The Guardian Culture

The Hairdresser Mysteries review – Sally Phillips gifts us the most bananas daytime TV ever

Phillips plays the amateur sleuth with scissors in an audacious show that, even by cosy crime standards, is an unyielding slab of snuggle. Bloomin’ heck! Gather ye rosebuds and clench ye bumcheeks, for there be rumblings in rural Crimeshire. A hairdresser has arrived in the fictional village of Blossom Vale armed with a blow-dried backstory (worked with fancy types in London but apparently now wants peace, quiet and “a place of me own”) and the keys to the high street’s dilapidated salon. Lily P

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Brenda Fricker, Oscar-Winning Actress in ‘My Left Foot,’ Dies at 81

The history-making Dublin native also appeared in ‘The Field,’ ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ and ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer.’

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Indigenous Missionary Biopic ‘Mussau: The First Song’ to Shoot in Papua New Guinea With Indian National Film Award Winner Bijukumar Damodaran Directing (EXCLUSIVE)

Papua New Guinea-based NAFA Productions has unveiled “Mussau: The First Song,” a historical biopic rooted in the life of Taula Lovovoa, one of the first indigenous Seventh-day Adventist missionaries from Mussau Island. Set in the 1930s, the film charts Lovovoa’s journey of transformation and reconciliation on an island that Australian colonial reports of the era […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Brenda Fricker, ‘My Left Foot’ Oscar Winner, Dies at 81

Brenda Fricker, the acclaimed Irish actor who won an Oscar for her turn opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in 1989’s “My Left Foot,” died on Thursday in Dublin. She was 81. Fricker’s agent, Phil Belfield, confirmed her death to the BBC on Friday. “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Chastity, nodding and enormous pores: will women also love Nolan’s Odyssey?

Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation has been met with almost universal acclaim – from mostly male film critics. Might women find the journey less comfortable? Long ago, almost as long ago as Homer composed The Odyssey, I was a film critic on the Sunday Telegraph. People sometimes ask me how sexist the scene was then, back in the bronze age mid-noughties, when male critics outnumbered female by about eight to one. Well, there wasn’t any sexism. It was actually totally fine and everyone was really

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The Hunt for Gollum is being criticised for its all-white cast. Blaming Tolkien is the wrong answer

The Lord of the Rings author’s debt to Norse mythology is simply irrelevant when it comes to the appearance of hobbits and elves on screen todayCasting has come a long way since the early 1980s when it was somehow still acceptable to sign up Max von Sydow to play Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon in 1980, or hire Peter Ustinov as the lead in Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen in 1981 (despite protests at the time). These days, film-makers will have to defend an all-white cast in a m

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Netflix Stock Price Targets Tumble, But Wall Street Still Believes in Its Story – for Those With Patience

Experts dissect the streaming giant's second-quarter earnings report and parse the latest commentary from co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

‘Boys of Tommen’ Finds Its Patrick Feely In Jamie Schneider, With James Craven Joining as Pierce O’Neill (EXCLUSIVE)

Prime Video’s adaptation of Chloe Walsh’s “Boys of Tommen” has found its Patrick Feely and Pierce O’Neill, with Jamie Schneider and James Craven stepping into the roles respectively. Also joining the cast as parents are Eoin Macken who will play Teddy Lynch, Róisín Gallagher as Marie Lynch and Amy Huberman as Edel Kavanagh. “Boys of […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘No stuffy vibes … just good books’: Matt Haig to open bookshop in Brighton

‘My belief, as someone who grew up in a town without a bookshop, is that all communities should have one,’ says author of The Midnight LibraryMatt Haig, the bestselling author of titles including The Midnight Library and Reasons to Stay Alive, is opening a bookshop in Brighton.The writer plans to open the shop, called Golden, by Christmas. It is located in the Seven Dials neighbourhood, a part of the coastal city that doesn’t currently have a bookshop. Continue reading...

