10 Cloverfield Lane review: a pared-back, genre-hopping success March 17, 2016 Cloverfield was a lurching, visceral monster movie that played on our post-911 fears of sudden, inexplicable horror occurring in our cities, its grainy hand-held footage recalling the language of 24-hour news channels. Eight years later its follow-up – “stable-mate” might be a better term – is every bit as skin-crawling, but for very different reasons. [...]
Bill Murray’s film Rock the Kasbah is ill-conceived, poorly-executed March 17, 2016 In Rock the Kasbah’s universe, all we need to do to end the troubles in the Middle East is send Bill Murray out there to tell them all what’s what. Murray essentially plays himself playing a struggling talent manager, whose paltry existence on the periphery of the industry is propped up by hustling X-Factor wannabes. [...]
Motown the Musical’s songs deliver, but the lack of story lets it down March 17, 2016 Shaftesbury Theatre | ★★☆☆☆ If you don’t like at least one song released on the Motown label between 1960 and 1975, you’re utterly joyless and there’s something wrong with you. Berry Gordy’s hugely successful label discovered a young Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson among literally hundreds of others. Many of their hits [...]
Top tips for choosing the right tenant for your buy-to-let investment March 17, 2016 So you’ve spent months searching for the perfect property investment and transforming it into a modern, comfortable home. Now it’s time to hand over the keys to a perfect stranger and hope they pay up. Or perhaps you’re upsizing and you’re hoping Mr Rando won’t destroy your beloved first home. But how can you be [...]
Will Steinway & Sons’ newest invention, the Spirio, bring the player piano back into homes? March 17, 2016 The digital revolution has upset a lot of industries, but perhaps none more so than the music industry. With file sharing and streaming via subscription services the norm, the sight of vast collections of CDs stacked up around a home entertainment system is already becoming a rarity in living rooms. As a heritage brand with [...]
Focus On Canning Town: For affordability and an easy commute to Canary Wharf, the only way is E16 March 17, 2016 East London’s post-industrial landscape is rapidly disappearing in favour of quirky cultural venues, artfully rustic cafes and glassy residential towers. While the investment potential in Hackney and Tower Hamlets has been well-documented, other locations that are just as accessible have managed to slip under the radar. One of these is Canning Town, a part of [...]
Property of the Fortnight: Rare Tower Walk townhouse on sale in the middle of St Katharine Docks March 17, 2016 House-hunting usually requires some compromise: a downgrade in location, a flat rather than a house, the sacrificial shedding of car parking space. At first glance, Johan Denekamp a former advertising CEO, seems to have it all – the townhouse, the location, the views – but take hope, because it took him and his wife a [...]
The eight best dim sum in London: where to find the pick of these steamed delicacies March 15, 2016 We recommend the best dim sum in this great city of ours. 1. Hutong 31 St Thomas St, London SE1 Why not eat your dim sum up London’s biggest sky scraper? Hutong has a large selection of dim sum, with highlights including shredded turnip puffs with spring onion and shrimp rolls with thousand-year egg. 2. [...]
Working Lunch review: 28°- 50° Fetter Lane, St Paul’s has a fine wine cellar and lofty ambitions March 15, 2016 140 Fetter Lane, EC4A | 2850.co.uk/fetter WHAT? 28°-50° Fetter Lane is a relaxed “wine workshop” turned restaurant tucked away in a cellar-like room that infuses ustic country decor with modern city stylings. WHERE? In the legal quarter, just off of Fleet Street. WHO? Head chef Julien Baris left Michelin-starred Le Moulin de l’abbaye in France to [...]
The LCCM, Amy Winehouse’s former music school, is moving to The Music Box on the Southwark – and you could too March 15, 2016 Hear the stars of tomorrow rehearsing in the comfort of your own home by investing in the latest cultural centre around the South Bank. The latest apartments have gone on sale at The Music Box, a new housing development that incorporates the London Centre for Contemporary Music (LCCM). The school, which counts Amy Winehouse among its alumni, [...]