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Clayface review – flesh-stretching DC body horror is very gory but not very good

Liverpool makes for an unconvincing Gotham City in this effectively gross but otherwise middling attempt to milk money from a lesser-known Batman villain A sense of desperation is understandably in the air over at DC, the company, like Marvel, slowly realising that the mass superhero fever has finally broken. There’s still interest there of course (this summer’s Spider-Man is now the biggest film of all time in the US after all) but it’s no longer good enough to leave a high-speed conveyor belt unmanned, purpose and quality control be damned. 2019 saw a staggering 10 superhero films released in cinemas and the inevitable exhaustion that followed, also fueled by Covid, led to a gradual winding down, monster hits turning into minor ones and sure bets often becoming expensive flops. As Peter Parker winged his way to box office records this summer, DC’s Supergirl bombed so hard that experts believe it might have cost Warners upwards of $200m in losses. It was just the latest disappointment...
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UK to deploy fighter jets to protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks

RAF Typhoon fighters to fly defensive missions over cities and infrastructure in extension of UK support for Riyadh RAF Typhoon fighters are to be used in efforts to protect Saudi Arabia from attack by Yemen’s Houthis, flying protective missions over the country’s cities and critical infrastructure as western allies increase their intervention in the escalating conflict. The operation – the most significant military mission signed off by Andy Burnham as prime minister – will involve RAF pilots attempting to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones, which attacked Saudi airports and oil facilities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3wzlO29
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Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography review – a rhapsodic show to stop you in your tracks

Tate Modern, London From a Singapore construction worker to a loincloth-wearing Sri Lankan, this awe-inspiring and truly global exhibition finds epic beauty in the everyday I don’t remember the last time I saw such a well-researched and truly globally representative exhibition that doesn’t patronise but quietly makes its case unapologetically, fearlessly and through sheer quality. Apart from being the first retelling of the international, pluralistic pictorialism movement, Tate’s new show allows for some refreshing encounters with unknown works for British audiences – around half of the works included here have never been shown in the UK. The effect is to radically deepen and widen our understanding not only of art history but the human impulses that drive us to make images in the first place. We move seamlessly from the sudden shock of colour in three-colour carbon prints of flowers in a London garden in the 1920s to works born of the photographic salons, circles and clubs of Sydney, ...
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How Trump’s justice department is shattering practice of political neutrality as midterms loom

From the attorney general stumping for Republican candidates to federal agents raiding the home of a Democratic congresswoman up for re-election, the department is violating longstanding norms Donald Trump’s justice department has aggressively inserted itself into the midterm elections in the contest’s final weeks, shattering the department’s longstanding practice of political neutrality and leaving little doubt about the department’s willingness to help should the president attempt to subvert elections where his party is forecasted to lose seats and ultimately control of Congress. In the last few weeks, federal agents have raided the home of a Democratic congresswoman up for re-election. It has touted criminal charges and arrests of non-citizens charged with voter fraud. The attorney general has hit the campaign trail to stump for Republican candidates. And the department gave California election officials 48 hours to investigate the citizenship of 20,000 people, and then sued the s...
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Daniel Dubois v Fabio Wardley II: WBO heavyweight title fight – live

Updates from rematch at the O2 Arena in London Preview: Wardley predicts ‘crazy night’ | Email Alex Tyson Fury versus Anthony who? Yes, Britain’s biggest-name heavyweights belatedly do battle in December – but if you want a better bet for an all-action fight, it’s tonight’s rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley for the WBO title. The first contest was an astonishing slugfest in which Dubois was knocked down after 10 seconds, got dropped again in round three, but eventually bludgeoned a somehow-still-standing Wardley to defeat in the 11th. It was “like a Rocky film”, marvelled Frank Warren, a boxing promoter with no need to resort to embellishment. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/pNSUbVP
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‘Well-known individual’ tries to secure permanent injunction against Guardian and ITN

Lawyers tell high court that client could harm himself if serious allegations against him are made public A “well-known individual” is trying to secure a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to prevent them from publishing details of serious allegations made against him. At a high court hearing on Friday, the claimant’s legal team said there was a serious risk that he could harm himself should the allegations be made public. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org , or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vtI8RTg
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The water torture goes on at Thames. Sector-wide reform isn’t moving much faster | Nils Pratley

If ‘public control’ bit is delaying overhaul, that needs to be nailed down sharpish or continued uncertainty could be costly It is strange now to recall that Thames Water had a prominent slot on what was known as “Sue’s shit list” – the internal Labour dossier, compiled by Keir Starmer’s first chief of staff, Sue Gray, of potential crises that could erupt at short notice and force the incoming administration to make some big decisions quickly. That was July 2024. Here we are – more than two years later – and the Thames script has barely advanced. We’re still waiting to see if the financial crisis at the over-indebted, under-performing water company will be resolved by a creditor-led recapitalisation, special administration or something else. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5JZRAaQ
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