Mission: Impossible makes the Daniel Craig Bond movies seem anemic and dull
The Craig films appear ‘made by people who are embarrassed to make a Bond film’
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman is an author and the US books editor of The Spectator.
Wednesday
Meghan’s lecture on ‘service’ is hard to take
From our UK edition
Since the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare in January, Meghan has kept an unusually low profile by her standards. Her non-appearance at the coronation earlier in the month was widely interpreted as a snub to the Royal Family, whom she has missed no opportunity to castigate. Now the Duchess of Sussex is making a
Tuesday
The reinvention of Jude Law
From our UK edition
The late director Anthony Minghella made three films with actor Jude Law: The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain and Breaking and Entering. They would undoubtedly have made more if Minghella hadn’t died at the cruelly young age of 54 in 2008. He referred to the actor as ‘my muse’, but had a more perceptive comment about him too. ‘Jude
Friday
London hotels with a literary twist
From our UK edition
There’s something rather wonderful about the idea of settling down for the night in the spot where one of your favourite writers once slept, played or dreamed up a plot. There are a range of hotels across London with a vast array of bookish associations: some have played host to writers both famous and infamous,
Tuesday
A born rebel: Lady Caroline Lamb scandalises society
From our UK edition
At the beginning of her biography of the novelist, ‘fairy sprite’ and proto-feminist Lady Caroline Lamb, Lady Antonia Fraser hints that this may be her final book. Not for her a dramatic, Prospero-breaking-his-staff exit; instead, she writes mildly in the prologue that ‘this book… can also be regarded as the culmination of an exciting and
Monday
Prince Harry has so much to learn from Prince William
From our UK edition
In the run-up to the coronation, the Prince of Wales was a rather detached figure. Prince William kept an unusually low-key profile right up until the week of the coronation, along with his wife: a woman increasingly seen as the Royal Family’s secret weapon. The Princess of Wales combines glamour, accessibility and a welcome sense
The National is the next great American rock band
So much more than America’s Radiohead
Sunday
The dignity of Prince Harry
From our UK edition
For the coronation of Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, all the members of the Royal Family were present, with one notable exception: her uncle, the former Edward VIII, now the Duke of Windsor. Although Edward had attempted to build civil relations with his niece after her accession to the throne the previous year, it
Saturday
Today we saw the humanity beneath the crown
From our UK edition
In the end, after months of speculation, the coronation was a success. In the run-up, the distracting aspect had been the ‘will they, won’t they’ presence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, fanned by their desire to make themselves the centre of attention. Yet in the event, Prince Harry was an inconspicuous, even diffident
Tuesday
Judy Blume steps on the J.K. Rowling landmine
It went badly, as might be imagined
Friday
Are we about to witness the comeback of Meghan Markle?
From our UK edition
Seasoned observers of Meghan Markle – and by now, surely, there cannot be any other kind – might be forgiven for wondering why the Duchess of Sussex has been keeping a comparatively low profile so far in 2023. Her husband seems ubiquitous, whether popping up in the law courts to denounce the media, plugging his
Wednesday
Joaquin Phoenix, the anti-Hollywood star
He is the most eccentric and in-demand leading man of his time
Thursday
Charles III is fighting for the monarchy’s life
A challenge fit for a king
Noël Coward, the English playwright who loved all things American
In order to take over the globe, he had to succeed in the largest English-language market
Friday
Is King Charles bringing Andrew back into the fold?
From our UK edition
I am beginning to wonder if there are, in fact, two incarnations of King Charles that co-exist simultaneously. The first is a remarkably generous-spirited and forgiving man, who responds to insults and slights with Christ-like forbearance and shows nothing but a genuine love for his country and his people. And the second is a more
Wednesday
Why isn’t Meghan going to the coronation?
From our UK edition
Today’s announcement that Prince Harry will be coming to London for his father’s coronation is not a surprise. Yet it comes with a sting in the tail. It has been revealed that Meghan will not be attending; the official statement from Buckingham Palace, while saying that they were ‘pleased’ that the Duke of Sussex would
Tuesday
Dungeons and Dragons makes a comeback in theaters
For unpretentious fun and much-needed escapism, the new movie is just the ticket
Wednesday
When will Prince Harry break his Coronation silence?
From our UK edition
Two thousand among the great and the good from around the world will soon receive a letter from King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The invitation to the coronation on 6 May, which has been unveiled today, is not what people might have expected. Elizabeth II’s coronation invitation was formal, and, even by the standards
Tuesday
The new foul-mouthed Great Expectations is as bad as you’d expect
Amid the spanking and mud and tedium, its impact is all but lost
Friday
The dark side of Ted Lasso
From our UK edition
You’ll know where you are with Ted Lasso – the third season of which has just started on Apple TV – as soon as you hear the Marcus Mumford co-written theme song. It peddles a sort of sub-Coldplay uplift, with a lot of big, meaningless anthemic ‘yeah’s in the chorus. Bright, accessible, catchy and instantly forgettable, you
