Sleeping With Other People review: a mediocre rom-com with commitment problems December 18, 2015 15 | Dir. Leslye Headland ★★☆☆☆ Late bloomers Lainey (Community’s Alison Brie) and Jake (We’re The Millers’ Jason Sudeikis) play two shy students who lose their virginity to each other during a one night stand at Columbia University. Fast forward 12 years and they cross paths again, only this time, they’re both non-committal, serial cheaters. [...]
The Lorax at the Old Vic is a brilliant take on the Dr Seuss classic December 18, 2015 During the interval of The Lorax, Dr Seuss’s cautionary tale about the dangers of environmental destruction, I received a notification on my phone: “UK government approves fracking in national parks”, and I thought “I really hope all the kids in the audience are paying attention, because my generation seems to have forgotten the Lorax’s wise [...]
Piquet restaurant in Fitzrovia is a former car-park that now serves snails to die for December 15, 2015 92-94 Newman Street, W1, piquet-restaurant.co.uk FOOD ★★★★☆ | VALUE ★★★★ | ATMOSPHERE ★★★☆☆ Cost for two with booze: £140 The part of Fitzrovia surrounding Piquet isn’t what you’d call atmospheric. At least not in a good way. To the north block after block of faceless office buildings recede into the distance; to the south lies the grubbier [...]
The No.1 Fitness 12-week challenge: How to train to be a trainer December 14, 2015 “In 10 weeks I’ve completely turned my fitness around,” says Sam Pridham, our guinea-pig for No.1 Fitness’ Total Body Transformation. “I had no idea how quickly I’d get into shape – now the end of the 12-weeks is in sight I can’t wait to get into the gym every morning.” But training isn’t the only [...]
Skiing in Val d’Isere: How to look good on the slopes next to former Olympian Alain Baxter December 14, 2015 Everyone wants to look good when they’re skiing. From Armani-clad oligarchs lounging on the mountain restaurant terraces to the teenagers with GoPro cameras and a selfie stick, the goal is to look like you know what you’re doing. One way to achieve this appearance is to don a lycra ski-racing suit and a numbered racing [...]
The Long Weekend review: Thyme, Gloucestershire December 14, 2015 THE WEEKEND: Nestled deep in the Cotswolds countryside, former surgeon Caryn Hibbert has spent the last 12 years gradually buying up the 14th Southrop Manor and surrounding farm buildings to create an idyllic home away from home – first for her family and then for us, the lucky public. The result is Thyme hotel with [...]
Sisters review: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s new comedy is our film of the week December 11, 2015 Sisters 15 | Dir. Jason Moore ★★★★☆ Only the comedy powerhouse that is Tina Fey and Amy Poehler could walk into a studio and get funding for a gross-out movie for divorced women in their 40s. The result is Sisters, in which Fey plays Kate, a partying single mum who can’t keep down a job, and Poehler is [...]
Hector and Grandma: This week’s new film releases reviewed December 11, 2015 Hector 15 | Dir. Jake Gavin ★★★★☆ Peter Mullan plays the title role in this British drama about a homeless man who travels from Glasgow to London to spend a few days at a Christmas shelter. With a big operation on the horizon, he uses the journey to revisit the events and broken relationships that drove [...]
Top theatre picks this week: A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and You For Me For You December 11, 2015 A Christmas Carol, Noel Coward Theatre ★★★★☆ If pantomime’s a bit too shouty and daft for your tastes but you’re still in the market for something festive, this flamboyant production of A Christmas Carol ticks all the right boxes. Jim Broadbent plays miser Ebenezer Scrooge with a twinkle in his eye and a skip in [...]
McLaren 570S motoring review: A sports car built for the city December 7, 2015 The Porsche 911 is the Volkswagen Golf of the sports car world. Nobody will flame you for buying one, but nobody will raise an eyebrow or turn a head, either. Solid, reliable and trustworthy, it’s like a pair of sensible shoes, albeit one that can reach 200mph. That’s why Audi did such good business with [...]