Notes on Film Reviews

The film reviews on this site (which also appear on the back of the printed calendar) are written specifically for The Astor Theatre by independent and in-house reviewers (except where noted otherwise).

You can get the review for a particular film by selecting a film title in the calendar by date or by film listings.

Each review will contain the following information:

Film title [classification]
[G] general exhibition
[PG] parental guidance recommended for persons under 15 years
[M] recommended for mature audience 15 years and over
[MA 15+] persons under 15 years must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian
[R 18+] restricted to adults 18 years and over
[E] exempt
[TBC] yet to be classified

Day - Date - Start Time - Running Time

The theatre usually opens one hour before the advertised start-time of the first feature. The start-time for second feature takes into account the running-time of the first feature. If you plan to see only the second feature you should endeavour to arrive at the theatre at least 15 minutes before the given time.

Feature Placement

This will indicate if the film will screen first or second in a double-feature session along with the name of the accompanying feature. Any variations in admission price will also be shown if it is a single-feature session.

Release Date - Special Notes

The release date is the year the film was first released. Special notes will list extra information such as the type of print, restoration (if any) for older films, sound format and so on.

Director

Starring

Review

Many of the reviews will be followed by the initials of the reviewer or an indication of the source. They are:
AB Andrew Boyle
AJP Anita Paul
AN Arthur Norman
GF George Florence
IMDb Internet Movie Database review
KW Kevin Whitney
PB Paul Brennan
PN Production notes
PS Pixi Silverman
SE Spiro Economopoulos
SH Steve Harris
TMc Terry McCombie

Rating

The star ratings should be taken only as a general guide. They are based on the general opinion of critics and our programmer. Films at The Astor Theatre usually have some worthwhile aspect or merit for their genre. The various ratings are:
1/2 BOMB
* POOR
*1/2 SO-SO
** FAIR
**1/2 NOT BAD
*** GOOD
***1/2 VERY GOOD
**** EXCELLENT
****1/2 STUPENDOUS
***** MASTERPIECE

Films that were not available for preview at the time the calendar was prepared will not be rated.