TVIf you only watch one, make it \u2026The Alien Autopsy Scandal<\/p>\n
Sky Documentaries & Now; available now<\/p>\n
Summed up in a sentence A hugely entertaining, quirky documentary that dissects a video that is supposedly a Roswell alien autopsy \u2013 but was actually filmed with a dummy in a London flat.<\/p>\n
What our reviewer said \u201cA thing of great playfulness and eccentricity that, over three increasingly extraordinary episodes, unknots the tale behind the notorious film.\u201d Sarah Dempster<\/p>\n
Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading The Alien Autopsy Scandal: this fascinating tale of a bizarre DIY hoax hits Sp\u0131n\u0308al Tap levels of hilarity<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restBrexit: A Very British Civil War<\/p>\n BBC iPlayer; available now<\/p>\n Nigel Farage in Brexit: A Very British Civil War. Photograph: BBC\/Zinc Television<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence A grimly amusing documentary featuring an endless stream of blockbuster names spouting irresistible tittle-tattle about the vote to leave the EU.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cDoes this programme\u2019s fixation on gossipy drama trivialise Brexit? Absolutely. Will you watch a more rollickingly fun documentary about politics this year? Absolutely not.\u201d Rachel Aroesti<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Proud<\/p>\n HBO Max; available now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence A Polish series about a hedonistic gay male model who suddenly has to raise a one-year-old after his sister\u2019s death.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThe scenes with the toddler are so gorgeous and believable, you almost start crediting tiny Alicja Lewczuk with being an accomplished actor, despite her not yet having acquired the power of speech.\u201d Jack Seale<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n You may have missed \u2026The Murder Line<\/p>\n ITVX; available now<\/p>\n Minnie Driver in The Murder Line. Photograph: ITV<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Minnie Driver stars in a Canadian crime caper.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cAs a mischievous yarn, with characters made to entertain and a story that never stands still, it\u2019s on the edge of excellent.\u201d Jack Seale<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n FilmIf you only watch one, make it \u2026Disclosure Day<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Josh O\u2019Connor in Disclosure Day. Photograph: Universal Pictures\/Amblin Entertainment\/PA<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Humans have been secretly abusing aliens for almost 80 years in Steven Spielberg\u2019s big-hearted conspiracy thriller starring Josh O\u2019Connor as a worried whistleblower and Emily Blunt as a weather forecaster channelling UFO chat.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cDisclosure Day is never anything other than entertaining and grade-A fun; rare enough in the movies or anywhere else, rocketing along with barnstorming set-pieces, exhilarating chases, funny lines and a career-topper of a performance from Blunt.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading The best Steven Spielberg films, chosen by directors, critics and super-fans: \u2018Pure popcorn perfection\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restThe Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Peter Mullan in The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford. Photograph: Saskia Coulson<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Quirky Scottish dramedy in which Peter Mullan delivers a tender performance, playing a cranky local historian obsessed with his obscure, unscrupulous ancestor.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cMullan brings his formidable presence to this first-time feature from director Sean Robert Dunn: he is angry and weary, disillusioned but kind-hearted, someone who got his feelings hurt a long time ago \u2013 but wouldn\u2019t dream of making a fuss about it.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Strictly Ballroom<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice in Strictly Ballroom. Photograph: Landmark Media\/Alamy<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Baz Luhrmann\u2019s dizzying, dance-tastic swirl of fun is classic oddball ugly duckling tale.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cWe can see in prototype the style that would later evolve into Luhrmann\u2019s settled directorial mannerisms (analogous to watching an early Wes Anderson film): the zoom, the garish closeup, the huge eyes-and-teeth flourish.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Further reading \u2018Screaming girls chased me down the street\u2019: how we made Strictly Ballroom<\/a><\/p>\n Boogie Nights<\/p>\n In cinemas now<\/p>\n Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights. Photograph: PictureLux\/The Hollywood Archive\/Alamy<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s porn epic lacks some of the craft shown in his later work, but remains a stylish and energetic descent into the cocaine-fuelled world of the 70s adult film industry.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cAs a film, Boogie Nights is clearly influenced by Scorsese: not just the epic rise-and-fall trajectory of GoodFellas but in Dirk running his lines in front of the mirror like Jake LaMotta. There is also something of Tarantino in the late-night store stick-up that leaves Buck covered with blood and with a brown paper-bag full of cash.\u201d Peter Bradshaw<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Now streaming \u2026Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret<\/p>\n Prime Video; available 10 June<\/p>\n Abby Ryder Fortson, Amari Price, Elle Graham and Katherine Kupferer in Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret. Summed up in a sentence Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams are remarkable in a thoughtful and funny expansion of the 1970s teen novel by Judy Blume.