu movie star played God the Son; in 1996, churchgoers got their chasubles in a twist over a female God the Father). This time, though, the talking point is the fact that – to mark the Millennium – the cathedral is hosting an event usually staged in the Museum Gardens.There are gains and losses in this elevation.
