"About Time" Review

Bill and Domhnall participate in the
worse game of "hide and seek" ever.

DIRECTOR: Richard Curtis
CAST: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams,
             Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander
RUNTIME: 123 minutes
PLOT: On his 21st birthday, Tim (Gleeson)
             discovers he has the ability to travel
             in time that he inherited from his
             father (Nighy) Putting this gift to use,
             he looks for the love of his life.


RICHARD CURTIS IS ANYTHING BUT 
TYPECAST. With a CV boasting more variety than an evening at Charlie Sheen's house, and with writing credits on everything from Mr Bean to Blackadder to Four Weddings and a Funeral, he delivers another warm and heartfelt film with About Time. His third outing combining writing/directing roles, he delivers his most thought-provoking yet touching film to date.                
 
   Where Four Weddings and Notting Hill delved into how friends become surrogate families, whilst   also having a bumbling, charmingly befuddled Englishman chasing an out-of-his league American woman, About Time, from its opening voiceover, enforces the necessity of being surrounded by a loving household, despite our leading character, Tim, lacking an impenetrable circle of friends. Outlining his adoration for his parents, sibling and addled uncle with whom he shares his home with, he shows his great sensitivity by immediately acknowledging that mates and girlfriends have fallen by the wayside.
 
   Due to the title and synopsis of the film clearly outlining its content, Curtis wastes little time in the what's, why's and how's of the central family's unique skill but delving into the wooing of a potential girlfriend, something which the director/writer tackles with relish, giving one of the auteur's of awkward comedy a new platform on which to play. From the early attempts with his childhood flame, to moving out of his parents house to try his luck with the women of London, we see Tim stumble through his romantic pursuits through, often numerous, do-overs and second chances, which only

Mum's comment on Domhnall's
sweater didn't go down well. 

makes him much that bit more relatable, sweet and honest.

Domhnall Gleeson, in his first long overdue starring role, brings an extremely pale, ginger, nerdy charm to his character. Channelling his best Hugh Grant, with an hint of Simon Pegg's affability and a splash of Martin Freeman's quick draw wit, excels and shines in a portrayal that in other's hands could appear sleazy or stalkerish with repeated advances on unsuspecting women.

    His American sweetheart, Rachel McAdams, delivers a subdued yet subtle performance as the adorably cute Mary, whilst experiencing great chemistry with her English beau in refreshingly dry back and forth. Tom Hollander almost threatens to steal the show as Tim's foul-mouthed playwright landlord, who doesn't seemingly have a redeeming quality about him yet entertains thoroughly in his expletive filled rants.
 
   It is this central relationship where the film thrives, roaring along at a frantic pace as we experience the typical signposts of courting (First date, Sex, Meeting parents) with the added time travelling slant giving the film the repetitive laughs that Bill Murray delivered in Groundhog Day. Towards the second and third act, the film slows and comes full circle. By highlighting Tim's desire to relive his past, Curtis shows the danger of missing his present. Or, even more paradoxically worse, changing chunks of it entirely. By taking advantage of this lull to hit home with great emotional weight, providing tender and touching moments that threaten the tear-ducts, whilst also, metaphorically reflecting the slowing of the tone, presenting a long term relationship where the initial passionate, nervous beginnings are replaced with a slow burning devotion.
 
    The Curtis criticism of the past ("Curtiscisms" if you will) flare up yet again. Love is portrayed as ultra-idyllic and unrealistic, with no pitfalls at all even with the added complication of a time-bending spouse. The unlikely partnership of Gleeson and McAdams thrills yet doesn't fool (Would she REALLY go out with him?) and the character of the kooky sister (relative newcomer Lydia Wilson) is far too overplayed and self-assertive to be likeable, with secondary storylines, despite often hitting their mark, feeling like they are tacked on. However, you fail to bat an eyelid as you're swept along with the story, coupled with the gorgeous Cornish countryside and modern-rustic streets of West London. If Curtis bows out of directing after this film, then he has finished with a film that will live long in the memory. Oh, and Bill Nighy nails it. Again. Of course he does.

VERDICT: Well-written, solid performances and hugely likeable. Curtis turns back the clock and is back to his very best.

Abramovich lifts the
Champions League trophy

Roman Rule: How long till football clubs become Americanised franchises and is "Hire and Fire" the future? 

