Something For The Weekend

Exhibition: Francis Bacon: Man and Beast
It’s been engrossing and disturbing audiences since late January and with little over a month remaining until it closes shop, now is the time to hit the Royal Academy with a vengeance and catch Francis Bacon: Man and Beast. The Irish-born son of a horse-breeder, Bacon rose to fame to become one of the most important and celebrated artists of the 20th Century. The darkly grotesque exhibition focuses on Bacon’s fascination with animals and how that shaped his work and the blurring of the lines between man and beast. Spanning a 50-year career, highlights include some of his earliest works and his last-ever painting, alongside a trio of bullfight paintings, which are exhibited together for the first time. Raw, powerful and might challenege the squeamish.
royalacademy.org.uk

TV: More than Robots
Directed by the Gillian Jacobs (Community), More Than Robots follows teams of teenagers from around the world as they prepare for the 2020 FIRST® Robotics Competition. High school students, coaches and mentors are given six weeks to create a robot that can perform certain tasks, such as scoring goals, balancing on beams and hanging on bars. The regional teams hail from Los Angeles, Mexico City and Japan, all working towards the goal of taking their robots to the global championships. Jacobs focuses on the competitors rather than the machines, showcasing their struggles with resources and a global pandemic, which made completing the projects more difficult but inspired some amazing ingenuity. Ultimately, it’s a story about problem solving and how human beings, working together, are capable of incredible feats. Throw in Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, who introduces the competition and you have all ingredients you need for a light, feel-good documentary both tech-heads and luddites can enjoy. 
More than Robots is available to stream on DIsney + now.

Cinema: The Batman
Even if you're struck down with superhero fatigue, a new Batman movie is always worth a trip to the cinema just to see how good, or bad, this incarnation of the Dark Knight is compared to those that have gone before. Reviews have been generally positive for Robert Pattinson’s “grim and gritty” Caped Crusader. More Sherlock Holmes in tights than Ben Afflecks alien bashing bigshot, the focus is on ground-level detective work and tracking down a serial killer rather than trading blows with superhuman gods. Directed by Matt Reeves who helmed the latest Planet of the Apes trilogy, Paul Dano takes on the role of the Riddler, Zoe Kravitz is on board as Catwoman and Colin Farrell is in full prosthetics and  unrecognisable as The Penguin. At a run-time of nearly three hours, make sure you purchase plenty of popcorn.
The Batman is on release at cinemas nationwide now.

Drink: Luscombe’s Organic Sicilian Lemonade 
As the Spring weather swings in and the days get warmer, we all need a little something to quench our thirst and Luscombe’s Organic Sicilian Lemonade is just the ticket. A traditional still lemonade packed with Sicilian lemons and a splash of Madagascan vanilla, It’s the perfect accompaniment to Mediterranean dishes and ideal for relaxed meals in the garden with family and friends. Sicilian Lemonade was one of the first drinks Luscombe’s founder, Gabriel, developed when he set up Luscombe Drinks after returning to the family farm from time living in Sicily. Recently awarded a Royal Warrant, Luscombe has been producing beautifully crafted drinks on a farm in Devon since 1975 and the range now includes organic fruit juices, crushes, bubblies, tonic waters and mixers plus a traditional organic Devon cider. 
luscombe.co.uk