Pick of the restFor the Record: An Incomplete History of Music<\/p>\n
YouTube; available now<\/p>\n
Charlotte Ritchie in For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music.<\/p>\n
Summed up in a sentence A wildly ambitious, unapologetically brainy YouTube documentary series charmingly presented by Charlotte Ritchie.
What our reviewer said \u201cIt\u2019s nothing short of amazing that something like this exists in 2026.\u201d Stuart Heritage<\/p>\n
Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Abandoned<\/p>\n Disney+; available now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Over four gripping episodes, three siblings attempt to get to the bottom of why they were left at a Barcelona train station in 1984 in this chaotic documentary. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mystery<\/a><\/p>\n You may have missed\u2026The Artist<\/p>\n MGM+; available now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence This period comedy, starring Mandy Patinkin as a Rhode Island robber baron, is a singular work of art. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n FilmIf you only watch one, make it \u2026The Invite<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Olivia Wilde in The Invite. Photograph: Landmark Media\/Alamy<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Olivia Wilde directs and stars alongside Seth Rogen, Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Edward Norton in bizarrely moving comedy of a married couple who invite their fashionably bohemian neighbours over to dinner. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018I feel both thrilled and ruined by this\u2019; Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton on making sex comedy The Invite<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Photograph: Neon\/PA<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Slacker comedy adapted from Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol\u2019s web and TV show, with the pair as goofball buddies who accidentally travel back to 2008 as they try to get a gig for their band. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Birds of War<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Documentary telling the story of the long-distance relationship between a BBC correspondent in London and a war photographer on the ground in Syria. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018Get away from there \u2013 run!\u2019 The stunning film about love blossoming amid the carnage of Aleppo<\/a><\/p>\n Taxi Driver<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Scorsese and Robert De Niro roam night-time New York in their classic horror-thriller from 1976 that won the Palme d\u2019Or at the Cannes film festival. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Now streamingNot a Pretty Picture<\/p>\n Mubi<\/p>\n Martha Coolidge in Not a Pretty Picture. Photograph: Capital Pictures\/Alamy<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Martha Coolidge\u2019s recreation of the key moments before and after her rape \u2013 along with the actors\u2019 reflections on their roles \u2013 is still absolutely essential. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n BooksIf you only read one, make it \u2026Long Wave by Daisy Johnson<\/p>\n Reviewed by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence A sublime story of motherhood and separation from a Booker-shortlisted author. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the rest Photograph: InternetCommunion by JD Vance<\/p>\n Reviewed by Rowan Williams<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The vice-president on his journey back to faith. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading JD Vance has written another book? Couldn\u2019t he just concentrate on his day job?<\/a><\/p>\n Queenie Is Working on It by Candice Carty-Williams<\/p>\n Reviewed by Shahidha Bari<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence In this sequel to the 2019 bestseller, the \u201cBlack Bridget Jones\u201d is now in her 30s. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Candice Carty-Williams: \u2018People feel very attached to Queenie\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Photograph: InternetDepraved by Daisy Dixon<\/p>\n Reviewed by Chlo\u00eb Ashby<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence A history of dark and dangerous art. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n On the Mark by Florence Hazrat<\/p>\n Reviewed by Steven Poole<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Everything you ever wanted to know about punctuation, from the ancients to emojis. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n You may have missed \u2026 Reviewed by Charlotte Higgins<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Published in 2017, the first version of Homer\u2019s epic poem by a woman was a touchstone for Nolan\u2019s upcoming screen adaptation. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n AlbumsIf you only listen to one, make it \u2026Madonna: Confessions II<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Photograph: Warners\/Boy Toy\/AP<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence More than two decades since the release of her last truly great album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna returns with this excellent, banger-heavy sequel, co-produced by Stuart Price. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading Vagina lasers, bananas and an awkward Cumberbatch: 10 surprising moments in Madonna\u2019s new video<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the rest2K88, Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller & Bianca Scout: Everything Always Changes, for We\u2019re Truly Here<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The Polish producer 2K88 teams up with British musicians Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller and Bianca Scout for this 10-track album of slow-moving grandeur. Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Sienna Spiro: Visitor<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The British TikTok sensation turned global star releases her debut album of big piano ballads and full-band torch songs.
What our reviewer said \u201cThe series feels a little helter-skelter at times; a flurry of emotion and confusion and startling new information and leads and blind alleys, all jostling for space.\u201d Phil Harrison<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cIt has a [\u2026] pugnacious whimsy, but with cold steel hidden in the folds of its grubby velvet gown.\u201d Jack Seale<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cIt is certainly broad, stagey and contrived, and the mood shifts are almost like dinner-theatre in their suddenness \u2013 yet Rogen\u2019s comedy credentials mean that the pure outrageousness of the twists and turns are palatable.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cIf there is a serious point to this film it is how very quickly time goes past while you are trying and failing to make it in the music business. But the laughs are the important thing.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cPolitics is to some degree set aside here in favour of matters of the heart; this is a story of romantic love among the ruins.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cAs ever with this movie, no matter how many times you watch it, the horror, the almost physical smear of sleaze across your skin strikes you afresh, along with the N-bombs and the misogyny \u2013 read politically now in a way they weren\u2019t in 1976.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cCould a movie of such unselfconscious daring be made today? It\u2019s not clear. But the riding-in-the-car sequence has an ominous queasiness for the audience who know where it is leading.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cWhat a joy it is to read a writer who so confidently prioritises character and language above gimmick or twist.\u201d<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cHow are we to take seriously a book that ignores the rampant corruption of the Trumpian ruling class and the murderous brutality of the implementation of new immigration controls?\u201d<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cThe experience of race is a condition of Queenie\u2019s existence, but never the thing that defines her: it\u2019s a point that Carty-Williams always makes with a skilfully light touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cDepravity, she writes, can lurk beneath the surface of a \u2018pretty, oil-soaked canvas\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cThis book is no mere wacky usage guide of the Eats, Shoots & Leaves sort; it is an appealing, lavishly researched scholarly inquiry into punctuation over the centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/326.jpg\")
The Odyssey By Homer, translated by Emily Wilson The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cEmily Wilson\u2019s crisp and musical version is a cultural landmark.\u201d<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cAn accommodation with her past that bodes well for her future.\u201d Alexis Petridis<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cHaunting and vaporous, with glacial sound design, fragments of FX\u2019d voice and stabs of low end.\u201d Safi Bugel<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cA little more subtlety and Spiro\u2019s \u201cnew Adele\u201d tag might actually stick.\u201d Shaad D\u2019Souza<\/p>\n