theweekuk--2020-12-03--Most anticipated films of 2021

Most anticipated films of 2021

Viewers have been starved of new movies this year as the Covid-19 pandemic forced cinemas and film sets worldwide to close their doors .
But 2021 promises to bring a glut of great new content , as delayed releases and flicks that can finally finish production hit the screen .
Here are some of the upcoming must-see titles : One of the most highly anticipated film releases of 2020 was undoubtedly the 25th instalment of the James Bond franchise , which sees Daniel Craig return for his fifth and final appearance as the British spy 007 .
Originally scheduled for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new Bond movie , No Time to Die , will now hit UK cinemas in April 2021 .
True Detective director Cary Fukunaga calls the shots and Oscar winner Rami Malek plays the film ’ s villain , Safin .
Due for release in the UK on 2 April This psychological horror follows a young wannabe fashion designer who mysteriously travels back in time to 1960s London , where she encounters her singer idol , played by The Queen ’ s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy .
The late Diana Rigg and former Doctor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what Empire describes as an “ unsettling time-hopping fright-fest ” .
Due for release in the UK on 23 April Just when you thought they ’ d finally wrapped up the Fast & Furious film franchise , the cinematic gift that just keeps on giving is returning for a ninth instalment in 2021 , with Vin Diesel reprising his role as street racer Dominic Toretto .
So what does director Justin Lin have in store for fans this time round ?
Another thrilling ride , judging by what has become “ one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Esquire says .
Among the revelations in the “ mind-blowing scenes ” is that Dom ( Diesel ) has a long lost brother named Jakob ( John Cena ) .
But sibling rivalry soon rears its ugly head .
Due for release 28 May Top Gun fans have “ had to wait over 30 years for a sequel ” , says Radio Times , but now Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer have returned to “ don their aviator glasses once more ” to take to the skies as rivals Maverick and Iceman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris and Jon Hamm , while Jennifer Connelly plays a single mother and bar owner who becomes romantically entangled with Maverick .
Due for release 8 July Playing one of the most iconic voices of the 20th century is no easy task , but “ Jennifer Hudson is known for her ability to give people instant goose-bumps ” , Cosmopolitan says .
The Oscar winner is a shrewd pick to take on the role of Aretha Franklin in the celebratory biopic , delivering a performance “ as astoundingly brilliant as ever ” .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ be on the horizon ” for Hudson , the magazine predicts .
Due for release 13 August Originally scheduled for release back in September , The Beatles ’ biopic is shaping up to be the “ ultimate fly-on-the-wall experience ” for fans of the band , says Sophie Smith on udsicovermusic .
Director Peter Jackson also throws in iconic moments such as the Fab Four ’ s performance on the roof of Savile Row Studios , for added enjoyment .
Due for release 27 August This much-anticipated big-budget sci-fi blockbuster is based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the same name .
Timothee Chalamet plays anti-hero Paul Atreides , who is charged with protecting the most treasured substance in the universe .
Filmed in the “ awe-inspiring ” Wadi Rum desert , Dune is the “ most ambitious release ” of the year , according to NME ’ s Ella Kemp .
Due for release 1 October An epic offering from director Ridley Scott , starring big names including Ben Affleck , Matt Damon , Adam Driver and Killing Eve star Jodie Comer .
The Last Duel “ is set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an epic tale of betrayal and justice ” , Digital Spy reports .
Based on a novel by US author Eric Jager , the film tells the true story of Jean de Carrouges ( Damon ) , a knight who embarks on a fight to the death with former friend Jacques Le Gris ( Driver ) after accusing him of raping his wife ( Comer ) .
Due for release 15 October Another long-awaited sequel , the fourth edition of The Matrix arrives almost two decades after the last instalment of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ under strict lock and key ” , says Indiewire ’ s Zack Sharf .
But the script has been described as “ beautiful ” and “ inspiring ” by Keanu Reeves , who is reprising his role as Neo alongside Carrie-Anne Moss ’ Trinity despite the pair having apparently died in the last film .
Due for release 22 December

