Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is probably Pedro Almodovar’s most accessible film and it is certainly one of his funniest and most popular works. It is wilder and more comedic in tone [...]

Contrary to the condescension of some of the reviews it received it is entirely possible and really quite safe to enjoy The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel without having to leave all your finer sensibilities [...]

Ever been to a crime scene? No, me neither. But Jean Bastiere (Marc-André Grondin from C.R.A.Z.Y.) has. In fact, he makes a living from hanging round crime scenes. The sexy Frenchman carefully reconstructs the gruesome [...]

Cousin Bette was the film debut of Des McAnuff, the theatre and opera director (and until 2014 artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario) noted for his showmanship, and his flamboyant treatment of [...]

The World Is Yours, As Well As Ours.        The White Cube Mason’s Yard 15th July – 17th September 2016 The alien ship has landed.  This is what I always think when I nip off [...]

Whoso pulleth out this Pen of this Stone today, is Rightwise King born of all West End and Broadway. Worse things happen at sea, I hear you scream. It’s news to me. All I wanted to do [...]

Why call it a “guilty pleasure”? A Stolen Life is an uneven but enormously watchable entertainment that many viewers return to for a variety of satisfactions which many of those viewers themselves might find it [...]

Me                                                                      [...]

One aspect of this 1997 neo-noir classic that drew much attention was its style—especially its period sense (it is set in the early 1950s)—and deservedly so. From the upholstery on a diner’s banquettes to the [...]

23rd June – 4th September 2016 The National Gallery Ever wondered which art work artists have hanging on their walls?  The National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing hosts Painters’ Paintings From Freud to Van Dyck with the [...]

An unstable leader at the helm. The threat of battle. Unhappy, rebellious citizens. Political turmoil. This is Rome during the Corioli wars, as shaped by the Bard himself, but of course it could very well [...]

We thought that once the government took shape the Brexit does means Brexit talk would end. The new PM from Brexit would escape, negotiate with Europe and then mend relationships. But what’s her plan? She’s [...]

With Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Mexican-born director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu continued an arc of filmmaking guaranteed to evoke wildly disparate views among viewers and critics but which is unarguably one of the [...]

Self-destructive madness is never nice to witness, but when it is your own country that seems desperate to rip off its clothes, shout obscenities at passers-by and throw itself off a cliff it is almost [...]

Charlie Kaufman explained in an interview with the Writers’ Guild of America that “Theater is alive” while “Film is dead,” and to that end most media are dead too, though not in the sense that [...]

Huge cheers signalled the start of David Cameron’s final Prime Minister’s Questions. You’d have thought a conquering Emperor had just arrived in Rome with thousands of prisoners and stolen gold. It was a strange welcome [...]

Seven rattles against the keyboard. THE END ..press, send. Wait, mate. Is it as easy as that? Few words on the page like you’re chiseling slabs? Perhaps. Would it make you a Scab? Young Writers [...]

Based on British writer H.E. Bates’ novella,  A Month by the Lake is a gently sophisticated variation on the theme of the loner’s vacation that leads to romance. The year is 1937, and the impending [...]

‘Claudio Ranieri says he doesn’t want to be Prime Minister.’ The PM looked at Godfrey in surprise. Well, I say surprise but it was nearer anger. He put down the muffin he had been eating [...]

This series of paintings, entitled ‘Sentinels’, was produced over a period of 20 months using acrylic paints and Indian ink. The motivation behind them was the desire to portray elements of a narrative that has [...]

Read Part 1 here ‘You’re not seriously going ahead with this Brexit nonsense are you Prime Minister?’ Keswick spoke to Carlton Bennet, who was lying on a lilo in the Downing Street swimming pool. The [...]

Snowpiercer was positioned in the 2013 summer market as more intellectual and stylish than competing futuristic and/orblunt-force action thrillers. This comparison is not completely earned, despite the sometimes interesting work of hot director Joon-ho Bong [...]

‘Killed by the falling pound?’ repeated Pimlico Smith MP.  ‘That seems unlikely. You can be killed by many falling things – it happens a lot in Agatha Christie novels – but not by a falling [...]

I think the US police forces may be partial to the hiring of combat vets because they feel these are seasoned professionals when it comes to following team protocol and recognized them as being experienced [...]

Woman-o-woman. I ache for you, darling. Man-o-man, I ache. Gentlemen, never underestimate the strength of the opposite sex. She is cunning, she is wise, she is all things, and above all else- she will destroy [...]