Manchester City’s penalty shoot-out win and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s power-play leaves Maurizio Sarri a step nearer to Chelsea’s trap door February 24, 2019 After 120 minutes of stalemate, the Carabao Cup final crammed all of its drama into some engrossing and bizarre closing stages. Maurizio Sarri’s stifling tactics did exactly that, but the gamble to sit deep, avoid the 6-0 thrashing of two weeks ago, not muster an attempt on target and then triumph on penalties narrowly failed [...]
Has Liverpool’s new-found solidity turned Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football into pedestrian dad-rock? February 24, 2019 When Jurgen Klopp fine-tuned his Liverpool team in preparation for this season, he focused on making them more robust. Following the January 2018 signing of Virgil van Dijk, last summer saw the arrival at Anfield of an elite level goalkeeper in Alisson and an accomplished defensive midfielder in Fabinho. Until then devastating in attack but [...]
On the Basis of Sex film review: Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic is timely but takes few risks February 22, 2019 On the Basis of Sex is a timely reminder of all that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg accomplished on the long, winding road towards gender equality, and why it still matters today. We open on the Harvard victory song, extolling the triumphs of the “men” in attendance. It is 1956, the sixth year [...]
Cold Pursuit film review: Liam Neeson’s junket admission eclipses an otherwise serviceable revenge drama February 22, 2019 In an alternate timeline, Cold Pursuit would have been a low-key cinematic release, more of the same from an actor we’ve come to know as the go-to guy for revenge dramas. But Liam Neeson had other ideas. In a run-of-the-mill press junket, Neeson, apropos of nothing, told a story about stalking the streets of Belfast [...]
Shipwreck play at the Almeida review: An ambitious but flawed take on the Trump presidency February 22, 2019 You wait months for a fractured, meandering, three hour play about politics and then two come along at once. Following the Old Vic’s tortuous reheating of Arthur Miller’s depression-era memoir The American Clock comes the Almeida’s Shipwreck, a new play that concerns itself with the bleeding edge of the Trump presidency. It begins with a [...]
Berberian Sound Studio review: This homage to giallo horror films is a supernatural assault on the senses February 22, 2019 Berberian Sound Studio is a pedestrian name for a pretty out-there theatrical experience. Based on a horror film directed by Peter Strickland and starring Toby Jones, it was lavished with praise on the art film circuit when it was released in 2012. Now it’s a play in the Donmar Warehouse, whose intimate seating arrangements and [...]
Franz West at the Tate Modern review: A vivid picture of of a singular mind February 22, 2019 I left the Tate Modern’s Franz West exhibition with a strong desire to get extremely drunk with the artist. Now sadly deceased, West was louche and messy, arrested on at least two occasions for being publicly sozzled, and his entire oeuvre feels like a mad two fingers up to the art establishment. Producing work from [...]
Resurgent England have the edge on Wales in Six Nations Grand Slam decider February 21, 2019 The turnaround in England’s fortunes during the Six Nations has been unbelievable. Before the championship people wondered if they might finish third or fourth, but now they have a trip to Wales on Saturday for what I believe is a Grand Slam decider. It’s not just that England have beaten Ireland and France; it’s the [...]
Premier League title-chasing Liverpool face moment of truth in Manchester United clash February 21, 2019 For a team locked in a battle for a first top-flight title for 29 years every league game has huge significance. But for Liverpool, Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United is a match which has ascended to even greater levels of importance: it’s a derby against a buoyant and bitter rival and [...]
Liam Williams will be in the spotlight if England continue to kick against Wales with Leigh Halfpenny absent February 21, 2019 England exploited Robbie Henshaw's inexperience at full-back in the win over Ireland and then capitalised on Yoann Huget's inability to lead the backline in the victory against France a week later. Liam Williams will not present such an obvious weakness in the Wales back three for Saturday's Six Nations showdown, but Eddie Jones's side have [...]