Diego Maradona biopic a strikingly candid antidote to airbrushed world of modern football June 13, 2019 “Peace,” says a young Diego Maradona when asked, five minutes into Asif Kapadia’s candid new film about the troubled Argentinian genius, what he is hoping for from his impending transfer from Barcelona to Napoli. There is precious little of that in his seven tumultuous years in the fervent southern Italian city, which form the basis [...]
E3 2019: The biggest games, trailers and announcements June 12, 2019 Watch Dogs Legion British politics has now well and truly seeped into the cultural groundwater. According to the game’s French publisher Ubisoft, the latest entry in the Watch Dogs series is set in a dystopian vision of “post-Brexit” London. The Grand Theft Auto-alike allows you to freely drive and roam around a near-future version of [...]
Zara owner Inditex boosts sales with rapid online expansion June 12, 2019 Zara owner Inditex defied a weak retail market to boost sales at the beginning of the second quarter as its global expansion gathered pace. The world’s biggest clothing retailer bounced back from a weak start to the year, damaged by cold weather, reporting a 9.5 per cent sales jump in the period from 1 May [...]
Fitness Advice: How to exercise when injured and how to get more supple June 11, 2019 I have a knee injury and have to rest it, what exercise can I do and how do I know when it’s safe to use it again? Having an injury doesn’t mean you can’t do anything, although it is an excuse many people use. Most of us live very sedentary lives and having an injury [...]
Gloria Bell review: Julianne Moore stars in this beguiling but frustrating retread June 7, 2019 This beguiling, frustrating film is noteworthy for two reasons: a gleaming performance by Julianne Moore, and the fact that it is a remake by Chilean director Sebastian Lelio of his own film, 2013’s Gloria. Save the surname appended to the title and the new LA setting, Lelio has changed little from the original. Moore stars [...]
Natalia Goncharova review: This exhibition offers a glimpse into a Russia that has long been forgotten June 7, 2019 Natalia Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist who throughout her career was preoccupied with the world of the Russian peasantry. Upon entering this exhibition, you’re presented with the artistic culture of an old, lost world; entrancing tray-paintings (an old folk handicraft), stylised versions of traditional religious prints, a peasant’s dress. Goncharova was a modernist, but [...]
Bob Bob Ricard City review: This bonkers restaurant is the Square Mile’s new best place to eat June 6, 2019 There are many laudable things about Soho’s Bob Bob Ricard: the fancy Titanic-meets-Orient-Express interiors, the no-nonsense Franco-Anglo-Russian menu that turns a fish pie or a chicken kiev into a minor culinary event. But the thing everybody remembers is the “Press for Champagne” button on every table, a gimmick that perfectly encapsulates the personality of the [...]
Games round-up: Observation and Heaven’s Vault reviews June 5, 2019 Observation Platform: PC, PS4 Observation is one hell of a proposition: a follow-up to the superlative indie horror game Stories Untold, set in a space station designed by alumni of Alien: Isolation, in which you control a rogue AI inspired by HAL from 2001. And for the most part, it lives up to that promise. [...]
Weekly Grill: Double Michelin starred chef Hélène Darroze talks about her new restaurant in Paris, the joy of boiled eggs and cooking for Jacques Chirac June 3, 2019 Who are you and what do you do? My name is Hélène Darroze, I am a cuisinière and mother. Most Londoners will know me from my eponymous restaurant, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, which holds two Michelin stars. What’s new? I’m opening a new restaurant, Marsan in Paris. It’s in the same location as my [...]
Ferrari Dino ‘Evo’ review: This modified Italian stallion is a £300,000 delight June 3, 2019 Ferraris are works of automotive art, says conventional wisdom; modifying one is like daubing Dulux on the Sistine Chapel. Not that Kevin O’Rourke seems concerned. His Ferrari Dino ‘Evo’ will be among the star cars at London Concours tomorrow and Thursday, while another Dino built by his company, Mototechnique – the 400hp, F40-engined ‘Monza’ – [...]