48 hours in… Boston February 1, 2015 WHERE TO STAY Situated in the Back Bay area, Boston’s family-owned Lenox Hotel combines historical charm with modern luxury. The Lenox has been a Boston landmark ever since it opened for business in 1900. Now it’s known for its friendly, personalised service. Rooms start at $195, lenoxhotel.com WHERE TO GO Protopunk legends The Modern Lovers [...]
Art review: Christian Marclay January 30, 2015 White Cube Bermondsey | ★★★★☆ This is Christian Marclay’s first solo London show since 2010’s legendary The Clock, the 24 hour video montage of film clips including clocks, watches and people telling a time perfectly synchronised with the real world. Though none of these works reach the dizzy heights of that masterpiece, there’s still plenty [...]
Film review: Trash is Richard Curtis’ best work since Blackadder Goes Forth January 30, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ Trash is a noir-ish political thriller that draws attention to the deep social and economic problems of the developing world without sacrificing on plot. It’s a welcome surprise from the director of Billy Elliot and the writer of Love Actually about children living and working in a Brazilian dump. Pursued by [...]
Film review: Kingsman recalls the days when spy movies were fun January 30, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★★ Kingsman is the best Bond film Roger Moore never made. Gentlemen spies in immaculately tailored suits battling flamboyant villains bent on global destruction; the plot is pure Moonraker, albeit with an origin story, class warfare, better jokes and flashier production values. The team behind Kick Ass have created a pop-culturally literate, [...]
Theatre review: The Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studios January 30, 2015 Trafalgar Studios | ★★☆☆☆ Britain’s poshness obsession reaches new heights in The Ruling Class, a 1968 Peter Barnes play that shows its age in every scoffing caricature and fusty, laboured punchline. Aristocratic power may be super-relevant in today’s poshocracy, but the fact that it’s topical doesn’t mean this play has anything profound to say. Somewhere [...]
Film review: Inherent Vice star Joaquin Phoenix rises to the challenge January 29, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ The trailer for Inherent Vice achieves a rare thing: it perfectly conveys the tenor of the film without giving anything away. In two minutes, we’re introduced to the woozy Californian setting and the entire colourful cast of characters. But as to what actually happens in the film, we’re left guessing. [...]
Something for the weekend January 29, 2015 DRINK MEDCALF TRAITEUR Medcalf Traiteur is the latest foodie destination to open in Islington’s Clerkenwell. The delicatessen specialising in European produce also has an informal chef’s table so you can sample edible goodies in-store. Visit medcalfbar.co.uk BOWL THE BIG LEBOWSKI PARTY Head down to Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes tonight for an evening celebrating the Coen brothers’ [...]
SIHH 2015: Vacheron Constantin had everyone swooning at Geneva watch fair January 28, 2015 Every dreary January, the luxury watch world and its dog enjoys brief respite from the month’s enforced abstinence inside a vast exhibition complex next to Geneva airport. Here, for the past 25 years, the Richemont Group has provided its own alternative to the chaotic jamboree that is spring’s watch and jewellery fair in Basel, staging [...]
British watchmaker’s kick-ass cameo January 28, 2015 On general release today, Kingsman: The Secret Service sees the cream of British screen talent toting some hardcore British wrist-gadgetry from youthful aviator brand Bremont. Matthew Vaughn’s follow-up to Kick Ass – another comic-book co-adaptation with Jonathan Ross’s wife Jane Goldman – sees Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Michael Caine pairing their spivvy suits and [...]
2015 ticks off to a good start January 28, 2015 Richemont’s finest came to SIHH with some horological humdingers Wandering the lofty, beige halls of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) inside Geneva Airport’s cavernous Palexpo complex – “probably the most luxurious trade fair in the world” – the seeming neutrality of its colour-scheme belies the horological hierarchy at play here. Unlike the [...]