A War film review: An ambiguous, but triumphant, Danish drama January 8, 2016 15 | Dir. Tobias Lindholm ★★★★☆ The many grey areas of modern warfare are examined in this Danish drama, shortlisted for Best Foreign Language film at this year’s Oscars. We follow Commander Claus Pedersen, stationed in Helmand Province, as well as his wife and children carrying on with life back in Denmark. The future of [...]
Food trends 2016: black food, Persian food and cherry bakewell tarts January 6, 2016 Black to snack Bamboo blackened brioche buns, dark ribbons of squid ink pasta and even charcoal-infused water will herald the arrival of what might be this year’s least appetising food trend. In 2016 expect to eat black food, very black food, darker than the howling souls of the damned. Burger King Japan kicked off the [...]
Working Lunch review: Big Easy, Canary Wharf January 6, 2016 Big Easy, Crossrail Place, E14 WHAT? The third – and largest – Big Easy serving “low and slow” meat and seafood cooked in pit rooms that house two tonne US smokers. The sheer size of this venue – to give you an idea, it employs 170 staff – means it also accommodates an American breakfast [...]
Lessons in wine: Use Dry January to brush up on your wine critics and make a tidy profit January 6, 2016 The most important thing to remember is that a wine is subjective. Wine lovers should be guided by the critics, but at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is each individual drinker’s own enjoyment. With the arrival of the internet, it’s never been so easy to learn about and voice [...]
Oldroyd in Islington review: the ultimate local restaurant December 22, 2015 344 Upper Street, N1, www.oldroydlondon.com FOOD ★★★★☆ | VALUE ★★★★★ | ATMOSPHERE ★★★★☆ Cost for two with booze: £85 Oldroyd may have been open a little while now, but what nicer way to end a nice year filled with nice meals than a trip to one of London’s very nicest restaurants. Not best, necessarily, but [...]
Head to upstate New York to beat the crowds this ski season for a skiing hotspot bigger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined December 21, 2015 The Hamptons is the summer escape for sweltering New Yorkers, but when the winter snows lie thick in Central Park, it’s the pine-clad ski slopes of the Catskills and the Adirondacks that beckon these urbanites. Of course, for us, Europe has every kind of ski adventure imaginable; but as the Brits charge off en masse [...]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens review: The best film in the series since The Empire Strikes Back December 18, 2015 12A | Dir. JJ Abrams ★★★★★ Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens opens with the now familiar golden expository text scrolling into an infinity of stars. The Empire has fallen, only to be replaced by Darth Jar Jar and his Ewok army, who ruthlessly enforce a trade blockade against the ice planet Hoth… just [...]
In the Heart of the Sea review: Moby Dick is sidelined in this shallow whale-chasing adventure December 18, 2015 12A | Dir. Ron Howard A film based on a book about a novel about a big-ass whale, In the Heart of the Sea recounts the true story of the Essex whaleship that inspired Herman Melville’s fictional epic, Moby Dick. In the movie, a bunch of swarthy dudes pop off to sea to stab some [...]
The Danish Girl movie review: Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar-bait performance fails to be as remarkable as the real-life story of Lili Elbe December 18, 2015 Dir: Tom Hooper | ★★★☆☆ The Danish Girl could be described as a prestige picture. Featuring an awards-friendly performance by Eddie Redmayne, it’s a worthy, well-intentioned drama that tells an important story. The whole thing is tasteful in the extreme, providing us with a respectful, dignified portrait of a real-life person who deserves to be recognised. [...]
Daddy’s Home review: Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in a miserable, gagless family comedy December 18, 2015 12A | Dir. Sean Anders and John Morris ★☆☆☆☆ It’s a well established fact that the coolest dads are the ones who wear leather jackets, ride motorcycles and abandon their families to pursue a life of skidding menacingly in circles around lesser fathers. Conversely, the absolute worst dads are the ones who wear ironed shirts, have [...]