New animated animal film Flow is worthy of the Oscars hype March 20, 2025 The biggest underdog story at this year’s Oscars was Flow, the independent Latvian animation that beat the might of Pixar, Aardman, and Dreamworks to take home Best Animated Feature. The film’s success saw a statue of the lead character, a black cat, built in Riga – but the film is a monument all on its [...]
Snow White review: Live action Disney is dated and out of touch March 20, 2025 After 15 years of churning through their back catalogue, Disney’s quest to make a live action version of every one of their hits has led them to the film that started it all. This new version of Snow White has been beset by controversy, but the headlines may be more entertaining than the film itself. Rachel [...]
This future of AI is examined in this exciting new movie March 20, 2025 Documentary The Thinking Game charts the rise of AI through the story of DeepMind, a leading AI lab founded by Demis Hassabis, an earnest but likeable tech genius who has devoted his life to “solving” the mystery of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Recruiting the best minds in the field, they seek to create systems that [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best restaurants in Florence March 20, 2025 Last week began with a wonderfully long lunch in Bluebird Chelsea with Mirabeau founder Stephen Cronk and his chief exec Richard Larkin. Everyone in the drinks business loves these guys, but I take credit for introducing the Batman and Robin of Provencal rose to each other back in 2017. In Bluebird, the restaurant atmosphere was [...]
Dear England review: This reboot takes England into extra time March 19, 2025 Here we go again, again. If making us relive the England men’s team repeatedly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory seemed cruel 18 months ago, that cruelty has only been compounded by the addition of yet of another tournament in which Gareth Southgate’s young team came tantalisingly close to lifting a first trophy in [...]
Libby’s Naked Wines diary: why South African wine still wins March 19, 2025 This week our Naked Wines columnist Libby Brodie touches down for a wine adventure in South Africa Even as someone who tours wine estates around the world for my job, rarely have I visited one on the same jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, gob-smacking scale as South Africa’s Vergelegen Wine Estate. The Western Cape of South Africa already [...]
This new LGBTQ film playing at BFI Flare 2025 ‘redefines’ the kiss March 19, 2025 A Night Like This is one of dozens of new films premiering at BFI Flare festival on the Southbank this month It’s a difficult truth that the same writers, directors and actors tend to get work funded. It’s a safer option for investors to go with people who have public profiles and are believed to [...]
Land Rover Defender Octa review: driving the all-terrain action hero March 18, 2025 Ever since 1948, Land Rovers have been clambering over rocks, wading across rivers and squelching through muddy ruts. The new Defender Octa is different. This steroidal SUV wasn’t born for ambling along green lanes; it leaps and bounds across rough ground like a rally-raid car. In 77 years, there has never been a Land Rover [...]
This underrated European country is amazing for a fly fishing holiday March 18, 2025 Where in Europe would you expect to find incredible fishing, Alpine scenery and mosques? The answer is Bosnia, which is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s top destinations for fly fishing. But the country has way more than that: it is also a brilliant destination for food, and a wonderful place to be amongst [...]
Hannes Myburgh’s Meerlust Estate is wine tasting paradise March 18, 2025 Meerlust Rubicon was the first wine I bought en primeur. This is the process of buying wine while it is still aging, ahead of it coming to market. It means securing sought-after bottles at potentially lower prices while the winemakers receive an early cash flow. I felt very grown up and sophisticated and rather lucky [...]