These are quite possibly the eight best bottles of cognac in the world October 3, 2016 All cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. The real stuff is distilled in a small and highly protected wine-growing region around the town of Cognac in the south west of France and, like many wines and cheeses, it must meet the strict requirements of the ‘appellation d’origine controlee’ before it can be [...]
The Machine at Barbican is a darkly funny immersive theatre experience with added circus tricks October 3, 2016 Immersive theatre often promises more than it can deliver, held back not by the imagination of the production but the temperament of the audience. The most effective ones – Secret Cinema, Punch Drunk Theatre – tend to be hours long, giving the audience time to let their guard down. The Machine instead attempts to turn [...]
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children review: Tim Burton returns to form with this surprisingly visceral adventure September 30, 2016 Tim Burton returns to big budget studio films with this Narnia-esque story. Asa Butterfield plays a young man who discovers a school of supernatural children whom he must protect from a vicious evil. Visually sumptuous and surprisingly grisly, the film’s flourishes gloss over a story that doesn’t go anywhere unexpected. Eva Green’s ornate, pipe-smoking title [...]
Long Weekend review: How to get some rest and relaxation on Europe’s most notorious party island September 30, 2016 The weekend: For many years, Ibiza was defined by its drugs and decadent party scene, the capital of banging clubs and, well, banging. While its hedonistic days are far from over, pockets of the island are settling down with a degree of refined elegance. Decent restaurants and the arrival of all the big name hotel [...]
The Free State of Jones review: This overly long and indecisive war flick goes nowhere and amounts to little September 30, 2016 Matthew McConaughey’s Free State of Jones was one of the surprise disappointments of the summer over in the US. The Oscar winner plays Newton Knight, a disillusioned Confederate soldier in the American Civil War who returns home and rebels against his former comrades, creating a “Free State”. Coming in at a two hours and 20 [...]
New homes on sale this weekend at one of the tallest residential towers in Europe and a historic mansion in Hampstead September 30, 2016 South Quay Plaza, Canary Wharf From £695,000 The arrival of Crossrail trains at the latticed Foster + Partner-designed train station in Canary Wharf will be a “gamechanger” for the area, according to Berkeley Homes. That’s why the developer has chosen the business hub– and the station’s Sterling Prize winning architects – to create its tallest [...]
My Inspiration: Fashion designer and jewellery expert Siran Manoukian on how Stoned inspired her latest collection September 30, 2016 Siran Manoukian is a fashion designer and jewellery expert. She discusses with City A.M. how she found inspiration in Stoned, a book on the history of precious rocks. "From a very young age I was interested in jewellery. I remember how my mum had the most beautiful collection, and before school each day I’d ask her to model her [...]
Deepwater Horizon review: A relentless onslaught of explosions and grease that will leave you feeling knackered September 30, 2016 For better or worse, Hollywood has always been the ledger of record for America’s historical events, the silvery notebook in which the country’s worst tragedies are catalogued and parsed, not in studious documentary form, but in personal and heroic tales of human survival. A slew of films chronicle the events of 9/11, of Benghazi and [...]
Bedwyr Williams’ The Gulch at The Barbican is brilliantly weird September 29, 2016 You’re greeted at the entrance of the Barbican’s Curve gallery with a polite warning: “If you want to perform – sing, dance, that kind of thing – please be respectful of other visitors”. I wasn’t tempted to burst into song, but it’s a suitably surreal way to enter this brilliantly weird exhibition. This site-specific installation [...]
Property of the Week: Nine Hillgate Street in Notting Hill is an experimental former art gallery on the market for £6.75m September 29, 2016 Nine Hillgate Street looks like a traditional terraced house in Notting Hill, but inside, it looks more like an art gallery. And that’s because it was, at one point, a gallery. Seth Stein Architects created this house as an experiment in design and have been using it to show-off art for the past year. “It [...]