Film review: The Tribe May 15, 2015 Cert 18 | ★★★☆☆ That this daring film got an international release at all is one of several impressive things about it. For not only is it sickeningly violent and utterly pessimistic, but it also plays out entirely in Russian Sign Language – without subtitles. Don’t bring a date. The plot is mercifully [...]
Mad Max: Fury Road is the best action film of the year – film review May 14, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★★ Mad Max: Fury Road is the most surprisingly brilliant, gloriously demented film of the year. It’s a carnival of the grotesque that combines Hollywood sheen with a heart of pure, unadulterated pulp. What’s just as extraordinary is that the only other movies director George Miller has worked on since the millennium [...]
Something for the weekend May 14, 2015 MUNCH! CROSSTOWN DOUGHNUTS Mmmmm doughnuts! And not just any doughnuts. This new shop in Soho takes an already indulgent treat to the next level with flavours including salted camarel with banana cream and Belgian chocolate truffle. 4 Broadwick Street, Soho, visit crosstowndoughnuts.com LISTEN! LSO IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE See one of the greatest orchestras in the [...]
Picking the best wine in a restaurant should be easy if you bear in mind these timeless tips May 12, 2015 How do you make sure you pick the right wine when the list looks like an encyclopaedia? Here are some easy tips to bear in mind for those of us who don’t have a PhD in oenology. DON’T DRINK THE HOUSE PLONK Restaurateurs apply the highest mark-ups to house wines, which tend to be [...]
Mix it up: World’s Best Bar finalist Nightjar has a new cocktail menu May 12, 2015 Nightjar has a new cocktail menu. For anyone who likes mixed drinks this is kind of a big deal. Nightjar is one of London’s – nay, the world’s – best bars. It’s a true destination venue and the only place in the country that successfully nails the speakeasy theme (not least because it whisks you [...]
Frida Kahlo’s life in things: New exhibition celebrates the most famous female artist of all time May 12, 2015 When Frida Kahlo wasn’t breaking ground as a leading member of the Mexican avant garde art movement, she was sleeping with Trotsky, befriending Picasso and entrancing the world with her androgynous charisma. Her life was every bit as earthily sexual as her paintings: one of the first artists to have a reputation that truly preceded [...]
Car review: On the road with BMW’s Gran Tourer – the people carrier that’s out to prove luxurious doesn’t equal impractical May 11, 2015 Remember those BMW ads with the tagline “The Ultimate Driving Machine”? The Bavarian brand built its reputation on sporty saloons with straight-six engines and rear-wheel drive. Unfortunately, the 2 Series Gran Tourer falls short of being the ultimate driving machine. BMW’s seven-seat MPV is a stretched version of the Active Tourer that shares its [...]
Not convinced? May 11, 2015 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… CITROEN GRAND C4 PICASSO 2.0 BLUE HDI EXCLUSIVE PRICE: £28,110 0-62MPH: 10.2 secs TOP SPEED: 128mph CO2 G/KM: 115g/km MPG COMBINED: 64.2mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Five Stars PERFORMANCE Three Stars PRACTICALITY Five Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Four Stars FORD GRAND C-MAX 2.0 TDCI TITANIUM X NAV AUTO PRICE: £27,865 0-62MPH: 10.7 secs TOP SPEED: [...]
A guide to Ibiza for grown ups: What the White Isle offers the more discerning clubber with a budget May 11, 2015 What do you do when you’ve just suffered a humiliating election defeat that virtually nobody on the planet predicted? Why, you board the first flight to Ibiza, of course. Right now, at 6am on a Tuesday morning, Ed Miliband could well be gurning on the terrace of a beach club, stripped to his chinos, glow-sticks [...]
Tobago: An eco-lodge is a great way to experience this Caribbean isle May 10, 2015 “Trinidad and Tobago” suggests two islands of roughly equal size, but the former is 16 times bigger than the latter, its population 1.3 million compared to Tobago’s 60,000. As is often the case in nations divided across two separate land masses, stereotypes dominate each side’s thinking about the other. Ask a Trinidadian about Tobago: “lazy, [...]