On the evening of the 19th of May 2012, Didier Drogba converted the deciding spot kick in a tense penalty shootout to seal one of the most famous final victories for Chelsea Football Club in their extensive history. 

Approximately 11 months later, the situation is less elation and more damage limitation. Following a turbulent season in which FA Cup and Champions League winning coach Roberto Di Matteo was cruelly sacked in November, following a key defeat in Italy to European powerhouse Juventus, despite sitting top of the Premier League in October after an emphatic 4-2 win over London rivals Spurs. 

Ex-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez came in, slapped with a "Interim Manager" tag and instructed to hold the team together until the long overdue appointment of ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, provided he made himself available following his self imposed exile, with Benitez's appointment met with the chagrin of Chelsea fans everywhere. Guardiola has now signed a 3 year deal with German giants Bayern Munich, to take over as manager at the beginning of the 2013/2014 season, leaving Chelsea to back Benitez until the end of the season and leaving Mr Abramovich with a severed amount of egg on his face.

Chairman Bruce Buck and
Chief Executive Ron Gourlay: Whos in charge?

The often overused expression of "transition season" has been far too commonplace in Abramovich's tenure as Chelsea owner and is set to be labelled this yet again if this yields yet a trophy-less season. Despite Chelsea's managerial hot seat being as stable as a North Korean peace treaty in recent years, no one can argue that he has delivered undoubted success. 3 Premier League Trophies, 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and 1 Champions League (2 Community Shields if we are pushing it) coupled with 9 managers (10 if we included Ray Wilkins 1 game in temporary charge), show the level of achievement Abramovich has instilled into the club. 

With a mass influx of American owners and chairman into the Premier League (Randy Lerner at Aston Villa, John W Henry at Liverpool, Stan Kroenke at Arsenal not to mention the Glazer family at Man Utd) are these historic English clubs being simply regarded as franchises to deliver instant success coupled with a lack of emotional involvement? In the modern NFL, the average coaching tenure is only 3.2 seasons, exemplified by the fact that their season only running from September to early January. Bruce Buck, an American lawyer, is the current chairman at Chelsea Football Club and a key adviser to Abramovich himself. The fact of the matter is a man coming from no footballing background has become the no.2 person at one of the biggest clubs in the country, where he has a say in the "Hiring and Firing" of these beloved managers and players in the modern game. Men like Roberto Di Matteo and Jose Mourinho. Has football finally bitten the bullet and become a huge, global,  financial juggernaut where clubs are franchises? The emergence of newly founded franchise clubs like MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon and Rangers, where they simply change location or enter bankruptcy, out of the wreckage of their former teams would suggest so.

50 Million Pound man: Was Torres signed by Abramovich?

If the Premier League goes the way of the NFL or Major League Baseball, then the most worrying aspect of that would be the role of the "General Manager". Similar to the controversial position of "Director of Football" or "Technical Director", this position concerns with off the field matters such as Player and Staff Contracts, Transfers and Head of Scouting. At a club where Abramovich, reportedly, played an important role in the signings of Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres for combined fees of £85 Million, is the threat of an owner or chairman, appointing themselves a General Manager and organising transfers and contracts, possible in the Premiership? Even more concerning would be the fact that a huge majority of the time GM's have no professional playing or coaching experience. Out of 30 Major League Baseball teams, only 5 of their General Managers played professionally and only a few others playing at College or High School level. None of them have any coaching experience whatsoever. 

Football Clubs could be heading the way of McDonald's or Starbucks, something that would be regarded as utterly ridiculous 15 or 20 years ago. The future of football is on a knife edge, with the vast influx of foreign owners growing in English football across all the divisions. Would a salary cap bridge the gap between teams who have and teams who haven't? Possibly. Is FIFA's long awaited protocol of Financial Fair Play a way to remove the possibility of quick buying and selling of teams? Perhaps. Roman's ruble's have undoubtedly pushed Chelsea into the position they are in today, but is he looking to expand his dictatorship further into more worrying territory?

Ulster vs Saints: Analysis of both leg's

Superb Saints shock undefeated Ulster: How did they pull it off?

 

What a difference a week makes. At approximately 10:00 on Friday the 7th Northampton Saints team, management and fans were asking serious questions. Ulster arrived at Franklin's Gardens almost two weeks ago full of vigor and confidence on the back of a 13 match winning streak and looking to take a stranglehold on a tight Heineken Cup pool, with all of the above never looking in danger.

