Pixie review: Tarantino meets Sligo in charming Irish heist October 23, 2020 Certain images can sell a movie almost without context: Jack Nicholson grinning through a hole in a door, or John Travolta and Uma Thurman doing the twist. Pixie may not be as iconic as those movies, but its accompanying show of Alec Baldwin, dressed as a priest and brandishing a firearm is certainly enough to [...]
The Secret Garden review – death by 1,000 adaptations October 23, 2020 Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden has been adapted numerous times for film, television and the stage, with the most recent being a 1993 version produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Times have changed, but the allure and magic of The Secret Garden was enough for the producers of the Harry Potter and Paddington [...]
Summer of 85 – François Ozon’s latest is a nostalgia ride October 23, 2020 French director François Ozon (Frantz, By The Grace of God) goes back thirty five years for his nostalgic teen drama Summer of 85. Félix Lefebvre plays Alex, a 16-year-old facing a serious police charge relating to the death of his friend, David (Benjamin Voisin). With the help of his teacher, he is able to piece [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Rugby fans in ticket rush for Lions’ Japanese Test, plus Uefa’s Euro 2020 delay silver lining October 22, 2020 Demand for attending live sport remains very strong in the time of coronavirus, if the British and Irish Lions are anything to go by. Some 35,000 rugby fans have already registered interest in tickets for next July’s home Test against Japan, which was only announced yesterday, City A.M. has learned. That means Murrayfield’s 67,000 seats [...]
Nico Rosberg to renew rivalry with Lewis Hamilton in new electric racing series Extreme E October 22, 2020 Former Formula One rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are set to cross swords again in new motorsport series Extreme E. Rosberg has followed old Mercedes F1 adversary Hamilton in launching his own team in the all-electric, off-road competition. The German, who retired from racing after winning the F1 title in 2016, has invested in [...]
Robert Zemeckis The Witches is a dark Dahl triumph October 21, 2020 Readers over a certain age will remember losing sleep over the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches, in which Anjelica Huston donned hideous prosthetics that are still unsettling to this day. It perfectly captured the spirit of Roald Dahl’s storytelling, which always towed the line between wonder and abject terror. Robert Zemeckis (Back [...]
Manchester United chief throws down gauntlet to Premier League over Project Big Picture October 21, 2020 Manchester United chief Ed Woodward has publicly warned the Premier League that the club have not given up on plans to reshape English football. Project Big Picture, a radical overhaul of the domestic game drawn up and championed by United and Liverpool, was defeated in a vote of top-flight clubs last week. Woodward called on [...]
Manchester United lose £23m as coronavirus cuts revenue by £120m October 21, 2020 Manchester United suffered a £23m loss as revenue plunged by almost 20 per cent for the year ending 30 June. Annual income fell to £509m, from £627m the previous year, as the coronavirus outbreak saw football suspended. All three of Manchester United’s main revenue streams were hit during the fourth quarter, when most games were [...]
DEBATE: Is there any point trying to find love in lockdown? October 21, 2020 Is there any point trying to find love in lockdown? JOIN THE DEBATE. Emma Sayle, founder and chief executive of social network Killing Kittens, says YES. When lockdown started, traffic to the Killing Kittens website went up 300 per cent. We had 150 per cent more photo uploads and 425 per cent more messages — [...]
Wasps cleared to play in Premiership final despite coronavirus outbreak October 21, 2020 Rugby chiefs have cleared Wasps to take their place in Saturday’s Premiership final despite an outbreak of Covid-19 at the club. Fears grew that Wasps would have to forfeit their spot in the Twickenham showdown against Exeter Chiefs after 11 players and staff tested positive in the last week. But the six-time English champions have [...]