Easy to resent the implied moralistic edge in An Education, a tale of a conceited little madam – a smart, restless 16-year-old in early-60s London – who thinks she knows better than her elders, and pays the price. But the film doesn’t underline the lesson, doesn’t overplay the whole scales-falling-from-her-eyes bit, and features a cast who consistently aim to amuse as well as make a point. Best of all, it has Carey Mulligan as Jenny (our heroine), a performance that hits precisely the right note – naïve without being clueless, sweet and sympathetic yet too headstrong and cerebral to be totally likeable, let alone victimised... 1 comment

Here are some of the bold, daring – and probably true – things you’ll learn from Agora. That the ancient Christians (the setting is Alexandria in the 4th Century) were similar in many ways to modern-day Islamists. That they had a squad of enforcers, the Parabalani, who patrolled the streets looking for signs of disrespect and blasphemy, exactly like the Taliban’s hated religious police. That – again, like the Taliban’s infamous destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan – they destroyed cultures and learning that didn’t agree with their own, in this case the Library of Alexandria. That many of the people we now know as saints were actually violent thugs... Read on

The Hokkaido restaurant offers a variety of Japanese original recipes and sushi - but the main theme is the Tepanyaki table arrangements which have a friendly 'cook in front of you' service.
It can be great fun sitting at what looks like the bar from Cheers as the cooks perform a show while they prepare your dish, and the restaurant has been a big hit in Ayia Napa since it opened.
The chefs have a great sense of humour and can be seen throwing eggs in the air, making pancakes and chopping vegetables in what looks like a TV cooking show – great fun!
These are professional cooks, specialising in the art of sushi and the elegance of the Japanese cuisine... 1 comment

You may expect that an evening at a bar in an upscale five-star hotel could be a somewhat sombre occasion, and would therefore be exceedingly surprised at how entertaining a night out is at Nubar in the recently-renovated Amathus Beach Hotel, Limassol.
In terms of deco and ambience, Nubar is uniquely chic but inviting, reflecting the hotel’s five-star status. Following the recent renovation, the beachfront wall of the bar has been transformed into a wall of glass that affords uninterrupted views of the hotel’s lush gardens and beach... Read on

 
The Old Town restaurant is the sort of place any of us would like to be able to call our local: a small, pleasing restaurant serving quality food with its own solid but highly definable character. My only problem is it’s in Polis and though a mere 30 minutes from my home only the thought of Evangelos Socratous’ cooking winkled me out of the house into a cold, dark February evening to drive this ‘death wish’ road, it was however well worth the white knuckle journey... Read on

The Brickyard in Nicosia’s Engomi is a strange old place. With a general ambience that’s hard to put your finger on, the bar seems nonchalant about its non-descript atmosphere and this impression of casual indifference works to its advantage, giving the whole place a laid-back, ‘come wearing your tracksuit’ kind of vibe... Read on

Call it a sign of the times. For the past eight weeks, the Zena Palace in Nicosia has been showing Avatar in 3-D. Now, eight weeks is a long, almost unprecedented time to be screening the same movie, but I guess there’s a reason why the blue-people opus is now among the most successful films of all time (I’m resisting the non-inflation-adjusted measure that hails it as THE most successful). All good things must come to an end, however, and this weekend the Zena moves on – but here’s the catch: instead of one film it’s now showing two, An Education at 8 p.m... Read on

Thunder and lightning in the clouds. A man emerges from the ocean. “Poseidon!” another man greets him. “Zeus!” replies the first man. The men are Olympian gods, though they both have matching stubble and favour a semi-casual, jacket-and-jeans look. They meet on a rooftop, and Zeus admits he’s furious because someone’s stolen his lightning bolt; the bolt must be recovered, or terrible things will happen. Mention is made of Poseidon’s son. Cut to Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), an ordinary teenager in an ordinary high school (“It’s like high school without the musical,” observes his friend Grover). Percy’s pretty ordinary, but he does have one remarkable talent: he can stay underwater for minutes at a time. “I just like being in the water,” he shrugs in his ordinary-teenager way... Read on

It’s the most surefire marketing concept since that long-forgotten remake of The Omen came out on June 6, 2006 (6/6/6, get it?). Take the trendy – though now rather tired – notion of separate-but-linked stories that made Crash and Babel so talked-about. Add an all-star cast, which is not a problem for director Garry Marshall since he’s been in the rom-com business for decades – his biggest hit was Pretty Woman – and knows all the stars, or at least their agents. Have the whole thing take place on Valentine’s Day, then of course release it to cinemas worldwide on Valentine’s Day and rake in the cash from couples who decide they want to see it (or at least the girl wants to see it, and the guy tags along because it’s cheaper than taking her to dinner)... Read on

Sherlock Holmes as a martial-arts fighter, knocking out opponents not with logic but a kick to the solar plexus? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will be rolling in his grave – though in fact Sir Arthur’s rest has seldom been easy since his death in 1930. According to the Guinness Book of Film Facts & Feats, the Baker Street detective is the character most often portrayed on screen, having appeared in 175 films as of 1980 (when the book was published) – and almost all of those have taken liberties with Conan Doyle’s creation. In The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), Holmes himself claimed that he and Dr Watson were a gay couple (sacrilege!); Without a Clue (1988) upended the relationship altogether, making Watson the smart one and Holmes just an empty façade... Read on