New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Raja Gosnell.
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Piper Perabo
Description: Chloe the Chihuahua is the beloved, four-legged companion of cosmetics doyenne Vivian Ashe, who lavishes all of her love and her considerable bank balance on the pampered pooch. When Vivian is called away to Europe on business and the usual dog sitter is indisposed, the doting owner entrusts her most prized possession to selfish niece Rachel, who only wants to party with her friends. To that end, Rachel heads for Mexico on a weekend break with two gal pals and takes Chloe along for the ride. Unfortunately, the snooty Chihuahua is stolen by villanous dog-napper Vasquez. Luckily, a plucky German Shepherd called Delgado steps in to save Chloe and the unlikely partners in crime go on the run for their lives.
Country: US. 2008. 91mins
Pooch panic: Piper Perabo manages to lose her aunt’s chihuahua, Chloe
Do we really need yet another movie about talking dogs? Yes, apparently we do, judging by the surprise box-office success of this Disney fable about a diamond-festooned, bootie-wearing Californian chihuahua (voiced by Drew Barrymore) who gets lost in Mexico with only a streetwise German Shepherd (Andy Garcia) to see her right.
You have to admit that the dogs — more than 200 in total — are extraordinarily well trained. Even Placido Domingo, the great opera singer, was persuaded to voice one of them without bursting into an inappropriate aria. There are dobermans, poodles, pugs, bulldogs, labradors and dachshunds, to say nothing of an animated rat and iguana, and they do much better than the humans in the cast.
These include Jamie Lee Curtis, slumming it enthusiastically as the ridiculous owner of the pampered pooch. She goes away on business leaving her flaky young niece Rachel (Piper Perabo) in charge — which is why the dog gets lost. Poor Rachel has to enlist the aid of a local gardener (Manolo Cardona) whom she has just insulted — taking him for a Mexican who can’t speak English properly — to find the missing dog.
Of course, they fall in love. But this is the most amorphous part of the plot, and is quickly skated over. It’s the dogs that matter, including the stray chihuahua who falls for our heroine, though I must say the rat and the iguana are almost as much fun.
One of the themes is the fact that canines deserve more than perpetual fussing over by rich, middle-class Beverly Hills types and ought to be treated as animals rather than toys. This is what makes it bearable.
That and the way the talking dogs are trained up for the occasion. You want to cringe as the picture begins, but you end up quite enjoying it.
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