As a fretful middle-class parent of an impressionable tot I broadly approve of the CBeebies output, especially In the Night Garden (a comedy classic) and the lovely 64 Zoo Lane. But horrors do lurk in the schedules. One to avoid is LazyTown, an unholy Icelandic/UK/US collaboration, all blaring colours and ... Read More...
Film
The last flawlessly great film of Robert de Niro's career. Jimmy Conway, the tough Irish hood, the murderer and hijacker and all round nice guy. Everyone likes Jimmy. Everyone wants to be around Jimmy. He gives the doorman a hundred just for opening the door. "He was locked up at eleven ... Read More...
In Anthony Burgess’ short story The Endless Voyager, a businessman throws away his passport and wallet mid-transit and, unable to enter any country, spends the rest of his life shuttling from airport to airport. He eventually goes mad. Today, of course, such a traveller might stave off purgatorial insanity by ... Read More...
I'm watching a lot of Tom and Jerry at the moment (an early morning enthusiasm of one of my boys) and I've been wondering whether there's anything else of that vintage on TV that still plays so well. Some of the cultural references and social situations are dated, of course. ... Read More...
In Anthony Burgess’ short story The Endless Voyager, a businessman throws away his passport and wallet mid-transit and, unable to enter any country, spends the rest of his life shuttling from airport to airport. He eventually goes mad. Today, of course, such a traveller might stave off purgatorial insanity by ... Read More...
Today is the 95th anniversary of the birth of Ingrid Bergman. This year also happens to see the 65th anniversary of the release of Hitchcock's Spellbound, in which she starred with Gregory Peck.Those two are surely the most perfectly-formed and clean-cut leading actors cinema has ever seen. Strange that they ... Read More...
I was never much taken with Charlie Chaplin, too cute, I preferred the comparative austerity of Buster Keaton. But a couple of days ago I came across this picture. It is the last shot of Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). At first glance it seems merely generic - hero and heroine ... Read More...
Dennis Hopper Hopper, then 39, was arrested by New Mexico police in July 1975 and charged with reckless driving, failure to report an accident, and leaving the scene. Jane Fonda Arrested in November 1970 in Cleveland after she allegedly kicked a local police officer. She had been stopped at the airport by ... Read More...
Every Saturday, Susan Muncey - blogger, trend forecaster and founder-curator of the online curiosity shop, ShopCurious.com - brings you The Dabbler's style column RetroProgressive... Post recession shoppers do not wish to appear ostentatious, so luxury designer brands are paring down their logos and replacing them with more subtle designs, as part ... Read More...
Titanic 2 is in about to be released. Now that would test a screenwriter's ingenuity.H/t Ben. ... Read More...
