Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s ‘lively’ Shutter Island. Having finally won a long overdue best director Oscar for one of his most solidly pedestrian works (The Departed), Martin Scorsese cuts himself some cultural slack with Shutter Island, a romping old-fashioned psychodrama replete with murderous plots, ghostly visions and the kind of split [...]

‘Where I come from, fighting settles a lot of things. It’s taken a lot of work to steer myself into things that really matter.’ Photograph: Desmond Muckian for the Guardian The first thing that hits me is the stench of sweat. Then the heat. And finally the brutal grunts of men punching each other. An [...]

Alison Goldfrapp live at the Roundhouse: ‘like a woman who has recently been extricated from a bin full of unwound VHS tapes’. Photograph: Marilyn Kingwill Imagine a gig – a proper gig – where everyone gets in for free. Now imagine an event where the fabled guest list (a bit of an oxymoron, granted, when [...]

The Big Four (plus a few roadies). Photograph: Dariusz Kawka ‘It speaks to the core essence of the human psyche, bro,” says Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, explaining thrash metal’s enduring appeal. “It’s true. There’s a beat and an energy that speaks to you no matter what cultural background, what age, what demographic. If you hear it [...]