The Waterloo Wetherspoons is utterly miserable: Of course it is September 3, 2024 In accordance with tradition, I am in the grips of a savage and well deserved hangover as I enter The Lion & The Unicorn, the massive new Wetherspoons that opened yesterday at Waterloo Station. It takes its name from the Lion and Unicorn Pavilion that was constructed for the 1951 Festival of Britain, a celebration [...]
Hollywood’s slow transition: Transgender representation is slowly, slowly improving September 3, 2024 The work of Elliot Page shows that transgender inclusion is about adding more voices rather than anything being taken away, says Victoria Luxford. This week sees the release of Close To You, Elliot Page’s first film role since coming out as a transgender man in 2020. The story of Sam, a trans man who returns [...]
Check these amazing photos of surviving Victorian London pubs September 2, 2024 London has many great things going for it, but among the very best are its great pubs. Many of the traditional “gin palace” style Victorian pubs are functioning relics of a bygone era, listed buildings that stand defiantly against the march of town-planning progress. Photographer Nahidul, who goes by the handle @LondonPubFacades, has made a [...]
Strange dreams: Lessons from the life of Paul Simon August 29, 2024 An essay on what I have absorbed over a lifetime listening to Paul Simon What do you need to make a musical career? I’d say it comes down to one thing: a talent for immediacy. If you don’t have it, the chances are you’ll lose out to someone who does. I remember when I first [...]
Mandoob (Night Courier) film: Drama shows another side to Saudi August 29, 2024 The changing face of Saudi Arabia provides the setting for Ali Kalthami’s debut feature. Mandoob (Night Courier in English) is a thriller about Fahad (Mohammad Aldokhei), a man working in Riyadh who is struggling to make ends meet with an ailing father to support. Things get worse when he dramatically loses his job at a [...]
Definitely Not: Why I won’t be queuing for Oasis tickets on Saturday August 27, 2024 Appropriately for a column about a pair of Catholic lads, I am what you might call a lapsed Oasis fan. As a teenager I had a full collection of their singles, which came in those tiny little half-width jewel cases I haven’t seen out in the wild for at least two decades. My friends and [...]
Venice Film Festival: An insider’s guide to all the gossip, parties and deals August 27, 2024 The 81st Venice Film Festival kicks off tomorrow and it’s set to continue its legacy as a hotbed of dealmakers, party goers and luxury brand sponsorship. Our man on the inside gives the lowdown on what to expect this time around. “The Ghost with the Most is Back” proclaim the Venetian billboards for Tim Burton’s [...]
Sven film review: A graceful goodbye to the former England boss August 21, 2024 Amazon’s latest profile of a sporting hero should be a cause for nostalgia, coming 20 years after Sven-Göran Eriksson peak as England manager in Euro 2004. However, it’s tinged with sadness, as in January the Swedish football manager announced he has around a year to live having battled pancreatic cancer. This documentary, filmed both before [...]
Five stars: Kneecap film is among the best of the year August 21, 2024 Kneecap, the rap group that perform in the Irish language, tell their story in a riotous rise to fame comedy-drama. Liam Ó Hannaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin are listless members of ‘The Ceasefire Generation’ in West Belfast, living off dealing drugs and avoiding the police. One night, when Liam gets arrested, an Irish interpreter (JJ [...]
Zoe Kravitz unsettling Blink Twice is a chilling debut August 21, 2024 Zoe Kravitz, star of The Batman and Fantastic Beasts films, steps behind the camera for a startling debut that signals the beginning of a second stage in her career. Blink Twice stars Naomi Ackie as Frida, a cocktail waitress who by chance meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). The pair hit it off, with [...]