The childish bickering between the Tory and Labour Treasury teams continues. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls and his advisor Alex Belardinelli were jumping up and down with delight after the OECD's chief economist, Pier Carlo Padoan, said the Government's deficit-busting plans may need to be watered down... more
London's oldest maitre d' tells of her heartbreak at being sacked only weeks before the Government announced plans to make compulsory retirement illegal... more
A network of streets between Russell Square and Holborn is attracting quirky, entrepreneurial small businesses to an unspoilt corner of London. Liz Hoggard explores this creative — not literary — hub.... more
The famous spy, Commander Sir James Bond, has been put out to pasture. His paymasters, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, are heavily in debt and cinema-goers are left waiting and wondering... more
Portly executives plot in poolside cabanas, bellhops swap Oscar gossip and the foie gras comes with candyfloss; Hermione Eyre basks in the Los Angeles starlight ... more
It was banned in the 1970s for its graphic scenes of incest and real sex, but now controversial Roman epic Caligula is set to go on sale in the high street.... more
Peter O'Toole's Oscar-nominated role in Venus, a strong take on terrorism in Catch A Fire and a compilation from Roxy Music are among the DVDs of the week.... more
Dianna Lefas's decision to tackle the Romantic Poets in The Last Nightingale is brave, but the end result struggles to keep the audience's attention.... more
Bookmakers William Hill have already started paying out on Dame Helen Mirren winning best actress - but the star is getting more than a little nervous.... more
Fine acting performances can't transcend Venus, a film that hovers between near farce and tragi-comedy without ever landing on a convincing level.... more
Any film with Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips ought at least to have a modicum of entertainment in it and Roger Michell and Hanif Kureishi's comedy Venus certainly has that.... more
The 50th London Film Festival kicks off with its usual flashbulb-popping flair, as British stars stud the red carpet for The Last King Of Scotland at Odeon Leicester Square.... more
Londoners pay more than three times the European average to watch a film, research showed today. An adult ticket for the Odeon in Leicester Square costs up to £17.50.... more