Pitt’s latest is blunt, violent and zingy as hell September 20, 2012 FILM KILLING THEM SOFTLY Cert 18 | **** Killing Them Softly has the kind of script that, in lesser hands, and with lesser actors, could have been laughably bad. But director Andrew Dominik, the man behind the excellent The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, never blinks as he unfurls this ultra-violent, [...]
These contrasting dramas have their moments but are sunk by insurmountable flaws September 20, 2012 FILM SAVAGES Cert 15 | ** Oliver Stone’s latest follows the progress of cannabis farmers Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and the beautiful beach bum girlfriend that they share, O (Blake Lively). Bound by a mutual devotion to O and getting stoned, Ben and Chon live in hazy harmony in their massive cannabis [...]
London fashion week: the trend report September 19, 2012 Neon After last season’s preoccupation with dark glamour, the neutral colours making the rounds this season have been quite the palette cleanser. But the collections haven’t been completely without colour. Even John Rocha, who doesn’t tend to steer too far from monochromatic hues, introduced colour for the first time on a series of neon dresses. [...]
Stars of the screen September 19, 2012 There is a pleasing symmetry to the renewed popularity of the home projector. Back in the early days of film, all the way back in the 1890s, the cinematograph was the only way most people could experience the thrill of the moving picture. Devices like the Lumière Brothers cinematograph – a film camera and projector [...]
In defence of the skeuomorph September 19, 2012 Apple’s new phone has already become the single most coveted thing in the history of human existence, storming past the Holy Grail, basic sustenance, love and even existence itself (posing some difficult ontological questions that people are too distracted by the iPhone 5 to properly consider). Ahead of the official launch tomorrow, Apple has begun [...]
Bloomberg’s beast of a relay September 19, 2012 If the Olympics has left you itching to bask in your own bit of athletic glory but without putting in the hours, there’s still time to enter Bloomberg’s Square Mile Relay this Thursday. And with 10 miles per ten-man team, you only have to go flat out for a mile in your attempt to win [...]
This Cee’d is a dad-car with bite September 18, 2012 Fatherhood is far from dull, except when it comes to motoring. First, you have to get a car with at least four seats, rather than two. Then, your primary considerations are how much stuff it can carry and how economical it is. Perhaps the Volvo 240 epitomised this best: the squarest car of all time, [...]
Car Talk September 18, 2012 Smart Forstars coupé concept goes on display Smart is introducing this electrically-driven Smart Forstars coupé concept at next week’s Paris motor show. The car seats two passengers, has a glass roof above – hence the name – and has a video projector in the bonnet, which is certain never to make production. What is interesting [...]
The locks lowdown September 17, 2012 FASHION moves so fast it is often hard to keep up. Gone are the days of the mods and rockers, collections being shown in the spring and the spring/summer 2013 collections having been broadcast across London only in the last few days, it all becomes very confusing. Should we be wearing autumn styles now or [...]
Business as usual at London Fashion Week September 17, 2012 British designers have achieved the balance between creative flair and commercial nous London Fashion Week has been another creative success – British designers know they have nothing left to prove on that front. But its success over the past few seasons is increasingly owed to its shrewd business acumen. Traditionally, the capital has been criticised [...]