Art: Propaganda at the British Library
J. Singh
Propaganda: noun
- 1 [mass noun] information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.
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Books: George Monbiot, Feral
Imagine a wilder Britain, a land in which wolves and bears roam alongside lions, rhinos and elephants. This is the vision contained in Feral, a masterpiece from the celebrated environmental journalist George Monbiot.
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Film: The Great Gatsby
As with all great American fiction, Fitzgerald’s text distils its subject, a snapshot of American time within the background of its ever-present gods. The roaring twenties, an all-singing, all-dancing pre-crash burn. The Great Gatsby is the definition of an age on the edge.
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Art: Broughton & Birnie, The Forger’s Tale
J. Singh
Any immersive installation that engages with the decadent image of the Weimar Republic – a period that respectively followed the First and anticipated the Second World Wars – is, by implication, bound to deal with the pertinent issues that swelled about in that époque.
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Books: Defying Readership
Young Adult fiction – that dreaded label. The one that leaves us open to mocking and ridicule because apparently anyone over 18 is too old or too clever for such books; when arguably some of the best literature that is marketed at teens resonates with adults alike.
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Film: Star Trek Into Darkness
More than screen time, Star Trek’s a cult. So to cover my nubile knowledge before reviewing its freshest offering Star Trek Into Darkness, I approached a marathon/midnight preview for reconnaissance.
Stumbling into the intimidating crowd of pre-laughing ‘trekkies’, I ordered my tea from deep cover, an Englishman in New York.
Film: Iron Man 3
Tony Stark, still affected by the Avengers’ latest mission, distracts himself in his gadget den by bantering with talking machines and advancing a fleet of his trademark Iron Man suits. He hides his anxiety behind a supercilious front and tries to concentrate on his romantic relationship with new Stark Enterprises CEO, Pepper Potts.
Art: Neil Stokoe: All Things Must Pass
Cristina Ramos González
I recall the feeling I had on my first reading of Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. I had the same feeling when I met with the paintings that Neil Stokoe has been working on for the last 10 years at The Piper Gallery in central London.
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Film: INTERVIEW – Mission To Lars
Mission To Lars is a feature documentary produced and directed by James Moore and William Spicer. It documents brother and sister, Kate and William Spicer, in their mission to fulfil their brother Tom’s dream of meeting Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Tom has a form of autism called Fragile X Syndrome.
The Harker speaks to Kate Spicer.
Film: Oblivion
Maybe it’s Tom Cruise’s (50) lone wolf? Maybe it’s the empty earth? But Oblivion’s opening voiceover demands déjà vu.
Theatre: Jane Eyre
“I envy you, not knowing the story. It is one of the best books ever written,” I heard a man tell his girlfriend just as the play started. I absolutely agree.
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Theatre: Viva Forever
I was trying to find my seat in the theatre, when an inebriated woman hit me in the nether regions.
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Theatre: Gibraltar
“Justice” is swift. So swift, in fact, that it can erode the very democratic ideals we ascribe to the word very nature of the word.
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Film: Trance
Jeremy Dobson
Although unusual for a director, Boyle gave a small preface at the beginning Trance to thank Picturehouse cinemas for continued support over the years (just as you thought he couldn’t get more likable). As a small coda to this gesture he humorously warned “no, Trance isn’t anything like the Olympic opening ceremony.”
Film: Mission to Lars
Lizzie Porter
Mission to Lars is a documentary that might make you sob a bit. But after a while, you realise you’ve stopped blubbing. Instead you are wearing a grin ear-to-ear.
Film: Side Effects
Director Steven Soderberg is a big fan of dramatic movie twists. If you’ve ever seen Ocean’s Eleven you’ll know what I mean. The guy is great at not giving the game away until the climactic conclusion. Soderberg has just announced his retirement – meaning that Side Effects (his 26th film) is his last – and what a finale it is.