In discussing the ridiculous paid for NUS card with “added value” at a conference I compared it to Pepsi Max. A retort saying that NUS Extra is nothing like Pepsi Max got wondering. What is Pepsi Max for? Really.
Think about it. We alread[…]

I have never really liked Howard Jacobson as a journalist or pundit, but I always quite like his books: in an undemanding comic way (which is very high praise). I have not read many, though one of my strongest geographical prejudices is straight of o[…]

Life Is A Miracle = Life Is Bloody Loud. There is nothing meaningful in this Bosnia/Serbian satire that is not also accompanied by a cacophonous Wurlitzer soundtrack, a bit of the ultra-violence and some farting. Initially this is rather refreshingly[…]

It is an insect. That looks like a stick. And the punchline of the sorely under-used joke “what’s insectile and sticky?” That would be enough for its greatness status. But the true story of the stick insect is even more unbelievable[…]

The collected edition of Mick Farren’s DNA Cowboys trilogy is a fascinating social document. You can tell a lot about a time from its bobbins gonzo fantasy novels. And here we have a trilogy, steam written fuelled by drugs, coffee and an urge t[…]

An Open Letter To Trailer Producers Of British Comedy Films:
It has come to my attention that nearly any time a British comedy act make a film, for the big screen, there is only one trope that trailer makers seem fit to exploit. Namely how unlikely i[…]

I used to go to school with a girl called Saffron, whose family was not from the sub-Indian continent. This is apros of absolutely nothing, except that I went to the worst Indian restaurant I have ever been to in my life the other day, and it was als[…]

Is it cynicism that drives local voice casting in animated films? I felt it was in Shrek 2 (but then as one of the few anti-Shrek people I find almost all aspects of those films cynical). In Robots though the cynicism is probably so up-front and cent[…]

Hostage is Die Hard with Bruce Willis outside the enclosed space. Which kind of takes the point out of the whole affair. It is also the first season of 24 without any sense that the moral dilemma Willis is put in will ever really be put to the test. […]

You can tell there is a lot of subsidy going into FACT in Liverpool. A multi-purpose art gallery, cinema and media centre it is a Scouse ICA in a barn. The building is so open, airy and large that you do slowly start thinking about wasted space. Not […]