Evita

I love musicals and was eager to watch Evita. I'm not the biggest of all Andrew Lloyd Webber fans, though Phantom of the Opera is phenomenal and all his work has at least one standout song(Memory for Cats, Don't Cry for me Argentina for Evita and Any Dream Will do for Joseph).

This Evita was so much better than anticipated. I cannot deny the music is wonderful, but I was also sceptical because of Madonna, who I like as a singer but not so much as an actress. I was proved wrong, Madonna while not quite my idea for Evita is wonderful in the role, she does justice to Buenos Aires and Don't Cry for me Argentina and the whole performance is very moving.

She has a good cast, with the dashing Antonio Banderas exuding tremendous chemistry with her and Jonathan Pryce a revelation as Juan Peren. The visuals are spectacular, the cinematography is sumptuous and the colours, costumes and settings are wonderfully vivid. The story might just lack the spark of the musical itself, but it is still emotionally resonant and the script and direction are more than credible.

Evita may drag a little towards the end, but overall it was a very good film and much better than I thought. 8/10 Bethany Cox