Gyles Brandreth explores the landscape that influenced Thomas Hardy. The author spent most of his life in the south-west of England, and set his most famous novels - Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and his breakthrough novel Far from the Madding Crowd - in the fictional county of Wessex. By inviting input from experts and celebrity fans, Gyles discovers that, although Wessex may be fictional, the locations Hardy describes are influenced by real places.
"King Richard" paints a nuanced portrait of a Black father trying to ensure his daughters’ success in a racist, misogynistic world. Yet, Richard and his kids overcome that fear and adversity to succeed.
Nope succeeds tremendously in dealing with higher concepts in an engaging and highly entertaining manner without sacrificing theme or personality.
Can a piece of bad representation truly be reclaimed? We Are Pat (2025) attempts to answer this question.
The plot lags, the moral lessons are misguided, but are those fluffy little donut creatures adorable? Yes. Yes, they are.
I first saw Dear Evan Hansen on the Broadway stage. Apparently, I was so blown away by the magic of theater that I didn’t pick up on the questionable dynamics. The story's clumsy handling in the movie brought those issues to light.
