The Butler is classy – but too eager to teach November 14, 2013 FILM THE BUTLER Cert 12a | Three stars THE Butler examines African-Americans’ struggle for civil rights in the 20th century through events in the life of White House butler Cecil Gaines, who served seven presidents, from Eisenhower to Reagan. It is essentially Forrest Gump, with moral didacticism instead of heart-warming whimsy. It is clear from [...]
A brilliantly acted revival at The Clare November 14, 2013 THEATRE THE ISLAND The Clare at the Young Vic | Four stars DUST swirls under bright lights as you enter The Clare Theatre at The Young Vic. Two men – The Island’s only characters – shovel piles of sand into wheelbarrows, only to walk to the other side of the stage and tip it all [...]
An ugly, nasty Brit-flick with no redeeming features at all November 14, 2013 FILM DOM HEMINGWAY Cert 15 | One star SAFECRACKER Dom Hemingway (Jude Law pictured) has spent 12 years in prison. On his release he teams up with his friend Dickie (Richard E Grant) to retrieve the money he’s owed for keeping schtum. Along the way he settles old scores, seeks new employment, and tries to [...]
Reich’s minimal masterpiece played to an adoring crowd November 14, 2013 MUSIC STEVE REICH Royal Albert Hall | Five stars THIS week saw the death of Sir John Tavener, a twentieth century British composer who spent his entire career lapsing in and out of the public consciousness. The spiritually attuned Tavener first entered the spotlight after becoming an obsession of New Age-fixated 60s popstars (he was [...]
Clooney and Bullock excel in Gravity November 7, 2013 FILM GRAVITY Cert 12A | Five stars Just when you think you’ve got Gravity pegged – is it a disaster movie? A psycho-drama? – it floats off in an altogether different direction. In some ways, it’s a 90-minute action sequence – and a brilliant one at that – but calling it an action movie would [...]
A short, sharp Pinterian shock at The Print Room November 7, 2013 THEATRE THE DUMB WAITER The Print Room Theatre | Five stars THIS faultless adaptation of one of Harold Pinter’s shortest plays begins with Ben (Clive Wood) and Gus (Joe Armstrong) sitting in an airless paint-stripped basement. Both are nervous but each manages his anxiety differently. Ben tries to lose himself in the tawdry stories of [...]
Bits and bobs and not much else November 7, 2013 ART BILL WOODROW The Royal Academy | Two stars BILL Woodrow was part of the group of British sculptors that dominated the art scene before the YBAs ran riot in the nineties, but he never reached the stratospheric heights of some of his contemporaries. Three decades after their heyday, Tony Cragg, Anish Kapoor, Richard Deacon [...]
A Marvel-ous second outing October 31, 2013 FILM THOR: THE DARK WORLD Cert 12a | Four stars ONCE every five thousand years the nine realms align, and the dark elves use the opportunity to plunge the universe into darkness. To do this, they need the Aether, an ancient force of evil which – for inexplicable plot reasons – has possessed the body [...]
A real indie gem October 31, 2013 FILM SHORT TERM 12 Cert 15 | Four stars SHORT Term 12 has already won both the Grand Jury and Audience prize at this year’s South By South West festival: that’s some billing to live up to. It draws you into the tortured world of a temporary foster home for troubled teens. The various trials [...]
Modern drawing room farce disappoints, despite strong cast October 31, 2013 THEATRE RAVING Hampstead Theatre | Two stars I THOUGHT you didn’t agree with stereotypes?” says Keith to his wife Briony. “You’ve restored my faith in them,” she fires back, stingingly. Actor and playwright Simon Paisley Day obviously has plenty of faith in them, too – the whole of Raving is built on them. Keith (Barnaby [...]