Reviews
LFF 2013: The DoubleMonday, 14 October 2013
Richard Ayoade's follow-up to the highly promising Submarine centres on another pretty hopeless young man; yet this time his protagonist's predicament is considerably more grave, even if matters are no less amusing. Based on the novella by Fyodor... Read more... |
LFF 2013: Abuse of WeaknessMonday, 14 October 2013
In 2004 French director Catherine Breillat suffered a stroke. Three years later, she was cheated out of nearly a million euros by a known conman whom she was intending to cast in a film. She later suggested he took advantage of her still-reduced... Read more... |
LFF 2013: Blue Is the Warmest ColourSunday, 13 October 2013
Go for the lesbian sex, leave knowing relationships are all the same: that's the nutshell of French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche's explicit, intimate and lengthy drama Blue Is the Warmest Color (aka Le Vie D’Adèle), the Palme d’Or winner at... Read more... |
War Requiem, LPO and Choir, Jurowski, Royal Festival HallSunday, 13 October 2013
Britten’s innate theatricality shines through every single bar of his War Requiem. Atmosphere, drama, suspense, and high emotionalism are to a greater or lesser degree written into the piece (something which the naysayers always latch on to). And... Read more... |
Kara Walker, Camden Arts CentreSunday, 13 October 2013
American ladies, in the 18th and 19th centuries, passed their time in fashionable pursuits such as embroidering samplers and cutting out portraits of family and friends. Harking back to those days, Kara Walker has covered three walls of the Camden... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Kinks, Hapshash and the Coloured CoatSunday, 13 October 2013
The Kinks: Muswell HillbilliesRock’s rich tapestry currently has it that 1968’s The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society is their best album. This deluxe edition, 2CD reissue of 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies isn’t going to alter that, but... Read more... |
Crosby Stills & Nash, Royal Albert HallSaturday, 12 October 2013
There was much to be said for attending the third and final show of Crosby Stills & Nash's Albert Hall stint, because this was the night when they played their debut album in its entirety. Clearly much – almost everything, in fact – has changed... Read more... |
LFF 2013: Grand CentralSaturday, 12 October 2013
Rebecca Zlotowski catches the blue-collar underbelly of France at dangerous work and uneasy play in her second feature Grand Central. Tahar Rahim from A Prophet leads as Gary, rejected by his family and looking for any job going: it turns out to be... Read more... |
LFF 2013: Mystery RoadSaturday, 12 October 2013
Awful crimes are being committed in an Australian outback town: young girls murdered, and dumped in culverts. But what makes it worse for Aboriginal detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), newly returned to his small hometown from the city, is the... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly, Sean Hickey, Lang Lang, Piers LaneSaturday, 12 October 2013
Sean Hickey: Cello Concerto, Clarinet Concerto Dimitry Kouzov (cello), Alexander Fiterstein (clarinet), St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir Lande (Delos)Sean Hickey’s 2007 Cello Concerto solves the problem of balancing soloist... Read more... |
Toby Spence, Julian Milford, Wigmore HallSaturday, 12 October 2013
Toby Spence’s recovery from thyroid cancer is a cause for rejoicing, but surely it’s time we focused our attention back on his work rather than his medical condition? Apparently not. The pre-publicity for this Wigmore Hall recital made great play of... Read more... |
Adult Supervision, Park TheatreFriday, 11 October 2013
It's often a sign of a good drama when, as it concludes, you find it hard to tell which character you dislike most. And so it is with Adult Supervision - all the way through, first-time playwright Sarah Rutherford skilfully manipulates your... Read more... |
