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Reviews, Books - The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	After the bare requisites to living and reproducing, man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed. He leaves his proof on wood, on stone or on the lives of other people. This deep desire exists in everyone, from the boy Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - 15th February 05 - The Woman in White at the Palace Theatre, London By Steve Rudd
	The Woman in White is the latest box-office-busting musical extravaganza from Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the famous Victorian novel of the same name that was published way, way back in 1860 by the distinguished and understandably Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - GO WEST, to the South of the Thames and see National Anthems! By Steve Rudd
	The West End of London city centre is a magical place, packed with cinemas and theatres. There are always some amazing shows to be seen in such theatres, whether they are full-blown musicals or pure drama-driven plays, and I guess the most frustrating thing about taking a trip to Read more...

Reviews, Films - Meet The Fockers By DJ Chris Plant
	Having given permission to male nurse Greg Focker (Stiller) to wed his daughter (Polo), ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes (De Niro) and his wife (Danner) travel to Detroit to meet the parents, who this time around are Mr. and Mrs. Focker (Hoffman and Streisand), who Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Butterfly Effect by Pernille Rygg Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Death is nothing to young girls, except as part of the adventure, an exciting secret whispered by a dark lover, not something you meet one evening when you're going home to your movie or father. Such a notion is all about to change Read more...

Reviews, Events - Comedy in Hull - A Ringside Seat - Thursday 2nd February 05 By Jim Higo
	While we all sit around moaning about the lack of decent live entertainment in Hull; Buzz Comedy Club have been doing something about it. While we get in from work, moan again about the lack of decent live entertainment in Hull, Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	It was in America that horses first roamed. A million years before the birth of man, they grazed the vast plains of wiry grass and crossed to other continents over bridges of rock soon severed by retreating ice. They first knew man as the hunted knows the hunter Read more...

Reviews, Books - Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	I realise that by deciding not to do things, I've lost millions of threads of chance and opportunity to have new experiences, to meet new people - to be alive, really. So now I'm going to start doing things I'm bad at again. Heck, I'm going to do things Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	The one way to be happy is to love, to love self-denyingly, to love everybody and everything. If you fancy a nice little slab of classic literature, then this beauty of a story might be for you. Set on the harsh Russian Steppes back in the nineteenth century, this simple-living Read more...

Reviews, Books - Pink by Gus Van Sant Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Famed Hollywood-based director Gus, like actor Ethan Hawke, is now making his name as an author too. This is his debut novel, and a bizarrely tripped-out one at that, putting the reader in the mind of Douglas Coupland Read more...

Reviews, Books - God's Debris by Scott Adams Reviewed by Katherine Horrex
	God's Debris explores the philosophy of physical science within a fictional story. It was written by Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert and is the number one best-selling E-book on the planet. Adams himself describes it as a Read more...

Reviews, Books - Ice Run by Steve Hamilton Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	This is Steve's sixth action-thriller novel, and it is arguably his most exciting and accomplished so far. Michigan-born Steve sets all his work in such a perpetually snowbound state (or so it would seem from reading his work), Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Shark Net by Robert Drewe Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Ok. So most movies, books or long-running TV-orientated soaps tend to dwell on the sunnier side of living in Austrailia. Am I right? Sure, there are instances of scandal now and again amidst the emotionally challenged sprawl of Ramsey Street, but nothing too shocking or Read more...

Reviews, Books - Lost Horizon by James Hilton Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	This awesome tale of adventure and intrigue was first published in 1933 and still makes for a remarkable read, as four people are kidnapped in the Far-East and then somewhat inexplicably left stranded in a secluded Tibetan valley, an area that they soon come to know as Read more...

Reviews, Books - To the Poles Without a Beard by Catherine Hartley Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	This extraordinary woman was the first British woman to reach first the South Pole and then the North Pole (along with another lady called Fiona), and this is her story... Essentially an exquisite autobiography, this book starts out by chronicling Catherine's life - in brief - Read more...

Reviews, Films - Ae Fond Kiss by Ken Loach Reviewed By Jane Foster
	I've been a Ken Loach fan ever since I saw Kes. I tend to think of that film now as the million-times-better precursor to Billy Elliott ( I couldn't be doing with that schmaltzy effort). Loach is the king of social realism that hits you where it hurts, and yet leaves you with a lingering sense of having Read more...

Reviews, Books - Touching the Void by Joe Simpson Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Autobiographical tales don't come much more nail-biting than this living nightmare, recalled by mountaineer Joe who was left for dead on a snow-riddled peak in Peru back in 1985. After getting into trouble on the 21,000 ft Siula Grande with friend Simon Yates Read more...

