TV
If you only watch one, make it …
House of Guinness
Netflix; available now
Summed up in a sentence “Like Succession but about a booze dynasty in 19th-century Dublin, Steven Knight’s latest show is full of smarts, heart and sex appeal. It’s a career peak for him.”
What our reviewer said “As the shouting, fighting and drawing-room tensions escalate, and sex proves to be as much of a hindrance to clear thinking as money (the casting of James Norton, pheromones fairly radiating from the screen, is a big help there), House of Guinness matures into a romp that you can hardly resist.” Jack Seale
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Further reading Why we can’t get enough of a good dynasty drama
Pick of the rest
Wayward
Netflix; available now
Summed up in a sentence Mae Martin’s followup to the immaculate romcom Feel Good is this mesmerising mystery set at an academy for troubled teens, headed up a brilliantly chilling Toni Collette.
What our reviewer said “Wayward is stylish and hugely watchable – it’s hard for one’s inner adolescent to look away from a punchy eight-parter where so many comeuppances are delivered to horrible grownups.” Lucy Mangan
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The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money
ITVX; available now
Summed up in a sentence A devastating look at the biggest spending scandal ever – the Tories’ “VIP lane” for PPE suppliers during Covid.
What our reviewer said “Watching this programme forces us to at least consider something that is almost too disgusting to contemplate: that when our country faced one of its darkest hours, certain people in charge saw not a crisis, but an opportunity.” Jack Seale
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You may have missed …
High Potential
Disney+; new episodes available weekly
Summed up in a sentence Kaitlin Olson’s practically perfect turn as an extremely intelligent crime-solver is fun, cosy, crowd-pleasing TV.
What our reviewer said “This virtuoso citizen detective can always be relied upon to save the day.” Rachel Aroesti
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Film
If you only watch one, make it …
One Battle After Another
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Paul Thomas Anderson updates Thomas Pynchon for the era of Ice roundups, pitting shaggy revolutionary Leonardo DiCaprio against cartoonish forces of reaction.
What our reviewer said “One Battle After Another is at once serious and unserious, exciting and baffling, a tonal fusion sending that crazy fizz across the VistaVision screen – an acquired taste, yes, but addictive.” Peter Bradshaw
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Further reading ‘I’m a hustler, a grinder’: Teyana Taylor on music, motherhood and One Battle After Another
Pick of the rest
The Dead of Winter
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Emma Thompson stars in an icy Fargo country thriller as a good-natured Minnesota widow bringing her charm, and her gun, to tackle some concentrated nastiness.
What our reviewer said “It has an old-school barnstorming brashness, some edge-of-the-seat tension, a mile-wide streak of sentimentality, a dash of broad humour and a horrible flourish of the macabre.” Peter Bradshaw
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Brides
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Two friends leave the UK and head to the Syrian border to marry Islamic State jihadis in this spirited and poignant drama.
What our reviewer said “Perhaps the movie should actually be called Fiancées because the actual, brutal experience of being married in this situation is not what the movie wants to imagine, although the closing sequence certainly hints at a horrible disenchantment and a reality very different from that promised on social media.” Peter Bradshaw
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Further reading ‘Those young women were so vilified’: Nadia Fall on her debut film Brides
The Librarians
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Documentary about the heroic administrators battling book bans and censorship as rightwingers attack material covering LGBTQ+ issues or race.
What our reviewer said “Incredibly principled and brave, the librarians talk about their vocation and standing up for the young people for whom libraries are a safe space where they can discover their identity in the pages of books.” Cath Clarke
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Now streaming
Weapons
Available to rent on Amazon, Sky, Apple
Summed up in a sentence Zach Cregger’s slick Barbarian follow-up horror as 17 children from the same class get out of bed at 2.17am and run off into the darkness.
What our reviewer said “It’s a tantalising set-up, pitched somewhere between Stephen King and the Brothers Grimm, and Cregger’s careful slow build keeps us in thrall for the most part, eager to see just how the puzzle-pieces fit.” Benjamin Lee
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Further reading Hit horror Weapons doesn’t have a deeper meaning but that’s OK
Books
If you only read one, make it …
If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares
Reviewed by David Shariatmadari
Summed up in a sentence How AI could destroy humankind.
