Adam Sweeting

1 week ago | theartsdesk.com | Adam Sweeting

It had begun to seem that Jon Hamm, whatever other roles he might appear in, was destined to be forever remembered exclusively as Mad Men’s Don Draper. Character and actor had made such a perfect fit that it was impossible to prise them apart. I always liked the idea of Hamm as a retro-James Bond set in Ian Fleming’s original 1950s period, but they wouldn’t listen.

2 weeks ago | theartsdesk.com | Adam Sweeting

In a world of macho super-achievers like Jack Reacher and Ethan Hunt, maybe it’s time to hear it for the nerdy guys. The Amateur (based on a novel by Robert Littell) was made once before, in 1981, starring John Savage and Christopher Plummer and directed by Charles Jarrott. For this sleek remake, the director’s chair is occupied by James Hawes, who, among other things, directed the first series of Apple TV’s Slow Horses.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Adam Sweeting

Johnny Tillotson’s big hit Poetry in Motion, which topped the British charts in January 1961 having reached No 2 in the US the month before, is the song that he will always be remembered for, but he was very far from being a one-hit wonder. Between 1959 and 1965, he scored four Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and in a career lasting more than 40 years, he placed a total of 26 singles on the Billboard charts.

3 weeks ago | theartsdesk.com | Adam Sweeting

A year ago Guy Ritchie brought us the Netflix series The Gentlemen, and now here he is on Paramount+ with his latest romp through the verdant pastures of criminal low-lifery. It seems that top thespians are queueing up to bag a slice of Ritchie-world, and an impressive cast includes Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Helen Mirren. To add a bit of extra lustre, screenwriting duties have been handled by Ronan Top Boy Bennett, with a bit of help from Jez Butterworth in episode one.

3 weeks ago | theartsdesk.com | Adam Sweeting

The dramatic allure of families neck-deep in organised crime never seems to falter, and Stephen Butchard’s new series continues that great tradition in rambunctious style. Sean Bean (pictured below) plays Ronnie Phelan, paterfamilias of a Liverpool cocaine-importing operation, with Jack McMullen as his son Jamie. Julie Graham steps up to the plate as Ronnie’s wife, Elaine. However, it’s inherent in the theme that blood will be thicker than water.