Herself
Compared to Phyllida Lloyd’s earlier films – such as Mamma Mia! – this story about an Irish cleaner is a low-key affair, said Charlotte O’Sullivan in the London Evening Standard. But don’t be fooled: “Herself is destined for great things.” Sandra (Clare Dunne) musters the courage to leave her violent husband, but finds that she and her two daughters will have to wait years for a council home; in the meantime, they’re stuck in an airport hotel where they’re treated as second-class citizens, not even allowed to use the front entrance. Sandra’s solution is to build her own house, and with the help of a doctor (Harriet Walter) andano-nonsense builder (Conleth Hill), she sets to work. It’s all very hopeful to start with – but when the setbacks come, they are “horribly” plausible. The result is an “enchanting” radical fairy-tale that is both universal and thoroughly Irish.
The Lost Leonardo
Early in this “sensational” documentary there is one of those “Whoa!” moments, said Owen Gleiberman in Variety. The year is 2005: acting on a hunch, two art dealers have spent $1,175 on a dirty old painting of Christ at a New Orleans auction, and taken it to a respected art restorer. As she works, she realises that the mouth matches that of the Mona Lisa – and declares that what she is looking at is a lost Leonardo da Vinci. Authenticated by various experts, it eventually sells for a record $450m. Director Andreas Koefoed briefly allows us to enjoy this dream of a rediscovered masterpiece – before bringing in the sceptics, and inviting us to use our own eyes, to consider whether this painting really could be the “male Mona Lisa”. Combining “a bubbly sense of play with a gravity of purpose”, he exposes the greed and venality of the art world, and shows how the monetary value of a painting can become “the tail wagging the dog of its (actual) value”.
The Nest
Jude Law’s “insincere salesman’s smile” is put to good use in this unsettling drama, a film about family dysfunction with the stylistic trappings of a horror movie, said Wendy Ide in The Observer. Law plays handsome, “brash City boy” Rory, who has decided to relocate his American wife Allison (Carrie Coon) and their two children from New York to a 17th century mansion in Surrey. It is 1986 and, having had professional luck in the past, Rory is determined to ride the deregulation of the UK financial markets to great wealth and social glory. But we soon recognise him for the none too clever blowhard he is, and must watch as cheques bounce, bills go unpaid and Allison gradually starts to realise the full extent of his lies and empty promises.
Candyman
A sequel to Bernard Rose’s 1992 horror classic of the same name, Candyman is “one of the most original, beautiful and savagely satirical films of the year”, said Charlotte O’Sullivan in the London Evening Standard. The Candyman is the spirit of a black artist who was lynched in the 19th century for loving a white woman, and who returns to his old Chicago stomping ground – now a fast-gentrifying housing project – to kill anyone who speaks his name five times in a mirror. In this film version, a socially conscious young artist named Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) explores the urban legend in his latest work, which includes a mirror entitled “Say My Name”. A white gallery owner and a snobby art critic unwisely act on the instruction, and soon the bodies are piling up.
Pig
This “ingenious” film starts out looking like a traditional revenge thriller, albeit with a twist, said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent. Rob (Nicolas Cage) is a former chef from Portland, Oregon, who has been driven by private grief to hunker down in a woodland cabin with just a truffle pig for company. His only visitor is Amir (Alex Wolff), who sells the truffles they find to upmarket restaurants. When Rob is assaulted and his pig stolen, he sets out to retrieve the animal – and nothing will stand in his way. Cage’s past roles and his appearance here – mountain-man beard, straggly hair, dishevelled clothes – lead us to expect a descent into madness; but what Cage really brings to the role is a sense of “profound connection” with food.
The Courier
Benedict Cumberbatch shines in this Cold War thriller about the emotional bonds that can form in “the brutal world of spycraft”, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. He plays Greville Wynne, the salesman selected in real life by MI6 to contact Oleg Penkovsky, a Soviet intelligence officer who was so alarmed by Khrushchev’s nuclear brinkmanship that he leaked information later credited with averting war during the Cuban missile crisis. Wynne was recruited for his sheer ordinariness, and his strong head for alcohol, and Cumberbatch exudes an “unpretentious conviviality” that duly charms Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze). Drinking, sightseeing and attending the ballet on Wynne’s trips to Moscow, they develop a sense of mutual personal loyalty that will sustain them when Wynne’s mission goes awry.
Zola
The first ever cinematic adaptation of a Twitter thread, this comedy-cum-thriller is “a blast” – a “brash, aggressively showy joyride to the dark side”, said Wendy Ide in The Observer. “Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out?” began exotic dancer A’Ziah “Zola” King’s uproarious, 148-tweet account of a 2015 Florida road trip that went horribly awry. In the film, Zola (Taylour Paige) is persuaded by a woman she’s just met – fellow dancer Stefani (Riley Keough) – to drive to Tampa for a weekend of lucrative pole-dancing. The trip there with Stefani’s weedy boyfriend (Nicholas Braun), and a pimp known as X (Colman Domingo), is fun – but then X turns nasty. What we’re witnessing is “sex trafficking by another name” – and Zola’s “sharp wits” are her only hope of getting out unscathed.
Stillwater
Tom McCarthy’s first film since the Oscar-winning Spotlight is “the kind of mid-budget grown-up movie that Hollywood supposedly doesn’t make any more”, said Ian Freer in Empire. A “mostly entertaining, if overlong”, mix of thriller and relationship drama, it stars Matt Damon as Bill Baker, an oil driller, recovering alcoholic and self-declared “f**kup” from Oklahoma who is now adrift in Marseille, where his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin), is in prison for her girlfriend’s murder. Allison insists she is innocent, and Bill is determined to clear her name. Facing impenetrable cultural barriers, he is helped by an actress he befriends, Virginie (Call My Agent!’s Camille Cottin). There’s real chemistry between this odd couple – the chic, liberal French “thesp” and the “God-fearing, gun-loving” American – and the “taciturn” Bill discovers “tenderness and a different way of living”.
Limbo
Politics and poetry meet in this “eccentric” film about refugee lives in limbo, said Alex Godfrey in Empire. Housed together on a bleak, unnamed Scottish island (the film was shot on North and South Uist), four asylum seekers must wait as their applications are processed agonisingly slowly. Barred from working, they have nothing to do but attend “ridiculous” cultural-awareness classes and watch teenagers drive doughnuts in the “drab” local town. Omar (Amir El-Masry) is a Syrian musician who feels so “stuck” he can’t bring himself to play his oud (a Middle-Eastern lute). His Afghan friend Farhad (Vikash Bhai) keeps a chicken named Freddie Mercury. And Wasef (Ola Orebiyi) is a Nigerian football fan whose plan to play for Chelsea invites ridicule from his Ghanaian friend Abedi (Kwabena Ansah).
Old
“M. Night Shyamalan has had a rum old career,” said Ed Potton in The Times, “lurching from creepy triumphs (The Sixth Sense) to flawed but intriguing curios (The Village) to outrageous turkeys (Lady in the Water).” Old belongs in the flawed but intriguing group. Gael García Bernal and Vicky Krieps star as Guy and Prisca, a couple on holiday in an unnamed tropical country with their children. Dropped off at a remote, supposedly secret beach, they are surprised to find other guests present, including Charles (Rufus Sewell), an arrogant British surgeon, and Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre), a famous American rapper. But far more sinister are the events that follow: all the characters start ageing at a wildly accelerated rate, and no one seems able to leave. With a premise worthy of early Star Trek and an ensemble cast straight out of Agatha Christie, Old is pure “hokum” – but ingenious and hugely entertaining too, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian.
Summer of Soul
This new documentary is “an absolute joy, uncovering a treasure trove of pulse-racing, heart-stopping live music footage that has remained largely unseen for half a century”, said Mark Kermode in The Observer. The Harlem Cultural Festival was a series of open-air concerts that took place in New York in 1969, and which were dubbed the “Black Woodstock”. The concerts were filmed by the television producer Hal Tulchin, who planned to make a TV film out of it. But he was turned down by all the main networks, and his footage sat in a basement for 50 years. The director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson discovered it, and has made it into a debut feature which “intertwines music and politics in one of the best concert movies of all time”.
Supernova
This “intimate” film about love and mortality is carried by the “heartfelt” performances of its leads, Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Tusker (Tucci) and Sam (Firth) are a couple who have been together for decades. The former is a novelist, the latter a classical pianist, but their careers are on hold because Tusker has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Now they are setting off on a road trip to the Lake District. Their plan is to visit Sam’s sister, but this is also a chance - possibly their last - to spend a bit of time together while Tusker is still well. The pair make a sweet and likeable odd couple, and their instinct is to try to jolly their way through. But they must eventually face up to the reality of their situation, and when they do, it is “painful in ways that none of their shared jokes or shared love can really anaesthetise”.
Luca
Set in Italy, Pixar’s latest offering is a “gorgeous parable” about the relationship between two young sea monsters, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Bookish Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and bold Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) are merboys who find they are able to assume human form to explore the nearby fishing village. With the aid of a spirited teenager (Emma Berman), they set out to win the local triathlon. However, the villagers loathe sea monsters, and the risk of discovery creates a thrilling tension. Some viewers have read the story as an allegory about growing up gay. Pixar insists the boys’ relationship is not romantic, but the film does deal with themes of belonging and identity, and with its tear-jerking finale, it is “soul food for kids of all ages”.
The Reason I Jump
A world teeming with thoughts that you have no way to express is the stuff of panic dreams – and also of this “poetic and revelatory” documentary, said Danny Leigh in the FT. Based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida, a 13-year-old with non-verbal autism, it introduces us to young people from four continents with similar conditions, explaining how they struggle to construct a wider reality from the fine details which can overwhelm their senses, and the difficulty they have in separating recent events from long-ago ones. The result is moving and imaginative – “the young people are beguiling, their parents’ love profound” – though one wishes that some alternative views of this highly controversial topic had been accommodated.
The Father
Adapted from a play written by its director, Florian Zeller, and anchored by an Oscar-winning performance from Anthony Hopkins, The Father is a film about dementia that is both deeply frightening and unbearably moving, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Without using “obvious first-person camera tricks”, it puts us inside the head of Hopkins’s character, a “roguishly handsome” widower now suffering from Alzheimer’s. His “affectionate and exasperated” daughter (Olivia Colman) regularly visits him at his elegant west London flat. He suspects she is about to abandon him by moving abroad, but he can’t work out what is going on. His disorientation is evoked by the use of time slips and loops in the film, by subtle changes in the set, and by different actors playing the same characters. It’s as if reality itself is “gaslighting” him.
In The Heights
It’s a “looser, simpler” musical than Hamilton, but In the Heights – Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit from 2005 – brims with the same energy, and this film version is like “a shot of summer holiday” to the arm, said Helen O’Hara in Empire. Set in the largely Hispanic neighbourhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan, it features intertwining plot lines about people’s efforts to get on in the world. Our hero (Anthony Ramos) is a young bodega owner who hopes to return to the Dominican Republic to open a beach bar, but we’re also privy to the dreams of his girlfriend (Melissa Barrera), a straight-A student named Nina (Leslie Grace), and a supporting cast of “salon girls, small cousins and caring grandmothers”. A “joyous, expansive” account of the immigrant experience, In the Heights looks set to be “the film of the summer”, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph.
Dream Horse
“The feelgood Brit-com is back!” said Kevin Maher in The Times. Whereas recent Brit-coms such as Military Wives and Fisherman’s Friends have been marred by a “horrible” focus on X-Factor-like celebrity, Dream Horse is a “purer” form of the genre, which harks back to Ealing classics such as The Titfield Thunderbolt “with its carefully calibrated characters and often unforgiving dissection of class politics”. Based on a true story, and set in South Wales, it stars Toni Collette as Jan Vokes, a barmaid in a former mining village who puts together a local syndicate to buy a racehorse. An empty nester living in penury, she is inspired by accountant Howard (Damian Lewis), whose love of racing provides an escape from the “crushing tedium” around him. Their “scrappy, allotment-raised” gelding, Dream Alliance, “crashes the snooty owners' paddock at Aintree”, and goes on to win the Welsh Grand National.
Cruella
This “beautifully surprising” prequel to The Hundred and One Dalmatians is a “fabulous-darling air kiss” of a movie, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. Set in the late 1960s or early 1970s London, it imagines how the young Estella de Vil grew into the dognapping anti-heroine of Dodie Smith’s novel. Taken up by two pickpockets (Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry) after her mother’s death, Estella (Emma Stone) is groomed for a big-time heist by immersion in the fashion world, landing a job with a fearsome designer called the Baroness (Emma Thompson). To carry out the crime, she develops “a black-and-white vamp persona, only to find the mask sticking”. Brimming with retro pop hits and “profoundly satisfying” plot twists, it’s an “entirely smashing” experience.
First Cow
The power of the western to reinvent itself never ceases to amaze, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Its latest incarnation is a “tender heartbreaker” set in the forests of 19th century Oregon, with a travelling cook (John Magaro) and an enterprising Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) as the unlikely heroes. The pair hit on the idea of selling delicious biscuits as a rare treat for the local settlers and fur traders, using milk from the first cow imported into the territory. But the cow belongs to a powerful local merchant (Toby Jones), and milking it is a dangerous act of theft. From this idiosyncratic material director Kelly Reichardt fashions a “delicate” parable about American destiny, environmentalism and the value of friendship.
Rare Beasts
Billie Piper’s first film as a writer-director is a “peculiar anti-romcom”, an “ambitious, nervy work that occasionally trips over its own stylistic heels”, said Mark Kermode in The Observer. Piper stars as Mandy, an “angry, seething” single mother who is professionally driven but still living with her own mother, (Kerry Fox). Her son (Toby Woolf) is “beset by anxious tics”, and her father (David Thewlis) is consumed by “bitterness and regret”. On a “toe-curling” date with a buttoned up workmate (Leo Bill), Mandy spots that he’s a misogynist, but starts a “laceratingly awkward” relationship with him nonetheless. In their verbal sparring matches, “deadpan sparks fly” – the script is “gleefully overwrought” – but ultimately, the focus of the film is Mandy’s personal battle “to define who she is”.
Servants
Shot in “haunting monochrome” and permeated with the “chill of political fear”, this “deeply disturbing” film is about the covert power struggle between Church and state in communist-era Czechoslovakia, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Two “fresh-faced” teenagers, Juraj (Samuel Skyva) and Michal (Samuel Polakovic), arrive for their training at a Catholic seminary in Bratislava, only to find themselves in “an austere haunted house of shame, reeking of paranoia, exhaustion and self-reproach”. The Dean (Vladimír Strnisko) belongs to Pacem in Terris – a real-life regime-sponsored organisation of Catholic clergy – but dissident young priests are secretly in touch with the Vatican. Into the ferment steps the “deeply malevolent”, blackmailing policeman Dr Ivan (Vlad Ivanov).
Cowboys
From its opening images of a father and son camping together in the Montana wilderness, Cowboys taps into classic images of American masculinity, said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent. But this “sweetly realised” road movie uses them to gently subversive ends. We soon learn that the boy, 11-year-old Joe (Sasha Knight), is trans, and has recently come out to his parents. His mother Sally (Jillian Bell), “fixated on the idea of having a mini-me daughter”, is hostile and uncomprehending. But his father, Sally’s ex-husband Troy (Steve Zahn), is keen to protect his child’s happiness and decides, “in a moment of loving desperation”, to flee with Joe for Canada. It’s effectively a kidnapping. Sally calls the police, who are quick to assume that the bighearted Troy – an alcoholic, bipolar ex-convict – is a violent threat, and a manhunt ensues.
Nomadland
I’d love to tell you that the film that scooped the Oscars for best picture, best director and best actress is overhyped, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. But no: this “melancholy poem” about restlessness and loss feels like the perfect summation of a precarious year. Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a recently widowed woman in her 60s who, having lost her job and her home in the recession, heads west in a customised van in search of work. Along the way, she meets up with a group of nomads in Arizona, who teach her how to survive on the road. Chloé Zhao’s film is based on a non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, and many of the people Bruder interviewed appear as themselves: the stories they tell have a “blunt, granular power”, yet what emerges from them is grace, and stoicism.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
The plot of this animated film is unhindered by convention, said Ben Travis in Empire: in other words, it’s “nuts”. The Mitchells are a dysfunctional nuclear family struggling to connect with each other in the world of modern technology. As daughter Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) prepares to leave for film school, her father (Danny McBride) realises how distanced they’ve become. His solution is to turn her journey into a family road trip – which is then derailed by a robot apocalypse. With the rest of the world’s population enslaved by an Alexa-like AI (Olivia Colman), it’s left to the Mitchells to save humanity. Marrying dynamic visuals with a script that’s “as funny as hell”, the award-winning producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller show themselves to be “light years” ahead of the competition.