Reviews, Books - One Man and his Bog - 20 Years of The Adelphi Reviewed By Michelle Dee
	I have just returned home from a Monday night at the Adelphi club on De Grey Street clutching a prized copy of the unique One Man and his Bog. (The History of the Adelphi) I had new dark Kit Kats to eat but I didn't spare them a thought, until I had read Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Julius Caesar at Hull Truck Wednesday 10th November 04 By Nicholas Boldock
	Predictably, Hull Truck dispenses with tradition for this pulsating performance of one of Shakespeare's most ambitious plays. The differences between Godber's version and Shakespeare's are glaring - an original cast of 51 is slashed to just 6 actors (although most of them play multiple roles) Read more...

Reviews, Films - Collateral By Steve Rudd
	Starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, this rollercoasting thrill-ride is one of the coolest of action movies to have hit the screen in 2004, as Summer goes out to the dogs and the first pangs of Autumn strike the air. Tom, like his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, never seems to stop working Read more...

Reviews, Books - Sitting Up with the Dead by Pamela Petro Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	In the manic style of Bill Bryson, Pamela Petro gets in her car and heads out around America in search of exciting new people, places and - above else - fantastic stories. Confining her extensive travels to the Eastern side of North America and, in particular, the South-East states of Alabama, Georgia Read more...

Reviews, Books - Mick Ronson: The Spider with the Platinum Hair by Weird and Gilly Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Born and bred in Hull, Mick Ronson indeed did come from extremely humble beginnings to become one of Britain's most respected musicians and producers. Born in 1946, it was in the early seventies that Mick first became well known through his work with David Bowie, with ace guitarist Mick Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Gaffer! at York Theatre Royal By Nick Quantrill
	Gaffer! is a one-man black-comedy which sees Deka Walmsley deliver a convincing portrayal of a variety of comedy football characters and caricatures. The central character is George, manager of struggling Northbridge Town. George and Northbridge Town are old school. George has strong socialist values Read more...

Reviews, Films - Alien VS Predator By Steve Rudd
	Whoever came up with the bright idea of violently pitting Alien against Predator sure deserves a pat on the back and a raucous round of applause, for this big-budget movie scores on many levels. Whereas the bulk of the Alien franchise has long relied on atmospheric tension rather than all-out action Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Promise of Bruce Springsteen by Eric Alterman. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Brucie, we need you - and more than ever! A true rock 'n' roll star in every sense and then some, Bruce has had a truly staggering career in the music business, and even as we maniacally rush headlong into the 21st Century he is more popular than ever. This biography of Read more...

Reviews, Films - Open Water By Steve Rudd
	I really don't understand why this movie was ever made. Based on true events, this follows a couple of young lovers (Daniel Travis and blonde bombshell Blanchard Ryan) on a diving day-out as part of a vacation they're taking together. Before we know it, they've been stranded in the middle Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Beach by Alex Garland Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Escape through travel works. Almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless. Seat-belt signs lit up, problems switched off. Broken armrests took precedence over broken hearts. Before the hit movie there was the cult novel written by an unknown Read more...

Reviews, Theatre - Fields of Gold at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough By Nick Quantrill
	For some time now thisisUll.com has been bringing news and reviews of events that are happening in Hull. It is quite noticeable that what is going unreported is what's happening in the near-by towns surrounding the city of Hull. Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Body by Hanif Kureishi Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	I imagine that to participate in the world with curiosity and pleasure, to see the point of what is going on, you have to be young and uninformed. Do I want to participate? This is an incredibly compelling novel from Kent-born Hanif (who proves himself to be ever-the-philosopher) Read more...

Reviews, Films - Five Children and It Reviewed by Ruth Wilson
	The other day I went to the UGC cinema in Hull to see 5 Children and It. It was a very good film, based on a book by E. Nesbit. It's about 5 children (surprise, surprise! I can't remember their names, though!) who get sent to live with their loopy uncle in the country during the Read more...

Kids, Reviews, Books - Freak-Outs and Very Secret Secrets by Karen McCombie Reviewed by Ruth Whitehouse
	I have recently read a brilliant book called Friends, Freak-Outs and Very Secret Secrets by Karen McCombie, a teenage book, part of the Ally's World Series. If you want me to be precise, it's number 4. Now, onto the actual review. It is about a teenage girl called Ally who has a best friend Read more...

Reviews, Books - Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Reaching the top of Everest is supposed to trigger a surge of intense elation; against long odds, afterall, I had just attained a goal I'd coveted since childhood. But the summit was really only the halfway point. Any impulse I might have felt toward self-congratulation Read more...

Reviews, Books - Down Under by Bill Bryson Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	As I write this review it is the height of British summertime, and as I'm staring outside the window at 8:30 PM it's almost black dark out there and pouring it down with rain. Which is - to extents - to be expected, given the UK's terminally unpredictable climate. No wonder Read more...