Joseph Parker beats Briton Derek Chisora as he looks to win world title December 19, 2021 New Zealander Joseph Parker beat Derek Chisora on points as the heavyweight duo fought in a brilliant fight which was awarded on points. Parker controversially won on points when the two met back in May but this fight was a thrilling rematch. Parker made a brilliant start with Chisora facing a count in the fourth [...]
The Lost Daughter: Maggie Gyllenhaal shows she can direct, too December 18, 2021 Twenty years on from her breakthrough role in Secretary, star Maggie Gyllenhaal directs and writes her first feature. It seems like a natural progression for the actor, who has largely stuck with independent dramas and interesting blockbusters (The Dark Knight, World Trade Center). The Lost Daughter stars Olivia Colman as Leda, an academic in her [...]
Trouble in Mind at the National Theatre is a searing portrait of racism December 18, 2021 Racial tensions reach breaking-point in the National Theatre’s production of Trouble in Mind. It’s the mid-1950s, and race is a hot-button issue in America. Al Manners (Rory Keenan) is a white Hollywood director, suspected of communist sympathies, who is compelled to take a job on Broadway. He intends to direct Chaos in Belleville, a broad [...]
Best of Enemies at the Young Vic: A dense, ambitious political tinderbox December 17, 2021 James Graham is among the best political playwrights working today, responsible for gems including This House, innovative live-streamed election-night saga The Vote, and the screenplay for the lauded TV drama Brexit: The Uncivil War. His plays are painstakingly researched, probing the innards of political life and finding moments of joy, humour or horror amid the [...]
Spider-Man: No Way Home review – Marvel delivers pure cinematic sugar December 17, 2021 Logistics aren’t sexy, but throughout Marvel’s latest Spider-Man adventure I was struck time and again not by the antics of the heroes on the screen but the ones in an office in Los Angeles. How many scheduling clashes must have been overcome, how many legal meetings someone must have sat through, in order for this most [...]
Ollie Phillips: It’s all a bit French to me but it’s amazing to watch December 17, 2021 Sure, Leicester’s win in Bordeaux was impressive and Exeter looked comfortable against Montpellier, but I still don’t see an English team challenging for the Champions Cup. Toulouse put out a strong XV against a makeshift Cardiff and proved they weren’t there to play along with the Welsh region’s fairytale game. Racing 92, meanwhile, absolutely dominated [...]
London Irish hoping Challenge Cup run can keep confidence flowing December 17, 2021 In recent years the Challenge Cup has been more of a burden than an opportunity for Premiership clubs. This season, however, the removal of relegation allows teams like London Irish to commit more fully to a chance of European silverware – even if they might play it down. “Honestly, I don’t think relegation has anything to [...]
Ashes 2021: Talking points from Test two, day one December 16, 2021 England didn’t bowl badly at the Adelaide Oval but the tourists were were unable to break through a robust Australian batting order, managing just two wickets on the opening day of the second Ashes Test. Australia, who lead the series 1-0, reached 221-2 at stumps in the day-night match. Here are the talking points. Jossing [...]
Australian Open: Pliskova joins Williams and Andreescu as absentees December 16, 2021 Two-time Grand Slam finalist Karolina Pliskova will miss the opening major of the season, the Australian Open, after injuring her hand in a training session yesterday. The Czech tennis player joins Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu as absentees from the draw. The world No4 was a semi-finalist in 2019 and will also miss the warm [...]
F1 governing body say controversy damaging image of sport December 16, 2021 F1’s governing body, the FIA, will conduct an “analysis and clarification exercise” as they admit the fallout following Sunday’s race is “tarnishing the image of the championship”. The body said on Wednesday that outgoing president Jean Todt had proposed further discussions so drivers and teams can have better clarification next season. In the season-ending finale [...]