Andrew Garfield

Monday

Alexander Larman

Is HBO’s Harry Potter series a worthwhile gamble?

From our US edition

The actor Andrew Garfield attracted some controversy recently when, promoting his new family film The Magic Faraway Tree, he revealed that he had seen the Harry Potter series for the first time. “I know it’s controversial and we shouldn’t be putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now, through she that shall remain nameless,” Garfield said. “There are so many beautiful artists that worked on those films. I have a newfound appreciation for all of the artists, and Daniel is great.” While Garfield’s appreciation of Daniel Radcliffe’s modest acting abilities as Potter might be greater than that of other viewers, his cautious decision to liken the films’ ultimate creator J.K.

JK Rowling

Monday

Deborah Ross

Fools will love it: We Live in Time reviewed

We Live in Time is a rom-com (of sorts), starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. They have terrific chemistry and elevate the material by around 1,000 per cent (a conservative estimate), but it’s still deeply annoying. It’s a weepie – a cancer story as well as a love story; at some screenings tissues were handed out beforehand. But though I am a crier by nature, my tears were not jerked. I checked – and double-checked: eyes dry as anything. I couldn’t get beyond the phoniness. You might do better. Pugh (Almut) is an ambitious, high-end chef about to open an ‘Anglo-Bavarian restaurant’ serving ‘Douglas fir parfait’. (Each to their own.

Monday

Alexander Larman

1984 on Audible is a deliciously chilling immersion experience

From our US edition

Forty years on from the year in which it is set, and released on the date of Winston Smith’s first diary entry, George Orwell’s seminal dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (not 1984, despite how this most recent retelling has chosen to style the title) has received perhaps its highest-profile adaptation since Michael Radford’s film. Andrew Garfield plays the reluctantly rebellious Winston, and man-of-the-moment Andrew Scott is a smoothly vicious O’Brien. Cynthia Erivo makes for a suitably feisty Julia, and Tom Hardy reprises his Bane boom as Big Brother, although his contributions are wisely kept to a minimum.

george orwell nineteen eighty-four audible