Stunned: Saints Captain Dylan Hartley had no answer to an assured Ulster.

They dominated every single area of the match. Tom Court, Rory Best and John Afoa scrummaged like lions, Johann Muller was majestic at the line out and the back line ran riot, with Tommy Bowe at his marauding best. Saints had no answer to Ruan Pienaar's distribution and control of his forwards, alongside the measured kicking game of man of the match Jared Payne. Chris Henry, Iain Henderson and former Saint Roger Wilson turned over ball time and time again, with the break down firmly in Irish control. 

To call this game a mismatch would be off the mark. To call Northampton bad would be understated. They were abject, woeful, dreadful, take your pick. Defensively, tackles were missed in key areas. Organisation was missing, with overlaps occurring seemingly every time the ball was thrown wide, with fly-half Paddy Jackson and fullback Payne  able to clip the ball down into Saints territory. On the offensive, Saints lacked direction and seemed devoid of all ideas, with stand off Ryan Lamb drifted around the park unable to unlock the Ulster line. The ball rarely went outside the 13 channel, with schoolboy tactics of single ball carriers employed. It felt like Groundhog Day for Saints, repeated attempts at the Irishmen's defense were broken down with ease.

You shall not pass: Jamie Elliot typifies Saints' gritty performance

The Ulstermen had well and truly stood up to a pitiful Northampton challenge. Ulster ran out comfortable 25-6 winners, picking up a 4 try bonus point and leaving the Saints with a crisis of faith. Captain and hooker Dylan Hartley conceded "We speak about intensity, they brought bags of it and we didn't bring enough. They are unbeaten and they showed why. They are a good team but we made them look better than it could of been" What was the rallying call? Pick themselves up, dust themselves off and try again. What game was up next? A return trip to Belfast at fortress Ravenhill against their tormentors Ulster. An opportunity for redemption. Marty Mcfly and The Delorean had to be on standby for Jim Mallinder and his charges so they could go back to last Friday and start all over again.

In a year that saw Europe emerge victorious despite a 6 point defecit going into the final day in The Ryder Cup, and in a week that saw League 2 side Bradford City dump Premier League giants Arsenal out of the League Cup, could Northampton Saints upset the odds and be the first team to defeat Ulster this season or would it be a miracle too far?  Intensity was the buzzword, with fresh reinforcements added to the team. Tom May came into the centres to provide power in midfield, Paul Doran-Jones replaced a jaded Brian Mujati to anchor an out of form scrum and Calum Clark was recalled in a second row berth to give dynamism around the field and counter a deadly Ulster back row.

Delighted: Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder beams at his sides win.

Baseball legend Hank Aaron famously once said "My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." Saints seemed to have taken this mentality to heart, as a blistering opening 20 minutes to the game saw them come out swinging with everything they had. 

 A role reversal to last weeks game evident, with Northampton roaring into an early 10-0 lead, with no.8 Gj Van Velve's try typifying their performance, which was full of, you guessed it, intensity, bravery and physical determination. Forgotten man Stephen Myler, displacing Ryan Lamb for the away clash, threw a gorgeous pass out to American Samu Manoa, who then worked the ball into Van Velze's hands, who then handed off giant Irish wing Andrew Trimble and crossed the whitewash with two Ulstermen on his back to score the only try of the game.

A wounded animal is often at its most dangerous, and Ulster came back hard at the men in green and gold. On the 42 mintue mark, they cut the gap to a point and the Saints faithful began to grew fearful, with one of their main issues being unable to play consistently for 80 minutes. This was a different beast to last week however. Myler controlled brilliantly and worked the corners. Young hooker Mikey Haywood, coming in for the suspended Dylan Hartley, has an assured head on youthful shoulders, with Saints dominating the line-out ball. The Saints scrum, creaking and squealing so badly last week was formidable, with scrums turned over and penalties won. The stand out performer, however, was undoubtedly giant Californian lock Samu Manoa. A barnstorming display saw him carry, ruck, tackle, scrummage, and win kick off after kick off,and have a perfectly credible try disallowed, all of which saw him walk away with a Man of the Match award.

