Lessons in wine: Why Argentina is far more than just Messi and Malbec December 1, 2015 Argentinian wine is synonymous with Malbec, the country that turned the fortunes of this grape variety around. So, while Argentinian winemakers have cultivated the white grape Torrontes with great success, it is the full bodied, rich and concentrated Malbec that steals the show. Malbec is better known in South Western France as Cot and was [...]
Black Mass review: Johnny Depp’s sinister portrayal of gangster James “Whitey” Bulger November 27, 2015 ★★★★☆ | Cert 15 Try as you might, you’ll never quite get used to the layers of greasy, ham-like prosthetics strewn across Johnny Depp’s face in crime thriller Black Mass. In particular, his brittle strands of slick receding hair look like nothing that has ever grown out of a human head, prompting unbidden thoughts about [...]
ZTE Axon Elite review: finally, a phone you can lick November 27, 2015 ★★★★☆ The Axon Elite is a phone you can lick up and down all day long, either in the privacy of your own home or while out on the street, safe in the knowledge that its antimicrobial glass screen is killing 99 per cent of bacteria and potentially saving your life. Not only is the [...]
Rise of the Tomb Raider review: Lara Croft is back on form November 27, 2015 ★★★★☆ | XBO Poor old Lara Croft, sliding around everywhere on her bum, falling down giant holes, being catapulted into active volcanoes and skewering herself on jagged bits of metal. Ever since her gritty reboot in 2013 Lara has become the official mascot for every manner of adventure-based calamity going, plagued as she is by [...]
Fallout 4 review: Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic wasteland is a masterpiece November 23, 2015 ★★★★★ | PS4, XBO, PC Games like Fallout 4 don’t come around very often. Developer Bethesda is known for creating huge and richly detailed open worlds (the best example of which being its celebrated fantasy RPG, Skyrim). But while its games are piled high with incredible things to do and see, they’re also infamous for [...]
Need for Speed review: A bleakly uninteresting racer in an abandoned ghost town November 20, 2015 ★★☆☆☆ | PS4, XBO, PC Need For Speed, a tepid reboot of the sprawling, 20-year-old franchise, tries to cherry-pick the best elements of the series but fails on almost every conceivable level. It's ostensibly an open-world racer, but as you only see that world from freeways and slip-roads, the details quickly become little more than a repeating urban [...]
iPad Pro review: Apple’s ridiculously massive tablet is the greatest iOS device they’ve ever made November 20, 2015 ★★★★★ From £679, apple.com/uk I really do love the iPad Pro. I love its gigantic screen, which makes everyone sitting near you lean closer and say “wow, is that the new iPad?" I love how Apple has finally mastered both the hardware and software to make sketching and note-taking feasible. I like the typing solution [...]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 movie review: Last instalment draws the film series to an entertaining conclusion November 20, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★★★☆ The Hunger Games is a rarity in Hollywood franchises; all three instalments have maintained a high standard. Action-packed, intelligent stories with solid performances, and in Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss a heroine the audiences can get behind. Can the finale, wedged between the loud juggernauts of Bond and Star Wars, deliver an end [...]
I Want My Hat Back review: National Theatre’s production of beloved children’s book sends kids wild November 20, 2015 National Theatre | ★★★★★ So there’s this bear, right, and he’s got an amazing hat. All red and pointy and with an elastic strap to keep it nice and secure on his big bear head. Where did the hat come from? It doesn’t matter. What matters is where it goes. Because shortly after the bear falls [...]
The Burgundy Puzzle: a frustrating wine that can astonish or appall, here’s how to get it right November 13, 2015 The other day I was invited to a friend’s birthday party where the wine was given star billing. It was a Santenay 2012 and we were told it was “amazing”. I was bitterly disappointed: it was green and desperately thin, like over-diluted Ribena without the vitamin C. And probably cost a fortune. It put me [...]