What our reviewer said “Yudkowsky and Soares present their case with such conviction that it’s easy to emerge from this book ready to cancel your pension contributions”
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Pick of the rest
Heirs and Graces by Eleanor Doughty
Reviewed by Zoe Williams
Summed up in a sentence An intimate portrait of modern aristocrats.
What our reviewer said “She knows everything – where an earl sits relative to a viscount, how many there are of each. Her work is peppered with first-hand accounts, piquant details from visitors’ books, the story of every great house told brick by brick.”
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Cat on the Road to Findout by Yusuf/Cat Stevens
Reviewed by Alexis Petridis
Summed up in a sentence The spiritual singer-songwriter tells his story.
What our reviewer said “As the 70s progress, he tries Buddhism, the Bible, meditation, the I Ching: you couldn’t accuse him of not shopping around before settling on Islam”
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Further reading Yusuf/Cat Stevens at Glastonbury review – singer-songwriter’s ‘legends’ set is a lowkey triumph
Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood
Reviewed by Beejay Silcox
Summed up in a sentence An autofictional account of long Covid from the cult American stylist.
What our reviewer said “Lockwood’s brilliance has always been her ability to strip a joke back to its mechanics, and make it sharper in the disassembly (see her viral poem Rape Joke). But that power has begun to turn in on itself.”
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Further reading ‘I’ve seen so many people go down rabbit holes’: Patricia Lockwood on losing touch with reality
You may have missed …
John and Paul by Ian Leslie
Reviewed by Blake Morrison
Summed up in a sentence The volatile bromance between Lennon and McCartney.
What our reviewer said “To Beatles aficionados, the cast and chronology will be familiar. But Leslie’s approach is fresh because it focuses on the double-consciousness (‘a duet not a duel’, ‘a group within the group’) and their ‘shared ownership of each other’s talent’.”
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Further reading John, Paul and the ‘romance’ that transformed culture
Music
If you only listen to one, make it …
Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Second album from the chart-conquering London songwriter, full of diaristic detail and sweetly understated vocals.
What our reviewer said It’s exceptionally well made but feels entirely natural; it’s mainstream commercial pop, but laudably devoid of obvious cliches. If Dean’s debut seemed like an artist trying to find their place in the landscape by ticking relevant boxes, The Art of Loving seems like someone finding their own voice. Alexis Petridis
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Pick of the rest
Geese: Getting Killed
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The Brooklyn indie rock band’s fourth album is full of dread and dark absurdity.
What our reviewer said Getting Killed can be opaque, but its brilliance is still obvious: the invention, the irreverence, the melodic knack, the swagger all great bands require. Rachel Aroesti
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Further reading Geese’s Cameron Winter on leaving crowds in tears with his supernatural voice
Baltimore SO/Alsop: Clyne, Abstractions
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Marin Alsop’s fine recording offers a chronology of Anna Clyne’s orchestral writing.
What our reviewer said “In each piece here Clyne’s command of her material seems ever more assured and focused.” Andrew Clements
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Various Artists – Pasé Bél Tan: Francophonies and Creolities in Louisiana
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Collection of largely African American folk music from the 50s to the 80s, spanning poignant lyricism to full-throated celebration.
What our reviewer said “The quiet moments offer an affecting window into history; even through lo-fi recordings, you can hear the singers’ breathy, yearning tones, calling out into the Louisiana wetlands for someone to listen.” Ammar Kalia
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On tour this week
Deacon Blue
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Sunday 28 September; touring until October
Summed up in a sentence Veteran band bring political bite and pop prowess to a crowd-pleasing set.
What our reviewer said “You can occasionally pick out the influence of Prefab Sprout on Deacon Blue’s sound but refitted for broader appeal, made brawnier and more unashamedly poppy. It was too crowd-pleasing in approach to be critically acclaimed, but nearly 40 years on, even a dedicated naysayer might be forced to concede it worked.” Alexis Petridis
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