Filthy, dirty and great fun October 3, 2013 FILM FILTH Cert 18 | By Steve Dinneen Three Stars Adaptations of Irvine Welsh novels, like Irvine Welsh novels, have gone downhill since Trainspotting. The Acid House (1998) had a flawed, lunatic charm but Ecstasy (2011) was little more than an anemic homage to Danny Boyle’s more famous Edinburgh romp. Filth – based on a [...]
Where to Drink: A new opening from the owners of Bodo’s and a slice of Indian chic in the middle of Mayfair October 3, 2013 SEPTEMBER witnessed a number of high-end clubs and bars launching across London and the Westbury Hotel has bragging rights to one such venue. No 41 is nestled underneath the newly Michelin-awarded Brasserie Chavot and accessed through a street-side entrance. The nightclub is a plush amalgam of self-aware opulence, with a design scheme replete with grand [...]
Feeling the cold? Get measured up October 2, 2013 The chillier months ahead demand a smart, warm suit. But where should you go for your bespoke creation THE DAYS are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping and my inbox is heaving with emails about Christmas. Winter is around the corner, and that means it’s time to update your wardrobe. You may look dashing in [...]
Restaurant review: Berners Tavern October 1, 2013 BERNERS TAVERN The London Edition Hotel, 10 Berners St Tel: 020 7908 7979 FOOD Two Stars VALUE Two Stars ATMOSPHERE Two Stars Cost for two with drinks: £110 Berners Tavern sounds like a nice little place, doesn’t it? Like a Somerset country inn that’s been converted to a gastropub by an ex-Londoner with a moustache [...]
Mix it up: You don’t have to be a supertaster to enjoy a cognac cocktail October 1, 2013 MAN is a social animal; so is woman for that matter. And it is through our interactions with others that we acquire our tastes, values and prejudices. Even the way we perceive the world is influenced by when and where we live. Take our perception of colour: seeing my five-year-old niece dressed – of her [...]
Elephant trekking, luxury and great Thai food September 29, 2013 This luxury beach resort was devastated by the 2005 tsunami. Now it’s back and better than ever THE PERFECT way to end an unforgettable afternoon spent trekking through the jungle trails of Khao Sok National Park in Phuket, Thailand is to give a leathery, old elephant a sunset bath. With Bauthong (lotus flower) repeatedly submerging [...]
A bleak, brutal and smart crime thriller September 26, 2013 FILM PRISONERS Cert 15 | By Alex Dymoke Four Stars PRISONERS is essentially a three-way acting competition between Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal’s hair. Seriously, Jake Gyllenhaal looks really cool in this movie. Far too cool for a real cop, what with all those tattoos and his shirt done up to the top. [...]
Review: Blue Jasmine September 26, 2013 FILM BLUE JASMINE Cert 12A | By Steve Dinneen Three Stars Every new Woody Allen movie – and they arrive with disquieting regularity – is greeted with the same question: is it a return to form or another of his onanistic “wilderness” projects? The general rule of thumb is that further he strays from his [...]
Brilliant performance art poorly presented September 26, 2013 ART ANA MENDIETA: TRACES Hayward Gallery | By Joseph Funnell Three Stars I REMEMBER the first time I saw a work by Ana Mendieta. It was a film of the performance Chicken Piece, where the artist stood naked holding a recently decapitated chicken that violently flapped as life drained from its wings. It was shocking. [...]
Also out this week September 26, 2013 FILM: AUSTENLAND (Cert 12a) Twilight author Stephanie Meyer’s first foray into film production is sweet but witless. ART: VAN GOGH IN PARIS (Eykyn Maclean Gallery) Van Gogh’s Paris paintings are brighter than most of his more famous works. ART: PHILIP-LORCA DICORCIA (David Zwirner) Photographer DiCorcia examines the unease that accompanied the end of the Bush [...]