Lies at the Almeida review: A thrilling exploration of the psychology behind the 2008 financial crash August 3, 2018 Sitting through a play called Lies (or £¥€$, if the Anglicised version isn’t on-the-nose enough for you) about the excesses of the banking system sounds like the last way a City A.M. reader would want to spend an evening. But this production by Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, part psychological experiment, part multi-faceted board-game, is [...]
King Lear review: Ian McKellen is a master at work in Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy at the Duke of York’s theatre July 27, 2018 Sir Ian McKellen, titan of the thesps, returns to where it all started, the tiny but elegant Duke of York’s theatre where he made his West End debut in 1964. And that isn’t the only detail that makes this performance of King Lear feel like a victory lap of sorts. For many, McKellen is the [...]
Mission Impossible: Fallout review: The stupidly fun sequel takes the franchise to brilliant new heights July 26, 2018 Whatever Scientology-grade embalming fluid they’re submerging Tom Cruise in every evening, it’s doing the trick. In the sixth and best entry in the Mission Impossible franchise, Hollywood’s most successful stuntman once again defies his advancing years, charging headlong into some of the series’ most beautifully constructed and brilliant set pieces yet. Cruise hurls himself [...]
Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again review: A joyous summer fling that you’ll either love or hate July 20, 2018 I’ve never met a mum who didn’t like the film version of ABBA musical Mamma Mia. You can see why; it blasted them back to a past when you could leave the house in a spangly jumpsuit and dance to Waterloo in a club even if it wasn’t Cheese Night. And at heart, it was [...]
Pity at the Royal Court review: A shambolic take on modern society that has big ideas but abject execution July 20, 2018 Last year was a difficult time for the National’s Olivier theatre, with a run of less-than-brilliant productions that was enough for some to speculate it had lost its touch. A case in point was lacklustre modern fairytale Saint George and the Dragon written by Rory Mullarkey, a kind of Brexit pantomime for adults that [...]
The Lehman Trilogy at the national Theatre review: An astonishing play about the banking dynasty by a red-hot Sam Mendes July 19, 2018 To a generation, Sam Mendes is synonymous with Oscar-winning Hollywood films, from the introspective dramas of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road to big budget blockbusters like Skyfall and Spectre. But his relationship with the stage is far more enduring, beginning a decade before his cinematic debut, and encompassing a stint as artistic director of [...]
Hotel Artemis film review: A stylish but ultimately disappointing homage to John Wick July 19, 2018 Hotel Artemis is a film of almosts. It almost belies its meagre $14m budget. It almost has something to say about contemporary America. It almost puts an interesting sci-fi spin on a classic crime caper. It’s almost good. It begins with a paint-by-numbers bank heist gone awry, although this is soon revealed to be [...]
Skyscraper review: Dwayne Johnson jumping around on top of a tall building is precisely as entertaining as that sounds July 12, 2018 Having recently fought a malevolent board game in Jumanji: Return to the Jungle, and wrestled giant mutant monsters in Rampage, Hollywood’s busiest stack of sentient beef Dwayne Johnson is back to face off against his largest foe yet, the world’s tallest skyscraper. Mountains and small moons must now be shaking in their enormous boots, [...]
Pressure review: David Haig’s geeky play highlights one of World War Two’s most interesting footnotes June 22, 2018 If there’s one thing the British enjoy more than talking about the weather, it’s making the glib observation that the British enjoy talking about the weather. But David Haig’s high-stakes play about cold fronts is anything but banal weather chat. Pressure is a love letter to the country’s uniquely capricious skies, telling the true [...]
Freak Show review: A coming of age queer comedy undermined by an unlikeable hero June 22, 2018 A coming-of-age high-school comedy-drama about a queer teenager alienated for his fabulous and gender-smashing fashion sense, Freak Show casts rising star Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game) as the camp-as-tits Billy Bloom. He idolises his cackling diva mother (Bette Midler), but when she up and vanishes he’s forced to move to his father’s sprawling stately [...]