Life, the universe, everything July 7, 2011 Film THE TREE OF LIFE Cert: PG-13 A FILM whose purpose is a slow, dream-like pondering on the meaning of life, the universe and everything – from fiery planets and early amoebic life through to the disappointments and small dramas of our modern lives, and beyond into transcendental spirituality – is never going to be [...]
CULTURE FOR KIDS | WHAT TO DO THIS WEEKEND July 7, 2011 THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, WATERLOO STATION The acclaimed adaptation of E. Nesbitt’s classic children’s story has returned to the former Eurostar platforms and track at Waterloo Station for another deserved run. Set in the Yorkshire dales, the story of the three Waterbury children entranced by steam trains and helping to prove their wrongly-imprisoned father’s innocence, is [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK | FILM, MUSIC, GAMES July 7, 2011 FILM TRUST David Schwimmer (yes, Ross himself) directs this nuanced look at a family crisis, with Clive Owen. SUPER Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon star in yet another post-modern, post-Kick Ass superhero romp. LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD Alain Resnai’s classic of French New Wave cinema from 1961, on re-release. DVD THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU [...]
House prices bounce back, Halifax says July 6, 2011 BRITAIN’S housing market slump may have turned a corner according to a leading house price survey released yesterday. The average house price rose by 1.2 per cent to £163,049 in June — “broadly unchanged from that in December”, according to the Halifax. On the less volatile three-month measure, prices were down just 0.5 per cent [...]
From zero to bestseller July 6, 2011 SANCTUS was an instant hit when it came out in April. Waterstones shopfronts were full of it, it quickly climbed the bestseller list and the author is tipped as the next (but much more talented) Dan Brown. Yet before he wrote Sanctus – which is the first in a trilogy commissioned by Harper Collins – [...]
VEXED IN THE CITY : SOLVING YOUR LOVE & LIFE PROBLEMS July 6, 2011 DEAR VEXED: Summer party season has meant lots of drinking with colleagues. I keep getting drunk in front of them and regretting it the next day – not that I’ve done anything terrible (yet). I can’t figure out where to draw the line – is it acceptable, professionally and socially, to booze in front of [...]
City Boy strikes again, this time in danger July 6, 2011 The ex-columnist has lost his sparkle with this heavy-handed tome JUST BUSINESS BY GERAINT ANDERSON Headline, £12.99 CITY Boy, aka Geraint Anderson, rode the success of the City in its pre-crunch prime in two ways. One: by raking in the cash in a Chateau Margaux fuelled frenzy and two, by capitalising on people’s fascination with the [...]
Crafted for a better taste July 6, 2011 THE British pub industry may be in crisis, with scores of venues reportedly closing around the country each week, but there’s one side of it that’s bubbling along rather nicely. Bars that are dedicating their trade to the kind of specialist, low-volume beers you can’t find in mainstream pubs are on the rise, as are [...]
Keeping it cool behind closed doors July 6, 2011 IN recent weeks secret doorways have been surfacing across London. Following in the footsteps of clandestine operations Eight Bank, ECC, Crazy Bear Members Club and more recently The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town (which can only be entered through a Smeg refrigerator) a little black door has just appeared on Orchard Street by Selfridges. The [...]
OUT OF OFFICE July 6, 2011 WILTON’S SUMMER FESTIVAL One of London’s most magnificent and historic music venues, Wilton’s Music Hall is playing host to all sorts of musical and theatrical diversions this summer. As well as an eclectic comedy programme for the London Comedy Festival, there will be live music, illusionists, contortionists, films and cabaret artists, all falling under the [...]