Film review: Clouds of Sils Maria May 15, 2015 Cert 12a | ★☆☆☆☆ Clouds of Sils Maria takes the acting profession so seriously the entire script could be printed off and submitted to Private Eye’s Luvvies column. Juliette Binoche plays a fading Hollywood star, Kristen Stewart her assistant, and together they hit every cliché short of air-kissing and telling each other they’re marvelous. [...]
Art review: Peter Kennard May 15, 2015 Imperial War Museum | ★★★★☆ In the cathedral of militaria that is the Imperial War Museum, a dash of pacifism can help keep things in perspective. Photomontage artist Peter Kennard spent the last 50 years making provocative collages denouncing conflict, greed and corporate misdemeanours. Kennard’s work is caustic and confrontational, the stuff of [...]
QPR owner Tony Fernandes must implement austerity measures with £58m Football League fine approaching May 15, 2015 Relegation is always a testing experience for any football club, but for Queens Park Rangers this season the drop comes with more uncertainty than usual. QPR are facing the prospect of a massive £58m fine from the Football League as their financial performance is deemed to be in breach of the league's financial fair play [...]
Theatre review: Death of a Salesman May 15, 2015 Noel Coward Theatre | ★★★★☆ Incredibly, this year is the centenary of Arthur Miller’s birth, and he’s still America’s most famous playwright. It’s incredible because Death of a Salesman – his Pulitzer Prize-winning opus on the American Dream – still reverberates around the claustrophobic walls of our 9-to-5 culture. Through Willy Loman, an everyman [...]
Film review: Pitch Perfect 2 still hits the right notes May 15, 2015 Cert 12a | ★★★☆☆ If you haven’t heard of Pitch Perfect, it’s probably because you’re not a girl under the age of 25. But this comedy about rival acapella choirs became a cult hit in 2012, largely due to breakout performances from the sickeningly talented Anna Kendrick and offbeat Australian comedian Rebel Wilson. Simply [...]
Film review: The Tribe May 15, 2015 Cert 18 | ★★★☆☆ That this daring film got an international release at all is one of several impressive things about it. For not only is it sickeningly violent and utterly pessimistic, but it also plays out entirely in Russian Sign Language – without subtitles. Don’t bring a date. The plot is mercifully [...]
Rugby favourites brave Moorgate Monsoon May 14, 2015 Saracens comfortably beat the Army at the Honorary Artillery Company in the City of London yesterday evening, as the two teams battled the weather, as well as each other. Winning 38-3, Saracens said it had triumphed despite the “Moorgate Monsoon”.
Mad Max: Fury Road is the best action film of the year – film review May 14, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★★ Mad Max: Fury Road is the most surprisingly brilliant, gloriously demented film of the year. It’s a carnival of the grotesque that combines Hollywood sheen with a heart of pure, unadulterated pulp. What’s just as extraordinary is that the only other movies director George Miller has worked on since the millennium [...]
Something for the weekend May 14, 2015 MUNCH! CROSSTOWN DOUGHNUTS Mmmmm doughnuts! And not just any doughnuts. This new shop in Soho takes an already indulgent treat to the next level with flavours including salted camarel with banana cream and Belgian chocolate truffle. 4 Broadwick Street, Soho, visit crosstowndoughnuts.com LISTEN! LSO IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE See one of the greatest orchestras in the [...]
Adam Lyth set to open England batting alongside Cook May 14, 2015 UNCAPPED batsman Adam Lyth is set to partner skipper Alastair Cook at the top of the batting order on his international debut when England face New Zealand in next week’s first Test at Lord’s. The 27-year-old left-hander is expected to replace Jonathan Trott, who announced his retirement in the wake of England’s tour of the [...]