Despite a late Ruan Pienaar kick at goal, which could of seen them undeservedly take the spoils, being missed, Saints rarely looked in doubt of securing victory. It took fantastic last ditch tackling from wing Jamie Elliot to deny a certain try, and Ulster made countless handling errors, but this was Saints' day, a holy day for Northampton rugby. A tough home match against Harlequins this weekend looms, making this supporter wonder, what performance will we see next?

LV= Cup: Dragons 20-30 Northampton

Centurion Phil Dowson offloads to try-scorer Jamie Elliot

NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS (10) 20

• Tries: Chavhanga 3
  

• Cons: Prydie
 

• Pens
• : Prydie

NORTHAMPTON (6) 30

• Tries: Dowson, Elliot

• Cons: Lamb
 

• Pens
• : Lamb 5
 

• Drop goal
• : Lamb

• LV= Cup
• 18th Nov 2012
 
• KO 15:15

An industrious performance from Northampton Saints secured their first win in five matches as the courageous Dragons were slain, despite a hat-rick of tries for Newport winger Tonderai Chavhanga. 

Following a last gasp defeat to Harlequins last time out, Saints took a formidable squad down to South Wales in an attempt to gain momentum going into the tricky winter period, which saw Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson recalled following their release from the England squad. 

Despite the Dragons only winning two games this season, a tough afternoon was expected, with Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder stating: "Its never easy to play in Wales, but we're going to be up for it and I'm looking for an 80-minute performance to get us back to winning ways." 

Saints signalled their intent early on, gathering Ryan Lamb's kick off and setting up field position through superiority at the ruck along with powerful ball carriers. Samu Manoa charged forwards and his deft offload to Dowson, making his 100th appearance for Saints, allowed Northampton to open the scoring through a Lamb penalty following a Dragons infringement at the resulting breakdown. 

After increasing pressure on the Newport 22 yard line, Saints manufactured an opportunity through quick hands from Dowson to youthful winger Jamie Elliot, who finished well in the corner, only to be brought back by the linesman for a foot in touch as he sprinted in to score. 

Samu Manoa carries into Dragons tacklers

Newport Fly-Half Dan Evans began to orchestrated things well at stand-off, his distribution effective, and the Dragons won a surprising penalty at the dominant Saints scrum for illegal binding, which was dispatched from 50 meters out by Wales international Tom Prydie. 

Saints scrum power was expected and came to prominence after 25 minutes as the Dragons buckled under pressure up front allowing Lamb to slot his second penalty of the afternoon, putting them back in front at 6-3. However, Newport crossed the whitewash with an expertly crafted 1st phase move through former Springbok Tonderai Chavhanga. A lovely inside ball from captain Ashley Smith carved through the Saints defence, allowing the rangy winger to gallop and score unopposed. 

Lamb missed his penalty kick at goal on the stroke of half time, leaving the visitors trailing at the break. However straight after the restart, Saints regained their scrum dominance and won a penalty straight in front of the posts, which Lamb duly dispatched this time bringing the score to 10-9. 

Dragons roared back and following a ill advised attempted chip by Saints inside their own 22. which was gathered by Newport and skipper Smith, who put Chavhanga in to score his second try of the game with Prydie unable to convert the try. 

Brian "Mooj" Mujati takes the ball into contact.

Northampton up front dominance was key to securing the victory and on 50 minutes their mauling dynamism came to fruition. A catch and drive opportunity was set up and the Saints pack rumbled over the line with Dowson at the bottom of the pile to seal his sentimental day with a try. 

Lamb converted Dowson's try and added his 3rd penalty of the match following offside Dragons players after a poor up and under by Chavhanga. Lamb dispatched another penalty on 56 minutes and ensuing the constant infringement at the break down, referee Pearce produced a yellow card for Dragons replacement prop Nathan Buck. It was only a matter of time before Saints made their numerical command count and on the hour mark a beautifully orchestrated chip kick was gathered by 19 year old wing Elliot to race through and finish. 

However the Newport refused to lay down, and a long pass out to South African international wing Chavhanga allowed the pacey flyer to dive in and complete his hat trick, despite video replays showing his foot was in touch in the process of scoring. Despite this Dragons back lash, Northampton saw the game out with Lamb coolly slotting a drop goal to extend the lead to 10 points, a lead that was never threatened for the rest of the match and secured a win that shot Saints to the top of Pool 4.