Lifestyle

  • Camp Carrey in strange but true romance
    Friday, 19th March 2010
    The Hollywood comic breaks daring new ground in his latest role
    Timothy Barber
    Film I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS Cert: 18 Jim Carrey has never played it weirder than in this so-strange-it-must-be-true (and it is) story of a conman who became one of the most persistent escape artists in the American penal system, all for the love of another man. Written and directed by the creators of 2003’s gloriously wicked Bad Santa, I Love You Phillip Morris is the story of Steven Russell, equal parts creep and charmer, who happens to have a talent for telling porkies that would put Bernie Madoff to shame. Ironically, it’s in giving up a lie – the pretence of being a God-fearing,... [Read more]

  • Animation fails to bring Alice alive
    Friday, 5th March 2010
    Visual tricks are not enough to make this blockbuster exciting
    Timothy Barber
    Film ALICE IN WONDERLAND Cert: PG THE idea of Tim Burton turning his imaginative powers to Lewis Carroll’s children’s fantasy, and roping in his old mucker Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in the... [Read more]
  • SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 5th March 2010
    FILMS, MUSIC, GAMES
    FILM Ponyo Japanese auteur Hayao Miyazaki’s latest flight of imagination is his uniquely surreal take on The Little Mermaid. ART Richard Hamilton Tate Modern’s fascinating retrospective of the... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 5th March 2010
    PREVIEWS
    FILM LEGION Supernatural thriller with Paul Bettany as an angel saving the world from God’s wrath. Sure. ONDINE Colin Farrell plays an Irish fisherman who thinks he’s caught a mermaid in his net.... [Read more]

  • Travolta goes over the top in Paris
    Friday, 26th February 2010
    A wildly over-acting superstar, complete with silly facial hair, can’t rescue this absurd action flick
    Film FROM PARIS WITH LOVE Cert: 15 YOU certainly can’t accuse this action comedy of being slow – its 90 minutes whistle by in a hale of bullets, explosions, cars, bodies and dodgy wisecracks. So it... [Read more]
  • OUT OF WEEKEND
    Friday, 26th February 2010
    PREVIEWS
    FILM MICMACS AMELIE AND DELICATESSEN DIRECTOR JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET SERVES UP ANOTHER DAZZLING FANTASY. EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES ROPEY DRAMA WITH HARRISON FORD TRYING TO FIND A CURE FOR POMPE DISEASE.... [Read more]
  • Find a new you with a new look
    Tuesday, 23rd February 2010
    Makeup guru Lauren Luke shares her top tips for City women
    Zoe Strimpel
    LAUREN Luke’s life was not going anywhere when she decided to ditch her job as a taxi dispatcher in a town near Newcastle and begin selling makeup on eBay. To accompany the products, she took photos... [Read more]
  • Bridges stakes his Oscar claim in a hoary old tale
    Friday, 19th February 2010
    This story about a washed up musician may be hackneyed
    Timothy Barber
    Film CRAZY HEART WERE it not for Jeff Bridges’ dazzling central performance, Crazy Heart would be a hard sell, particularly in this country. The story of a washed-up, hard-living country music star... [Read more]
  • Mel is back in his gritty comfort zone
    Friday, 29th January 2010
    Gibson does what he does best in a manly cop thriller
    Timothy Barber
    Film EDGE OF DARKNESS Cert: 15 FOR those old enough to remember, Edge of Darkness was originally a critically acclaimed BBC thriller broadcast in the mid-80s. Its director, Martin Campbell, went on... [Read more]
  • ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 29th January 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    FILM THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG Disney makes a return to hand-drawn animation and fairy tales. ADORATION Director Atom Egoyan’s drama stars Devon Bostick as a troubled teenager. BREATHLESS South... [Read more]
