Welcome to My Cultural Life magazine
The online magazine devoted to helping you to enrich your cultural life here in London.
Featured
London Film Festival 2009: Tears and beauty
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Blog
The standout films from the festival were two of the most beautiful and intense tearjerkers of the decade. Jane Campion’s Bright Star tells the tragic love story of John Keats and his sweetheart Fanny Brawne, while fashion powerhouse Tom Ford’s A Single Man tackles Christopher Isherwood’s novel about the day in the life of a grieving college professor.London Film Festival 2009: British thrillers
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Blog
Gemma Arteton found herself tied-up at work, Romola Garai had an impressive wardrobe but serious trust issues, while the maker of a crime-fighting plasticine dog revealed the secrets of his work.London Film Festival 2009: Cruel soundtracks
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Blog
From dad rock to power dirges, film makers are no strangers to guilty pleasures. We take a look at three major culprits at this year’s festival.
London Film Festival 2009: Opening night
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Blog
Leicester Square on the opening night of the London Film Festival: A red carpet, a huge crowd of women, and people in fox costumes. After last year's excellent Frost/Nixon, the BFI decided to open this year's festival with a more child-friendly feature - the festival favourite Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox.
Feature: Just another prequel?
By Andrew Harrison | In Features
From Batman Begins to Casino Royale, cinemas have seen a surge in origins films in recent years. Andrew Harrison sees how X-Men Origins: Wolverine sits with the rest of the prequels.
Review: In the Loop
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Features
The Thick of It finally gets its big screen release. Armando Iannucci's sitcom moves from Whitehall to Washington as a junior minister provokes a world war. The only film where Alastair Campbell's alter ego comes face to face with Tony Soprano, In the Loop promises to be an intriguing comedy.
Film review of 2008
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Features
An egocentric tightrope-walker, a woman in love with a barbaric barber, and an extremely greedy oil man were some of the highlights of 2008. Shamini Sriskandarajah looks at the films that held audiences captive and gives recommendations for the year ahead.
Previews
Review: Under the Blue Sky, at the Duke of York’s Theatre
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Past reviews
David Eldridge’s play, Under the Blue Sky, has encounters between three not-quite couples in the teaching profession. There isn’t much insight into their work, but there are plenty of thoughts about universal themes of unrequited love, sacrificing ethics for pleasure, and age gaps.
Review: Brief Encounter, at The Cinema Haymarket
By Shamini Sriskandarajah | In Past reviews
Emma Rice marks the centenary of David Lean's birth with a stage production inspired by his film 'Brief Encounter' and Noel Coward’s play 'Still Life', Shamini Sriskandarajah reports.
Feature: The Lives of Others
By Katie Burningham | In Features
Dennis Severs' house is an experience not to be missed, says Katie Burningham.
"My introduction to the house at 18 Folgate Street had an air of mystery about it. The house administrator, Mick Pedroli, was waiting outside the front door with a candle burning behind him. He ticked my name off on his list and said enigmatically, “you either see it or you don’t”. Then he opened the door..."
