TVIf you only watch one, make it \u2026Sean Combs: The Reckoning<\/p>\n
Netflix<\/p>\n
Sean Combs. Photograph: Paras Griffin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Summed up in a sentence An utterly damning docuseries about the musician \u2013 which has so rattled his lawyers they are demanding that Netflix remove it.<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cIt does such a thorough job of laying out and backing up so many horrific allegations that his way back to stardom is surely blocked for ever.\u201d Stuart Heritage<\/p>\n
Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018A lot of bad things happened\u2019: the most shocking moments from the Diddy docuseries<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restWhat\u2019s the Monarchy For?<\/p>\n BBC iPlayer<\/p>\n What\u2019s the Monarchy For?. Photograph: BBC\/The Garden TV<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence David Dimbleby enjoys his newfound freedom to aim both barrels at the royal family.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cDimbleby is sliding his knife in slowly.\u201d Jack Seale<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n The Marvellous Miniature Workshop<\/p>\n BBC iPlayer<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence A charming series featuring model makers recreating people\u2019s most poignant places \u2013 but in the teeniest possible format.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThis is all my Christmasses come at once! Count me in! Sign me up! Inject the titchiness into my veins!\u201d Lucy Mangan<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018Crafts are like medicine!\u2019: Gen Z and the rapid rise of cosy hobbies<\/a><\/p>\n You may have missed \u2026Joe Wicks: Licensed to Kill<\/p>\n Channel 4<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The lockdown star gets political, shining a light on the horrific unhealthiness of snack bars \u2013 by creating one that\u2019s as harmful as possible.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cLicensed to Kill, with its unabashed anger at rampant commercialism and its belief that the problem has gone far enough to demand radical, even reckless political action, feels like it might be part of something wider than an argument about snack food.\u201d Jack Seale<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018I might annoy you, but my intentions are good\u2019: Joe Wicks\u2019 alien-filled new exercise class for kids<\/a><\/p>\n FilmIf you only watch one, make it \u2026It Was Just an Accident<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n It Was Just an Accident. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence An unfortunate encounter with a dog sets off a chain of surreal, grotesque events in Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or-winning film.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cPanahi\u2019s most emotionally explicit film yet: a film about state violence and revenge, about the pain of tyranny that co-exists with ostensible everyday normality.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Iran\u2019s Jafar Panahi on life as a banned film-maker<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restCover-Up<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Seymour Hersh in Cover-Up. Photograph: Netflix<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Documentary about nonconformist and combative journalist Seymour Hersh, a legend who uncovered big stories from My Lai to Abu Ghraib.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cWith an old-fashioned reporter\u2019s dogged \u201cshoe leather\u201d instincts, Hersh goes to see the people involved, talks to them, spends time on a story, and doesn\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Sunset Boulevard<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Gloria Swanson plays faded film star Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder\u2019s cameo-packed, self-referential masterpiece from 1950, about tinseltown ghosts and delusions.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cSwanson, a veteran of the silent era, brilliantly suggests a performer who has learned the extravagant mannerisms of early cinema at an impressionable age and can never unlearn them; the kabuki mask of silent movies has eaten into Norma\u2019s face.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Prime Minister<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Documentary about New Zealand\u2019s former leader Jacinda Ardern records a shrewd but likable premier.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cMore than any politician anywhere in the world in my adult lifetime, she looked like an actual member of the human race who was catapulted to office too fast to have acquired the defensive carapace of the professional politician.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump\u2019s America<\/a><\/p>\n Now streamingL\u2019Atalante<\/p>\n Curzon Home Cinema, and cinemas<\/p>\n Dita Parlo and Jean Dast\u00e9 in L\u2019Atalante. Photograph: RGR Collection\/Alamy<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Jean Vigo\u2019s only full-length film, made in 1934, is set onboard a barge, with a pair of honeymooners joined by eccentric seadog Michel Simon.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cCombining simplicity and delicacy with enormous sophistication and technique, it is an urban pastoral that to an extraordinary degree inspires love \u2013 both love for the film and love generally.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading You\u2019re gonna need a bigger boat: the 20 best films set on water \u2013 ranked!<\/a><\/p>\n Books<\/p>\n For the year\u2019s outstanding fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children\u2019s books and more, explore our bumper guide to the best books of 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n AlbumsIf you only listen to one, make it \u2026Dove Ellis: Blizzard<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Dove Ellis. Photograph: Xander Lewis<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence With shades of Jeff and Tim Buckley, the Galway-born artist writes tunes so strong they seem as familiar as old friends.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cIf Ellis isn\u2019t reinventing the wheel, he\u2019s certainly giving the old thing a caring coat of varnish.\u201d Dave Simpson<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading The 20 best songs of 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restThis Is Lorelei: Holo Boy<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n This Is Lorelei. Photograph: Al Nardo<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence One half of Water from Your Eyes re-records songs from the back catalogue of his other band, resulting in acoustic fare touched with regret and darkness.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cHis most obvious stylistic counterpart is indie-rocker Alex G, but while Amos can\u2019t rival him for lyrical punch, he can match his knack for pleasingly diverting detail.\u201d Rachel Aroesti<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018Your favourite album is not as cool as any dinosaur\u2019: set sail with New York art rock duo Water from Your Eyes<\/a><\/p>\n Nash Ensemble: Ravel<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The chamber group\u2019s all-Ravel CD is an impeccable farewell to much-missed founder Amelia Freedman.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cIt\u2019s the attention to the details of colour and tone that really makes these performances take flight, the instruments combining to catch the dazzling light and intriguing shade that are such intrinsic features of Ravel\u2019s music.\u201d Erica Jeal<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Amelia Freedman obituary: Nash Ensemble founder who commissioned hundreds of works from leading composers<\/a><\/p>\n Laura Cannell: Brightly Shone the Moon<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The violinist sets out on her darkest exploration of yuletide yet, giving a murky and melancholy twist on familiar Christmas standards.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThis is an album not for the party or the tree decorations, but one that carries you, hauntingly, through the passing of time, slips of ancient songs lighting the way like Christingles.\u201d Jude Rogers<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Now touringWolf Alice<\/p>\n Touring the UK to 8 December<\/p>\n Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice at Manchester Arena. Photograph: Andy Von Pip\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence With 70s rock references, tinselly backdrop and cabaret-theatre vibes, the four-piece have undergone their most complete reinvention yet.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThe most consistent and impressive thing about Wolf Alice is Rowsell\u2019s vocal performance. Every iteration has only grown stronger. The band\u2019s set never shows the songwriter falter once, she\u2019s on par with the glam gods.\u201d Amelia Fearon<\/p>\n