Black Bear
Black Bear is a “tricky, twisty and relentlessly inventive drama” that plays on the weirdness of movie-making, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Suffering from a creative block, writer-director Allison (Aubrey Plaza) checks into a writers’ retreat in upstate New York, where she becomes involved in the “vicious and mutually destructive struggles” of its husband and wife owners, Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon). Matters descend to Polanski-like darkness – and then the action resets. We’re in the same place, but now a film crew is present, shooting a drama whose story resembles the events we’ve just seen – except that the characters’ roles have changed. In this version, Gabe is the writer-director, Allison is his wife and the star of the film, and Blair is her co-star and real-life rival for Gabe’s affections.
Stowaway
Brazilian musician and YouTuber Joe Penna made his directorial debut in 2018 with Arctic, an excellent wilderness survival story – and Stowaway, his second film, is “just as intricate and immersive”, said Charlotte O’Sullivan in the London Evening Standard. In the near future, three astronauts – seasoned commander Marina (Toni Collette), upbeat medic Zoe (Anna Kendrick) and nerdy botanist David (Daniel Dae Kim) – set off on a mission to Mars, where they are going to lay the ground-work for a colony. All goes well until Marina finds an accidental stowaway, Michael (Shamier Anderson), a young engineer who was injured and knocked unconscious during launch prep. It transpires that, owing to a malfunction, there is only enough oxygen for three people to survive – meaning that unless the crew find a practical solution, one of them will have to be sacrificed, or all will die.
Promising Young Woman
Writer-director Emerald Fennell’s Oscar-nominated debut, Promising Young Woman, is a pitch dark film for the #MeToo era that “fizzes with style and wit”, said Kevin Maher in The Times. It stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a “brittle” coffee shop barista who is still full of rage about the rape and subsequent suicide of her best friend, Nina, some years ago. To avenge Nina’s death, she poses as reeling drunk in nightclubs, where she lets supposed “nice guys” take her home – then snaps out of her stupor when, inevitably, they try to take advantage of her state. These are bleak but funny scenes, from whose outcome – violent or otherwise – we are tantalisingly excluded. Meanwhile, Cassie pursues the individuals who wronged Nina, including the university dean who ignored her report of rape, and the lawyer who put pressure on her to drop her case.
Sound of Metal
This “thoughtful, sombre” drama stars Riz Ahmed as Ruben Stone, a heavy-metal drummer who experiences sudden hearing loss while on tour in the US, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. A recovering heroin user with serious relationship problems, he lands up in a remote Missouri retreat for recovering deaf addicts. Its manager is a greying Vietnam vet called Joe (Paul Raci), who believes that hearing-impaired people need to find enough “stillness” inside themselves to accept their condition as a “valid alternative existence”. But Ruben is determined to have risky surgery that would restore some of his hearing – even if the cost of it might make it difficult for him to resume the career he’s desperate to save.
Palm Springs
Palm Springs borrows its basic premise from Groundhog Day, but this romcom has a charm of its own, and it “fairly crackles with surprises”, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. Like Bill Murray’s character Phil in the earlier – and rather more family-friendly – film Nyles (Andy Samberg) is stuck in a temporal loop, reliving the same day repeatedly. He’s at a friend’s wedding in the eponymous resort and, having tried killing himself and sleeping with all the guests, he has already reached the “nihilistic-hedonism” phase of the Murray cycle. Where the film parts company with its predecessor is that another guest – Sarah (Cristin Milioti) – is in on the trick, repeating her day alongside his, a “goofy co-conspirator, sharing his godlike dominion over events”.
Minari
This “wonderfully absorbing and moving” family drama has been nominated for six Oscars, and “already has the look of a well-loved classic”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Set in the 1980s, and inspired by writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s own childhood, it stars Steven Yeun as Jacob, a Korean immigrant who gives up a dead-end job in California and moves his family to a trailer home set on five acres in Arkansas. His plan is to farm Korean produce and bring up his daughter Anne (Noel Cho) and son David (Alan Kim) in Edenic bliss. But his wife, Monica (Yeri Han) is sceptical, and as tornadoes and fires strike and crops fail, despite his backbreaking labour, their marriage hits the skids.
Ammonite
This “absorbing” drama about forbidden love in 1840s Dorset “brings together two superb performers”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Kate Winslet plays Mary Anning, the palaeontologist whose extraordinary fossil finds were “coolly appropriated” by the male scientific establishment, forcing her to run a curios shop in Lyme Regis to get by; and Saoirse Ronan is geologist Charlotte Murchison, a gentlewoman who is sent to lodge with Mary by her husband Roderick (James McArdle) in the hopes that “sea air and healthy scientific thoughts” will cure her melancholia. In fact, Charlotte’s problem is his “passionless dullness”. Joining Mary on windswept fossil hunting expeditions, she gradually comes alive and, though Mary is a tough woman, who wears “a look of perpetual wary resentment”, their friendship gives way to passion.
Violation
Shot through with “blood-draining frights”, this rape revenge thriller has a pitch-dark mood that is not easy to shake or describe, said Tomris Laffly in Variety. Co-writer and co-director Madeleine Sims-Fewer plays Miriam, a young Londoner who visits her sister Greta (Anna Maguire) and Greta’s husband Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe) at their remote home in Quebec. Miriam’s own marriage to Caleb (Obi Abili) is on the rocks, and rivalries left over from childhood distance her from Greta, too. Only Dylan offers her warmth, and one night, Miriam kisses him beside a lake. Later, he enters her room and rapes her. Unable to confide in Caleb, and scorned by Greta, Miriam takes matters into her own hands. What follows is “possibly the most brutal woman-on-man ordeal since Audition”, said Phil Hoad in The Guardian. But it also “feels like something from the ancient world” – a “single, abject act of reprisal”, not a “fantasy spree”.
Creation Stories
This biopic of the founder of Creation Records is a “lairy, likeable” account of Alan McGee’s rise from musically talentless Glaswegian punk to self-described “President of Pop”, said Cath Clarke in The Guardian. Trainspotting alumnus Ewen Bremner brings just enough “working-class gobshite cheekiness” to the central role to “balance out the myth-making and megalo-mania”. McGee founded his label in London in 1982, having left Glasgow and his violent father behind, and signed the likes of Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. It’s a life of “inspired chaos”, and the film – adapted by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh from McGee’s memoir – “hilariously downplays” his biggest discovery, of Oasis, in 1993. He’d only gone to the gig because he’d missed a train. But thus was Britpop born.
Judas and the Black Messiah
Two “barnstorming” performances underpin this “fiercely watchable” thriller about the FBI’s assassination of the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in 1969, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Shot aged 21 while lying asleep in bed, Hampton was a charismatic figure, and the “muscular force” of his rhetoric and his “instinctive leadership” are brilliantly conveyed by Daniel Kaluuya. LaKeith Stanfield is similarly impressive as William O’Neal, the petty criminal who was strong-armed by the FBI’s Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) into infiltrating the Black Panthers. Promoted through the ranks, he grows to like and admire Hampton; but he is also in thrall to Mitchell and the FBI. He is not exactly in denial, but nor does he quite face up to what he is doing: he is the Judas of the film’s title.
Cherry
Having established their reputations with superhero blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame, the Russo brothers have now turned to more “grown-up” material with this adaptation of an autobiographical novel by former US soldier Nico Walker, said John Nugent in Empire. Its protagonist, Cherry, is a quiet college student who joins up as a medic, serves in the Iraq War, and returns to the US with PTSD and a growing drug habit that he ends up funding through armed robbery. With its episodic structure, the film feels “like multiple movies in one”, and runs to “an Endgame-approaching two-and-a-half hours”. Some sections are “fuzzy or formulaic”, and the whole thing has “a fidgety, unfocused feel”. But it’s worth watching for Spider-Man actor Tom Holland’s central performance, in a “demanding, complex” role.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday has always been “a monster of a role”, said Mark Kennedy in The Independent. Diana Ross and Audra McDonald have both tackled it; now singer Andra Day takes it on, in her acting debut – and she shines. In a remarkable performance, she portrays the great singer in her final years as “a haunted and crushed icon, an addict with terrible choices in men but the voice of an angel”. The film flashes back and forward in time, but centres on events in 1947, when the authorities were so alarmed by the impact of her anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, they apparently conspired to have her jailed for possessing heroin. Lee Daniels’s film is unfocused and meandering, but it’s interspersed with scenes that feel “like a punch in the gut”.
I Care a Lot
In this “exquisitely nasty”, blackly comic thriller, Rosamund Pike gives us “her most outrageous Hitchcock-blonde turn since Gone Girl”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. With a “sociopath haircut, shades and fashion-plate outfits”, she exudes “pure predatory wickedness” as Marla Grayson, a ruthless scammer who, aided by corrupt doctors, insinuates her way into the lives of wealthy but lonely elderly people in Boston. She becomes their legal guardian, has them committed to care homes, then fleeces them of their possessions. One day, she lands what she thinks is a particularly tame fish – sweet Mrs Peterson (a fabulous Dianne Wiest). She duly visits the old lady’s house, all “kindly, sorrowing smiles”, and entraps her during a scene of true emotional “horror”. But there’s something she hasn’t bargained for – Mrs Peterson’s connections in the Russian Mafia.
To Olivia
The biopic trend “trundles on, chewing up one children’s author after another – C.S. Lewis, J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne, J.R.R. Tolkien”, said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. Now it’s the turn of Roald Dahl – in a film that is especially weak and contrived. Based on Stephen Michael Shearer’s biography of Dahl’s first wife, the American actress Patricia Neal, To Olivia is set in the years leading up to the author’s first big success, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in 1964. At home in Buckinghamshire, Dahl (Hugh Bonneville) is “all fun and games” with his three children, but bickers “horribly” with Neal (Keeley Hawes) before retreating to his writing shed to drink. The death of their seven-year-old daughter Olivia, from measles-related encephalitis, plunges Dahl into depression, and the increasingly lonely Neal heads to Hollywood to give her Oscar-winning performance opposite Paul Newman in Hud.
Dead Pigs
Chinese-American director Cathy Yan made her name internationally last year with the superhero blockbuster Birds of Prey. That was her second film; now her first, Dead Pigs, has been released in the UK, said Ella Kemp in Empire. Premiered at the Sundance festival in 2018, it’s a “fizzy” social satire inspired by a real-life event in 2013, when around 16,000 dead pigs floated down the Huangpu River through Shanghai, having been dumped by farmers upstream. Yan traces the effects of this bizarre event through the interlinked lives of five characters. At the heart of the web is Candy Wang – a beauty parlour owner, who is coming under pressure to sell her family’s old wooden house, owing to her pig-farmer brother’s financial plight – and Sean, a US architect who has wildly ambitious plans for the site.
News of the World
Tom Hanks is at his “twinkliest and crinkliest” in this old-fashioned Western, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph. He plays Captain Jefferson Kidd, a veteran of the Civil War’s losing side who now makes a living by travelling around Texas reading news stories to the illiterate masses. On the trail he comes across an abandoned, mute white girl, Johanna (Helena Zengel). Her German parents had been killed years earlier, by the Kiowa tribe, who raised her – until they were themselves killed by white settlers. At this point, Kidd decides to take her on the road, in order to deliver her to her closest living relatives, an aunt and uncle on the far side of the state.
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Serbian director Jasmila Žbanic’s “incendiary” film is about the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 – the worst civilian atrocity in Europe since the end of the Second World War, said Kevin Maher in The Times. We see it through the eyes of Aida (Jasna Đuricic), a local teacher-turned-translator who scurries frantically between the representatives of the 20,000 terrified Bosnian Muslims who are gathered in and around the UN’s supposed “safe area” (a disused factory), and the commanders of the UN’s Dutch peacekeeping forces – “eviscerated here as weak and spineless” – while the Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic (Boris Isakovic) and his paramilitary thugs “await the green light for mass extermination”.
The Dig
Based on the true story of the excavation at Sutton Hoo, and adapted from John Preston’s novel, The Dig is a “moving and beguiling” period piece that offers “a well-timed double dose of consolation and escape”, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph. In the summer of 1939, when the world was preparing for war, Suffolk landowner Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) employed Basil Brown, a local self-taught archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes, sporting a broad Suffolk accent) to investigate the mysterious grassy mounds on her estate. The dig revealed them to be a ninth century Anglo-Saxon burial site, concealing, among other treasures, an 89ft-long ship; and so, “just as the nation’s future became obscured by shadow, a shaft of light was suddenly thrown on its distant past”. At first, we follow the relationship that develops between Brown and Pretty. But as excitement about the find intensifies, and the professionals descend on it, the film’s scope widens, to focus in particular on the romance between married archaeologist Peggy Piggott (Lily James) and Pretty’s nephew (Johnny Flynn), who is waiting to be called up.
Dear Comrades!
The massacre of around 80 unarmed protesters in the Russian city of Novocherkassk in 1962 – an atrocity kept secret for 30 years – is the subject of this riveting drama from veteran director Andrei Konchalovsky, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at last year’s Venice Film Festival, it strikes a “wry”, satirical note at first, with “droll one liners about Soviet ineptitude” as workers at the city’s power plant go on strike over rising food prices. The subsequent massacre, however, is depicted “unsparingly”. The film’s protagonist, local Communist Party member Lyuda Syomina (Julia Vysotskaya), has a reputation for endorsing this kind of crackdown. But when her teenage daughter, Svetka – a worker at the plant – goes missing, she is torn between her loyalty to the party, and her personal anguish.
One Night in Miami
Oscar-winning actress Regina King’s directorial debut features both “big ideas and barnstorming turns”, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Based on the 2013 play by Kemp Powers, the film imagines the conversation that might have taken place during a real-life meeting between four black American icons – Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), as he was then, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr) and NFL star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) – in Miami on the night of 25 February 1964, to celebrate Clay’s defeat of world champion boxer Sonny Liston. The dialogue is witty and fluid, but gradually their conversation homes in on a single weighty topic – what it means to be, in Clay’s words, “young, black, righteous, unapologetic, famous” in white America. The result is a “timely and serious commentary on American racial politics”.
The White Tiger
Adapted from Aravind Adiga’s 2008 Booker Prize winner, The White Tiger is a darkly humorous rags-to-riches tale set in India in the economic boom of the late Noughties, said Owen Gleiberman in Variety. Its protagonist is Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav), a charming but dirt-poor peasant who talks his way into a job as a Delhi-based driver for a ruthless landlord, The Stork (Mahesh Manjrekar). Balram is grateful and obsequious at first, in awe of The Stork’s suave son (Rajkummar Rao) and his sophisticated, New-York-raised wife (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). But he comes to see his servile mentality as a curse when the family makes him the fall guy for a crash he didn’t cause. Learning to emulate their ruthlessness and cynicism, he turns the tables, lining his pockets and launching himself on a corrupt path to success.
Ham on Rye
Writer-director Tyler Taormina’s debut feature is a surreal, “disquieting” take on the Hollywood coming of age genre, said Glenn Kenny in The New York Times. It’s spring in the suburbs, and teenagers wearing sundresses and jackets and ties are heading to a dance. The boys talk, crudely but naively, about sex; the girls about fashion and popularity. The dance is held at a local deli and has a strange, ritual air. The girls form one line, the boys another, music begins and, communicating with hand gestures, they pair off. The scene builds to a dreamy climax – but then the film turns to those who got passed over at the dance, or were too anxious to go, and things become stranger still.
Soul
From its first feature – 1995’s Toy Story – onwards, Pixar has never been shy of tackling the big questions. In Soul, the animation studio takes on the greatest of them of all – the meaning of life, said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent, and it does so with all the “beauty”, “humour” and “heart” for which it has become known. Pixar’s first film with an African American protagonist is about a New York jazz pianist, Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who is scraping a living as a high school teacher while longing for success as a performer. Then, moments after being booked for a potentially life-changing gig, he falls down a manhole. His soul ends up in The Great Beyond, a fuzzy pastel afterlife; but such is his desperation to realise his dream, he manages to slip back to Earth with another soul named 22 (a “delightfully irritating” Tina Fey), who has never occupied a physical body before.