  • Clive Owen proves that he’s the daddy
    Friday, 22nd January 2010
    A strong central turn and nuanced script help stave off the schmaltz in this true story
    Film THE BOYS ARE BACK Cert: 12A NOTHING to do with Thin Lizzy (sadly), this adaptation of Simon Carr’s memoir stars Clive Owen as Joe, a macho Brit sports journalist living in happy isolation on the... [Read more]
  • ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 22nd January 2010
    PREVIEWS
    FILM BROTHERS Powerful post-Afghanistan drama with Toby Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhal. A PROPHET Stunning French film about an Arab man who becomes a kingpin in a French prison.... [Read more]
  • A corporate hit-man with a heart
    Friday, 15th January 2010
    George Clooney is brilliant as a man who fires people for a living but finds his softer side
    Film UP IN THE AIR Cert: 15 IN an age when films are sometimes made two years before they are released, Up in the Air’s most obvious selling point is its timeliness. Jason Reitman, director of Oscar-... [Read more]
  • ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 15th January 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    FILM THE BOOK OF ELI Denzel Washington goes into action in post-apocalyptic America. ALL ABOUT STEVE Sandra Bullock plays a zany crossword expert who falls for her blind date. Dreadful. CRUDE... [Read more]
  • Love triumphs on the road to hell
    Friday, 8th January 2010
    What has to be the bleakest road movie ever sets a deeply gloomy tone for the new year
    Film THE ROAD Cert: 18 IT’S hard to imagine a less happy future than the one conjured up by this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. In last month’s disaster flick 2012, we... [Read more]
  • SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 8th January 2010
    FILMS, MUSIC, GAMES
    THEATRE – Red Alfred Molina stars as expressionist painter Mark Rothko in John Logan’s two-hander at the Donmar Warehouse. FILM – Tokyo Story Japan’s Yasujiro Ozu is thought by some to be cinema’s... [Read more]
  • ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 8th January 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    FILM SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK & ROLL Andy Serkis puts in a sterling performance in this biopic of Blockhead-in-chief Ian Dury. DAYBREAKERS Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke – no, come back – battle... [Read more]
  • A true blue sci-fi classic
    Friday, 18th December 2009
    Titanic director has a hit on his hands with an epic tale of eco-friendly aliens
    Timothy Barber
    Film AVATAR Cert: 12a It’s the most expensive and technically ambitious film ever made, and the most hyped – and wouldn’t you know it, it’s also pretty good. Avatar is a compendium of director James... [Read more]
  • Knightley shines in biting satire
    Friday, 18th December 2009
    Theatre - First Night THE MISANTHROPE Comedy Theatre FOR HER theatrical debut, Keira Knightley plays a Hollywood starlet accused of the same beauty-over-talent deficiencies with which Knightley... [Read more]
  • WHAT TO ENJOY THIS CHRISTMAS FILMS, MUSIC, GAMES
    Friday, 18th December 2009
    FILM NINE Daniel Day-Lewis leads Chicago director Rob Marshall’s star-studded tribute to Italian cinema. NOWHERE BOY Former YBA Sam Taylor-Wood’s biopic of John Lennon’s early years. DID YOU HEAR... [Read more]
  • What's in the box? Not very much
    Friday, 4th December 2009
    It's based on a simple Twilight Zone idea, but Richard Kelly's science fiction saga is a mess
    FilmTHE BOXCert: 12A WHAT would you do if a stranger with half a face offered you a box, and explained that if you pressed the button inside it you could win $1m but a stranger would die? Probably... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 4th December 2009
    PREVIEWS
