Ministry, O2 Institute, Birmingham review – a different 4th July from Uncle Al

★★★ MINISTRY, O2 INSTITUTE, BIRMINGHAM Even after 40 years, Al Jourgensen's crew are no heritage act

Even after almost 40 years, Al Jourgensen’s crew are no heritage act

There can’t be many bands who have been around (on and off) for almost 40 years and who choose to play the whole of their latest album as their live set. That kind of thing is more often reserved for 10- or 20-year anniversary tours. No one could accuse Al Jourgensen and Ministry (or any of his many bands, for that matter) from having ever taken the easy route at any point in their career though. Fortunately for a heaving O2 Institute, Uncle Al is still not playing “the game” today.

Support the Girls review - working class dramedy misses edge

★★ SUPPORT THE GIRLS Andrew Bujalski's working class dramedy misses edge

Great performances from an ensemble cast can't quite save this low-key sports bar drama

A rambling portrait of 24 hours in the life of Double Whammies, an American sports bar where the waitresses entertain their TV-watching patrons by dressing in skimpy tops and tiny shorts. Apparently this is categorised as a ‘breastaurant’ (my spell-checker reels at this portmanteau, but there are several well-established chains in the US).

On Your Feet!, London Coliseum review - Gloria Estefan bio-musical hits familiar notes

★★★ ON YOUR FEET!, LONDON COLISEUM Gloria Estefan bio-musical hits familiar notes

The rhythm is gonna get you – even if the drama doesn’t

This well-meaning biographical jukebox musical about icons Gloria and Emilio Estefan, which did two years on Broadway and a US tour, is good summer scheduling, what with its Latin-pop bangers, infectious dance routines and “Dreams come true” messaging.

Apollo 11 review - an awe-inspiring leap

★★★★ APOLLO 11 An awe-inspiring leap

Todd Douglas Miller pieces together archival footage for documentary of first lunar mission

How could this story be told again? Director Todd Douglas Miller has found a way: strip away narrative and give the audience the purity of original record. The result is a gripping non-fiction experience that sits in a unique space between documentary, art, drama and dream.

Blu-ray: For All Mankind

Breathtaking, heartstopping celebration of Project Apollo

Al Reinert's For All Mankind isn't quite what it seems. In a famous 1962 speech, President Kennedy spoke of the knowledge to be gained and the new rights to be won on the moon to be "for all people", though the plaque left on the lunar surface by the crew of Apollo 11 states that the voyage was made "for all mankind". Reinert's 1989 film cleverly dubs "mankind" into Kennedy's speech in the film, not that you'd notice.

Ocean Vuong: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous review – the new avant-garde

★★★ OCEAN VUONG: ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS The new avant-garde

Debut novel by prize-winning poet is a coming-of-age tale for today’s America

Ocean Vuong’s debut novel is written as a letter to his mother, who cannot read. She cannot read because, when she was five, her schoolhouse was burnt to the ground in an American napalm raid. “Our mother tongue, then,” writes Vuong, is the “mark of where your education ended, ashed. Ma, to speak in our mother tongue is to speak only partially in Vietnamese, but entirely in war.”

Toy Story 4 review - fabulous return to the big screen

★★★★★ TOY STORY 4 A fabulous return to the big screen

To infinity and a blonde...reappearance of Woody's sweetheart takes story in a different direction

Making it to the fourth film in a series and maintaining quality is a feat pulled off by very few franchises, (see last week’s dreary Men in Black: International). But Pixar has done it with Toy Story 4. It might not have quite as many nifty gags without its originator John Lasseter at the helm, but the quality of animation has reached new heights and the story reduced me both to tears and helpless laughter. 

Napoli, Brooklyn, Park Theatre review - lacking substance

Actors battle with accents and a wooden script in 1960s drama set in a New York Italian immigrant neighbourhood

According to their mother, Luda (played by Madeleine Worrall, pictured below), each of the three sisters (pictured top) in Napoli, Brooklyn, bears one of their father’s admirable traits. Tina (Mona Goodwin), the oldest, who left school early to earn money for the family in a factory job, has his strength. Vita (Georgia May Foote), who is smart but has been banished to a convent school for crossing her father, has his tongue.