theweekuk--2020-12-31--The Year Unwrapped: Safety, Kenya and Marx reborn

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days .
To get six free issues of The Week magazine and a moleskine notebook visit theweek.co.uk/offer and enter promo code : pod25 In this week ’ s episode , we discuss : Members of Generation Z - people younger than millennials - seem to be more open to Marx than their predecessors .
Penguin has seen a 30 % increase in physical sales of The Communist Manifesto - as well as a 1,366 % increase in audiobook streams .
This , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meme accounts suggest that the pandemic may have encouraged young people - especially those less aware of the violent consequences of Marxism - are rethinking ideas of work and collective action .
As Covid-19 began spreading around the world , apocalyptic predictions about how the pandemic could devastate Africa were not hard to find .
But it was Europe and the US who bore the brunt of the pandemic .
Kenya has seen more than 94,000 cases , but just 1,600 deaths .
The third largest economy in Africa looks set to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but has been criticised by human rights groups for its harsh restrictions .
So can it be considered a surprise Covid success story ?
In 2020 , “ safety ” seems to have emerged as a priority at the expense of freedom , on multiple fronts .
In seeking protection from Covid , we have readily given up the right to protest , dance and even just see friends and family .
But there has also been a trend towards safety from ideas and opinions on issues as diverse as trans rights and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Week Unwrapped on the Global Player , Apple podcasts , SoundCloud or wherever you get you get your podcasts .

