Film review: Self/less is slick but not memorable July 16, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★★☆☆ Immortality is rarely given a positive spin in Hollywood – from mopey vampires to haunted Wolverines, it appears living forever ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. The latest to tread this path is Tarsem Singh’s Self/Less, in which a dying businessman (Ben Kingsley) pays for a secret, expensive procedure to [...]
Film review: Ant-Man is entertaining but forgettable July 16, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★★☆☆ Ant-Man is an entertaining but largely forgettable romp set on the peripheries of the rapidly expanding Marvel universe. It follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), an earnest ex-con who accidentally steals a suit that can shrink him to the size of an ant (it also allows him to talk to ants). He’s [...]
Perfect Saturday July 16, 2015 AUSSIE BREAKFAST FARM GIRL Forget fry ups, treat your hangover to a nutritious breakfast at new opening Farm Girl. Set up by 26-year-old Rose Mann, it brings the food of her rural upbringing in Melbourne to Portobello Road. Open Tuesday to Sunday, serving breakfast all day, thefarmgirl.co.uk SUMMER LOVIN’ HACKNEY VILLAGE FETE St John-at-Hackney Church [...]
Art review: Soundscapes add new dimension to old masters July 9, 2015 National Gallery | ★★★★☆ “Discover a new way of experiencing paintings,” says the promotional material for Soundscapes, the new exhibition at the National Gallery. Such proclamations risk any soundscapes being drowned out by a cacophony of tutting from critics. “Do we really need a new way of experiencing paintings,” you can hear them imploring. “What’s [...]
Film review: Ted 2 is a barrel of silly laughs July 9, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★☆☆ It hasn’t been a great year for adult comedy. Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart collaboration Get Hard underwhelmed, while films such as Unfinished Business and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 had critics seething and audiences shrugging. Next up, Ted 2, Seth MacFarlane’s sequel to his $500m 2012 hit about immature Bostonian John (Mark [...]
Theatre review: To Kill A Mockingbird July 9, 2015 Barbican | ★★★★☆ When great books are adapted for the stage, a great deal can be lost in translation: a couple told me during the interval, for instance, that after seeing a stage version of To Kill A Mockingbird, their son spent a fruitless afternoon in the library looking for “Tequila Mockingbird”. There’s little chance [...]
Theatre review: A Number July 9, 2015 Young Vic | ★★★½ This revival of Caryl Churchill’s 2002 play takes place in a sealed glass box, the audience gazing voyeuristically in like scientists observing participants in an experiment. A man and his son (played by real life father and son John and Lex Shrapnel) are in a state of distress – they have [...]
Perfect Saturday July 9, 2015 BREAKFAST RIVINGTON GREENWICH The Greenwich-based sister restaurant to Shoreditch’s Rivington Grill is the perfect place for some hair of the dog TLC before the weekend really starts. The Bloody Marys are legendary, as is the lengthy house cocktail list. The best breakfast in south east London. Visit rivingtongreenwich.co.uk WAY OUT EAST HYPER JAPAN As you’re [...]
Chance to see David Hockney’s iPad doodles: The octogenarian artist fearlessly embraces tech to create fresh artworks July 8, 2015 David Hockney lived in California for most of his life, but moved back to Bridlington in east Yorkshire – where he grew up – in 2005. Returning home proved beneficial for his state of mind and artistic output. Having built a glittering career on the back of sunny, semi-abstract paintings of salubrious LA living, the Briton [...]
Perfect Saturday July 2, 2015 LATE MORNING INDEPENDENCE DAY BRUNCH It’s Independence Day this Saturday, and to celebrate, Covent Garden’s trendy, New York-influenced Balthazar will be serving an American-inspired brunch including fancy hot dogs and Scotch beef brisket braised in barbecue sauce. Available from 10am till 4pm, call 02033011155 for details. AFTERNOON STIMULATION JOSEPH CORNELL The enigmatic and devoutly religious [...]