A Comedy About a Bank Robbery is a triumph of physical comedy April 28, 2016 A Comedy About a Bank Robbery | ★★★★☆ | The Criterion First, there was The Play That Went Wrong, followed by Peter Pan Goes Wrong; now The Mischief Theatre Company – the improv outfit behind the surprise West End hits – is actually trying to do something well. The cast have taken the slapstick perfected in [...]
Jake Gyllenhaal destroying an expensive set of drawers with a mallet can’t save this unconvincingly surreal dramady April 28, 2016 Demolition | ★★☆☆☆ | Dir. Jean-Marc Vallé Jake Gyllenhaal plays Davis, a businessman who escapes unscathed from the car crash that killed his wife. His reaction is stunned. He disconnects from reality, listlessly ghosting about the place like a sad mannequin, forcing out tears in front of a bathroom mirror and trying to fake up [...]
Captain America: Civil War – a slick, fun blockbuster that’s happy to play the hits April 28, 2016 Captain America: Civil War | ★★★★☆ | Dir. Joe and Anthony Russo You can draw all kind of political parallels from Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War. Right vs left, libertarian vs statist, Stronger In vs Brexit. It boils down to this: are you on the side of the faceless bureaucrats who want to stifle our [...]
Kojawan restaurant at the Hilton Metropole is like a retro-futuristic art gallery in the sky April 26, 2016 Andrew Baggs overcomes a fear of high restaurants to thoroughly enjoy this Asian fusion izakaya Food | ★★★★☆ | Value ★★★★☆ | Vibe ★★★★☆ | Hilton Metropole, 225 Edgware Rd, W2 1JU Tel: 020 8088 0111 | Cost for two with wine: £140 I have, over the years, learnt to read the restaurant warning signs. There is an inverse relationship between [...]
Who fancies a cow’s milk vodka and asparagus cocktail? Mark Hix serves up a storm in his new column April 26, 2016 Asparagus is one of our most fantastic seasonal vegetables, which traditionally would have a short season from about May to June. But things have changed and these days there’s high demand for cheaper imported stuff from Peru and Spain, which has put a bit of strain on our British growers. Believe it or not, I [...]
The first ever right-hand drive Mustang hits British shores – but has the trip been worth it? April 25, 2016 It’s a damp, autumnal morning at the Pebble Beach golf resort on the coast of California, a couple of hours north of San Francisco. During the summer, it’d be nudging 30 degrees, and keen golfers would pay $495 a game while their partners enjoyed the luxury spa. This morning, though, it’s just me and a [...]
Beautiful Things: The items on our shopping list this month, from vintage turntables to giant pink thumbs April 25, 2016 Bermuda Dansette Turntable £229, crosleyradio.com Founded in Ohio in the 1920s, Crosley Broadcasting was a pioneer in early radio, launching and running several stations before moving into the mass market manufacturing of radio and vinyl record players. At a time when radios were bulky, wooden luxury items, the players Crosley produced and sold were among the first [...]
When it comes to architecture, does size matter? This new book explores the beautiful and tiny world of “nanotecture” April 25, 2016 Think ‘architecture’ and you probably imagine towering skyscrapers or designer homes crafted from poured concrete and glass. But some of the most innovative architecture exists on a far smaller scale; treehouses and sheds and cabins, projects where every inch of space must be utilised. While less readily celebrated, small-scale architecture tends to be more personal, [...]
Ori Gersht’s first UK show examines the nature of flux in a static medium April 25, 2016 Israeli photographer Ori Gersht is best known for his photographs of tranquil landscapes that retrace the paths of past traumas: his 1998 series After War was taken around Sarajevo, while White Noise was shot from a train between Krakow and Auschwitz. The historical memories create a tension between the beauty and stillness of the present [...]
My House: Acclaimed lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe talks about life on the Thames April 25, 2016 My wife, Lucy, and I have owned boats for over a decade, Alora is our third and we’ve had her for 10 years. We commissioned her to be built from our own design and have a mooring at Cadogan Pier in Chelsea. Because we’ve owned boats before, we knew exactly what we wanted, so Alora [...]