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
To get six free issues of The Week magazine and a moleskine notebook visit theweek.co.uk/offer and enter promo code: pod25
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Marxism today
Members of Generation Z - people younger than millennials - seem to be more open to Marx than their predecessors. Penguin has seen a 30% increase in physical sales of The Communist Manifesto - as well as a 1,366% increase in audiobook streams. This, alongside the big TikTok trends and Marxist meme accounts suggest that the pandemic may have encouraged young people - especially those less aware of the violent consequences of Marxism - are rethinking ideas of work and collective action.
Kenya on the rise
As Covid-19 began spreading around the world, apocalyptic predictions about how the pandemic could devastate Africa were not hard to find. But it was Europe and the US who bore the brunt of the pandemic. Kenya has seen more than 94,000 cases, but just 1,600 deaths. The third largest economy in Africa looks set to make an impressive economic recovery in 2021, but has been criticised by human rights groups for its harsh restrictions. So can it be considered a surprise Covid success story?
Safety vs. freedom
In 2020, “safety” seems to have emerged as a priority at the expense of freedom, on multiple fronts. In seeking protection from Covid, we have readily given up the right to protest, dance and even just see friends and family. But there has also been a trend towards safety from ideas and opinions on issues as diverse as trans rights and radical anti-racism.
You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped on the Global Player, Apple podcasts, SoundCloud or wherever you get you get your podcasts.


theweekuk--2020-12-16--Coronavirus: how many people need to be vaccinated to get back to normal?

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1. How many people need to be vaccinated to get life back to normal?
1. How many people need to be vaccinated to get life back to normal?
The UK has taken another tentative step out of lockdown, with the return of indoor socialising at home and in pubs and restaurants.
The blanket travel ban has been lifted, and theatres, sports stadiums and cinemas can reopen, in what has been billed as the penultimate stage before all restrictions are removed on 21 June.
However, the prime minister has warned that the race between the virus and the country’s vaccination rollout could become “a great deal tighter” with the emergence of the Indian Covid-19 variant.
How many vaccines so far?
The UK administered 56.7 million jabs up to 16 May, according to the gov.uk website. First doses have been given to 36.6 million people, while 20.1 million have also had a second shot.
Oxford University researchers calculate that this amounts to nearly 30% of people in the country having full protection, while nearly 54% have partial protection, the highest national proportion in the world apart from Israel.
How many people need the jab?
Johnson’s roadmap for ending the UK’s third lockdown is contingent on the vaccine rollout continuing at pace. Ahead of each step in the lockdown-easing plan, ministers have been weighing up the vaccine rate and its effectiveness in reducing hospitalisations and deaths, against the risks of infection rates and new variants.
The government has said all adults, which make up about 80% of the population, will be offered a vaccination by the end of July. However, not all adults are able or willing to have the shot.
“To go back to a pre-pandemic lifestyle, we would need at least 70% of the population to be immune to keep the rate of infection down (‘achieve herd immunity’) without restrictions on activities,” say Gypsyamber D’Souza and David Dowdy, epidemiologists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
But they say that the herd immunity percentage is not a “magic threshold”, as both viral evolution and changes in human interaction can affect the number.
With an “amazingly successful” vaccination drive, and cases, hospitalisations and deaths down, there is a “window of opportunity to eliminate the virus in the UK, or at least to bring it to near extinction, and to concentrate on controlling isolated outbreaks”, says Adam Kleczkowski, professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Strathclyde, writing for The Conversation.
However, he notes that the herd immunity threshold for new variants is “probably higher” than 70% and that, as vaccinations are not 100% effective, a higher proportion of the country will need to be treated. If unvaccinated people are concentrated in the same area, there is also a risk of pockets becoming “a breeding ground for super-spreading events”, says Kleczkowski.
“Globally, extremely uneven vaccination rates pose another hurdle to herd immunity,” writes Joshua Cohen in Forbes. As each successive wave proves, “the virus is highly transmissible and frequently generates new variants of concern”, says Cohen, and this has “important implications for public health policy in countries that are presently ahead in the vaccination race”.


theweekuk--2020-03-23--Coronavirus: the UK’s new lockdown rules

Boris Johnson has warned that the next few weeks will be the “hardest yet” in the Covid-19 pandemic as he last night announced that the UK would be put under a full lockdown for the third time
“From today life across the country will look very much like it did in the earliest days of the first lockdown last March”, The Times reports, as people in England are told to stay at home and go out only for essential reasons.
These include working, volunteering, or where it would be “unreasonable” to work from home.
People are allowed to exercise outdoors once a day, and to meet one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise. Other reasons include leaving home for shopping for essentials such as food and medicine, for medical appointments and emergencies.
Supermarkets, food shops, pharmacies, petrol stations and MOT centres, laundrettes, places of worship and playgrounds all fall under essential services and will remain open.
However, all pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars must close and can only serve takeaway food and soft drinks until 11pm. Unlike in the last lockdown, takeaway and click-and-collect alcohol are no longer permitted.
Elite sport has been given the all-clear to continue subject to safety measures, meaning Premier League football will continue. However, golf courses, tennis courts and outdoor gyms must close for at least seven weeks.
The restrictions on sport mean “most people’s activity will be restricted to cycling, running or walking outdoors”, The Guardian says.
Hotels and holiday accommodation are allowed to remain open for a small number of guests, but Sky News notes that you should only stay in a hotel or holiday rental if you are travelling for work, moving house or attending a wedding or funeral.
Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes are permitted with up to six people and funerals are allowed with up to 30 people.
Fines in England for those breaking the rules start at £200 for the first offence, falling to £100 if paid within 14 days. They double with each additional offence up to a maximum of £6,400. Penalties for failing to self-isolate start at £1,000. Organising a large gathering carries a fine of £10,000.


theweekuk--2020-12-03--2021 films: new releases and what’s coming out

Viewers were starved of new movies in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic forced cinemas and film sets worldwide to close their doors .
But 2021 promises to bring a glut of great new content , as delayed releases finally hit the screen .
Here we look at the new releases and some of the upcoming must-see titles .
From its first feature – 1995 ’ s Toy Story – onwards , Pixar has never been shy of tackling the big questions .
In Soul , the animation studio takes on the greatest of them of all – the meaning of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Independent , and it does so with all the “ beauty ” , “ humour ” and “ heart ” for which it has become known .
Pixar ’ s first film with an African American protagonist is about a New York jazz pianist , Joe Gardner ( Jamie Foxx ) , who is scraping a living as a high school teacher while longing for success as a performer .
Then , moments after being booked for a potentially life-changing gig , he falls down a manhole .
His soul ends up in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afterlife ; but such is his desperation to realise his dream , he manages to slip back to Earth with another soul named 22 ( a “ delightfully irritating ” Tina Fey ) , who has never occupied a physical body before .
Where to watch : Disney+ One of the most highly anticipated film releases of 2020 was undoubtedly the 25th instalment of the James Bond franchise , which sees Daniel Craig return for his fifth and final appearance as the British spy 007 .
Originally scheduled for release in April then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No Time to Die , will now hit UK cinemas in April 2021 .
True Detective director Cary Fukunaga calls the shots and Oscar winner Rami Malek plays the film ’ s villain , Safin .
Due for release in the UK on 2 April This psychological horror follows a young wannabe fashion designer who mysteriously travels back in time to 1960s London , where she encounters her singer idol , played by The Queen ’ s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy .
The late Diana Rigg and former Doctor Who star Matt Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an “ unsettling time-hopping fright-fest ” .
Due for release in the UK on 23 April Just when you thought they ’ d finally wrapped up the Fast & Furious film franchise , the cinematic gift that just keeps on giving is returning for a ninth instalment in 2021 , with Vin Diesel reprising his role as street racer Dominic Toretto .
So what does director Justin Lin have in store for fans this time round ?
Another thrilling ride , judging by what has become “ one of the most-watched trailers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Among the revelations in the “ mind-blowing scenes ” is that Dom ( Diesel ) has a long lost brother named Jakob ( John Cena ) .
But sibling rivalry soon rears its ugly head .
Due for release 28 May Top Gun fans have “ had to wait over 30 years for a sequel ” , says Radio Times , but now Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer have returned to “ don their aviator glasses once more ” to take to the skies as rivals Maverick and Iceman .
The Covid-delayed sequel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while Jennifer Connelly plays a single mother and bar owner who becomes romantically entangled with Maverick .
Due for release 8 July Playing one of the most iconic voices of the 20th century is no easy task , but “ Jennifer Hudson is known for her ability to give people instant goose-bumps ” , Cosmopolitan says .
The Oscar winner is a shrewd pick to take on the role of Aretha Franklin in the celebratory biopic , delivering a performance “ as astoundingly brilliant as ever ” .
Indeed , another Academy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horizon ” for Hudson , the magazine predicts .
Due for release 13 August Originally scheduled for release back in September , The Beatles ’ biopic is shaping up to be the “ ultimate fly-on-the-wall experience ” for fans of the band , says Sophie Smith on udsicovermusic .
Director Peter Jackson also throws in iconic moments such as the Fab Four ’ s performance on the roof of Savile Row Studios , for added enjoyment .
Due for release 27 August This much-anticipated big-budget sci-fi blockbuster is based on Frank Herbert ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Timothee Chalamet plays anti-hero Paul Atreides , who is charged with protecting the most treasured substance in the universe .
Filmed in the “ awe-inspiring ” Wadi Rum desert , Dune is the “ most ambitious release ” of the year , according to NME ’ s Ella Kemp .
Due for release 1 October An epic offering from director Ridley Scott , starring big names including Ben Affleck , Matt Damon , Adam Driver and Killing Eve star Jodie Comer .
The Last Duel “ is set in 14th century France @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of betrayal and justice ” , Digital Spy reports .
Based on a novel by US author Eric Jager , the film tells the true story of Jean de Carrouges ( Damon ) , a knight who embarks on a fight to the death with former friend Jacques Le Gris ( Driver ) after accusing him of raping his wife ( Comer ) .
Due for release 15 October Another long-awaited sequel , the fourth edition of The Matrix arrives almost two decades after the last instalment of the sci-fi action classic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and key ” , says Indiewire ’ s Zack Sharf .
But the script has been described as “ beautiful ” and “ inspiring ” by Keanu Reeves , who is reprising his role as Neo alongside Carrie-Anne Moss ’ Trinity despite the pair having apparently died in the last film .
Due for release 22 December


theweekuk--2020-12-23--2021 F1 season guide: updated race calendar and driver grid