    FILM ME AND ORSON WELLES Zac Efron stars as a teenager cast in an Orson Welles play. DEPARTURES Charming Japanese film about a cellist who ends up preparing the dead for burial. DISGRACE John... [Read more]
  • Fairly normal horror flick is no Blair Witch
    Friday, 27th November 2009
    Despite having scared the pants off American audiences, this hand-held job lacks impact
    FilmPARANORMAL ACTIVITYCert:15 PARANORMAL ACTIVITY has caused quite a hullabaloo in the States where it has taken $150m, having been made for just $15,000. It follows the now-familiar blueprint... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 27th November 2009
    PREVIEWS
    FILM LAW ABIDING CITIZEN Denzel Washington and ever-busy Scotsman Gerard Butler clash in this so-so thriller. BUNNY AND THE BULL Surreal comedy from the director of TV comedy hit The Mighty Boosh.... [Read more]
  • Damon excels in portrait of a whisteblower
    Friday, 20th November 2009
    But Stephen Soderbergh's tale of corporate angst is just too gentle
    Timothy Barber
    FilmTHE INFORMANT!Cert: 12AMATT Damon plays a senior executive and whistleblower in the latest film from prolific director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Out of Sight). But this isn’t the... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 20th November 2009
    PREVIEWS
    FILMGLORIOUS 39 From director Stephen Poliakoff, a film about an British family on the eve of war.EXAMINED LIFE Documentary about contemporary philosophers in New York. CHRISTMAS IN WONDERLAND... [Read more]
  • The disaster film to end disaster films
    Friday, 13th November 2009
    The carnage is truly epic, but it's a shame no one bothered to come up with a good story
    Film2012Cert: 12ABYTHETIME you come blinking out of the cinema, you’d be forgiven for thinking it is 2012, so long and exhausting is the latest film from large-scale disaster specialist Roland... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 13th November 2009
    PREVIEWS
    FILMCOLD SOULS Existential comedy about an actor who loses his soul, with Paul Giamatti. AMELIA Lacklustre biopic about the pilot Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank. TAKING woodstock Comedy about... [Read more]
  • OUT OF OFFICE
    Friday, 6th November 2009
    REVIEW
    FILM BRIGHT STAR Ben Wishaw stars as Thomas Keats in Jane Campion’s powerful biopic. A CHRISTMAS Carol Animated version of the Dickens classic, with Jim Carrey as Scrooge. CD ROBBIE WILLIAMS... [Read more]
  • Who you gonna call? Goat busters
    Friday, 6th November 2009
    Clooney, McGregor et al are on witty form, but this tale of psychic soldiery just misses the mark
    FilmTHE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATSCert: 15 YOU couldn’t make it up – and indeed, the makers of this film didn’t. Based on British writer Jon Ronson’s book, this film takes us... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND
    Friday, 30th October 2009
    PREVIEWS
    FILM9 Dark animation set in a dystopian world, about a ragdoll given life after humanity destroys itself. DEAD MAN RUNNING 50 Cent makes an unlikely appearance in this Brit gangster thriller. AN... [Read more]
  • A Sentimental education Sixties-style
    Friday, 30th October 2009
    A brilliant coming of age film set in post war Britain could bring its leading lady an Oscar nomination
    FilmAN EDUCATIONCert: 12A AN Education began life as a short story and memoir by journalist Lynn Barber, which appeared in the literary journal Granta. Small but pithy, it was about Barber’s... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND REVIEWS
    Friday, 23rd October 2009
    DVDLE DONK & SCOR-ZAY-ZEE Terrific low-budget comedy from Brit director Shane Meadows. MONSTERS VS ALIENS Animated fun about friendly monsters battling daft aliens. MUSICCHERYL COLE The X Factor... [Read more]
  • A not so fantastic version of Roald Dahl's kids' classic
    Friday, 23rd October 2009
    The old-fashioned animation makes a refreshing change, but just who is this weird and haphazard film aimed at?
