Six Nations 2024 – Team of the Tournament

The first Six Nations after a World Cup always represents something of a changing of the guard. It’s an opportunity for new players to make a mark – and a chance for some of the more experienced heads to demonstrate why moving into a new World Cup cycle they should remain at the forefront of their coach’s thoughts.

Here’s my team of the tournament for the 2024 Six Nations.

Dune: Part Two – review

As time goes on, that list of books considered unfilmable – so weird, so dense, so difficult that it was impossible to translate them from page to screen – has grown smaller and smaller. The likes of The Lord of the Rings, American Psycho, and even Where the Wild Things Are have proved that no matter how unlikely an adaptation may be, there is nothing to stop the right film-maker coming along sooner or later with the right blend of skill, smarts, bravery, technology and luck to film the unfilmable. And so it proves with Dune: Part Two, the second of Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s famously difficult novel. It is a masterpiece of blockbuster ambition, a rare fusion of source material and contemporary reinterpretation that builds on the original work to create something big, bold and breath-taking.

2024 Six Nations – Preview and Predictions

The first Six Nations after a World Cup is always an interesting one. Many teams face immediate rebuilds, most have faced significant disappointment – and all have a point to prove. Ireland and France will enter the tournament as favourites but each have their own challenges to overcome first, while the teams that have sat behind them in the rankings for the last two years will look to remind them that they won’t always have it their own way. Here is my preview of the 2024 Six Nations.

Post-Rugby World Cup 2023 Power Rankings

The World Cup is over, and what a tournament it was. Titanic clashes, shocking upsets, and, ultimately, some of the best rugby you’ll ever see. As the dust settles, here’s my post-World Cup power rankings.

The Best Films of 2023

Forget the Oscars – everyone knows the REAL prize is a place on my list of the best films of the year. From gory horrors to sweet rom-coms, from superhero films to epic dramas, here are my favourite movies of 2023:

The Best Games of 2023

And so we reach the end of 2023, a year which has seen some turmoil in the video game industry with studio closures and layoffs. Nonetheless, it’s also a year that has brought us a bumper crop of major video game releases. Here are my top 5 games of 2023.

Napoleon – review

In 1793 a 24 year old Corsican artillery commander was promoted to general after capturing a port from the British, setting in motion a train of events that would lead to him becoming Emperor of France and one of the most powerful men who ever lived. Over the course of the ensuing two decades Napoleon Bonaparte would come to dominate Europe like few men had since the days of the Roman Empire, being hailed as a hero by some and a tyrant by many others.

And it is astonishing how little insight Napoleon, a truly epic misfire from Ridley Scott, gives us into this most fascinating of men, or the times he lived in.

Barbie – review

My first reaction on hearing that they were making a live-action film about Mattel’s Barbie dolls was, like many people’s I suspect, to roll my eyes. My first reaction on hearing that it was to be directed by Greta Gerwig – the acclaimed co-writer of Frances Ha and director of the terrific Lady Bird and Little Women – was something closer to dismay. Here was another indie darling filmmaker being co-opted by corporate interests in a world where all too often one of the only ways for intelligent and artistic directors to make money and a name for themselves is to wearily sign on to make a superhero film. But one of the advantages to having smart film-makers make films like this is that they are able to bring some of their wit and sense of style to films that otherwise would have none; Gerwig’s Barbie is at least a surprisingly fun and funny exercise in brand marketing.

Rugby World Cup 2023 – Preview and Predictions

After nearly four years the World Cup is nearly upon us once again, and it’s set to be a cracker. With some of the world’s top ranked sides destined by the draw to fall at the first hurdle, some traditional tier one nations faltering, and some of rugby’s former minnows rising fast, this could be one of the most surprising, competitive tournaments in history. Here’s a guide to all twenty teams in the World Cup and my prediction for how they’ll do.

Oppenheimer – review

“Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity,” read the ominous words that appear on screen as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer opens. And indeed the title character also calls to mind another modern Prometheus: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, who, fuelled by a passion for science, makes a discovery that upsets the natural order and swiftly learns that his creation has escaped his control. Nolan’s new film tells the story both of man and monster; it’s a fascinating combination of epic and intimating filmmaking that’s occasionally searing and brilliant, albeit not without its frustrations.