Die My Love is Jennifer Lawrence at her best
If only the rest of the cast had showed up
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman is an author and the US books editor of The Spectator.
Friday
Thursday
Is Meghan Markle making a thespian comeback?
As Britain’s royal family attempts to maintain a “business as usual” approach in the aftermath of the biggest scandal to have engulfed the institution in decades, the pair responsible for its last existential embarrassment have been notably silent. You might have expected, as Andrew was showily stripped of all his titles, some sanctimonious comment on
Wednesday
William’s Rio trip risks being overshadowed
From our UK edition
Cometh the hour, cometh the Prince of Wales. At least, that is what Prince William and those around him will be desperately hoping the result of his trip this week to Rio de Janeiro will be: a reset for the royal family after weeks of terrible, existentially damaging headlines, mainly but not entirely revolving around
Woody Allen’s first novel takes on cancel culture
It’s unlikely to change your preconceived notion of the man
Uncovering Brian Wilson’s real genius
The long-unfinished Smile reveals the musician’s talent and madness
Tuesday
Florence and the Machine is back
The band’s new album, Everybody Scream, contains some of the best music released this year
John Lewis’s Christmas advert might be its worst yet
From our UK edition
John Lewis’s Christmas advert is back – and this year’s effort is even more mawkish, unfocused and wearying than ever. The latest promo, conceived by advertising veterans Saatchi & Saatchi, is yet another underwhelming instalment in the store’s increasingly desperate attempt to sell their wares. Everyone’s favourite bastion of middle-class sensibility has latched on to
Is it all over for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie?
From our UK edition
There is a saying, variously attributed either to Euripides or Shakespeare, that is something along the lines of ‘the sins of the father will be visited upon the children.’ By anyone’s reckoning, this is deeply unfair and wholly undeserved, but the treatment of Prince Andrew’s children, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, will soon bear out
Monday
Why Taylor Sheridan quit Paramount
Sheridan has been working at a rate of energy that would kill many lesser men
Friday
It’s all over for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
From our UK edition
It’s all over for Prince Andrew or, as he is now known, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The former Duke of York, ex-trade envoy and, for all we know, Grand Pooh-Bah of Kazakhstan, has been stripped of every one of his titles. Andrew has also been ejected from his Windsor mansion by his brother, the King. Mr
Wednesday
Del Toro’s Frankenstein deserves the big screen
Still, it’s a relief that Netflix, for all its faults, is bankrolling work as individual and striking as this
The sanctimony of Steve Coogan
From our UK edition
About 20 years ago, the actor and comedian Steve Coogan did a tour called, with typical self-deprecation, Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters. I saw the show and it was, as you’d expect from Coogan, amusing and cleverly performed. Yet it ended strangely; Coogan sang a self-lacerating song called ‘Everyone’s a Bit
Tuesday
Why was Steven Soderbergh’s Star Wars film rejected?
That his film might be seen as a risk says a lot about how tainted the brand has become
It’s time for King Charles to get tough with Andrew
From our UK edition
One of the many horrors of the Prince Andrew scandal is the way that, ever since it worsened a now scarcely imaginable ten days ago, there is the growing sense that it is becoming uncontainable. The depth and extent of public anger became clear yesterday when, during a visit to Lichfield Cathedral, a lone protestor,
Monday
Can Prince Andrew be trusted to live a ‘private’ life?
From our UK edition
When I last wrote about the banned old Duke of York, following his voluntary decision to stop using his titles, I suggested that many will now be wondering why the last step of throwing him out the Royal Family altogether cannot be taken. Over the past week, something that would have been unlikely – even unthinkable –
Thursday
The significance of the King’s visit to Rome
From our UK edition
In any other week – or month, or year – King Charles’s visit to Rome would have been a truly seismic occasion, laden with symbolism and religious importance. Some may have recalled the unexpected significance of that great Father Ted line, ‘That would be an ecumenical matter’, when the news was announced that the King
Wednesday
Is Jeremy Strong our John Cazale?
The actor is the best part of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Tuesday
What is the point of Pizza Hut?
From our UK edition
When did you last go to a Pizza Hut? It’s one of those curious groups of fast food establishments – ‘restaurant’ seems rather too grandiose a term – that fell through the reputational cracks several years, perhaps even decades, ago, and has yet to expire. It was too expensive and fancy for those who wanted
Sunday
Nothing can save ‘Prince’ Andrew now
From our UK edition
If the Royal Family had hoped the punishment meted out to ‘the Banned Old Duke of York’ would suffice in the court of public opinion, they would now be disappointed. Since Friday’s revelations that Prince Andrew would ‘no longer use’ his dukedom or other honours following the stream of scandals about his friendship with paedophile
Saturday
The Duke of York’s downfall is complete
From our UK edition
After much speculation, Prince Andrew has relinquished his royal titles, most notably the Dukedom of York and the Order of the Garter. This represents an existential humiliation for the beleaguered ‘Randy Andy’. This represents an existential humiliation for the beleaguered ‘Randy Andy’ Yet it could have been seen coming a royal mile off. The latest
