Déraciné review: A virtual reality puzzler about haunting a boarding school November 30, 2018 From the studio that created Dark Souls, a twisted Gothic action RPG so infamously challenging that it’s become gaming shorthand for punishing difficulty, comes Deracine, a ponderous virtual reality puzzler set in a Victorian boarding school, in which you take on the role of a mischievous fairy playing tricks on the residents. Headset on, you [...]
Ralph Breaks the Internet review: Heart and jokes combine to make this video games drama a hit November 30, 2018 Wreck-It Ralph became a surprise hit two years ago thanks to its nostalgia-tingling portrayal of retro video games. Now the reformed bad guy, voiced by John C Reilly, is back and heading into The Internet in order to save the game of his best friend, Vanellope (Sarah Silverman). With a host of online obstacles in [...]
Roma film review: Alfonso Cuarón’s follow-up to Gravity is a meandering, neorealist valentine to the Mexico City November 30, 2018 Alfonso Cuarón is that rare thing, a director who has achieved the holy trinity of relevance, critical acclaim and widespread popularity. His last film, Gravity, was a CGI spectacular with a $100m budget. What better way to follow it than with a meandering, neorealist valentine to the Mexico City of his youth? Roma’s unhurried, ethereal [...]
Disobedience film review: Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams shine in Sebastián Lelio’s lesbian drama November 30, 2018 Chilean-Argentine director Sebastián Lelio chooses an unlikely setting for his first English language film: the austere surrounds of a North London orthodox Jewish community. It begins with something of a mission statement: an ageing rabbi, in what turn out to be his final sermon, asks what it means to be disobedient. The angels cannot deviate from [...]
We planned a foodie road trip around Wales that you can complete in four days November 27, 2018 It took me 30 years to get to Wales. I never had an aversion to it, it was just easier to get on a plane than it was to learn how to drive. As a lifelong Londoner with no family to visit regularly beyond the M25, there was no immediate reason to learn, so I [...]
Make the creative arts ‘compulsory for all GCSE pupils’, says Royal Albert Hall director November 25, 2018 The creative arts should be compulsory for all GCSE students, the artistic director of the Royal Albert Hall said today. Lucy Noble said school children in England and Wales should take at least one creative subject, such as drama, music, art, design or dance, until the age of 16 to help boost future talent in [...]
David Hockney’s pool painting breaks record for living artist at auction with $90m sale November 17, 2018 David Hockney's iconic painting of a man by a swimming pool has been sold for $90.3m (£70.3m) at an auction in New York, smashing the previous record for the highest price paid at auction for work by a living artist. The 1972 piece, named "Potrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)", was bought by an [...]
The Crimes of Grindelwald review: Pure Potter fodder November 16, 2018 Two years on from Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the Harry Potter spin-off returns. Set in 1920s Paris, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes custody and is planning an uprising of Pure Blood wizards intent on overthrowing those loser muggles. To stop him, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as an [...]
La Bayadere review: The Royal Opera House’s production of an Indian fantasy is a surrealist spectacle November 16, 2018 As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, the thought of hunkering down in luxurious surroundings to watch a ballet becomes ever-more appealing. And there couldn’t be a better contrast to this chilly dark season than La Bayadere. This Indian fantasy is a sumptuous riot of colour, full of imagery of sacred flames [...]
Hadestown at the National Theatre review: Great tunes help mask a modern musical that doesn’t quite click November 16, 2018 Hadestown is the latest breakout musical to transfer from Broadway to London, with a run at the National Theatre almost certain to be followed by a sold-out stint on the West End. It’s a modern, stylised retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the original star-crossed lovers who even death couldn’t separate. After meeting [...]