With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
Babbo
Film
This is a film with beautiful performances and a visual style that urges you towards reflection
Bright Star
Theatre
Although the first half of Kwei-Armah’s production is pacy, funny and intelligent, the energy level then drops off
Seize The Day
I loved this film from start to finish. Take the girlfriend, tell your mum - I'd see it again tomorrow and will buy the dvd.
I saw this last night and can't remember the last time I was so moved in the theatre.
I have been to many of London's so-called best Japanese restaurants and none have been as good as the food that I've had at Aqua Kyoto
London,
Charlotte O'Sullivan's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Seth Gordon.
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, Robert Duvall
Description: Happily unmarried couple Brad and Kate have been together for years and love one another's company - so much so, that every December 25, they make their excuses so they can spend the holiday season together in an exotic location, soaking up the sun. Unfortunately, this year, thick fog traps Brad and Kate at San Francisco airport where a local TV news crew follows their plight and reveals to their respective families, who are all watching, that they have nowhere to go for the holidays. Reluctantly, the lovebirds must visit their divorced parents and respective partners for four Christmas celebrations, each more deranged than the last.
Country: US. 2008. 88mins
Relics: Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn fail to live up to their past promise
Four Christmases in one day sounds an awful prospect. But far worse is the realisation — upon meeting Californian couple Brad and Kate — that these two unmarrieds are going to learn things about themselves as a result of the 24 festive hours they must spend with each of their divorced parents in turn.
Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play the leads. Do they convince as lawyers or lovers? No. Do they convince as space aliens trying to infiltrate the human race? Yes. Unfortunately, no one, not even the film’s director, Seth Gordon, ever twigs.
The script, an awkward mix of generic gags and indulgent improv, has a few bright spots. Robert Duvall plays Brad’s desiccated, macho dad, Howard. At one point his son unexpectedly returns to the homestead. Says Howard, with a cackle: “Did you forget your tampons?”
Meanwhile, Brad’s mum, Paula (Sissy Spacek), a gentle therapist, reveals a darker side while playing the party game Taboo, wielding the penalty buzzer like a Taser gun.
This is a vehicle meant to show off the talents of Vaughn and Witherspoon but it exposes them as relics from the past. He was an angry young man, she seemed a natural heir to Katharine Hepburn — where did all that spark go?
Spacek and Duvall, by contrast, look as good as ever — you believe they were once a couple, that she moved on and he didn’t. A comedy with them in the lead — now that’s what I’d like to find in my stocking this Christmas.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Watch it online : http://xtshare.com/movie/viewfilm.php?Id=174&view=Four-Christmases
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