D Tuesday, February 2, 2010 metrolife 13 Almodvar stuck on Cruz control DVD of the Week Broken Embraces Twentieth Century Fox, 18, 23 Many would argue that Spanish auteur Pedro Almodvar cant make a bad film but Broken Embraces surely teeters close to that precipice. His longest and most expensive movie to date is a paean to filmmaking with a fractured structure that sweeps through a dizzying array of cinematic references including a brassy pastiche of his own breakthrough film. Its twists and turns are clever and Almodvar just about keeps hold of his convoluted plot, draping it in some sumptuous imagery along the way. But, disappointingly, this cleverness has taken priority over the warmth and generous spirit that make his best films so unforgettable. Jobbing screenwriter Harry Caine (Lluis Homar) starts the game of double identity Almodvar plays in this film. Before he lost his sight in a car accident, Caine was a filmmaker called Mateo Blanco here he relates in flashback the story of the love of his life. The object of his desire was Lena (Penlope Cruz), star of Blancos film Girls And Suitcases and trophy girlfriend of ruthless millionaire businessman Ernesto Martel (Jos Luis Gmez). But, given its a tale about dark and violent obsession, Broken Embraces is strangely bloodless; Cruz looks astonishing throughout but we never see under the gorgeous carapace. You keep waiting for the surprises that usually electrify Almodvars films but they never come. And, partly because were kept at such an emotional distance from all the characters, the closing revelations seem pedestrian and rather trite. Its melodrama thats missing its drama and some unforgivably self-indulgent lapses make this a pretty ponderous two hours. Extras: short film La Concejala Antropfaga, deleted scenes, making-of Girls And Suitcases, photo gallery. Siobhn Murphy CD Hot Chip: One Life Stand EMI With two Mercury nominations under their belts and a stack of synths at their sensitive touch, Hot Chips fourth album displays the romantic mode they revealed on 2008s Made In The Dark. Its not that they havent evolved; Hot Chip are masters of subtle change and One Life Stand boasts intricate electronic symphonies, orchestral flourishes (I Feel Better) and steel drums. The bands most recognisable traits are also their most divisive; listeners will either find Alexis Taylors (pictured) vocals plaintive or grating and their ballads earnest or dirgeful (Slush is aptly titled). Yet few other acts offer such a nifty, witty reaction to genres from rave to rnb and Hot Chips best serenade isnt even for the laydeez: its Brothers, where Joe Goddard leads an ode to bromance (playing XBox, drinking and looking after each other), that forms this LPs tasty soft centre. Arwa Haider COMEDY Pappys Fun Club TV Pick Of The Day Haitis Killer Quake: Why It Happened Channel 4, 9pm By now we are all familiar with the tragic results of the earthquake that hit the tiny Caribbean country, but even though the destruction was immense did so many people have to lose their lives? Questions are now being asked about the resilience of the nations buildings and what can be done in the future to protect this island state. This excellent if traumatic documentary aims to find the answers. GAME Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars iPhone, 7 The Nintendo DS game comes to iPhone, bringing all the excellence of the GTA franchise into the handheld arena. The DS version crammed a load of gameplay into a small package and the iPhone iteration manages this even further by reducing the twin screens to just one. Set in Liberty City, Chinatown Wars sends you out hotwiring cars, defusing bombs and making Molotov cocktails as you set about trying to find out who jumped you on your arrival in the city and stole your uncles priceless sword. In spite of the old-school top-down perspective, the city still has a 3D feel to it. Graphically, Chinatown Wars is easily one of the best-looking iPhone games and it makes great use of sound: as you go around stealing cars you have different radio stations playing different genres, with the added bonus that you can make a playlist from your iTunes library and use it in- game. The touch-screen controls are also good. Steven Fox Its all change for one of Britains most irresistible sketch outfits. After coming to attention with their 2006 show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Pappys Fun Club became a wildly successful quartet. But now the four are down to three, with Brendan Dodds having left, and Pappys Fun Club has become simply Pappys. The official line claims business reasons rather than personal ones. Like any break-up, we went as far as we could as the four of us, says Matthew Crosby, one third of the remaining trio with Tom Parry and Ben Clark. Its sad were no longer the team we were but this is a progression and, if you come and see the show, I dont think itll feel like a drastic upheaval. The show in question is a reworked version of 200 Sketches In An Hour, the piece they took to Edinburgh last year. Its their best effort yet but theyll have their work cut out for them too. Now there are less people on stage, and those people on stage will be a tiny bit more frantic, says Crosby. Brendans role was mostly to hold things together so thats been partitioned out to the three of us. And we cant do the four horsemen of the apocalypse sketch anymore. You can, however, revel in dizzying sketches that involve cereal, the tallest man in the world, pun-based gags and a dinosaur called Dean en route to their ambitious world record attempt. Its in the spirit of the gang show tradition and the exuberance falls just the right side of chaos. We spend a lot of time making sure the show is well-crafted, says Crosby. Its great to tell a story and take the audience on a journey, which is something sketch comedy doesnt always do its just sketch, blackout, sketch, blackout, song, finale. We like to make it a real adventure. If the audience and performers make it to the end unscathed, you have Crosby to thank; hes the man keeping things on track. I would say Tom throws loads of crazy ideas at the wall, Ben is very good at coming up with how the show could look and Im there like some horrible bureaucrat, saying: We cant do that thats impractical. I used to be a schoolteacher and thats still kind of my MO. Im there to regiment the fun. Arwa Haider Tonight at 4 Dame and tomorrow at Trinity College. www.pappys funclub.co.uk Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2008, Chile The winemakers at Cono Sur are renowned for producing great quality wines with relatively inexpensive price tags. This is a super Pinot Noir with lots of fresh fruit flavours of cherry, raspberry and plum with subtle layers of smoke. This wine has lots of personality and elegance. We love it with a plate of charcuterie and some mild cheese, but it would be great with chicken, turkey dishes or fish. Available nationwide from Tesco and independent off licences at 9.99. Film Of The Day A Perfect Murder TG4, 9.05pm Andrew Davis does a an interesting job with this stylish remake of the Hitchcock classic Dial M For Murder. Michael Douglas plays the older, scheming rich husband perfectly, Gwyneth Paltrow (pictured) his younger, brilliant wife, and Viggo Mortensen her smouldering, jealous lover. In true film noir style, they all have an agenda, but things dont go to plan. 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