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 [...]
Arsenal financial accounts: Ivan Gazidis cites Stan Kroenke’s “considerable investment” in transfers as club announces lowest profit of Emirates Stadium era September 30, 2016 Arsenal say "significant investment" in the club's playing squad is behind slim profit-before-tax of £2.9m last season, a £15.3m drop on a year earlier and the lowest bottom line for over 10 years. Turnover rose to £353.6m from £344.5m a year ago thanks to a runners-up finish in the Premier League and the start of a new [...]
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 [...]
Dalian Wanda signs exclusive deal with badminton’s global governing body to take the sport to the next level September 30, 2016 Badminton could be the next sport to get a global corporate makeover after it was announced that China's richest man had agreed a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars with the sport's international governing body. Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group has signed an eight-year exclusive partnership with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) that gives exclusive global sponsorship and media rights to its subsidiary Infront Sports [...]
Darren Clarke opts for experience as he announces Europe’s pairings for Friday’s opening foursomes matches September 29, 2016 Europe captain Darren Clarke has opted for experience as he announced the pairings for this morning’s opening foursomes matches which will kickstart his side’s bid for an unprecedented fourth straight Ryder Cup victory. All six players with Ryder Cup experience will feature, although Clarke’s final pairing provided the biggest surprise as Belgium’s Thomas Pieters will partner [...]
Manchester United 1, Zorya Luhansk 0: Zlatan Ibrahimovic demands more from tepid Reds after stuttering Europa League victory September 29, 2016 Match-winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic demanded an upturn in quality from his team-mates after Manchester United stuttered to a slender and unconvincing victory against unheralded Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk. Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain striker Ibrahimovic proved the difference between the two sides, settling a tepid encounter against a team which finished fourth in the Ukrainian top-flight last [...]
Eddie Howe and Alan Pardew distance themselves from succeeding Sam Allardyce as England boss September 29, 2016 Highly-rated Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has moved to distance himself from succeeding Sam Allardyce as England manager despite describing the role as the ultimate job. Howe was linked with the position in the summer after the departure of Roy Hodgson following a dismal Euro 2016 campaign, and his name is again in the mix alongside [...]
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 [...]
Wales boss Chris Coleman demands life bans for those guilty of financial impropriety in football September 29, 2016 Wales boss Chris Coleman has urged football authorities to adopt a zero-tolerance approach and impose life bans on anybody found guilty of corruption within the game. The 46-year-old, who guided Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in the summer, made his assertions after a stream of allegations this week of financial impropriety in football. [...]
The Libertine at Theatre Royal Haymarket starring Dominic Cooper fails to deliver on its salacious promises September 29, 2016 The Libertine begins with a promise. Dominic Cooper, as Restoration rake the Earl of Rochester, delivers a swaggering prologue, directly informing the audience that although they may like some of what he does, they will not like him. This speech is an implicit bargain; that he will behave appallingly, and the audience will be thrilled [...]