The provisional calendar for the 2021 Formula 1 season has been updated and it ’ s in Bahrain where the drivers will get to race for the first time this year .
Sakhir will host the Bahrain Grand Prix on 28 March , with the season opener taking place a week later than originally scheduled .
The Australian Grand Prix has now moved to a new date in November .
Imola returns to the calendar with the second race on 18 April , but due to travel restrictions no date has been confirmed for the Chinese Grand Prix as yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prix on 18 July and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi will host the season finale on 12 December .
F1 says revisions to the 2021 calendar are subject to World Motor Sport Council approval .
• * Revisions to calendar are subject to World Motor Sport Council approval After equalling Michael Schumacher ’ s all-time record of seven titles Lewis Hamilton will head into the 2021 Formula 1 season looking to make more history on the track .
Hamilton is yet to renew his contract with Mercedes , but the British driver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lucrative new deal with the constructors ’ champions , the London Evening Standard reported .
The 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner will again be joined in the Mercedes line-up by Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas , while Ferrari ’ s Charles Leclerc will welcome Carlos Sainz as his team-mate for the new season .
Rookies Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher , Michael ’ s son , will make their F1 debuts for Haas and Yuki Tsunoda has replaced Daniil Kvyat at AlphaTauri .
Other major moves see Sebastian Vettel line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lance Stroll ; Sergio Perez partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull ; Daniel Ricciardo replace Sainz at McLaren ; and Fernando Alonso return to F1 with Alpine .

The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, held on the speedy track at Austin, Texas, has always been to Lewis Hamilton’s liking, said Rebecca Clancy in The Times: he’s won there five times since 2014. But on Sunday, the seven-time F1 world champion missed a valuable chance to make up ground on Max Verstappen.
A thrilling race ended in a 1.333-second victory for the 24-year-old, who extended his lead in the drivers’ standings from six to 12 points. With five races to go, he looks increasingly likely to end the season as F1 champion.
Yet Hamilton couldn’t have got off to a better start, said Tom Dart in The Guardian. From second on the grid, he overtook Verstappen by diving for the inside on the approach to the first corner, forcing his rival’s Red Bull wide. But after the early drama, “the contest segued into more of a chess match than a slugfest”.
Twice, the Dutchman went in for earlier-than-expected tyre changes, an “undercutting” strategy that enabled him to drive significantly faster than Hamilton in the middle of the 56-lap race: when Hamilton took his second change on lap 37, he was nearly eight seconds off the lead. Once on fresher tyres, he valiantly hunted down Verstappen in the closing stages, aiming to pass him on the final laps. But hard as he pressed, he couldn’t quite get close enough to “try another bold overtaking manoeuvre”.
Ominously for Hamilton, the next two races – in Mexico and Brazil – are at high-altitude venues, said Laurence Edmondson on ESPN. That should favour Verstappen: in recent years, the Honda engine used by Red Bull has performed better at altitude than the one in Hamilton’s Mercedes. The three races after that are in the Middle East, where conditions should be more to Hamilton’s liking. But there’s a very real chance that by the time F1 gets there, Verstappen’s lead will be virtually unsurpassable.
F1 2021 season: five races to go
Mexican Grand Prix
When: 5-7 November 2021
Where: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico
Brazilian Grand Prix
When: 12-14 November 2021
Where: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil
Qatar Grand Prix
When: 19-21 November 2021
Where: Losail International Circuit, Qatar
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
When: 3-5 December 2021
Where: Jeddah Street Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix


theweekuk--2020-12-16--Coronavirus: how many people need to be vaccinated against Covid to get back to normal?

Everyone over 50 will be offered a Covid jab by the end of April , ministers pledged last night , as seven mass vaccination sites opened across the country .
The timetable will mean that 32 million people , around six in ten adults , will need to be vaccinated in 16 weeks in what the Daily Mail describes as the “ greatest logistical challenge of our time ” .
An army of 80,000 medics and volunteers will operate out of 2,700 centres in order to fulfil the aim , laid out in a 47-page plan published last night .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK has administered 2.67 million jabs so far , according to Oxford University tracking , meaning 3.94 per 100 people have been vaccinated .
This places it fourth in the world in terms of rolling out the vaccine to the population behind Israel , the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain .
The UK is administering around 169,684 vaccines per day .
How many people need the jab ?
Vaccinating the entire population could take up to a year , according to Jeremy Farrar , director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sage ) .
In a co-authored article in the journal Anaesthesia , Farrar and Professor Tim Cook , a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care , write : “ The scale of the vaccination programme should not be underestimated : 1,000 vaccination centres each vaccinating 500 people a day for five days a week , without interruptions of supply or delivery , would take almost a year to provide two doses to the UK population.
” Vaccinating the entire population may not be necessary , however , with some experts suggesting that concentrating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at-risk groups could mean a speedier return to normal life .
In an article published last month in the Journal of Medical Ethics , University of Oxford professor Julian Savulescu writes that “ the exact percentage of the population that would need to be immune for herd immunity to be reached depends on various factors , but current estimates range up to 82 % ” .
But a recent report from actuaries , epidemiologists and longevity specialists in the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group says analysis of Covid mortality data suggests that “ two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths ” .
Vaccinating these two groups - “ residents of care homes for older adults and their carers ” and “ all those 80 years of age and over and front-line health and social care workers ” - could have “ prevented about two-thirds of total Covid deaths we have seen to date ” , the authors argue .
Or as i news editor Luke Bailey puts it , “ four in five Covid deaths can be prevented by vaccinating a targeted 14 % of the population ” .

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theweekuk--2020-03-30--Inside NHS Nightingale: how ExCeL was transformed into emergency hospital

The ExCeL exhibition centre in East London will reopen its doors as the NHS Nightingale Hospital later this week after being converted in just a matter of weeks .
The site is the first of three planned emergency hospitals in England , with two more expected to follow in Birmingham and Manchester .
According to The Guardian , the Nightingale will eventually function as a 4,000-bed hospital , with an initial capacity of 500 beds with ventilators and oxygen .
The hospital will be run by a combination of NHS staff , military medics and volunteers , including first-aid trained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlantic .
How was the hospital built ?
The Ministry of Defence and the NHS worked together to create the new hospital from scratch in an effort to accommodate rising numbers of Covid-19 patients .
Images shared by 10 Downing Street show a combination of tradespeople and military personnel – including from the Royal Gurkha Rifles – working to adapt the 100,000-square-metre space .
Leaked plans obtained by the Daily Mail detail separate areas for “ invasive ” and “ non invasive ” treatment , as well as “ recovery ” and “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contractor working on the project , there will also be two mortuaries on site .
The building looks as if it will be run like a corridor , with patients entering the facility through the east entrance and being discharged from the west entrance .
Wired reports that “ the hospital will have two mirrored paths ” , with patients being placed into either the “ invasive or non-invasive ventilation areas ( the former involving intubation , the latter wearing a face or nose mask ) … “ Each section of the 600-metre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by partition walls that are being installed right now by contractors , ” the magazine says .
The Mail adds that across the river , London City Airport has suspended all private and commercial flights and will now be used by the government .
In the coming weeks , the Manchester Central Convention Complex and Birmingham ’ s National Exhibition Centre will join ExCeL London in further boosting NHS capacity .
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Start your trial subscription today ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– What are the challenges involved ?
According to experts , speaking to Wired , the two primary challenges when launching an emergency medical facility are location and cleanliness .
Martin Bricknell , professor of conflict , health and military medicine at King ’ s College London and an expert in the design and function of field hospitals , told the magazine : “ It ’ s probably one of the biggest covered spaces in London and therefore as a location that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might use it .
It ’ s probably one of the best in London.
” This is echoed by Eric Pitts , a logistician with Doctors Without Borders , who said : “ You ’ ll have a large open space , and different levels of circulation where you can control the flow of people coming in and out.
” Wired reports that powering the hospital equipment “ shouldn ’ t be much of a problem ” owing to the volume of people and facilites already available at the conference centre .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , meaning that patients from across the country could theoretically be moved by air to the hospital .
“ Exactly how this will operate with clinical protocols , I ’ m sure the team is thinking through , ” Bricknell added .
One of the main clinical challenges is hygiene , which Wired notes is a particular challenge with coronavirus as the virus has “ been shown to last long on surfaces in the form of droplets ” .
Pitts told the magazine : “ You need to look at how to properly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection flow , and how to design the walls and floors so they ’ re easy to clean .
The main challenge in adapting an existing structure is how the existing structure is set out.
” Who will staff the hospital ?
Sky News reports that Virgin Atlantic has begun writing to 4,000 of its employees today , prioritising those who already have skills – such as CPR training – that can be put to good use at the sites .
EasyJet has already written to its 9,000 UK-based staff , including 4,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invite them to give their time to the NHS , the broadcaster adds .
These volunteers will be drafted in to perform support roles , “ such as changing beds under the guidance of trained nurses ” , according to The Guardian .
The staff will continue to be paid by the airlines .
According to the paper , doctors have expressed concern about where the specialist medics and nurses to staff the site will come from .
One doctor , who spoke anonymously , said “ …it is becoming more clear there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ space for us to spread into , but with the same number of staff ” .
Wired reports that staff working at the Nightingale are being asked to leave their families and live on or around the site for weeks .
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens described the work that will be carried out at the Nightingale as “ a model of care never needed or seen before in this country ” .
He added : “ Our specialist doctors are in touch with their counterparts internationally who are also opening facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared global pandemic .
”


