Articles written by Jem Bloomfield

David Hare has produced an engagingly downbeat spy drama, which uses Bill Nighy's considerable skills to the fullest.

Aug 29, 2011 - Jem Bloomfield

A risky revival fails to quite pay off, as this society comedy has failed to age gracefully.

Feb 10, 2011 - Jem Bloomfield

Wrong Turn, starring Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington, is a rather tired reworking of the stalk'n'slash genre.

Apr 11, 2009 - Jem Bloomfield

David Simon's precise writing demonstrated from the very beginning that "The Wire" had serious ambitions.

Apr 1, 2009 - Jem Bloomfield

Daniel Craig is either the latest Bond, or the first, depending on your viewpoint

Nov 17, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

The new Indiana Jones movie was almost bound to be a let-down

Nov 16, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

Mouth to Mouth is a superb new comedy pilot, recently screened on BBC Three.

Nov 15, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

The Exeter Little Theatre Company give a likeable performance of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at the Barnfield Theatre, under the direction of Margaret Bond.

Sep 27, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

Some of the best film versions of Shakespeare involve presenting them in genres which have been developed by cinema itself.

Aug 6, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

The English Game is either an important play about the state of Britain - or a cleverly observed portrait of male friendship and failings.

Aug 4, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

An all-star cast at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford produces a vibrant and engaging version of one of the most famous plays in the canon: Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

Aug 3, 2008 - Jem Bloomfield

A lively and entertaining film version of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" stars Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Northam.

Oct 14, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Reginald Hill excels himself in "The Death of Dalziel," which begins with Dalziel himself being blown up, leaving Pascoe to investigate a complex series of crimes.

Oct 14, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Still a detective classic, "The Sign of Four" by Arthur Conan Doyle features his world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

Oct 14, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

The Darkness Gathers by Lisa Miscione is a fast-paced thriller with plenty of Glocks and Sigs, but may leave readers asking what they missed when the smoke clears.

Oct 13, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

John Donne's poem "The Canonization" deploys some striking rhetorical turns, a bilingual pun, and some memorable images to praise immortality achieved through art.

Oct 13, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

David Roberts adds politics and intrigue to his 1930s murder mystery - but the results are disappointing.

Oct 12, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Sherlock Holmes is an instantly recognisable figure, and was one of the first great fictional detectives.

Oct 12, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Andrew Martin's railway detective Jim Stringer gets involved in murder, safecracking, and childbirth in this engaging historical thriller.

Oct 12, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

The first two stanzas of John Donne's poem "The Canonization" turns Petrarchan conceits inside out, to glorify Donne's love.

Oct 10, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Inspector Morse, created by Colin Dexter and played by John Thaw, is a cerebral and isolated figure - as much an enigma as the cases he solves.

Oct 10, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Unlike the heroes of school stories like Tom Brown, Billy Bunter's school career is a long series of stolen cakes, cunning plans, and being booted for his misdemeanours.

Oct 9, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Ngaio Marsh's detective novel "Hand in Glove" provides the traditional mixture of clues, alibis, and entertaining snobbery.

Oct 9, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

George Farquhar's comedy "The Beaux' Stratagem" combines highwaymen, marriage-hunters, a French chaplain, a locked moneybox and a lot of odd disguises...

Oct 8, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Farquar names his characters in The Beaux Stratagem with a light touch - names like "Aimwell" and "Boniface" are ambiguous rather than allegorical.

Oct 8, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Chris Patten's book "East and West" is a carefully thought defence of liberal democracy, and an interesting account of his negotations with China.

Oct 8, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Based on the drawings by Ronald Searle, "The Belles of St. Trinians" shows a girls' boarding school overrun with gambling, intrigue and home-brewed Gin.

Oct 8, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Andrew Davies adapted "House of Cards" from Michael Dobb's political novel. Ian Richardson's performance made it into a mesmering and chilling drama.

Oct 7, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Argued over and insisted upon, the apostrophe is one of the favourite issues of grammar pedants. But they may not be as correct as they think...

Oct 7, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

"Notes From A Small Island" sees Bill Bryson travelling around Britain, mocking, admiring and denouncing it with equal verve and humour.

Oct 7, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia" juxtaposes two stories in two different centuries in an intellectual game of surprising emotional power.

Oct 7, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

The comedies of the Ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes are enjoying a comeback - but there are risks attached to their popularity.

Oct 6, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Aristophanes' play The Frogs shows the ancient heroes and tragedians of Athens as greedy, randy scoundrels. It has some singing amphibians too.

Oct 6, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

A very new take on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories, featuring an all-star cast: Simon Callow, Richard E. Grant, Dawn French, Catherine Tate...

Oct 6, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

TV programmes and colour supplements have made rising house prices feel like a right for Britons. Faced with a credit crunch, that surely can't be a good thing...

Oct 6, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Historical accuracy loses out to sheer all-action fun in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Oct 5, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Drop Dead Gorgeous, starring Kirsten Dunst, takes a bitingly satirical look at small town America through a fictional dcumentary about a beauty pagent.

Oct 5, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Now ten years old, Wes Craven's postmodern slasher flick Scream still gives laughs and thrills with its knowing and ironic style of horror.

Oct 5, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Burton Hersh's book "Bobby and J. Edgar" leads the reader expertly through the tangles and intrigues of the Kennedy years.

Oct 5, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, with her knitting, gardening and shrewd view of human nature, solved crime based on her experiences in the country village of St. Mary Mead

Oct 4, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Dorothy L. Sayers created the complex and dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey - and according to some critics, fell in love with him.

Oct 4, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

An enduring figure in crime fiction, Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous characters of the "golden age" of the whodunnit.

Oct 4, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Ellis Peters' detective novels created the sleuthing monk Brother Cadfael, who has since been played by Derek Jacobi in the television adaptations.

Oct 4, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Our image of Hamlet is a durable one - but does it have any basis in the play Shakespeare wrote?

Oct 3, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

In "Death be not proud" (Divine Sonnet X), Donne turns his rhetorical skills on his greatest poetic adversary - death itself.

Oct 3, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Philip Larkin's poem "At Grass" employs his sensitive poetic technique to reflect on a field of aged racehorses, and on the practice of poetry.

Oct 3, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

John Donne's "Divine Sonnet VII" shows us both a grand vision of the end of time, and a poet who is uncertain of his worthiness to meet God.

Oct 3, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Sir Christopher Meyer's book "D.C. Confidential" gives worthwhile and sympathetic insights into American politics and diplomacy.

Oct 2, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

Will Ferrell's comic blockbuster "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" was a huge success, but its sketch-style comedy won't suit everyone.

Oct 2, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield

"Napolean Dynamite", starring Jon Heder, has been a runaway comedy success, even if no-one can quite explain what the joke is.

Oct 2, 2007 - Jem Bloomfield