I recreated all my favourite TV tropes, from crawling through pipes to being two kids in a trenchcoat
Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace: Alvaro Morata growing out of “fragile” state into a more confident striker November 4, 2018 Normally when a striker spurns a one-on-one chance while clean through in the 93rd minute the reaction would be disappointment. And while that emotion, plus plenty of stronger ones, were present inside Stamford Bridge as Alvaro Morata missed a glorious opportunity against Crystal Palace, the overriding thought was different. With the score at 3-1 and with [...]
Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend: Manchester City, Manchester United, West Ham, Wolves and Richarlison November 4, 2018 1. Man City on course ot beat their own records Premier League records tumbled as Manchester City waltzed to the title last season, not least in the goalscoring stakes, with the Blues netting 106 times and finishing with a goal difference of +79 – both new bests. Dauntingly for those teams who aspire to rival [...]
Let’s make sure British sport can compete with the best beyond Brexit November 4, 2018 It is often said the UK is a nation obsessed with sport. But for once sport’s hold on top spot in the public consciousness has been usurped by another national obsession: Brexit. However, the link between Brexit and sport is far more than just a competition for public attention – Brexit poses some fundamental challenges [...]
Arsenal rise to Unai Emery’s challenge and show they are ready to take on Premier League’s big guns again November 4, 2018 Speaking 24 hours before Saturday’s riveting 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Unai Emery was clear about what he wanted to see from his Arsenal team against Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League title hopefuls. “The result tomorrow is very important but first I want to show them, to show you and to show everybody our best mentality in [...]
Juliet, Naked is far too preoccupied with its flat jokes to actually get to the heart of its abandonment issues November 2, 2018 Nick Hornby is the master of the manchild and Duncan, the one from the 2009 novel this film is based on, is one of his. He’s in thrall to a similarly adolescent idol, a mopey indie star called Tucker Crowe, who became a recluse following the release of his only album ‘Juliet’. Stuck in the [...]
Macbeth at the Barbican review: Christopher Eccleston plays the Scottish traitor in this horror-inspired version by the RSC November 2, 2018 Macbeth lives and dies on its witches. “When shall we three meet again?” squeaks the first, a young girl in a red dress and white tights, ribbons in her hair. Two identically dressed girls answer, then run energetically off the stage, giggling shrilly. These escapees from The Shining weave in and out of this otherwise [...]
Composer Nitin Sawhney opens up about the dystopia inspired by his father’s death, Brexit and Schrodinger’s Cat November 2, 2018 Nitin Sawhney is difficult to pin down. He’s best known as a contemporary classical composer, but he’s also an impressive musician in his own right, playing the piano, classical and flamenco guitar, tabla and sitar. He’s written countless scores for films, TV and video games, as well as stand-alone studio albums; he received the Ivor [...]
Slaughterhouse Rulez is a British horror-comedy that needs more horror, and more comedy November 2, 2018 Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star in this British teen-horror flick that bears some of the hallmarks of the comedy duo’s glory days, while reminding you that they were, in fact, some time ago. There are nods to the Edgar Wright directed “Cornetto Trilogy”, comprising Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, [...]
Mirai is a beautiful film about the trials and tribulations of childhood November 2, 2018 Many a coming-of-age tale about a plucky tween has been told in animation. The growing pains of a four-year-old brat, however, make for a less appealing subject. Who better to give it a shot, though, than Mamoru Hosoda, anime’s patron saint of families? In films like Wolf Children (2012), Hosoda used folkloric characters and fantastical [...]
Peterloo film review: Mike Leigh’s best since Secrets & Lies is a stunning piece of filmmaking November 2, 2018 First, a history lesson: on August 16th 1819, at a pro-democracy demonstration in Manchester, a skittish militia charged with keeping the peace rampaged with sabres drawn into a crowd of some 70,000 unarmed people, killing 15 and injuring hundreds. Though the crowd’s central demand – equal votes for all men – went unmet, Peterloo was [...]