Christmas
CD: Rod Stewart - Merry Christmas BabySunday, 16 December 2012
The best Christmas songs are a bit like the best decorations: more glittery than tasteful. Merry Christmas Baby's tracks may have a jazzy sheen but deep down they fit that bill. Its cover photo – Rod dressed in a white pimp-suit in front of a snowy... Read more... |
CD: Cee Lo Green - Cee Lo's Magic MomentSaturday, 15 December 2012
“I think the Muppets hit a new low.” “Yeah, and his first name’s Cee!” In the hierarchy of Statler and Waldorf’s cutting put-downs it’s more of a turkey than a Christmas cracker, but Cee Lo’s Magic Moment was never supposed to be subtle. The album’s... Read more... |
12 Films of Christmas: Rare Exports - A Christmas TaleSaturday, 15 December 2012
The Scandinavian countries can duke it out amongst themselves as to which of them Santa Claus is from, but this Finnish claim for being the whiskery fellow’s true home neither makes you want to enter his grotto or sit on his knee. A bizarre and... Read more... |
Hansel and Gretel, National TheatreFriday, 14 December 2012
’Tis the season to be jolly. ’Tis also the season to dust off the stories of the Grimms and Perrault and present them as drama, sometimes transmogrified into panto. There are sometimes attempts to go back to source and eschew the tawdry delights of... Read more... |
12 Films of Christmas: It's a Wonderful LifeFriday, 14 December 2012
It’s A Wonderful Life disappointed studio bosses at the box office. Five Oscar chances came to nothing. Gongs and money, however, don’t guarantee a classic and that is what It’s a Wonderful Life is - a film that can restore one's sense of joy within... Read more... |
The Nutcracker 3D, Mariinsky Ballet/ The Nutcracker, English National Ballet, London ColiseumThursday, 13 December 2012
The seasonal Nuts-fest continues (and culminates) with another two to add to the roast – live: English National Ballet’s recent production, and digital: the Mariinsky Theatre’s 3D film version. To the cinema we go. This is the first 3D Nutcracker... Read more... |
12 Films of Christmas: The Family StoneWednesday, 12 December 2012
Thank heavens for Christmas, without which where would narrative be? Not that I'm sure Sarah Jessica Parker's uptight, brittle Meredith Morton has much to be thankful for in The Family Stone, as the Manhattan careerist braves her boyfriend's family... Read more... |
CD: Cerys Matthews - Baby, It's Cold OutsideWednesday, 12 December 2012
An album full of tunes you’ve been hearing all your life needs to be adept at reinvention. Cerys Matthews has already proved that she has a gift for repackaging the familiar in her enchanting Tir, which anthologises much loved Welsh folk songs and... Read more... |
12 Films of Christmas: White ChristmasTuesday, 11 December 2012
White Christmas is named so you know that gorgeous song is inside it somewhere. Yes, this is the 12-year-younger and lesser remake of Holiday Inn that also stars Bing Crosby and also features the cry-your-guts-out, I-regret-everything holiday tune... Read more... |
The Nutcracker, Royal BalletMonday, 10 December 2012
'Tis the season to be... transported to a magical, mystical extravaganza that will leave your mouth a-gasp, and your festive spirit in overdrive. This is how the lyrics of "Deck the Halls" should read once you’ve been to the Royal Opera House and... Read more... |
12 Films of Christmas: GremlinsMonday, 10 December 2012
Joe Dante feeds the idealised small-town America of his producer Spielberg into the mincer of an anarchic Warner Bros. cartoon in this riotous 1984 hit. Chris Walas’s creature designs are crucial to it, as mysterious, lovably big-eyed pet Gizmo... Read more... |
CD: Tracey Thorn – Tinsel and LightsMonday, 10 December 2012
It’s got to be difficult making a Christmas album. Not only are there all the preceding offerings which must weigh heavily, there’s the practical issue that it has to be completed way before any seasonal release date. For those choosing to make one... Read more... |