    FilmFANTASTIC MR FOXCert: PG NOW that it’s pretty much de rigeur for animated kids’ films to be 3-D, computer-generated spectaculars, a Roald Dahl adaptation made with traditional stop-... [Read more]
  • Ledger takes his final bow in a surreal flight of fancy
    Friday, 16th October 2009
    Terry Gillliam pulls out all the psychedelic stops, but his London-set fantasy isn't the tribute to its star that it should have been
    FilmTHE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUSCert: 12a IF YOU are looking for a role that can stand as a testament to the talent of Heath Ledger, who died during the filming of this movie, then you would do... [Read more]
  • When it comes to the crunch, this is too trite
    Friday, 9th October 2009
    David Hare's explanation of the financial meltdown is fun but slightly pedestrian
    TheatreTHE POWER OF YESThe National Theatre*** “THIS is not a play,” the narrator announces ominously as the curtains open. Instead it is a “story” of the credit crunch... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 9th October 2009
    FILMZOMBIELAND Woody Harrelson kicks zombie butt in this loopy slice of schlock horror. LOVE HAPPENS Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart get to do the rom com thing. THE VANISHING OF THE BEES Eco-... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 2nd October 2009
    FILMPANDORUM Science fiction thriller with Denis Quaid and Ben Foster. VINYAN Horror thriller – of questionable taste – about a couple who lose their child in the tsunami. TOY STORY IN 3D... [Read more]
  • Gervais is on form, and that's no lie
    Friday, 2nd October 2009
    Britain's unlikeliest star proves he has what it takes to make it as a Hollywood funny man after all
    FilmTHE INVENTION OF LYING12A***RICKY GERVAIS is God. Or at least, that’s what he just about becomes in this quirky comedy which should be able to charm even those suffering from Gervais... [Read more]
  • A savage satire of corporate crime
    Friday, 25th September 2009
    The Enron scandal has been turned into an all-singing, all-dancing theatrical spectacular
    TheatreENRONRoyal Court TheatrePOST credit crunch, the Enron collapse might seem like a disaster from another age. But in Lucy Prebble’s scintillating play the scandal is shown as the blueprint... [Read more]
  • Oscar golden boy's stab at indie rom com is just too hip by half
    Friday, 18th September 2009
    Sam Mendes ticks all the trendy boxes but nothing more in his new film
    Timothy Barber
     FilmAWAY WE GOCert: 15 BURT and Verona are a couple of slacker thirtysomethings living in the middle of nowhere. She’s an illustrator, he sells insurance over the phone, and mostly they... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 18th September 2009
    FILMGAMER Brain-dead sci-fi action gubbins starring Scotland’s Gerard Butler. THE FIRM Another week, another film about footy hoolies. Nothing to do with John Grisham. 31 NORTH, 62 EAST British... [Read more]
  • Taking the gay out of Dorian Gray
    Friday, 11th September 2009
    A new version of Oscar Wilde's book should keep goths happy, but it's a shame it's been sanitised
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    FilmDORIAN GRAYCert: 12 THE Portrait of Dorian Gray is a story about a man with a terrible secret about the state of his soul, something that Oscar Wilde was no doubt very familiar with. While Dorian... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING FIVE OF THE BEST
    Friday, 11th September 2009
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    THEATRE: Arcadia A sell-out production of TomStoppard’s (right) classic drama stars Dan Stevens as the tutor Septimus and Neil Pearson as pushy modern don Bernard Nightingale. Until 12 Sep,... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 4th September 2009
    FILMBIG RIVER MAN Documentary following Mark Strel’s remarkable swim down the Amazon. GREEK PETE Drama about a young man working as an escort in London. PASSCHENDAELE Canadian film about one of... [Read more]
  • Stunning sci fi in a district of its own
    Friday, 4th September 2009
    It may not be from Hollywood, but this is the first great sci fi film of the twenty-first century
    FilmDISTRICT 9Cert: 15 FINALLY – a summer blockbuster worthy of the name. District 9, in which aliens visit earth and end up staying, is equal parts riveting sci fi saga, thrilling action... [Read more]
  • Not Quent's most glorious moment
    Friday, 21st August 2009
    Tarantino's take on old war movies annoys more than it impresses
    Timothy Barber
    FilmINGLOURIOUS BASTERDSCert: 18 THE LONG opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is a piece of scintillating cinematic bravado that must rank alongside the café scene that... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 21st August 2009
    FILMI LOVE YOU BETH COOPER Low-watt high school romance bobbins with Hayden Panettiere. SCARFACE Re-release time for Al Pacino’s crime lord and his “leedle friend”. CHIKO German... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 21st August 2009