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Sport shorts: dates confirmed for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021

1. Olympics to start on 23 July 2021
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the new dates for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
This year’s mega-event was postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic and there had been suggestions the games could be held in spring next year.
However, in a statement the IOC confirmed that the Olympics will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021 while the Paralympics will take place from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
IOC president Thomas Bach said: “I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact.
“With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge.
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”
2. Gundogan: only fair Liverpool get the title
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says it would only be fair that Liverpool are crowned Premier League champions if the 2019-20 season is cancelled.
Liverpool are currently 25 points clear of City at the top of the table and when asked if the Anfield club should be given the title, Gudogan said: “For me, that would be OK, yes. You have to be fair as a sportsperson.”
3. Kane casts doubt on Spurs future
Tottenham striker Harry Kane has given his strongest indication yet that he could seek new pastures.
“I love Spurs, I would always love Spurs,” Kane said in an interview with pundit Jamie Redknapp. “[But] I have always said that if I don’t feel we are progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I am not someone to stay there for the sake of it.
“I am an ambitious player, I want to improve, I want to get better, I want to become one of the top, top players. We’ll see how we get on next season but you know me, I want to win team trophies.”


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Why Greenland has banned sale of alcohol in capital during coronavirus crisis

The sale of alcohol has been banned in Greenland ’ s capital city in a bid to reduce violence against children during the autonomous Danish Arctic territory ’ s coronavirus lockdown .
In recent weeks , Greenland has followed the lead of its ruling nation in imposing strict lockdown measures including closing schools and banning gatherings of more than ten people .
But the shutdowns have triggered a rise in violence against children at home , particularly in capital Nuuk , according to the authorities .
Announcing the alcohol ban in a statement on Saturday , Prime Minister Kim Kielsen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we have to take numerous measures to avoid infection .
“ But at the heart of my decision is the protection of children - they have to have a safe home.
” Violence against children has long been a problem in Greenland .
The Local new site reports that “ nearly one in three people living in the autonomous Danish Arctic territory suffered sexual abuse during childhood ” , a trend which experts have linked to the abuse to alcohol , drugs and ignorance of children ’ s rights .
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from around the world - and a concise , refreshing and balanced take on the week ’ s news agenda - try The Week magazine .
Start your trial subscription today ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The trend may also be a factor in Greenland ’ s suicide rate , which is the highest in the world at around 85 per 100,000 people .
The alcohol ban came into force on Saturday and is scheduled to last until 15 April .
The restriction is also intended to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus .
“ People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contamination when they drink alcohol , ” Kielsen warned in his statement .

The sale of alcohol has been banned in Greenland’s capital city in a bid to reduce violence against children during the autonomous Danish Arctic territory’s coronavirus lockdown.
In recent weeks, Greenland has followed the lead of its ruling nation in imposing strict lockdown measures including closing schools and banning gatherings of more than ten people.
But the shutdowns have triggered a rise in violence against children at home, particularly in capital Nuuk, according to the authorities.
Announcing the alcohol ban in a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Kim Kielsen said: “In such a situation, we have to take numerous measures to avoid infection.
“But at the heart of my decision is the protection of children - they have to have a safe home.”
Violence against children has long been a problem in Greenland.
The Local new site reports that “nearly one in three people living in the autonomous Danish Arctic territory suffered sexual abuse during childhood”, a trend which experts have linked to the abuse to alcohol, drugs and ignorance of children’s rights.
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The trend may also be a factor in Greenland’s suicide rate, which is the highest in the world at around 85 per 100,000 people.
The alcohol ban came into force on Saturday and is scheduled to last until 15 April.
The restriction is also intended to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. “People are less aware of the dangers of contamination when they drink alcohol,” Kielsen warned in his statement.


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Why Harry and Meghan are ditching Canada for California

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quit their home in Canada to begin a new life in California as they officially step down as senior royals , according to reports .
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are understood to have set up residence close to Hollywood and to be living in coronavirus lockdown according to California state rules .
The couple officially “ exit ” the Royal Family on 31 March , and will no longer be able to use their HRH styles or Sussex Royal as their brand .
Where have they moved ?
The couple left their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with their ten-month-old son Archie and took a private flight to the US before the country closed its borders , reports Sky News .
News of their arrival prompted President Donald Trump to tweet a warning that the US would not be footing their security bills .
I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom .
It was reported that Harry and Meghan , who left the Kingdom , would reside permanently in Canada .
Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however , the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They must pay !
Harry and Meghan subsequently announced that they would be paying their own way , reports the London Evening Standard .
On Sunday , a spokesperson for the pair said : “ The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources .
Why have to quit Canada ?
The news of the move emerged just hours after it was revealed that Meghan will narrate a Disney documentary about elephants in her first post-royal job .
“ Harry and Meghan have left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ source told The Sun ’ s Dan Wootton .
“ The borders were closing and the flights were stopping .
They had to get out.
” According to the royal insider , the move had been “ planned for some time ” , after the couple realised that Canada would “ not work out for various reasons ” .
“ They wanted to be based in the Los Angeles area , ” the source continued .
“ They have a big support network there .
“ It ’ s where their new team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ managers are based .
Meghan has lots of friends there and , of course , her mum Doria.
” Wootton subsequently reported that “ US insiders close to the couple say financial reasons are one of the biggest factors ” .
“ They were told getting work visas in Canada would be difficult and because Meghan remains a US citizen - so is taxed on her worldwide income - she would end up paying in the US and Canada , ” an insider is quoted as saying .

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quit their home in Canada to begin a new life in California as they officially step down as senior royals, according to reports.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are understood to have set up residence close to Hollywood and to be living in coronavirus lockdown according to California state rules.
The couple officially “exit” the Royal Family on 31 March, and will no longer be able to use their HRH styles or Sussex Royal as their brand.
Where have they moved?
The couple left their rented home in Vancouver last week along with their ten-month-old son Archie and took a private flight to the US before the country closed its borders, reports Sky News.
News of their arrival prompted President Donald Trump to tweet a warning that the US would not be footing their security bills.
I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
Harry and Meghan subsequently announced that they would be paying their own way, reports the London Evening Standard.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the pair said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources.
“Privately funded security arrangements have been made.”
Why have to quit Canada?
The news of the move emerged just hours after it was revealed that Meghan will narrate a Disney documentary about elephants in her first post-royal job.
“Harry and Meghan have left Canada now for good,” a source told The Sun’s Dan Wootton. “The borders were closing and the flights were stopping. They had to get out.”
According to the royal insider, the move had been “planned for some time”, after the couple realised that Canada would “not work out for various reasons”.
“They wanted to be based in the Los Angeles area,” the source continued. “They have a big support network there.
“It’s where their new team of Hollywood agents and PRs and business managers are based. Meghan has lots of friends there and, of course, her mum Doria.”
Wootton subsequently reported that “US insiders close to the couple say financial reasons are one of the biggest factors”.
“They were told getting work visas in Canada would be difficult and because Meghan remains a US citizen - so is taxed on her worldwide income - she would end up paying in the US and Canada,” an insider is quoted as saying.


