Industry to Blue Velvet: the week in rave reviews
The high-finance melodrama returns, darker than ever, and David Lynch’s nightmare in suburbia gets another outing in the cinema,Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviewsBBC iPlayer from MondaySummed up in a sentence The banking drama returns with its best series ever – which is notably darker and more debauched,What our reviewer said “Truly top-tier television that’s surely destined for end-of-year lists, a serious feat when we’re barely a week into January,” Hannah J DaviesRead the full reviewParamount+Summed up in a sentence A deeply engaging, psychologically complex thriller about a kidnapped teen, starring Alfie Allen as a monstrous predator,What our reviewer said “A much more deeply engaging and psychologically complex thriller than we customarily expect from such a setup, and – in asking what it really means to survive an act of profound violence – harrowing in a more valuable way.
” Lucy ManganRead the full reviewChannel 4Summed up in a sentence A deceptively skilful adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s masterly novel, set in 70s Belfast, featuring a Catholic teacher drawn into a dangerous affair with a Protestant barrister.What our reviewer said “The tragedy of sweethearts caught up in conflict, their love overcome by others’ hate, is an old and powerful story.Trespasses, written by Ailbhe Keogan, hits that nerve.” Jack SealeRead the full reviewFurther reading Trespasses: Gillian Anderson steals every scene in this miraculous TV heartbreakerIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star in a masterly Shakespearean tragedy adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel that reimagines the agonising loss of a child as the source of Hamlet’s grand stage drama.What our reviewer said “There is such terrific daring in Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell’s stretch: a thrilling act of creative audacity, reaching back through the centuries to embrace Shakespeare and Agnes as human beings.
” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading One awards battle after another: A-listers face off at this year’s Golden GlobesIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Portrait of the trailblazing comic featuring Wood herself plus famous sidekicks such as Julie Waters and Celia Imrie and other female standups.What our reviewer said “In 1985, when season one of Wood’s sketch show As Seen on TV aired on BBC Two, there were sniffs of doubt that a woman could front a comedy programme, let alone a northern woman.How wrong they were.Clips from the show are a hoot: high on a tipsy energy, the performers are all on the edge of collapsing into giggles.” Cath ClarkeRead the full reviewFurther reading Lake District theatre to be renamed after Victoria Wood and unveil new musical of her songsIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence David Lynch’s macabre, intensely 80s drama coolly retains a sense of the dread hiding in plain sight of picket-fence America.
What our reviewer said “The film releases a toxic narcosis of fear.The standing-up dead man in the yellow suit – kept upright by some kind of rigor mortis or final act of will – is an invention of pure horror.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading The strangest David Lynch facts – ranked!In cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Jennifer Connelly plays a teenager having whimsical Alice in Wonderland-ish adventures in Jim Henson’s charmingly eccentric 80s classic.What our reviewer said “This is a very analogue-era movie with analogue-type storytelling and dialogue: it is not driven with the same hyperactive focused energy that modern Pixar/Disney films have.The action often ambles and dawdles and the dialogue, written by Terry Jones, has a casually constructed but often very funny humour.
” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading Ten years after his death, is David Bowie’s musical legacy at risk of fading from view?Reviewed by Dina NayeriSummed up in a sentence Buzzy black comedy about midlife adultery for an anxious generation.What our reviewer said “I loved this razor-sharp, hilarious, finely observed novel, written with such withering exactitude.”Read the full reviewReviewed by Charlie EnglishSummed up in a sentence Why Trump is less of an anomaly than you might think.What our reviewer said “There are precedents here for almost all of Trump’s actions in US history, from summary arrests and deportations to attacks on the ‘fake news’ media.”Read the full reviewReviewed by Christobel KentSummed up in a sentence Acclaimed debut about a near-death experience, inspired by the author’s life.
What our reviewer said “The prose is spare and beautiful, the narrative simple but sound – it is as finely wrought as poetry, luminous with Jago’s sheer delight in the world, electric with his fear that it might still at any moment be snatched away.”Read the full reviewReviewed by Tim ClareSummed up in a sentence How to resist the gamification of everyday life.What our reviewer said “He argues that mistaking points for the point is a pervasive error that leads us to build our lives and societies around things we don’t want.”Read the full reviewReviewed by Imogen Hermes GowarSummed up in a sentence In 15th-century Oxfordshire, a farmer’s son discovers he has a claim to the throne of England.What our reviewer said “Over the course of this fantastically accomplished novel, the many-named boy will travel from Oxford to Burgundy then Ireland, and at last into the paranoid and double-crossing heart of Henry VII’s court.
”Read the full reviewOut nowSummed up in a sentence The Jarman brothers’ ninth album adds a little 80s pop sheen to their distorted guitars and confident indie songwriting,What our reviewer said Time and again, they hit a perfect balance: nothing here feels slick or overworked, but the melodies soar, the choruses hit, everything clicks faultlessly,Alexis PetridisRead the full reviewOut nowSummed up in a sentence The Beirut-born producer’s masterly second album revels in dark tension to cinematic effect, finding beauty in ruinous sound,What our reviewer said “Geitani keeps a deft handle on his world-building, ensuring that threads of unease keep listeners guessing,” Ammar KaliaRead the full reviewOut nowSummed up in a sentence In the Let’s Eat Grandma member’s first solo venture, her singular songwriting powers shine in swooping vocals and transcendent pop melodies.