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cBased on \u2013 but not entirely wedded to \u2013 Judy Blume\u2019s seminal 1970 novel of the same name, the film is an entertaining comedy that also happens to be a stunning evocation of the fear and yearning that come with standing on the precipice of adulthood.\u201d Lauren Mechling<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n BooksIf you only read one, make it \u2026The End of Everything by M John Harrison<\/p>\n Reviewed by Michel Faber<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Mysterious aliens in a decayed future England from the SF master.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cIt shows us a society that has long since forgotten Trump, social media and Middle Eastern genocides, and yet it burrows deep into our psyches to expose the terrifying insecurity of life right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restStolen Revolution by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati<\/p>\n Reviewed by Dina Nayeri<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence An essential primer on Iran\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cStolen Revolution is a careful and unwavering account of the regime\u2019s absurdities and crimes. It should be required reading for anyone who cares about human rights or justice in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Frida Slattery As Herself by Ana Kinsella<\/p>\n Reviewed by Anjali Joseph<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Skilful portrait of the long relationship between an actor and a director.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThe engine of the book is romantic \u2013 will they end up together? \u2013 but while this keeps the plot ticking over, the magic of their connection comes, pleasingly, in their creative collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n A British Childhood: How Our Children Live Now by Frank Cottrell-Boyce<\/p>\n Reviewed by Joe Moran<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The children\u2019s laureate on why social deprivation hits early reading hard.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cIf I have made this sound like a miserable book, it isn\u2019t. It is interlaced with luminous bits of autobiography.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer<\/p>\n Reviewed by Christobel Kent<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence An innocent young American arrives in Tuscany to work for an eccentric Baronessa.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThe Baronessa casts the requisite spell \u2013 delivering, in the end, an enchantment threaded through with hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n You may have missed \u2026The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet<\/p>\n Reviewed by William Dalrymple<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Women\u2019s prize for nonfiction-winning social history of Afghanistan \u2013 from the perspective of Kabul\u2019s InterContinental hotel.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cWhat sustains the book is Doucet\u2019s focus on the ordinary Afghans who keep the place going despite the shelling, rockets, suicide bombs and occasional massacres of both staff and guests.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n MusicIf you only listen to one, make it \u2026Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Kelsey Lu.<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Strange, graceful songs drifting from pop\u2019s edgelands, aided by Jack Antonoff, Kim Gordon, Sampha and more.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cIt\u2019s an album that wears its weirdness lightly, that keeps moving in unexpected directions with an impressively graceful smoothness \u2013 the work of someone who has their own vision and their own way of doing things.\u201d Alexis Petridis<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Pick of the restBrown Wimpenny: Long Live Brown Wimpenny<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Brown Wimpenny. Photograph: Sorcha Frances Ryder<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence Manchester folk collective get bawdy and shambolic \u2013 named after a 19th-century relative.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cThe group are strongest in quieter territory: the least showy track, Old Molly Metcalfe, is the album\u2019s best moment, every strummed string, fiddle shimmer and soft harmony landing with emotional impact.\u201d Jude Rogers<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Katia and Marielle Lab\u00e8que: 55<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The pianist sisters\u2019 celebration of their 55 years of recording is a thoughtfully curated compilation that reveals their musical curiosity and brilliance.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cA mix of new recordings and classics, it reveals the extent of their omnivorous appetites, from 20th-century modernism to minimalism and jazz \u2013 ending where they began with Messiaen\u2019s barnstorming Amen de la Consommation.\u201d Clive Paget<\/p>\n Read the full review<\/a><\/p>\n Sally Beamish: House of Wonder<\/p>\n Out now<\/p>\n Summed up in a sentence The British composer celebrates 70 years with an eclectic and profoundly personal album featuring friends and members of her talented musical family.<\/p>\n What our reviewer said \u201cAt the centre of it all is Beamish herself, a musical shapeshifter, at home in classical, jazz or folk fiddle. Much here is autobiographical, wistfully capturing family games, emotional absence and domestic moments.\u201d Clive Paget<\/p>\n
Photograph: Dana Hawley\/Dana Hawley\/Lionsgate UK<\/p>\n