Skiing in Val d’Isere: How to look good on the slopes next to former Olympian Alain Baxter December 14, 2015 Everyone wants to look good when they’re skiing. From Armani-clad oligarchs lounging on the mountain restaurant terraces to the teenagers with GoPro cameras and a selfie stick, the goal is to look like you know what you’re doing. One way to achieve this appearance is to don a lycra ski-racing suit and a numbered racing [...]
The Long Weekend review: Thyme, Gloucestershire December 14, 2015 THE WEEKEND: Nestled deep in the Cotswolds countryside, former surgeon Caryn Hibbert has spent the last 12 years gradually buying up the 14th Southrop Manor and surrounding farm buildings to create an idyllic home away from home – first for her family and then for us, the lucky public. The result is Thyme hotel with [...]
Sisters review: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s new comedy is our film of the week December 11, 2015 Sisters 15 | Dir. Jason Moore ★★★★☆ Only the comedy powerhouse that is Tina Fey and Amy Poehler could walk into a studio and get funding for a gross-out movie for divorced women in their 40s. The result is Sisters, in which Fey plays Kate, a partying single mum who can’t keep down a job, and Poehler is [...]
Hector and Grandma: This week’s new film releases reviewed December 11, 2015 Hector 15 | Dir. Jake Gavin ★★★★☆ Peter Mullan plays the title role in this British drama about a homeless man who travels from Glasgow to London to spend a few days at a Christmas shelter. With a big operation on the horizon, he uses the journey to revisit the events and broken relationships that drove [...]
Top theatre picks this week: A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and You For Me For You December 11, 2015 A Christmas Carol, Noel Coward Theatre ★★★★☆ If pantomime’s a bit too shouty and daft for your tastes but you’re still in the market for something festive, this flamboyant production of A Christmas Carol ticks all the right boxes. Jim Broadbent plays miser Ebenezer Scrooge with a twinkle in his eye and a skip in [...]
McLaren 570S motoring review: A sports car built for the city December 7, 2015 The Porsche 911 is the Volkswagen Golf of the sports car world. Nobody will flame you for buying one, but nobody will raise an eyebrow or turn a head, either. Solid, reliable and trustworthy, it’s like a pair of sensible shoes, albeit one that can reach 200mph. That’s why Audi did such good business with [...]
Christmas with the Coopers review: A real reheated turkey December 4, 2015 12A | ★☆☆☆☆ A glittering cast assembles for this yuletide comedy about a dysfunctional family whose separating parents (John Goodman and Diane Keaton) want everyone to come together for Christmas Day. “It’s like trying to schedule happiness,” grumbles Alan Arkin’s grandpa, when explaining why he hates Christmas, the irony being that the film he’s appearing [...]
Krampus review: Finally, a film for people who hate Christmas December 4, 2015 15 | ★★★★☆ Finally, a film for people who hate Christmas. You know the type, the ones who claim Die Hard is their favourite Christmas film; they’ll love Krampus. They’ll be banging on about it for years. It’s a horror movie of sorts that tells the tale of a horned demon that exists in central European [...]
The Night Before review: A festive buddy comedy lacking in Christmas cheer December 4, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ A festive tumbling barrel of semi-improvised dick and drug jokes, The Night Before is a semi-funny Christmas buddy comedy in which lifelong friends Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) hoof it around Manhattan in an attempt to recreate their once honoured annual traditions. Ethan is a developmentally arrested [...]
Sexy Fish: Ivy tycoon Richard Caring transforms Mayfair bank into aquatic restaurant – with installations by Damien Hirst and a 13ft crocodile December 4, 2015 Restaurant tycoon Richard Caring, owner of Caprice Holdings, has launched a new aquatic-themed restaurant in Mayfair's Berkeley Square. Sexy Fish will – as the name implies – serve fish and seafood and sits on the site of an old NatWest banking hall. The restaurant will join Caprice Holding's growing list of London restaurants, which include The Ivy, Le Caprice and 34. [...]