Oscar nominated I’m Still Here review: a moving portrait of resilience February 20, 2025 I’m Still Here review and star rating: ★★★★ I’m Still Here has become the most successful film made in Brazil since the pandemic, and has garnered three Oscar nominations. Based on a true story, the film follows the Paiva family, whose patriarch Rubens is a politician fighting against the authoritarian government of the early 1970s. [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: Martin Williams’ own Michelin guide February 20, 2025 There are birthday parties, and then there are A list celebrity parties, complete with The Box style live entertainment and lashings of champagne. Music producer and celebrity booker Azim Majid has been a friend since 2015 when we first hosted his birthday at M in Threadneedle Street and have continued to do so most years [...]
Captain America: Brave New World proves superhero movies need to end now February 20, 2025 Captain America: Brave New World review and star rating: ★★ Hollywood’s biggest franchise is at a turning point. In the six years and 11 movies since the all-conquering Avengers: Endgame, few entries in the franchise have felt like a genuine event. It’s partly the arrival of lesser-known new heroes, but also the sheer fatigue that [...]
Kenrex, Southwark Playhouse, review: Jack Holden’s astonishing scope February 19, 2025 Kenrex, Southwark Playhouse, review and star rating: ★★★★ Here’s the thing: there are plenty of people who technically do what Jack Holden does, but scarce few who actually do what Jack Holden does. In Cruise, Holden’s homage to the people who were hit by the AIDS crisis, and new show Kenrex, he creates the scope [...]
Libby’s Naked Wines diary: why wine drinkers always crave beer February 19, 2025 Libby’s Naked Wines diary this week: why I’m craving beer after wine, and why we travel I first met Ashwin Bhardwaj in my living room 17 years ago. I had come through in the morning to make my shreddies and found a nearly naked chap in a tiny pair of pants, doing lunges. He had [...]
The future of the Swiss Alps? A ski holiday in Andermatt February 19, 2025 In the social hierarchy of Swiss Alps ski resorts, Andermatt has long sat in the shadow of its counterparts, but thanks to a raft of foreign investment in recent years, the former garrison town’s star is on the ascendancy. For now, at least, the ski area of Andermatt-Sedrun is regarded as fairly snow sure, usually [...]
Who watches the Watches? February 19, 2025 As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
New Spectre Black Badge is the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever February 18, 2025 Rolls-Royce has unveiled a new, performance-focused Black Badge version of its electric Spectre coupe. The Black Badge arrives in response to unprecedented customer demand, as the British company prepares to invest £300 million in its Goodwood headquarters. Chris Brownridge, chief executive at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “Black Badge Spectre is one of the clearest statements [...]
When drinking wine can actually be good for you February 18, 2025 At a recent event, a gentleman humbly recounted a story to me. He had been boasting of his impressive collection of Chateauneuf du Pape to a wine merchant, but upon revealing the vintages, he was dismayed to be told that all these prized bottles would now be past their best and he should have drunk [...]
Holiday Inn owner IHG boosts dividend and buyback amid continued growth February 18, 2025 Holiday Inn owner IHG has announced the purchase of its 20th brand and a boost to shareholder returns as it benefits from the revived travel market. IHG has soared as travel has returned after the pandemic, with early estimates for 2024 suggesting the hotel industry has finally surpassed 2019’s revenue. The Windsor-headquartered company told markets [...]
