In the opening minutes of Red Lights, the new paranormal thriller by Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés, Dr Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) arrive at a house on a hill to investigate a reported ghost. Big, old and surrounded by skeletal trees - the place certainly looks haunted. But the thing is, it isn’t. The suspected poltergeist is just an unhappy little girl, slamming her wardrobe door to scare the bejesus out of mum and dad. Case closed. By day, Matheson and Buckley teach paranormal scepticism to psychology students and by night and on the weekends, they’re a hoax-fighting duo, exposing alleged hauntings and fraudulent psychics. But they meet their … [Read more...] about Red Lights: The sceptics are heroes in paranormal movie thriller
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Athletic Bilbao returns to big-time with Manchester United tie
Considering the global appetite for European and particularly English football, it is often difficult and potentially even dangerous to try and determine whether the behaviour of the fanatical supporter seated next to you at your local watering hole is driven by a genuine affection for the game or a lifestyle choice born out of social compulsion. However, occasionally there are games that by their very nature facilitate the making of that distinction. Games which are rendered significant not by the hyperbolic pre-match bluster of television or the immediate consequence of the result but by historical context, and a certain nostalgia-tinged sense of occasion. For Athletic Bilbao, the tie … [Read more...] about Athletic Bilbao returns to big-time with Manchester United tie
La Liga: Higuaín proves his worth once again
The scrawny 19-year-old with the big hair salvaged the ball from the sidelines when 85,000 others in the stadium thought it had gone out of play, played a nice one-two with José Antonio Reyes and slotted the ball into the back of the net to send the fans wild. It was a last minute winner against RCD Espanyol which kept his side in the running for the Liga title, which they would go on to win a few weeks later. The ecstatic Argentine threw his shirt in the air, Iker Casillas ran the length of the pitch to join in the celebrations, Fabio Cannavaro waved the corner flag aloft and Ruud Van Nistelrooy held the discarded shirt up to the crowd as if to announce it: Gonzalo Higuaín had … [Read more...] about La Liga: Higuaín proves his worth once again
An all-too-fleeting break from obscurity for Horacio Echevarrieta
Before embarking on an article about Oliver van der Zee's recent documentary El último magnate, an important question to ask is why this film about the little-known yet groundbreaking Spanish mogul Horacio Echevarrieta has been all but overlooked in his home turf of the Basque Country (not to mention much of the rest of Spain). Perhaps one clue is director José Antonio Hergueta's comment to El País that Echevarrieta “was the man of the moment in Spain, the most famous, the richest; a pioneer and innovator...(but) these days no-one even in the Basque Country remembers who he was.” All attempts to watch this 80-minute documentary (known internationally as The Last Tycoon and part … [Read more...] about An all-too-fleeting break from obscurity for Horacio Echevarrieta
La Liga: Guardiola keeps Barcelona guessing
Any seasoned FC Barcelona fan knows there comes a time in every season when coach Pep Guardiola’s contract renewal is talked about by the press and mulled over by the man himself, before he signs up for another year. Since taking the helm at the Catalan club in 2008, he has always insisted on signing on for one-year contract extensions at a time in order to keep up his own high standards as well as those of his players. But this year, something feels altogether different. There is a nervousness in the air, other offers are being discussed and his players, who usually go through these same motions annually, seem more unsure about his future than ever before. One look at his record in … [Read more...] about La Liga: Guardiola keeps Barcelona guessing
The Serrat–Sabina generation: sitting comfortably
Looking back over the last 50 years of so of popular music, it’s probably a safe enough conclusion to draw that at least one of the secrets of a performer’s enduring popularity is to be inexorably associated with fast-changing times. For most of us, however banal it might seem to the rest of the world — and we may ourselves not even realise it at the time — there is always a moment in life after which things are never quite the same; a high point or an event, a moment, after which events overtake us; when we grow up and settle down to earning a living, raising a family; that sort of thing. For the more Romantic among us, the times leading up to that high point in life, otherwise known … [Read more...] about The Serrat–Sabina generation: sitting comfortably
A bit of Greece in Valencia
Even before the disturbances this week in Valencia, the city and its surrounding region laid claim to some pretty worrying badges of honour. It’s the capital of Gürtel, the biggest political corruption scandal in Spain of recent times, and the home of Francisco Camps, the former Valencia regional premier who was absolved of any involvement in the affair after insisting he pays for his €3,000 suits in cash and doesn’t bother keeping the receipts. It’s also the most heavily indebted region in Spain, with a €20-billion deficit, leaving it perilously close to failing to make a debt payment to Deutsche Bank recently. It hosts Castellón airport, perhaps Spain’s most notorious white-elephant … [Read more...] about A bit of Greece in Valencia
Rajoy, reform and the burden of employment expectations
As thousands took to the streets at the weekend, it quickly became clear that the Partido Popular’s approach to job creation had more than a few critics. Focusing their anger on reforms passed on February 9, critics called out the new government’s efforts to reduce mandatory severance pay from 45 to 33 days per year worked and allowing what they felt was an unfair freedom for companies to opt out of collective bargaining agreements and adjust wages and hours according to their financial standing. The Rajoy government insisted that it “wants to give firms the ability to modify workers' hours in response to demand rather than simply laying them off, bringing an end to the rapid rise in … [Read more...] about Rajoy, reform and the burden of employment expectations
Goya 2012: no joy for Almodóvar
I can’t say I was unhappy to be proved wrong in predicting the winners at Sunday’s Goya Awards. Never believe the media. Given the hype, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In looked set to sweep the board, with 16 nominations. But instead the Spanish Film Academy gave the best prizes to Enrique Urbizu’s No Rest for the Wicked, which carried off Best Picture and Best Director, while veteran José Coronado took Best Actor for his portrayal of a maverick cop in the gritty police thriller — the fabulous curly perm he sports in the role was worth an award in itself. Interviewed as he entered the gala event at Madrid’s Opera House, Almodóvar gave the impression he had been tipped off that he … [Read more...] about Goya 2012: no joy for Almodóvar
Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?
More than 36 years after heading for the great military dictatorship in the sky, General Francisco Franco proved his enduring pulling power by stealing the show at last week’s annual ARCO contemporary art fair, appearing in a fridge and as a fast-spinning bust; even his eyebrows were a big draw. Siempre Franco (Forever Franco) was the star attraction at the five-day artfest, a life-size hyperrealist representation of the man who ruled Spain with an iron fist for four decades. The piece was created by Eugenio Merino out of resin, silicon, and human hair, and was decked out in Franco’s trademark green military uniform with purple sash, red cummerbund, and dark sunglasses, crouching inside a … [Read more...] about Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?