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Cannes’ Critics’ Week Reveals Lineup of Armenian Filmmakers Taking Part in Next Step Studio Program (EXCLUSIVE)

Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week has revealed the participants of next year’s Next Step Studio program, which will focus on Armenia. The filmmakers taking part are Armik Israyelyan, Raffi Movsisyan, Sona Khachatryan and Naira Sargsyan. Each of the four Armenian directors will be paired with an international filmmaker, and the filmmaking pairs will then develop […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘I thought there’d never be enough work!’ Ruth Madeley on sex, success and becoming a star out of sheer nosiness

She is shaking up showbiz and redefining the way disability is portrayed on screen. Ahead of her end-times thriller The Rapture, the star talks about being a Doctor Who badass and why her husband finds her job hystericalThe day I met Ruth Madeley in a hotel in central London was the peak of the last heatwave, the buttons on traffic lights almost too hot to touch. Eerily, this is a major theme of The Rapture, the BBC’s new adaptation of Liz Jensen’s 2009 bestseller. It’s set in a children’s

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘I dreamt of a show where the audience becomes horny’: the Swedish puppet play starring bonking barbies

Malmö Dockteater is adapting Jackie Collins’s debut novel about the swinging 60s using anatomically enhanced dolls. Puppets help you explore sex in a different way, they sayErik Holmström holds up a naked, headless Ken doll. Most of the figure is as you’d expect: lean muscles, smooth skin. But lower down, something’s different. Between those hairless thighs is a small plastic penis nestled in a tuft of hair. “It’s real hair,” says Holmström, the director of Malmö Dockteater (that’s “puppet theat

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Netflix Plans Theatrical Events in Colombia for Grand Finale of Epic ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ Part 2 (EXCLUSIVE)

“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Netflix’s sweeping and most ambitious series in Latin America, is dropping its second and final season this August. Covering the last 50 years of the century covered by Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Marquez’s masterpiece, Season 2 picks up immediately from where the first season ends. In a rather unusual move, […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Amadigi di Gaula review – inflatables and appoggiaturas as Handel takes a trip to Love Island

Buxton Opera House Olivia Fuchs’ delirious spin on the baroque opera comes with TV trickery, more hearts than a cardiologist convention and absolutely gorgeous singingIt’s day seven on “Melissa’s Island”. Melissa is grafting hottie Amadigi but he keeps mugging her off. Amadigi’s head’s been turned by fit bird Oriana, but snakey Dardano is trying to crack on with her too and she’s got the ick. It’s giving toxic relationship energy.The absurdity of Handel’s magic operas can be a headache for direc

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The Shaughraun review – comic antics and roguish charm in a divided Ireland

Town Hall theatre, GalwayA beautifully knit ensemble bring infectious, giddy fun to Dion Boucicault’s 1874 caper, finding a delicious balance between whimsy and sincerityDion Boucicault’s comic melodrama from 1874 holds a place in theatre history for its playful upending of national stereotypes and expectations. Finding a delicious balance between whimsy and sincerity, Garry Hynes’s inventive production for Druid theatre company celebrates Boucicault’s gifts as a playwright and master of stage s

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Andy Burnham Set to Become U.K. Prime Minister as Former Manchester Mayor Named Labour Party Leader

Andy Burnham has become the leader of the U.K.’s Labour party, paving the way for him to take over as Prime Minister following Keir Starmer’s resignation last month. The formal handover at 10 Downing Street is expected on Monday, capping a five-week run from Burnham’s return to Parliament via a by-election win to his installation […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Asghar Farhadi to Receive Honorary Heart of Sarajevo

The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker will collect the award in person at the Bosnian film festival, which is also recognizing British actress Emily Watson.

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

Variety

Iranian Filmmaker Asghar Farhadi to Be Honored at Sarajevo Film Festival

Iranian screenwriter and director Asghar Farhadi, who won Oscars with “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” will be honored at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs Aug. 14 to 21. The filmmaker will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to the art of cinema.” A retrospective of his work […]

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Runner by Scarlett Thomas; The Madman by Henning Mankell; Everything She Didn’t Say by Jane Casey; The Spy and the Snake by MJ Robotham; Murder at the End of the World by Akane ArakiThe Runner by Scarlett Thomas (Scribner, £16.99)Part thriller, part romantic suspense, Thomas’s latest novel begins in Cyprus, where 34-year-old Jay is literally on the run from someone who wants to kill him. Jay (not his real name) is well used to evading hitmen: the attempts on his life began at university, whe

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Add to playlist: the nervy breakbeats and acid delirium of Silverwingkiller and the week’s best new tracks

The industrial dance duo make music for this summer’s heatwave: filled with dread and jangling with pent-up energyFrom Manchester, via Peterborough and ShanghaiRecommended if you like Crystal Castles, Mandy, Indiana, acid houseUp next Festival dates including East London Block Party, Brighton Psych Fest and End of the RoadSalford’s Silverwingkiller sound how this summer’s heatwave feels: delirious, dread-filled and jangling with pent-up energy. Named after the Chinese title for Blade Runner, the

entertainment  Jul 17, 2026