As tourism returns, we say: ‘Good morning Vietnam!’ March 28, 2022 Like much of the world, Vietnam was on its knees these last few years. Around 18 million foreign tourists visited in 2019 compared to a paltry 3,500 in 2021. But now visitors are flocking back. What’s more, there’s never been a better time to go: some high-end resorts are offering 25 per cent discounts on [...]
Watch the Oscars end in chaos: Hollywood jaws drop as winner Will Smith smacks Chris Rock in the face and shouts obscenities March 28, 2022 Hollywood super star Will Smith, 53, appeared to take offence to a gag comedian Chris Rock made on stage about Jada Pinkett Smith’s short haircut, resulting in him marching on stage to confront the comedian. He appeared to hit Rock before returning to his seat and shouting from the audience to Rock on stage. As [...]
Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World review: An instant classic March 27, 2022 Director Joachim Trier rounds out his Oslo Trilogy, which began with 2006’s Reprise and continued with 2011 Cannes favourite Oslo, August 31st. For this final chapter, Trier has chosen a romantic comedy, one of the more challenging film genres with all its tropes and cliches to avoid. Yet, by subverting all of those conventions he [...]
Chopper is 20 years old, and still a brutal, brilliant modern great March 26, 2022 The early 2000s were a goldmine for stylish crime classics. Films like Sexy Beast and Lock, Stock… might have stolen the headlines, but The 21st century had barely started when a gem from Australia introduced us to a new star. Eric Bana, a TV comedy actor, found instant stardom when he took the lead in [...]
Tate Britain Commission: Hew Locke reclaims the Duveen Galleries March 26, 2022 The Tate Britain continues to put its more fashionable sibling the Tate Modern to shame with its flagship public installation, following up last year’s neon-soaked post-apocalypse by Heather Phillipson with a zeitgeist-capturing parade by British sculptor Hew Locke. The cavernous Duveen Galleries play the host to a rambling procession, with dozens – 150 to be [...]
Making bubbles under the sea: Is this the future of fizz? March 26, 2022 English wine has boldly gone somewhere it has never been before: under the sea. The idea of under-water aging has been trialled across the world since 2010, when some Veuve Clicquot dating from the early 1800s was found in a shipwreck, proclaimed delicious, and sold at a premium. However, Hampshire’s Exton Park is now the [...]
Rapper Kano is the mastermind behind The Duppy Share’s new rum March 26, 2022 Last week the latest season of the gritty London crime drama Top Boy dropped on Netflix, and as you settle in to binge the series, its star – actor and MOBO-winning grime pioneer Kano – has you covered for drinks. He’s the driving force behind the flavourful Duppy White Jamaican rum, part of The Duppy [...]
We’re calling out for a hero: Michael Bay. But is his Ambulance good? March 25, 2022 As painful as it might be to admit, it’s the perfect time for Michael Bay to make a comeback. Cinemas need big, bold crowd-pleasers, and there’s no-one bigger or bolder than the man behind the Bad Boys and Transformers franchises. His new film is called Ambulance, but those thinking this will be a sensitive ode [...]
Last minute Mother’s Day idea: Try the Pan Pacific hotel March 25, 2022 Mother’s Day is on the horizon and with canny timing the Pan Pacific hotel has launched an afternoon tea centred around childhood memories in its elegant Orchard Lounge. Award-winning executive pastry chef Cherish Finden recalls her own Singaporean childhood during either a traditional English tea or a fully Asian affair, the latter of which I opted for. We [...]
Clybourne Park review: Satire on race lacks emotional depth March 25, 2022 Bruce Norris’ clever play about the way racism lurks in the suburbs was a knock-out when it premiered twelve years ago. It bagged Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. So it should have: its script points out the systemic prejudices that are in many ways as pervasive today [...]