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With guests: Mark Kermode Sarfraz Manzoor Natasha Walter Kwame Kwei-Armah |
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Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest
The lovable rogue Captain Jack Sparrow is back for more misadventure in the second instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.
The betrothed Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightly) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) both become embroiled once again in the escapades of Captain Jack (Johnny Depp).
This time Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), ruler of the oceans, has decided it's time for Jack Sparrow to repay the blood debt he owes him.
However, the crafty Jack sets sail to get hold of the key to Davy Jones's locker so he can destroy the contents and be released from his pact.
Of course plenty of adventure and witty characters are encountered along the way.
Like the first film in the trilogy, Dead Man's Chest is co-written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, directed by Gore Verbinski, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
The visual effects are as good as ever - Davy Jones's head resembles a living squid, his ghostly crew are encrusted with barnacles, and there are some spectacular escape sequences.
But at 150 minutes long, can the swashbuckling sustain the hype?
CERTIFICATE 12A PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST OPENS IN THE UK ON THURSDAY, 6 JULY, 2006
That Summer Day is a children's drama set on the day of the 7/7 terror attacks of 2005. It is told through the eyes of six fictional school children as each of them hears about the tragic news events of that day.
It's the start of an ordinary day at an inner city, multi-cultural London school. Ben (Sanchez Adams) has an argument with his Dad because they are late.
Book-worm Marie (Susie Wokoma) has a laugh with her friend Kelly - the school bully (Rosie Mahoney).
Kelly has a pop at music-mad Ayesha (Rhea Karimpanal) and after she bumps into her in the playground decides to nick her mobile phone. Later in the day the Muslim girl also gets some unwanted attention for wearing her hijab.
Ben strikes up a friendship with new boy Jack (Michael Curtis Parsons) when he finds out there has been an explosion at the tube station used by his father. They wag school to track him down.
In the hours and weeks after the London bombings, the BBC children's websites were flooded with messages from children, which was the starting point for this drama. That Summer Day was written by Clive Bradley and was filmed on location at Islington Green School.
Producer Hannah Prescod states:
"We talked to charities who heard from children on the subject - such as Childline. We then identified themes and issues that the programme needed to address in response to the points raised by children themselves to these charities, during discussions with us at schools and also from messages posted on the CBBC website."
But is it a thought-provoking drama or a patronising look at the way children react? The Review panel give their verdict, and talk more widely about the role of culture in commemorating and commentating on such events.
THAT SUMMER DAY IS ON BBC TWO AND CBBC AT 4.30PM ON 7 JULY, 2006 REPEATED ON CBBC AT 6PM ON 9 JULY, 2006
REM KOOLHAAS
The Serpentine Gallery each year invites an architect who has not built in the UK to design them a summer pavilion.
Unbelievably, Rem Koolhaas fits the bill, despite his many years of residence in London.
Winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2000, Koolhaas has made his reputation with dizzyingly unique structures such as the Casa del Musica in Porto and the CCTV HQ building currently under construction in Beijing.
In that spirit, the summer pavilion features, as Koolhaas says, "a first in the history of mankind" with its inflatable roof allowing the space to become open air in warm weather.
In keeping with his notion of "Program", he was insistent on also designing the series of talks which will take place within the building over the summer.
With other projects planned in London including the regeneration of White City and the redesign of the Rothchild bank, we'll have to wait and see if the inflatable roof makes a reappearance in a permanent structure.
THE SERPENTINE GALLERY'S SUMMER PAVILION IS IN KENSINGTON GARDENS, LONDON UNTIL OCTOBER
GRAYSON PERRY
Turner Prize winning potter, and Newsnight Review regular, Grayson Perry has turned his hand to curating.
The Charms of Lincolnshire exhibition is composed of sinister relics of the rural Victorian age from lark lures to coffin furniture to a full size hearse.
These are interspersed with Perry's own creations inspired by the finds. His works include pots which combine Victorian patterning with snapshots of country villages now, complete with cars and yellow crime boards, the aim being to subvert sentimental attitudes towards the countryside.
Perry himself makes a sneaky appearance in the exhibition as original photos of Lincolnshire farmers wives sit alongside similar shots of Perry in a poke bonnet.
THE CHARMS OF LINCOLNSHIRE TRANSFERS FROM THE COLLECTION IN LINCOLN TO THE VICTORIA MIRO GALLERY IN LONDON UNTIL AUGUST
The Life of Galileo
National Theatre, London
Simon Russell Beale plays the title role in Bertolt Brecht's The Life of Galileo at the National Theatre.
The play has been adapted by David Hare and is directed by Howard Davies.
Galileo's astonishing proof that the earth moves around the sun shattered a belief held sacred for 2,000 years.
Considered an enemy of humanity - and the Catholic Church - Galileo was threatened with torture and faced with a terrible choice: integrity versus intellectual sell-out.
Although set in the 17th century, the play is performed in modern dress.
Writing on the brink of World War Two, Brecht examines social responsibility and the conflict between reason and faith.
The panel discuss the resonance of ideas within the play in today's climate.
THE LIFE OF GALILEO IS AT THE OLIVIER, NATIONAL THEATRE AND CONTINUES IN REPERTOIRE
Modigliani and his Models
Royal Academy, London
Amedeo Modigliani was only 35 when he died of tuberculosis brought on by excessive drinking and drug taking.
The day after his death, his young lover Jeanne Hébuterne, who was pregnant with their second child, committed suicide.
Since then the drama of his life has been the focus of several films and novels and brought him notoriety rather than respect as an artist.
The Royal Academy attempts to redress the balance with the first exhibition in the UK of Modigliani's paintings for over 40 years.
He painted mostly portraits, developing a signature style of elongated necks, almond eyes and pursed lips.
The exhibition also includes a range of his explicit nudes which caused the closure of one of his shows in Paris in the 1920s, which allow us to decide: is the work as dramatic and controversial as the life story?
MODIGLIANI AND HIS MODELS IS AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY, LONDON UNTIL OCTOBER
Don't forget that you can watch Newsnight Review online via this website. The programme is available in broadband from 1200 BST on the Saturday after originally broadcast for one week.
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RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Pirates of the Caribbean
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