Homewrecker review suburban hostage caper is a cheerier Misery

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  306 words  |  Aldo Pusey

MoviesReviewAn unhinged singleton takes her interior designer captive in a film whose smart acting is marred by its jarringly chirpy tone It’s a pity this Canadian comedy-horror is too crudely put together to comfortably straddle its two genres, because it contains some zesty bursts of invention and bright performances from its leads. Nightmare in suburbia: how cinema found the darkness behind the picket fenceRead morePrecious Chong, who co-writes with director Zach Gayne and co-star Alex Essoe, takes one for the team with her unlikable role: belligerently perky fortysomething singleton Linda, who imposes herself on interior designer Michelle (Essoe) while in a coffee shop. [Read More]

John Oliver on dollar stores: They treat workers with indifference or outright contempt

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  960 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

John Oliver recapJohn OliverThe Last Week Tonight host dug into mismanagement and employee mistreatment of stores such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree John Oliver took on the mismanagement and employee mistreatment of dollar stores on Last Week Tonight. Dollar stores, or retail outlets which sell inexpensive products usually for around a dollar, are dominated by two chains: Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar. The companies collectively operate more than 35,000 dollar stores in the US – more than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined, and for great profit; Dollar General made over $2bn in 2022, while Dollar Tree made $1. [Read More]

Rocks best kept secret: Tony King on life with John Lennon, Elton John and Freddie Mercury | Musi

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  10 minutes  |  1980 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Tony King (centre) with Elton John and John Lennon, en route to Boston in 1974. Photograph: Courtesy of Sam EmersonTony King (centre) with Elton John and John Lennon, en route to Boston in 1974. Photograph: Courtesy of Sam EmersonMusicInterviewRock’s best kept secret: Tony King on life with John Lennon, Elton John and Freddie MercuryAlexis PetridisHe held Mercury’s hand in hospital, retrieved Lennon from a cocaine escapade with David Bowie, and was upbraided by Keith Richards for smoking a joint. [Read More]

Rudolph Isley obituary | Soul

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1007 words  |  Valentine Belue

SoulObituaryRudolph Isley obituaryFlamboyant founder member of the Isley Brothers whose hits included This Old Heart of Mine and It’s Your ThingIn their prime, when they were making such global hits as That Lady and Harvest for the World, the most physically imposing of the Isley Brothers – sharply bearded, stern of countenance, wearing embroidered capes and shirts with billowing collars, and carrying a jewelled walking cane that might have been the symbol of office of an elder of the group – was Rudolph Isley, who has died aged 84. [Read More]

The suit is dead? Why didnt anyone tell Boygenius or Kim Kardashian? | Zing Tsjeng

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  308 words  |  Aldo Pusey

OpinionFashion This article is more than 2 months oldThe suit is dead? Why didn’t anyone tell Boygenius or Kim Kardashian?This article is more than 2 months oldZing TsjengOnly 7% of us dress formally for work, according to a new survey. At least celebrities still make an effort We are gathered here today to mourn the suit – at least, according to a recent YouGov survey. Pollsters report that only 7% of workers say they wear business attire in the office, and a quarter say that they only ever wear casual clothes to work. [Read More]

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead review

 Posted on May 22, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  598 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Children and teenagersReviewPhilip Ardagh on a beautifully observed story of family and friendsI don't read the blurb on the back of books until after I've read the actual book because it's rare for them not to give the game away to some extent, but Andersen Press has resisted blurting out what lies at the heart of this story. My job of reviewing When You Reach Me would be almost impossible without giving certain aspects away, though. [Read More]

10 of the best and most unexpected erotic books

 Posted on May 21, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1134 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Bedtime reading … The Bloody Chamber, How to be Both and Open Water.Bedtime reading … The Bloody Chamber, How to be Both and Open Water.How to have a healthy sex lifeBooksFrom Mary Wesley’s throuples to James Baldwin’s heartbreak in Paris, writers have long been obsessed by ‘the most sought-after and least examined emotion’. Here Lucy Knight picks her top 10 The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith More commonly known as Carol, this tale of aspiring set designer Therese, who falls in love with an older woman, is a masterclass in sexual tension. [Read More]

56 Up: 'It's like having another family'

 Posted on May 21, 2024  |  14 minutes  |  2902 words  |  Aldo Pusey

TelevisionIt began as a one-off look at how the class system defined the hopes and aspirations of British children. Now, almost half a century later, the Up series has evolved into one of the world's great documentary projects. But how have these films affected the lives they follow?Seven Up! first hit the screens in May 1964, and was intended as a one-off programme, a snapshot of the British class system and the way it conditioned so much of life. [Read More]

Colour: optical colour mixing | Art

 Posted on May 21, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  401 words  |  Kary Bruening

Guide to paintingArtColour: optical colour mixingHere, you will paint small coloured dots side by side, which will enable you to create areas of scintillating colourDuration One hour Materials Palette, palette knife, a range of brushes, three sheets of primed white paper, paints: cadmium lemon; cadmium yellow; cadmium red; alizarin crimson; cobalt blue; ultramarine blue What will I learn?When two hues are placed side by side or on top of each other, your vision produces the illusion of a third colour - this is called optical mixing. [Read More]

Daniil Medvedev ends Chris Eubankss SW19 fun with quiet act of devastation | Wimbledon

 Posted on May 21, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  810 words  |  Kary Bruening

Wimbledon This article is more than 6 months oldDaniil Medvedev ends Chris Eubanks’s SW19 fun with quiet act of devastationThis article is more than 6 months oldWorld No 43 takes the third seed to five thrilling setsRussian battles back to reach first Wimbledon semi-finalIt is rare that a match at the summit of elite sport, a contest that rips the prospect of success from the hands of one competitor and drains the body of both, ends in broad smiles and bonhomie all around. [Read More]