22 h. ago The Guest review – a gloriously ridiculous thriller that slips down a treat

When a cleaner starts working for a wealthy woman, she gets sucked in by a luxury mansion bursting with secrets. Get the popcorn ready for a preposterous world of locked rooms, creepy gardeners and bodiesThe writer Matthew Barry and director Ashley Way gave us one of the highlights of 2023’s television output in Men Up, a witty, moving, compassionate treat of a drama about the development of the drug that would become known as Viagra and the group of Welshmen who were among its first guinea pigs.Their new offering is a more straightforward one, and if it doesn’t achieve the same success Men Up did, they can hardly be condemned for having set their bar so high. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Viral lip liner stain used by Billie Eilish 'every day' plummets to £11 in sale

Billie Eilish's go-to lip liner stain has been a viral sensation since the pop star shared her beauty routine on social media - and right now, it's on sale for £11

Economics

1 week ago How to bag one of 100 free tickets for Scottish Highlands gig at 'top secret' remote location

Previous Sofar Sounds lineups including Billie Eilish, Hozier and Wolf Alice.

Society

1 week ago Stirling lecturer thrills Radio One listeners with 'flying' Billie Eilish cover

Dr Boulton had previously been on the show with her version of a Taylor Swift track from a wasp's perspective - and now mosquitoes got the cover track treatment on her Friday morning appearance.

Politics

2 w. ago AI has created a new breed of cat video: addictive, disturbing and nauseatingly quick soap operas

Mostly soundtracked by cats meowing a Billie Eilish song, these AI-generated fantastias tell tales of cheating, revenge and violence – and are being watched by millionsAt the (tail) end of 2024, Billie Eilish sat cross-legged on stage and began to miaow. Her fans erupted in harmony, each belting out an off-key miaow of their own. She knows, they realised! This is because Eilish’s Oscar-winning track What Was I Made For? – a lachrymose Barbie cut lamenting adulthood’s entailing ennui – has become the default soundtrack for a new breed of cat video.You may recognise it: the song often plays over the top of these AI-generated fantasias featuring a cartoonishly fat cat or an equally buff feline with a suspiciously veiny human body. The cat cheats on her lover, falls pregnant or seeks revenge in a weirdly condensed soap opera. And like all soap operas, these videos are extremely addictive. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Don't give me granny's ring! How young brides are following A

It seems the days of heirloom diamonds may be numbered as Gen Z across the US, UK and other parts of the world are ripping up the rulebook.

Politics

3 w. ago Kidnap, blackmail and Suranne Jones as PM: inside Hostage, Netflix’s breakneck new political thriller

The British prime minister and French president get sucked into a shady conspiracy in the streaming giant’s latest twisty, emotional drama. Jones and Julie Delpy tell allHostage is a political thriller, and observes the conventions in many ways. The pace is absolutely flawless, it’s twisty, it has emotional heft. The British prime minister, Abigail Dalton, played by Suranne Jones, faces her husband, Alex Anderson (Ashley Thomas), being kidnapped. Their marriage is well drawn – “it’s happy, it’s assured, they’re supportive of each other,” Jones says. As we chat in Netflix’s central London offices, she’s always saying five things at once, only one of them out loud. Here, the subtext (I’ve decided) is: it’s actually pretty skilled work, creating a not-schmaltzy, passionate but familiar love match in which all the audience’s hopes and prayers are with the abducted spouse. That’s why normally when fictional politicians are the victims of a family kidnapping, it’s one of their kids.Meanwh...

Events

3 w. ago Paul Weller snubbed pal Noel Gallagher and Oasis gigs for unusual reason

The legendary rocker reckons the gigs will be a big "cultural moment" but he's passed on tickets, preferring to watch Billie Eilish instead

Politics

4 w. ago ‘My daughter didn’t get emotional like I did’: the families who go gigging together

Concerts are now full of multigenerational fans who grew up on the music as a family. Whether Billie Eilish or Stevie Wonder, they explain the appealWhile some teenagers still wouldn’t be caught dead with their parents at a gig, there’s been a marked number of multigenerational gatherings of parents, kids, uncles and aunts at recent tours such as Pulp, Bruce Springsteen and the Oasis reunion. We spoke to four families about why they enjoy watching bands together. Continue reading...

Politics