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Martin Scorsese’s favourite movies of the 1970s: “The memories of our lifetime”
Martin Scorsese’s recommended films of the 1970s reflect his longstanding view that cinema preserves shared memories and shapes how audiences see the world. The selection matters as a guide to the films that influenced one of the era’s most significant American directors, combining major New Hollywood works with European, Asian and cult cinema. – *Aguirre,…
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Halo: Combat Evolved invented Xbox, and that was just for starters
Polygon reflects on Halo: Combat Evolved’s legacy on the occasion of its remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved, arguing that the 2001 original was defined as much by its sound design as by its gameplay innovations, and that it single-handedly established Xbox’s identity in the console market. The piece frames the game and its hardware as an…
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The vertical video takeover is here
The Verge examines how vertical video has become the dominant format across social media and streaming, arguing that major platforms grew powerful largely by copying one another’s successful features rather than through original innovation. The piece traces this pattern back to Snapchat’s 2013 launch of Stories, a feature that proved so popular it was soon…
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Game, set and match: Wimbledon star Arthur Fery is looking for love as he joins celebrity dating app Raya
Arthur Fery, a British junior tennis player who competed in the boys’ singles at Wimbledon, has reportedly signed up to Raya, the exclusive members-only dating app popular with celebrities and public figures. The move has drawn media attention because it places the young sportsman among the app’s high-profile user base, adding a personal dimension to…
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‘Burnham bounce’ risks deflating unless focus remains on struggling households | Richard Partington
UK consumer confidence rose at its fastest monthly pace in almost three years in June, a shift data firm GfK partly attributes to Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster politics, alongside sunshine and England’s World Cup run. The improvement matters because household spending makes up around 60% of the UK economy, so any lift in sentiment…
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Kansas Almost Missed Recording What Became Their First Big Hit in 1976
An American Songwriter piece recounts how Kansas nearly didn’t record “Carry On Wayward Son”, the 1976 song that became the band’s first Top 5 hit. Written by band member Kerry Livgren, the track was brought to the group only two days before recording sessions for their fourth album, Leftoverture, were due to begin, at a…
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Sinfonia of London/Wilson review – night of Technicolor masterpieces from one of the finest orchestras on the planet
John Wilson conducted the Sinfonia of London at the Royal Albert Hall in a Proms concert of Verdi, Walton and Respighi, earning another five-star review for an ensemble praised as one of the finest orchestras in the world. The programme showcased both the orchestra’s technical precision and its expressive depth, with critics highlighting Wilson’s talent…
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Netflix’s Monumental Western Woos Taylor Sheridan’s Audience with 100 Million Hours Viewed
Netflix’s new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie has become a major hit, racking up 100 million hours viewed as it continues to top the streamer’s viewership charts. The show is part of Netflix’s broader push to attract fans of Taylor Sheridan’s western dramas, having previously passed on Yellowstone, which went on to become…
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From author to anime hero: the unlikely revival of a Japanese literary star
More than 70 years after his death, Japanese author Osamu Dazai has become an unlikely publishing sensation, with a new generation of readers, particularly young men, drawn to the bleak, self-lacerating honesty of his fiction. His best-known novel, No Longer Human, has sold over 75,000 copies in the UK, and Penguin Classics is capitalising on…
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‘We count every litre’: how Cuba’s energy crisis sparked a daily struggle for water
Cuba’s deepening energy crisis has left millions of people without reliable access to running water, as electricity shortages disable pumping stations and fuel shortages cripple the country’s ageing water distribution network. Power cuts no longer just leave homes dark; they leave taps dry, forcing residents in Havana and beyond to spend hours each day fetching,…