The Spy Who Dumped Me review: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon star in this surprisingly violent spy-spoof comedy August 23, 2018 A spy-spoof action-comedy starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, The Spy Who Dumped Me is way more violent and funny than the lazy, mid-90s punning title would suggest. But the pair work remarkably well together on screen, making for an unexpectedly sparky and entertaining duo in a movie that swings madly from some actually-very-good gunfights [...]
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy review: The return of the series’ winning formula disguises a lack of new ambition August 23, 2018 You would think that by this point, about half a dozen games into the Uncharted series, we’d have explored every tomb that ever was. That we’d have plundered every haunted crypt filled with swinging blades and little piles of dusty skulls, pillaged the very last mausoleum’s worth of goblets and swiped the world’s only [...]
Idris Elba sparks Bond speculation with string of cryptic tweets August 12, 2018 British film star Idris Elba has set the internet alight with rumour, following a string of cryptic tweets that hinted he was set to become the first non-white actor cast as James Bond. Elba, star of Luther and Beasts of No Nation, tweeted the message ‘my name’s Elba, Idris Elba’ early on Sunday morning, a [...]
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 [...]