Why, Robot? June 18, 2009 FilmTHE TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN Cert: 12A THIS is the second instalment in the Michael Bray special effects paradise that is The Transformers. There is little point trying to work out what’s going on – the plot is utterly baffling, with new characters, monsters, machines and storylines unleashed every few minutes. But to tax [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS June 18, 2009 FILM GIGANTIC – Inventive comedy drama with Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel. NORTH BY NORTHWEST – Re-release for Hitchcock’s landmark thriller, with Cary Grant. KATYN – Polish movie about horrors perpetrated by the Red Army in World War II. DVD VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA – Woody Allen’s return to form, with Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem.NICK [...]
Slick tricks and patter prove Derren Brown is the real deal June 18, 2009 TheatreDERREN BROWNAdelphi TheatreDerren BROWN has been on our TV screens long enough now for most of us to be fairly familiar with his shtick, but that doesn’t make seeing it live anything less than a wholly mesmerising experience. I can’t think there’s a more joyfully entertaining evening to be spent in a West End theatre [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST June 18, 2009 MUSIC Meltdown – The Southbank Centre’s annual festival of progressive music climaxes this weekend with performances from curator Ornette Coleman and Kieran Hebden.FILM Sleep Furiously – Remarkable documentary about life in a Welsh backwater that deserves a wide audience.FILM Drag Me to Hell – Spiderman director Sam Raimi returns to his horror routes in this [...]
Broadband for all is a worthy but pointless goal June 17, 2009 FOR ALL the hype that preceded Lord Carter’s Digital Britain Report, its central recommendation can be summed up in four dreary words: Slow broadband for all. It wouldn’t be so bad if the meagre 2Mbps connection wasn’t being part-funded with a planned £6-a-year telephone line tax; this will mainly be collected from people who live [...]
Grills allowed: perfecting the art of the BBQ June 17, 2009 THERE are times when it seems a barbecue is less a way of cooking than a ritual in which we give thanks for a sunny afternoon. Men solemnly pull on the uniform of the barbecue high priest – the comedy apron – to indulge a primeval instinct requiring us to do heroic battle with smoke [...]
TOP CHEFS’ BARBECUE RECIPES June 17, 2009 The perfect burger, by Sam and Eddie Hart, owners of Quo Vadis and FinoOnly use good quality beef with a high fat content, as this ensures the burgers will remain juicy when barbecued. Don’t add breadcrumbs – really good beef with some seasoning is all you need, with one small egg added to the mix [...]
Why China is destined to take over the world June 17, 2009 WHEN CHINA RULES THE WORLDBy Martin JacquesFABER & FABER, £16.99 THE “WHEN” – as opposed to the “if” – that now prefaces talk of China taking over the world is chilling. Part of the reason is that it is an alien culture in many ways, that is to say, not Western, and therefore not commensurate [...]
Electric Shock June 16, 2009 CAN you imagine plugging your car into a three-pin plug in the wall, leaving it for eight hours and then driving for up to 70 miles on that single charge? Well, that is what the Smart Fortwo electric drive will do for you, from a flat battery to full charge. I drove this and two [...]
Gastronauts land on King’s Road with tasty but predictable results June 15, 2009 THE CADOGAN ARMS 298 KING’S ROAD, SW3 5UG Cost per person without wine: £25 UNTIL it was closed for a grand refurbishment a few months ago, the Cadogan Arms, a roomy pub half way along the King’s Road, was defined chiefly by a clientele consisting of teenagers and those on gap years. For years, the [...]