The Running Man runs out of steam
From our US edition
Glen Powell is great, but this movie feels distinctly dated
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman is an author and the US books editor of The Spectator.
Friday
It's an unhappy birthday for King Charles
King Charles III turns 77 today. He will be enjoying a typically packed day, with activities both ceremonial and personal. His Welsh association will be celebrated with a reception at Cyfarthfa Castle near Merthyr Tydfil, where he will be joined by guests including Gavin and Stacey’s Ruth Jones and fashion designer Julien Macdonald, all of
Thursday
Vince Gilligan wins again with Pluribus
From our US edition
Apple has finally got its act together when it comes to original content
Wednesday
Andrew's downfall is nearly complete
Amidst all the ceremony and gravity of the Remembrance Day service on Sunday, one salient fact could not be ignored. The King has long talked of his desire for a ‘stripped-down monarchy’, and now he has his wish. The only male figures from the Firm who were out on show alongside him were the Prince
Tuesday
David Szalay is a worthy winner of the Booker Prize
The results of last night’s Booker Prize – the most prestigious and generous prize for literature in the country – were not entirely as anticipated. In a notably strong shortlist, which was finely balanced with three men and three women, it was anticipated that Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter would be the frontrunner for
Sunday
On less famous presidential assassins
From our US edition
Death by Lighting is uproarious fun
Friday
Die My Love is Jennifer Lawrence at her best
From our US edition
If only the rest of the cast had showed up
Thursday
Is Meghan Markle making a thespian comeback?
As the 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. One might have expected, as Andrew was showily stripped of all his titles, some sanctimonious comment on
Wednesday
William's Rio trip risks being overshadowed
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
From our US edition
It’s unlikely to change your preconceived notion of the man
Uncovering Brian Wilson’s real genius
From our US edition
The long-unfinished Smile reveals the musician’s talent and madness
Tuesday
Florence and the Machine is back
From our US edition
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
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?
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
From our US edition
Sheridan has been working at a rate of energy that would kill many lesser men
Friday
It's all over for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
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
From our US edition
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
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?
From our US edition
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
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,