Matinee is keen to establish in the opening moments that their show is all about the love for cinema and launches on to perform four different, mainly silent, segments, or mini movies. Always parodying the genres, and with the tongue firmly in cheek, they tackle the superhero genre, Kung Fu films, terror and he detective story, with more or less success.
While the performers are highly qualified, and do get giggles from the audience, everything on stage seems a bit over-familiar, with nothing new to add to the already done idea. And though some segments do work, others drag on with laughs further and further between.
The starting sketch is a cracker, and their mix of Superman and King Kong, has the whole auditorium laughing. It is a promising beginning, with simple props, perfectly executed mime and funny sound effects. Though the second segment does have a couple of great moments, it doesn’t do much to stick in your mind once it is finished.
The third sketch, where they emulate Chinese/Japanese films, dubbing and all, feels longer than it really is, making the momentum built at the start dip completely. It is a bit ill conceived, even when it does have the best character of all those portrayed.
To finish it all off, they have their horror film, a mixture of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and ‘Nightmare in Elm Street’, which has some beautifully realised moments, but on the whole suffers from a very weak storyline.
All in all, Matinee does less than it promises, and even though in places it is very clever, it suffers from not enough jokes, and an under-developed script. A real pity, since all the actors are excellent and you are rooting for them the whole way through.
3/5 
Adrian G. Velazquez
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