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TV
If you only watch one, make it …
Vladimir
Netflix
Summed up in a sentence Rachel Weisz is unfailingly brilliant in this perfect adaptation of a blackly comic 2022 novel that sees her college professor falling for Leo Woodall as a hot younger colleague.
What our reviewer said “Vladimir is that rare visitor to the screen – proper television for proper grownups.” Lucy Mangan
Pick of the rest
DTF St Louis
Sky Atlantic & Now
Summed up in a sentence David Harbour stars alongside Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini in a deliciously dark dating app drama – which is uncomfortably familiar after his real-life Lily Allen fallout.
What our reviewer said “You may well find yourself DTFinishing the whole thing in a single watch.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading DTF St Louis: this David Harbour whodunnit about dating apps and infidelity is close to the bone
Hostage
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence This three-part docuseries about British war correspondent John Cantlie – who was kidnapped by IS and is believed to have died in an airstrike – is jaw-dropping stuff.
What our reviewer said “This is not the reverent tribute we might expect for a man whose vocation is usually held in high esteem.” Jack Seale
You may have missed …
Under Salt Marsh
Sky Atlantic & Now
Summed up in a sentence This Rafe Spall-starring tale of the investigation into a small boy’s death is a compelling, psychologically astute watch – which constantly pulls the rug out from under you.
What our reviewer said “It’s a series that is good at subverting expectations at every turn – not least in its delicate evocation of grief and the manifold ways a landscape can affect its people.” Lucy Mangan
Film
If you only watch one, make it …
The Bride!
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Jessie Buckley has a blast as frizzy-haired, black-tongued wife to Christian Bale’s lonely creature in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s darkly comic and gleefully bizarre reimagining of the 1935 film.
What our reviewer said “This new monster’s-wife tale is a rackety, violent black comedy with twists of Rocky Horror and extended homages to the top-hat-and-tails sophistication of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading ‘She will go down as one of the best’: the rise of Jessie Buckley
Pick of the rest
Hoppers
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Sprightly Pixar flick about a teen who discovers a method of talking to the animals, and tries to save them from an evil developer.
What our reviewer said “In its modest, insouciant way, it is about protecting the environment, and riffs amusingly on films such as Avatar (there’s some amusing preemptive material about it not being like Avatar, but it is, especially at the end) as well as Inception, The Lion King and Dr Dolittle.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading To infinity and beyond! Visitors can dive into Pixar worlds in immersive London show
Soul to Soul
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Restored documentary records a historic independence day show in Ghana in 1971, with electrifying performances from Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and more.
What our reviewer said “The concert and film can be seen now as part of the American Black consciousness debate of the time, which specifically prized the concept of the African motherland and the spiritual importance of returning to the wellspring of Black American inspiration.” Peter Bradshaw
Sound of Falling
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence A powerfully unsettling story of national guilt and yearning, told in four different timeframes in the same rural family home in Germany.
What our reviewer said “Perhaps like Haneke’s The White Ribbon, Mascha Schilinski’s film is something like a ghost story or even a folk-horror and there is a clammy unease in every shot as the camera drifts up and away from scenes like a ghost; the soundtrack throbs and groans with ambient disquiet.” Peter Bradshaw
Hard Boiled
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung face off in John Woo’s inventive 1992 cop thriller whose hospital shootout remains one of cinema’s most outrageous set pieces.
What our reviewer said “The stunts are wildly impressive, especially the motorbike riders who sail through the air in a ball of flame, and the gunplay is unique, although I have never found the term “balletic” quite right for something so brutal and quick.” Peter Bradshaw
Books
If you only read one, make it …
The Last Kings of Hollywood by Paul Fischer
Reviewed by Peter Bradshaw
Summed up in a sentence How Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola transformed American film-making.
What our reviewer said “Fischer has produced a really readable, closely researched account of life at Hollywood’s top table – likably presented with the enthusiasm and commitment of a true fan.”
Pick of the rest
Daffodil Days by Helen Bain
Reviewed by Melissa Harrison
Summed up in a sentence Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes’s marriage, as seen by the people around them.
What our reviewer said “At points, the experience of reading this novel feels very close to time travel: Yes, you think, as you watch Plath sitting with her daughter Frieda on her lap in the garden, or glimpse her getting up to write at 4am: that is just how it must have been.”
The Quantity Theory of Morality by Will Self
Reviewed by Nina Allan
Summed up in a sentence A state-of-the-nation satire and send-up of the metropolitan elite.
What our reviewer said “There’s everything in here: trans rights, green issues, the Holocaust, the Gaza conflict, the general moral turpitude of the neoliberal elite. But Self is too good a writer to ever be preachy.”
Tales of the Suburbs by John Grindrod
Reviewed by Rebecca Nicholson
Summed up in a sentence Stories of queer life in unlikely places.
What our reviewer said “Grindrod’s fascination with and connection to the subject have allowed him to weave an intelligent and sensitive collection of stories, interspersing research from libraries, archives, books, newsletters and reports with original interviews.”
You may have missed …
A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
Reviewed by Joanna Cannon
Summed up in a sentence This debut novel about homophobia in provincial 1980s Britain won this year’s Gold Nero award.
What our reviewer said “In this small and powerful story, Lynch forces us to stare bigotry in the eye. She does this not only with smart and often heartbreaking observations of human behaviour, but also by weaving in difficult truths.”
Further reading Claire Lynch wins Nero Gold prize for debut about 1980s homophobia
Albums
If you only listen to one, make it …
Waterbaby: Memory Be a Blade
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The Stockholm musician’s debut album is a fascinating character study with a light, pretty sound that belies its emotional depth.
What our reviewer said “The bewilderment of a romantic breakup, and the consolation prize of understanding yourself a little better afterwards, is rendered evocatively on this eight-song debut album.” Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Pick of the rest
Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu: Live at the Met
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Recorded in New York in 2023, the soprano sings Strauss, Wagner, Grieg and more to thrilling effect.
What our reviewer said “Davidsen’s soprano sounds fresh, gleaming and direct, her top-most notes silvery. She knows how to ensure nothing gets overblown.” Erica Jeal
Simo Cell and Abdullah Miniawy: Dying Is the Internet
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The latest collaboration between the French producer and Egyptian singer pairs soaring musicality with frenetic electronics to examine the age of AI.
What our reviewer said “The album is a masterclass in breaking apart the grid-like rigidity of electronic productions”. Ammar Kalia
Now touring …
Dave
02 Arena, London, to 11 March; touring to 17 March
Summed up in a sentence Showcasing chart-topping album The Boy Who Played the Harp, the rapper charismatically switches between heavy beats, rock-show grandeur and searching introspection.
What our reviewer said “It’s a marvel to watch him move between playfulness and gravitas with such ease.” Claire Biddles
Further reading Dave: The Boy Who Played the Harp review – it’s clearer than ever what a stunningly skilled rapper he is
