Not Quent’s most glorious moment August 20, 2009 FilmINGLOURIOUS BASTERDSCert: 18 THE LONG opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is a piece of scintillating cinematic bravado that must rank alongside the café scene that opens Reservoir Dogs and the “watch up the ass” passage from Pulp Fiction for virtuoso brilliance. In it, an urbane, superficially-charming Gestapo official – who relishes his nickname [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST August 20, 2009 THEATRE Arcadia Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly inventive drama, starring Samantha Bond (left) ART Richard Long Tate Britain’s retrospective of the influential land artist. FILM Sin Nombre Searing immigration drama. ART Serpentine Pavillion This year’s Hyde Park architectural project is a sensuous aluminium construction by Japan’s Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. FILM Les Demoiselles de Rochefort At [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS August 20, 2009 FILMI LOVE YOU BETH COOPER Low-watt high school romance bobbins with Hayden Panettiere. SCARFACE Re-release time for Al Pacino’s crime lord and his “leedle friend”. CHIKO German drama set in Hamburg’s dark and violent underbelly. DVDIN THE LOOP Armando Iannucci’s hilarious political satire, starring Peter Capaldi. I LOVE YOU, MAN Half-baked “bro-mance” with Paul Rudd [...]
Down to earth style August 20, 2009 WHAT a coincidence. Two weeks after the Trade Union Congress declared high heels a menace to health in the workplace, flat shoes have surged to the fore as the must-have fashion accessory for fall. Comfort and style in one – who knew? “Every season, brogues for women come back with more vengeance,” says a spokeswoman [...]
The best of both worlds: new builds take a historic turn August 20, 2009 EVERYONE from Kate Moss to Kylie Minogue to Roman Abramovich has one. Leonardo DiCaprio wants one. That’s because nothing says “I’ve made it” quite like a British country pile, preferably one with stables, guest cottages, tennis courts, carriage houses and swimming pools. Nowadays, if you don’t want the hassle of maintaining an old house, there [...]
Use the right shaped glass to make wine sing August 19, 2009 IF you’re anything like the vast majority of people, you probably don’t give a huge amount of thought to your wine glasses. As long as they look the part – big for red, smaller for white and flutes for fizz – who’s complaining? Well, after a tasting last week with Austrian crystal company Riedel, I’m [...]
WINE GLASSES: THE SHAPES YOU NEED TO KNOW August 19, 2009 The BordeauxThis large, tapered glass is intended for big strong wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It provides plenty of surface area for the wine to aerate, and the big aromas to swirl, while its large rim slows the wine down in your mouth, tempering the tannins. For Cabernet and Merlot. The BurgundyThis glass [...]
Beneath the bonnet of the geek’s geek August 19, 2009 CAR FEVERBY JAMES MAYHodder & Stoughton, £18.99 HE might not have quite such a high profile as his co-presenters on the BBC’s Top Gear programme, but James May is the most likeable of the three, less cocksure and sneering. He appears to live in a world of bad shirts, where chummy “mates” play darts in [...]
A car for all seasons August 18, 2009 EPIC is the word. For a person who doesn’t much care for heights, I’m doing pretty well. I’ve just scaled the terra-pod, a 200ft metal version of a hill-climb. Despite the nerves, I made it to the top, having been told that it’s the best view ever when you get up there. But then it [...]
Reasons to be cheerful August 17, 2009 IF YOU believe the old Rodgers & Hammerstein song, all you need to do to lift your mood on a bad day is to whistle a happy tune – if only life really were so simple. But it seems that a positive outlook has worthwhile outcomes beyond merely getting you more easily through the day. [...]