An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Steven Soderbergh.
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Santiago Cabrera, Rodrigo Santoro, Demian Bichir, Kahlil Mendez
Description: The first two hours of Steven Soderbergh's ambitious history lesson focuses on the efforts of Fidel Castro and his guerrilla army to overthrow Fulgencio Batista's government through a bloody and sustained campaign of violence. Ernesto Guevara leads the charge from the front lines, winning the respect and admiration of his compatriots with tactical guile and determination, culminating in a visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 1959 to respond to criticism from the international community.
Country: FR/SP/US. 2008. 126mins
Having made several popular moneymakers, Steven Soderbergh seems to regard it as his right to treat his audiences with defiantly uncommercial projects, like this two-part, four-hour-plus biopic of Che Guevara. The entire film is an extraordinary achievement even if the second part, which deals with Che’s abortive Bolivian mission and his capture and death, is much the most watchable.
In this first part, lasting just over two hours, Che (the striking Benicio del Toro) is a central figure you never really get to know as the Cuban revolution progresses through battles, speeches, training regimens and instructions from Castro (Demian Bichir). There is also black and white footage of Che’s New York visit in 1964 during which he made an incendiary speech to the UN.
If you discover a lot about the process and progress of the revolution, this is definitely not the cultural hero of myth, breathtakingly bathed in revolutionary light. Nor is he the Stalinist whose economic mistakes were legion. In fact, he is a figure around whom everything swirls but whose character remains curiously opaque.
Opens on 2 January
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Morning:
13°c
