Electric revival 20 Jul 2013 | 02:41 am

'I believe in ecstasy/ The times we've had, you and me/ Friends we've met along the way/ Partied every night and day/ And I know we'll meet again' - Postscript, Pet Shop Boys At the end of their 1993...

Winter of Discontent and Tahrir Square 2 Jul 2013 | 08:49 pm

0 0 1 395 2253 Omer.Ali 18 5 2643 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the focus of protest in Egypt just as it was over two years ago. On 10 Febr...

Five things to watch out for at Eurovision 16 Apr 2013 | 02:04 am

1. Old is gold Alongside host Sweden, only big spenders France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK are guaranteed a place in the Eurovision Song Contest final on 18 May - Germany won in 2010 (for Lena’...

Old pop stars don't retire, they go digital 8 Apr 2013 | 01:46 pm

The first generation to have grown up listening to pop music is getting on now, so it's no surprise pop stars are also entering old age. On 8 January, his 66th birthday, David Bowie announced his firs...

Going to the dogs: literary satire after the crash 2 Apr 2013 | 10:00 am

Thanks to the great Caustic Cover Critic's recommendation, I've just enjoyed what has become one of my favourite reads ever: Going to the Dogs (1931), by Erich Kästner. Subtitled 'The Story of a Moral...

Ceci n'est pas un blogpost 28 Mar 2013 | 02:41 pm

The long films' Good Friday 28 Mar 2013 | 02:39 pm

Easter weekend's here, so what better time for me to rework this piece I did for Little White Lies (Feb/Mar 2007) ahead of a lengthy visit to the cinema... During my university finals I stayed in eve...

Anatomy of a film: En cas de malheur 25 Mar 2013 | 02:22 pm

Always astute over financial matters and his reputation, Belgian writer Georges Simenon was acutely aware of the lucrativeness of cinema and its power in extending his readership. His novels were ofte...

Dive! Dive! Dive! Sub movies 18 Mar 2013 | 04:35 pm

Film4 seems to have its submarine-movie jones on at the moment, so I thought I'd dig up and rework an old piece on the genre I did for Little White Lies' Marie Antoinette issue (Oct/Nov 2006). 'Dive!...

Soho Crime around the world 11 Mar 2013 | 10:00 am

I'm a huge fan of New York publisher Soho Crime's output - particularly the translated fiction. Their catalogue covers detective thrillers from Japan to Norway. Here are some of the picks - dates are ...