What our reviewer said “The moment Hollingworth lands on an irresistible melody – see: Every Ounce of Me, whose bittersweet bounce bridges the gap between Olivia Rodrigo and the Waterboys – the effect is transcendent,” Rachel AroestiRead the full reviewOut nowSummed up in a sentence In this recording of some of Schubert’s most profound music, the pianist cements his place as a serious talent,What our reviewer said “Lu is very much attuned to the way in which Schubert creates overarching structures, conjuring a mesmerising feeling of stasis with music that’s alive with detail under the surface,” Erica JealRead the full reviewOut nowSummed up in a sentence The easy fluency of mezzo-soprano Katie Bray and pianist William Vann guides us through familiar and less well known Kurt Weill songs,What our reviewer said “From the deliciously acerbic Barbarasong to the bleakly controlled emotion in Je ne t’aime pas, Bray’s singing is a demonstration of how an elevated, ‘trained’ voice can sound wonderfully communicative and natural in this music.
” Erica JealRead the full review
California attorney general investigates Musk’s Grok AI over lewd fake images
California authorities have announced an investigation into the output of Elon Musk’s Grok.The state’s top attorney said Grok, an AI tool and image generator made by Musk’s company xAI, appears to be making it easy to harass women and girls with deepfake images on X and elsewhere online.“The avalanche of reports detailing the non-consensual, sexually explicit material that xAI has produced and posted online in recent weeks is shocking,” California attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement. “I urge xAI to take immediate action to ensure this goes no further.”Bonta’s office is investigating whether and how xAI violated state law
Elon Musk’s stubborn spin on Grok’s sexualized images controversy
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor for the Guardian. Today, we discuss Elon Musk’s rosy depiction of Grok’s image generation controversy; the seven-figure panic among Silicon Valley billionaires over a proposed wealth tax in California, though with one notable exception; and how AI and robotics have revitalized the Consumer Electronics Showcase.The firestorm over the Grok AI tool has been raging for more than a week now, and it shows no signs of dying down.Last week, I wrote about the rising backlash against Elon Musk’s Grok AI tool, which in recent weeks has allowed users to generate thousands of sexualized images of women
X ‘acting to comply with UK law’ after outcry over sexualised images
Elon Musk’s X is understood to have told the government it is acting to comply with UK law, after nearly a fortnight of public outcry at the use of its AI tool Grok to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday that photographs generated by Grok were “disgusting” and “shameful”, but said he had been informed that X was “acting to ensure full compliance with UK law”.“If so, that is welcome,” the prime minister said. “But we are not going to back down. They must act
Young people, parents and teachers: share your views about Grok AI
Degrading images of real women and children with their clothes digitally removed by Elon Musk’s Grok tool continue to be shared online, despite widespread alarm and a pledge by the platform to suspend users who generate them.While some safeguards have been introduced, the ease with which the AI tool can be abused has raised urgent questions about consent, online safety and the ability of governments worldwide to regulate fast-moving AI technologies. Meanwhile, the misuse of AI to harass, humiliate and sexually exploit people – particularly women and girls – is rapidly escalating.We’d like to hear from young people, parents and teachers about how tools like Grok are affecting you. Are young people aware of how easily these images can be created? If you’re a parent, has this changed how you talk to your children about social media, consent or online safety? If you’re a teacher or work with young people, have you noticed an impact in classrooms or among students? Do you have concerns?You can share your views on Grok and other AI tools using this form
Use of AI to harm women has only just begun, experts warn
“Since discovering Grok AI, regular porn doesn’t do it for me anymore, it just sounds absurd now,” one enthusiast for the Elon Musk-owned AI chatbot wrote on Reddit. Another agreed: “If I want a really specific person, yes.”If those who have been horrified by the distribution of sexualised imagery on Grok hoped that last week’s belated safeguards could put the genie back in the bottle, there are many such posts on Reddit and elsewhere that tell a different story.And while Grok has undoubtedly transformed public understanding of the power of artificial intelligence, it has also pointed to a much wider problem: the growing availability of tools, and means of distribution, that present worldwide regulators with what many view as an impossible task. Even as the UK announces that creating nonconsensual sexual and intimate images will soon be a criminal offence, experts say that the use of AI to harm women has only just begun
Crypto coin firm touted by Eric Adams denies allegations of ‘rug pull’ scam
The cryptocurrency launched by New York City’s former mayor Eric Adams is already in hot water, and now the company behind it is being forced to defend itself from accusations that it scammed people.Investors and cryptocurrency watchers say the asset, dubbed NYC Token, surged to about $580m shortly after it hit the market on Monday and then rapidly plummeted in value. Observers speculated that someone behind the scene may have carried out what’s known in the crypto world as a “rug pull” – when the creators of the asset quickly sell their investments.The company behind the coin has denied any wrongdoing.In a statement posted on X, NYC Token said it was aware of the allegations but rejected claims of a rug pull
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