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Female-led spy thriller Knightfall fails to match Bond’s glamour or polish
The Guardian reviews Knightfall, a low-budget British spy thriller that puts a gender-flipped twist on the James Bond formula, positioning itself to fill the gap left by 007’s absence from screens. The film follows tough security operative Ros Knight, played by Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott, as she attempts to recover a stolen bioweapon, but the review…
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The “nightmare” 1995 performance Stephen Fry will always regret: “I’m so very sorry”
Stephen Fry has long spoken candidly about walking away from Simon Gray’s play Cell Mates in 1995, an episode he still regards with regret. After just three performances alongside co-star Rik Mayall, Fry quit the production, leaving only a letter of apology to the director and Mayall before disappearing; he was found later that week…
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E-bikes to be fitted with number plates in clampdown on rogue riders
E-bike hire firm Forest is fitting number plates to a third of its 1,500-strong bike fleet in Richmond, west London, in an effort to identify riders responsible for dangerous or criminal behaviour. The move follows nearly 39,000 e-bike-related incidents recorded by police forces across England over the past three years, ranging from collisions with pedestrians…
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Goodbye, Colin From Accounts: how TV’s loveliest comedy stuck the landing
The Guardian’s television critic reflects on the finale of Colin From Accounts, the Australian romantic comedy created by and starring real-life couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, praising how the series avoided the well-worn clichés of streaming-era will-they-won’t-they romances. The show, which began in 2022 with the pair’s characters, pub owner Gordon and med student…
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ANDREW NEIL: With the bond markets on one side and the Left on the other, even Harry Houdini couldn’t escape the bind that Healey is in
In his first major speech as Chancellor, John Healey struck an upbeat tone, praising Britain’s “huge latent potential” and pledging to cut the “thicket” of consultation, litigation and regulation holding back economic growth, in contrast to the gloom cultivated by his predecessor Rachel Reeves. However, columnist Andrew Neil argues Healey’s positive rhetoric was undercut both…
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Venice Horizons Winner Anuparna Roy Returns to Lido With Mumbai Story of Migrants, Desire and Belonging ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’
Indian director Anuparna Roy returns to the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons competition with “Lovers in the Blue Night,” a year after becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the section’s best director prize for her debut, “Songs of Forgotten Trees.” The new film, sold internationally by Parallax, follows four migrants navigating desire and belonging in…
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Newcastle admit they started planning for Eddie Howe’s exit at start of year
Newcastle United’s sporting director, Ross Wilson, has revealed the club had been quietly planning for Eddie Howe’s exit for eight or nine months before the manager stepped down in late July, meaning the switch to Matthias Jaissle could be executed swiftly despite the surprise timing just weeks before the new season. Wilson said the process…
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Secret warning to Jim Chalmers that negative gearing and capital gains tax changes will push up rents and drive down house prices is exposed
Treasury privately warned Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers that the government’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax would push up rents and lower house prices, according to a Cabinet document obtained under freedom of information laws. The warning came ahead of the May budget, in which Labor scrapped negative gearing for new builds and…