Sport Comment: Squad’s better but Gunners lack balance December 21, 2014 IT WAS no 5-1, but in its own way yesterday’s draw at Anfield was another reminder of just how far Arsenal are from being capable of mounting a concerted Premier League title challenge. For all the money spent during the summer – £80m on Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and others – the Gunners’ level of [...]
Chelsea bid to exorcise last season’s Britannia ghost and re-establish Premier League cushion December 21, 2014 TABLE-TOPPERS Chelsea head into tonight’s Premier League clash with Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium aiming to re-establish a three-point cushion at the Premier League summit. Reigning champions Manchester City hauled themselves level with the Blues courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with goal difference the only [...]
Premier League: Poyet’s Johnson whim results in Pardew wearing unenviable tag December 21, 2014 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 SUNDERLAND 1 SUNDERLAND boss Gus Poyet admitted he contemplated substituting Adam Johnson shortly before the former England winger proved the last-gasp match-winner in yesterday’s Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle at St James’ Park. Johnson rounded off a swift Black Cats’ counter-attack in the 90th minute as Sunderland extended their unbeaten run against Newcastle [...]
Ali aides calm fears after boxing icon hospitalised by pneumonia December 21, 2014 FEARS for the health of boxing great Muhammad Ali have resurfaced after he was hospitalised with pneumonia. The 72-year-old three-time world heavyweight champion was admitted on Saturday, though his spokesman indicated Ali was expected to make a quick recovery. “Because the pneumonia was caught early, his prognosis is good with a short hospital stay expected,” [...]
Film review: The Theory of Everything December 19, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★★☆ Hot on the heels of Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as Alan Turing in the Imitation Game comes The Theory of Everything, another rendering of a brilliant mind, this time Stephen Hawking. The former felt at home with science and tally-ho patriotism but shied away prudishly from the intimate details that were so [...]
Film review: Birdman December 19, 2014 Cert 15 | ★★★★★ Until now, Alejandro González Iñárritu was a filmmaker with heft but little humour. His last two films, Babel and Biutiful, seemed to set a trend for po-faced films about metaphysical problems with portentous one-word titles. All the stranger to relate, then, that in Birdman he’s made one of the funniest and [...]
Film review: Big Eyes December 19, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★★☆ The death of Tim Burton as a creative force has been greatly exaggerated. The hype surrounding Big Eyes is loaded with phrases like “return to form” and “best film in years”, which does a disservice to his last movie, the wonderful Frankenweenie, released in 2012. There’s no doubt, though, that [...]
Theatre review: City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse December 19, 2014 Donmar Warehouse | ★★★★☆ Screenwriters get a famously rough ride in Hollywood. After giving birth to their characters and nurturing them into fully-grown, relatable beings, they hand them over to directors who chop, cut and abuse them like neglectful foster parents. In 1989, Larry Gelbart took the roiling resentment that had built up over years [...]
Film review: Dumb and Dumber To December 19, 2014 Cert 15 | ★½ I like to think there’s a knowing subtext to Dumb and Dumber To. It reintroduces central characters Harry and Lloyd – Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey – at a psychiatric care home, where Lloyd has been in a catatonic state since the end of the last movie. Harry visits him once a [...]
Exodus: Gods and Kings – film review December 19, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★☆☆ Many great directors have earned a place in history by tackling the juicier parts of the Bible, but with Exodus, Ridley Scott may have bitten off more than he can chew. As with Darren Aronofsky’s Noah earlier this year, it seems to mistake an epic running time for epic cinema, clocking [...]