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THEATRE Arcadia Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly inventive drama, starring Samantha Bond (left) ART Richard Long Tate Britain’s retrospective of the influential land artist. FILM Sin Nombre... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 14th August 2009
    FILMTHE PERFECT GETAWAY Psycho hriller with Milla Jovovich. IMAGINE THAT Eddie Murphy kids comedy. Yuck.ALIENS IN THE ATTIC Kids comedy along Gremlins lines. DVD90210 COMPLETE FIRST SEASON Whither... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 14th August 2009
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THEATRE: Troilus and Cressida  Matthew Dunster’s production at Shakespeare’s Globe features a standout turn from Matthew Kelly. FILM: Mesrine Killer Instinct Part one of the gangster... [Read more]
  • Weepie that fails the test of time
    Friday, 14th August 2009
    Rachel McAdams is excellent, but this sci-fi romance never reaches the heights of the book it's based on
    FilmThe Time Traveler’s wifeCert: 12A BASED on the best-selling and much-loved novel by Audrey Niffenegger, this film has its work cut out from the start. How do you depict a serious love story... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 7th August 2009
    FILM MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT Vincent Cassell stars in part one of this French gangster biopic. ADAM Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne star in a film about a relationship between two outsiders. MEGA SHARK VS... [Read more]
  • The chick flick that's an insult to womankind
    Friday, 7th August 2009
    Katherine Heigl fails to impress in a ropey rom com that panders to offensive cliches
    FilmTHE UGLY TRUTHCert: 15 SHE did it in Knocked Up and in 27 Dresses. Once again, Katherine Heigl steps into the role of a woman starved of love for being too uptight, too successful and too much of... [Read more]
  • The making of a French fashion icon
    Friday, 31st July 2009
    Audrey Tautou makes this Chanel biopic irresistable, even if "Coco" herself lacks charm
    FilmCOCO BEFORE CHANELCert: 12A SOME bad PR about Gabrielle, aka Coco, Chanel emerged on the release of this film, namely that she was anti-Semitic and homophobic (traits she pre shared with her Nazi... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 31st July 2009
    Timothy Barber
    FILM: Antichrist  Lars Von Trier’s makes brutal viewing, but it’s intriguing and beautiful too. ART: Radical Nature  The Barbican Centre’s look at 40 years of art... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 31st July 2009
    FILMCROSSING OVER Drama about US immigration issues, with Harrison Ford and Ray Liotta. G-FORCE Animated fun for the kids, about a crack team of specially trained guinea pigs. LAND OF THE LOST Will... [Read more]
  • The return of film's enfant terrible
    Friday, 24th July 2009
    Lars von Trier has made the most harrowing movie of the year
    Timothy Barber
    FilmANTICHRISTCert: 18 AFTER weeks of films vying to be the biggest of the year, it’s time for the one that already has the title sewn up of most harrowing and controversial. Lars von Trier has... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 24th July 2009
    FILMTHE PROPOSAL Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock star in a rom com desperately short on com. SKIN Sophie Okonedo stars in this true story about racism in South Africa’s apartheid years. ONCE... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 24th July 2009
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    FILM: Soul Power Terrific documentary about the concerts that accompanied the Foreman-Ali Rumble in the Jungle boxing match. THEATRE: A Little Night Music Trevor Nunn’s charming revival of... [Read more]
  • NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST
    Friday, 17th July 2009
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THEATRE:Jerusalem Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook star in playwright Jez Butterworth’s return to the Royal Court. ART: Corot to Monet The National Gallery rustles up its best Impressionist... [Read more]
  • OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS
    Friday, 17th July 2009
    FILMTHE INFORMERS Adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis’s novel, with Mickey Rourke and Rhys Ifans. FROZEN RIVER Strong US drama about illegal immigration, with Melissa Leo on Oscar-nominated form.... [Read more]
  • Hogwarts? It's Hollyoaks with broomsticks
    Friday, 17th July 2009
    Harry Potter falls prey to darker forces, including hormones
    Timothy Barber
    FilmHARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCECert: 12A AT THE START of the Harry Potter franchise, the films were fun. They were joyful affairs, full of the sweetness of JK Rowling’s imagination... [Read more]
  • It's big, but it's just not funny or a bit clever
    Friday, 10th July 2009
    After Borat, Bruno is a big, laugh-free disappointment
    Zoe Strimpel
    FilmBRUNOCert: 18I LIKED Borat, I did. I laughed out loud, enthusiastically, throughout. I like Ali G too. I get Sacha Baron Cohen’s shtick and I see his genius. At least I did until I sat... [Read more]