Christmas with the Coopers review: A real reheated turkey December 4, 2015 12A | ★☆☆☆☆ A glittering cast assembles for this yuletide comedy about a dysfunctional family whose separating parents (John Goodman and Diane Keaton) want everyone to come together for Christmas Day. “It’s like trying to schedule happiness,” grumbles Alan Arkin’s grandpa, when explaining why he hates Christmas, the irony being that the film he’s appearing [...]
Krampus review: Finally, a film for people who hate Christmas December 4, 2015 15 | ★★★★☆ Finally, a film for people who hate Christmas. You know the type, the ones who claim Die Hard is their favourite Christmas film; they’ll love Krampus. They’ll be banging on about it for years. It’s a horror movie of sorts that tells the tale of a horned demon that exists in central European [...]
The Night Before review: A festive buddy comedy lacking in Christmas cheer December 4, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★☆☆☆ A festive tumbling barrel of semi-improvised dick and drug jokes, The Night Before is a semi-funny Christmas buddy comedy in which lifelong friends Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) hoof it around Manhattan in an attempt to recreate their once honoured annual traditions. Ethan is a developmentally arrested [...]
Fifa corruption: Brazil and Argentina football chiefs bribed to pick best players in Copa America December 4, 2015 The corruption uncovered within the heart of international football has so far been limited to business contracts and tournament voting – yet new charges from US officials suggest its rotten influence could even extend to the action on the pitch. Among the multitude of corruption charges levelled against current and former Fifa executives in the [...]
Chris Froome releases performance and blood data to satisfy Tour de France doubters December 4, 2015 Chris Froome hopes doubts over his two Tour de France wins can be put to rest after releasing physiological data which suggests his success in recent years can be attributed to weight loss. Three sets of data, from 2007, this year's Tour and independent tests in August have been published in this month's edition of [...]
Arsene Wenger feud is all in the past, says Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce December 3, 2015 Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has insisted that his feud with Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger is consigned to history as the pair prepare to reignite their Premier League duel at Emirates Stadium tomorrow. Allardyce and Wenger endured a combustible relationship when the former was manager of Bolton between 1999 and 2007, a team which the Frenchman [...]
Gary Neville on Valencia move: “I’ve been on TV for a few years now; the time was right to stand up” December 3, 2015 Valencia head coach Gary Neville accepted a surprise move to Spain because he felt ready to leave the comfort of the television studio for the crucible of the dugout, he said on Thursday. The former Manchester United and England defender was appointed to his first managerial role on Wednesday by the La Liga club and [...]
Victor Frankenstein movie review: Paul McGuigan’s film is every bit as dead-eyed as the monster it portrays December 3, 2015 Cert 12A | ★☆☆☆☆ Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein is so desperate to avoid comparisons with other, better, retellings of Mary Shelley’s tale that it jettisons almost everything that’s interesting about the mythos, setting out to answer a series of questions nobody has ever asked about the protagonist’s butler. The result is a lumbering comedy-horror that’s every bit as [...]
Tyson Fury v Wladimir Klitschko rematch: New champion will lose IBF heavyweight world title belt if fight goes ahead December 3, 2015 Tyson Fury looks set to lose one of his heavyweight world titles just days after defeating Wladimir Klitschko to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF belts. A rematch clause negotiated into the contract for the fight has been activated by Klitschko, who lost for the first time in 11 years in a surprise defeat to Fury on [...]
World Cup team expansion: Fifa suggest 40 teams December 3, 2015 Fifa has proposed expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 40 today in discussions over reforms at world football's governing body. The expanded tournament could come into effect as soon as 2026 if approved by Fifa's executive committee. It would extend the group stage of the competition by a week to accommodate 32 additional [...]