The Midnight Sky review: George Clooney’s sci-fi flop December 24, 2020 George Clooney’s latest effort The Midnight Sky is a no-lose scenario for the star. Its release on Netflix means it won’t risk the ignominy of box office failure, a fate that befell his most recent film Suburbicon, and 2015 mega-bomb Tomorrowland. As well as lower stakes, the streamer has given him a broader canvas, with [...]
Chadwick Boseman’s captivating farewell in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a career best December 21, 2020 It’s hard to write about Netflix’s new musical drama without reflecting on the passing of its star. The death of Chadwick Boseman was felt around the world, such was his impact in the seven short years since his breakthrough in sporting biopic 42. While the quality of a movie seems trivial when compared to the [...]
The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 8 – S2E8 finale is pure Star Wars brilliance December 18, 2020 *** SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven’t watched the most recent episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2, look away now*** So here we are at the end of season two, with The Mandalorian having been largely successful in its second season efforts. The show has managed to raise the stakes while not losing the episodic nature [...]
How Cyberpunk, the generation’s most hyped game, turned into its biggest disaster December 18, 2020 The Witcher 3, released in 2015, is rarely far from the upper echelons of “Best Game Ever” lists. Developed by Polish studio CD Projekt Red, it was a sprawling, hugely ambitious RPG that refused to offer players a neat solution to its deftly written quests. In its squalid, low-fantasy world, sparing the life of some [...]
Selling off museum pieces to save jobs should not be a taboo — especially during a pandemic December 18, 2020 When a group of Royal Academy of Arts grandees recently suggested selling one of the institution’s masterpieces, it caused quite a stir. This was not just any artwork: it was Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, a great unfinished masterpiece that is considered among the Academy’s crown jewels. The proposal — auction it off for more than £100m [...]
City A.M. recognises work of 2020’s Business Heroes December 17, 2020 The business world has never seen its foundations shaken as they have been throughout 2020. Lockdown has been a huge challenge for both companies and their staff, with vast swathes of the population first placed on furlough and then grappling with the technological and social difficulties of working from home. City A.M. has certainly not [...]
Pixar’s Soul is another existential gem from Pixar December 17, 2020 The release of Pixar’s Soul is a bittersweet experience for many movie fans. Anything that comes from the production line of the animation powerhouse feels like an event, and event movies should arrive in a cinema, not just another block of content alongside murder documentaries and Bake Off boxsets. Nonetheless, Pixar’s 23rd feature arrives on [...]
Wonder Woman 1984: Gal Gadot shines in retro romp December 16, 2020 The news that Warner Bros would be simultaneously releasing their upcoming slate in cinemas and HBO Max shook the entertainment world, although most headlines buried the fact that this was a US-only deal. In the UK, this week’s sequel to Wonder Woman is still a cinema event, and a welcome one after months of scant [...]
London in Tier 3: Will the City return to normal after Covid? December 15, 2020 The decision to move London into Tier 3 at midnight on Wednesday, following substantial rises in Covid-19 cases, may mean further delays to City workers returning to the office. This will come as another disappointment to the City as it had planned to entice workers back into their offices during a ”back to work week” [...]
Catch The Dumb Waiter at Hampstead Theatre while you can December 12, 2020 Pinter, the greatest of modern playwrights, is probably best known for his love of a good pause. Well there have been plenty of those involved in this production of one of his most brilliant works, The Dumb Waiter. Originally slated to open in the spring, coronavirus has been jabbing at the pause button for months, [...]