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Why everyone’s talking about Jack Grealish

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has hit the headlines after images appearing to be him were posted online following a traffic incident yesterday morning .
A number of media outlets report that an investigation has been launched after police were called to the Dickens Heath area of Solihull .
It ’ s alleged that the 24-year-old Grealish was involved in an accident in a white Range Rover .
In a statement , West Midlands Police said : “ We were called to Waterside , Dickens Heath , just before 10am to reports that a Range Rover had crashed into two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The driver left his details with a member of the public at the scene before leaving on foot , and will be spoken to by police in due course .
Minor damage was caused to the parked vehicles .
“ Officers are investigating the circumstances and anyone with information has been asked to get in touch , via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk quoting log 643 of 29 March.
” The Daily Telegraph and talkSPORT say Premier League club Aston Villa were unavailable for comment yesterday .
However , according to the Birmingham Mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ club bosses were still trying to contact the star for an explanation ” .
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise , balanced take on the week ’ s news - try The Week magazine .
Start your trial today ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The alleged car crash is the main story on the front page of The Sun today .
The tabloid reports that Grealish “ crashed his car following a 4am party ” and appeared “ unsteady and confused ” moments after his £80,000 Range Rover collided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Villa skipper a “ hypocrite ” who just 24 hours before had urged fans and the public to stay indoors during the coronavirus lockdown .
In a video posted on social media Grealish had said : “ To help save lives you must stay at home .
Only leave your house to buy food , buy medicine or to exercise and always remember to stay at least two metres apart .
On Good Morning Britain today , presenter Piers Morgan laid into “ selfish ” Grealish for ignoring his own advice to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Another day , another load of idiots .
England footballer Jack Grealish , Aston Villa star , had a lot to say last week .
“ Gave a video message – ‘ To help save lives you must be at home .
Only leave your house to buy food , to buy medicine or to exercise .
Always stay at least two metres apart .
This is urgent .
Protect the NHS , stay home , save lives.
’ “ Really good words , yeah , great , until you go out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lash all night for a party , get in your car , crash into a load of other cars .
Allegedly .
“ What are you thinking Jack ?
What happened to your little guidance ?
What happened to what you told us about saving lives and staying home ?
“ Doesn ’ t help when an England star , a role model , does that .
Acts with total impunity and selfishness and recklessness .
Shame on you.
” PICTURE EXCLUSIVE : New images show Jack Grealish leaving the scene of Range @ @ @ @ @ @ @ midfielder has been linked with a big-money move this summer , with Premier League teams Manchester United and Tottenham among the interested parties .
However , the Daily Star says United may now “ consider an alternative ” after the Villa captain hit the headlines .
It ’ s understood that United were prepared to pay up to £70m for his services , with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeing Grealish as a “ good partner ” for Bruno Fernandes .
The Star says this may be about to change and United could now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James Maddison ” .
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Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has hit the headlines after images appearing to be him were posted online following a traffic incident yesterday morning.
A number of media outlets report that an investigation has been launched after police were called to the Dickens Heath area of Solihull. It’s alleged that the 24-year-old Grealish was involved in an accident in a white Range Rover.
In a statement, West Midlands Police said: “We were called to Waterside, Dickens Heath, just before 10am to reports that a Range Rover had crashed into two parked cars in the street.
“The driver left his details with a member of the public at the scene before leaving on foot, and will be spoken to by police in due course. Minor damage was caused to the parked vehicles.
“Officers are investigating the circumstances and anyone with information has been asked to get in touch, via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk quoting log 643 of 29 March.”
The Daily Telegraph and talkSPORT say Premier League club Aston Villa were unavailable for comment yesterday.
However, according to the Birmingham Mail a source at Villa Park has said that “club bosses were still trying to contact the star for an explanation”.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
‘Hypocrite’ for not staying home
The alleged car crash is the main story on the front page of The Sun today.
The tabloid reports that Grealish “crashed his car following a 4am party” and appeared “unsteady and confused” moments after his £80,000 Range Rover collided with parked vehicles.
The Sun calls the Villa skipper a “hypocrite” who just 24 hours before had urged fans and the public to stay indoors during the coronavirus lockdown.
In a video posted on social media Grealish had said: “To help save lives you must stay at home. Only leave your house to buy food, buy medicine or to exercise and always remember to stay at least two metres apart.
“This is urgent, protect the NHS, stay home, save lives.”
‘Selfish and reckless’
On Good Morning Britain today, presenter Piers Morgan laid into “selfish” Grealish for ignoring his own advice to stay at home.


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Instant Opinion: Harry and Meghan ‘have chosen celebrity over duty’

The Week ’ s daily round-up highlights the five best opinion pieces from across the British and international media , with excerpts from each .
on fleeing the country in a crisis Harry and Meghan have chosen celebrity over duty “ There will be those who argue that the couple have no obligation to this country at all , because their royal ‘ contract ’ is now up .
But the deal the Queen reached with the Sussexes left them with royal titles to enjoy , their security bill footed , the use of Frogmore Cottage - and thus a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be cutting ribbons on rainy days in Wigan , they would show some solidarity in a time of national crisis .
Simply staying in Canada would at least have been inconspicuous ( and would have made more sense given that coronavirus is rampaging through Los Angeles ) .
Instead they have chosen this time to move to Hollywood and lay the foundations for lucrative new careers , not out of the spotlight but firmly in it.
” As the west is in lockdown , China is slowly getting back to business “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of suppressing the outbreak are absolutely worth it .
What many people on the right in the west , including Donald Trump , have failed to appreciate is that in economic terms , harbouring coronavirus is unfeasible .
Until a country has shown that it has brought transmission under control , normal economic life can not resume .
Tourists will not visit and international travel will not be permissible – meaning that , until they get coronavirus under control within their own borders , countries will not be able to again join the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That community today seems to consist of China alone.
” I hope we haven ’ t overreacted to coronavirus and wrecked my grandson ’ s future “ The exit strategy from this nightmare can not be zero new cases because that is not going to happen .
We have to get people who will be affected mildly back to work and soon , provided they do not interact with the most vulnerable .
Once the NHS has the intensive care capacity to deal with all new serious cases this will become less of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on for long , the economic and social damage will have dire consequences for future spending on health , welfare , care and all the other public services that extend life now but won ’ t be able to in the future .
When I was growing up in the 1960s , the great flu pandemic of 1919 barely registered .
Even the war seemed like ancient history by the time England won the World Cup in 1966 playing a country reduced to rubble just 20 years before .
We recovered from these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So , when my grandson turns 18 , how will he look back on this time ?
Will it be remembered as the great coronavirus pandemic that wiped out swathes of humanity or a relatively minor contagion to which we grotesquely overreacted ?
” ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For a weekly round-up of the best articles and columns from the UK and abroad , try The Week magazine .
Start your trial subscription today ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 4 .
Editorial board at the Financial Times “ The speed and scale of the emergency has taken everyone by surprise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line between protecting their employees and keeping their companies solvent .
The hard truth is that many companies will not survive - and there is not much point in showing compassion to employees if it kills the company that employs them .
There are many significant decisions that lie between the extremes .
In the UK , for example , banks are under pressure to scrap dividend payouts that are due .
One of the consequences of the pandemic must be a redrawing of the relationship between business and society .
The huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK government and others to support companies will inevitably lead to a larger role for the state .
This should not become the norm once the virus abates .
But it does , as a new report by the Social Market Foundation think-tank says , demand reciprocity by business — one that , in time , should lead to a ‘ new social contract ’ between British business , government and society.
” COVID-19 and the neoliberal state of exception “ COVID-19 has ushered in a US state of exception that is internally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to save lives through quarantining ( in the face of a broken healthcare system and a completely collapsed welfare structure ) is jostling against the inclination to do everything possible to revive the financial market .
While these cracks and divides may well be coloured by the fact that this is an election year , they point towards deeper socioeconomic emergencies in the months to come that neither presidential hyperboles , nor neoliberal buzzwords ( like ‘ freedom ’ , ‘ democracy ’ , or ‘ the market ’ ) will be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to tell if the ‘ disaster socialism ’ of the just-passed $ 2 trillion stimulus bill is anything more than a re-election strategy .
On the one hand , it promises much-needed economic relief to state governments , hospitals , and industries .
On the other hand , the bill 's priorities are telling : $ 500bn for businesses , $ 100bn for healthcare , $ 150bn for state and local governments , and little relief for low-income families .
”

The Week’s daily round-up highlights the five best opinion pieces from across the British and international media, with excerpts from each.
1. Clare Foges in The Times
on fleeing the country in a crisis
Harry and Meghan have chosen celebrity over duty
“There will be those who argue that the couple have no obligation to this country at all, because their royal ‘contract’ is now up. But the deal the Queen reached with the Sussexes left them with royal titles to enjoy, their security bill footed, the use of Frogmore Cottage - and thus a reasonable expectation that even though they might not be cutting ribbons on rainy days in Wigan, they would show some solidarity in a time of national crisis. Simply staying in Canada would at least have been inconspicuous (and would have made more sense given that coronavirus is rampaging through Los Angeles). Instead they have chosen this time to move to Hollywood and lay the foundations for lucrative new careers, not out of the spotlight but firmly in it.”
2. Daniel Falush in The Guardian
on the Chinese experience
As the west is in lockdown, China is slowly getting back to business
“In my own opinion, the costs of suppressing the outbreak are absolutely worth it. What many people on the right in the west, including Donald Trump, have failed to appreciate is that in economic terms, harbouring coronavirus is unfeasible. Until a country has shown that it has brought transmission under control, normal economic life cannot resume. Tourists will not visit and international travel will not be permissible – meaning that, until they get coronavirus under control within their own borders, countries will not be able to again join the world community of freely trading nations. That community today seems to consist of China alone.”
3. Philip Johnston in The Daily Telegraph
on a proportional response
I hope we haven’t overreacted to coronavirus and wrecked my grandson’s future
“The exit strategy from this nightmare cannot be zero new cases because that is not going to happen. We have to get people who will be affected mildly back to work and soon, provided they do not interact with the most vulnerable. Once the NHS has the intensive care capacity to deal with all new serious cases this will become less of an issue. But if this goes on for long, the economic and social damage will have dire consequences for future spending on health, welfare, care and all the other public services that extend life now but won’t be able to in the future. When I was growing up in the 1960s, the great flu pandemic of 1919 barely registered. Even the war seemed like ancient history by the time England won the World Cup in 1966 playing a country reduced to rubble just 20 years before. We recovered from these calamities and we will from this. So, when my grandson turns 18, how will he look back on this time? Will it be remembered as the great coronavirus pandemic that wiped out swathes of humanity or a relatively minor contagion to which we grotesquely overreacted?”


theweekuk--2020-03-30--Coronavirus: F1 champions Mercedes help create breathing aid

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