Museum of fun May 21, 2009 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2Cert: PGTHIS Bank Holiday’s slice of family-centric fodder pulls off that rare cinematic trick – it’s a sequel that’s better than the original. However, given that the original Night at the Museum was a dog’s dinner of a film, the bigger surprise is that it was ever a big enough hit [...]
Strong acting fails to bring revised Ibsen classic to life May 21, 2009 TheatreA DOLL’S HOUSEDonmar WarehouseIbsen’s story of a woman who walks away from her empty marriage was too much for upright Victorian audiences at its first London staging in 1889. With such compelling source-material, it’s a shame Zinnie Harris’s reworked version – which relocates things from 1880s Norway to London in 1909 – is curiously bloodless, [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST May 21, 2009 THEATRE: BURST Festival Battersea Arts Centre’s annual festival of new theatre, with 51 different events set to take place. The subtitle is 51 Reasons for Living, inspired by President Obama’s inauguration address. FILM: Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman’s magnum opus is a lingering, poetic and funny meditation on life, love and the whole damn thing. [...]
Dumb luck and accidents can make you rich May 20, 2009 FALSE ECONOMYBy Alan BeattieViking, £20 FOR THE past two centuries, Argentina has had almost identical economic potential to the USA: plentiful natural resources, a large population and fantastic trade links. But while the US is the richest country on earth, in 2001 Argentina went bust. Why? The World Trade Editor of the Financial Times tries [...]
OUT OF OFFICE May 20, 2009 PAMPERING AT SELFRIDGESCutting-edge skin care brand 3LAB will be in situ at Selfridges throughout June and July, inviting shoppers to “experience pure pampering” with its range of treatments, moisturisers, toners and cleansers. On offer will be express facials, skincare consultations and the chance to win the whole Pure Pampering Collection (worth over £600), which includes [...]
White bags and Burmese rubies: a practical guide to stealth wealth May 18, 2009 THERE was a time, not that long ago, that guests at Nobu would be eager to show that they were raking it in. Expensive bottles of sake would be ordered and placed on the table for all to see. But in these straitened times even the wealthy are less inclined to be seen to spend [...]
How to keep yourself young and healthy while soaking up the rays May 18, 2009 IT’S all too tempting to run joyfully to the beach or pool without a minute’s delay upon rocking up at your sun-drenched destination. But the glee of having escaped the damp squib of a British summer can distract you from the very pressing matter of your suncare. Those moments of joy at feeling warmth and [...]
SOFT POWER SAYING IT QUIETLY May 18, 2009 The American Express Centurion card. Known as the “black card”, it is available only to those who charge more than $250,000 a year. Paying for dinner with this is sure to make an impression. Clive Christian No 1 for Men goes for £416 for 30ml at Fortnum & Mason. What does it smell like? As [...]
Some daisies in your soup, sir? Yes, please May 18, 2009 ANYONE for cheese-stuffed tulips, salad with rose petals or violet creme brulee? If it sounds odd or just plain wrong to eat flowers rather than just ogling them from a distance, think again. The Chelsea Flower Show marks the beginning of a period in which the city’s best chefs turn to flowers to spruce up [...]
The Big Game May 17, 2009 IT’S not often you get to stand in an over-sized shower in a deluxe hotel room watching elephants grazing in the distance through the morning mist, let alone find yourself, just hours later, sipping a glass of champagne watching those very same majestic creatures at much closer range, ambling around a polo pitch. Elephant polo, [...]