Skip to main content

Posts

Saw X review – torture porn horror returns with more blood, less value

Stomachs will churn once again in an attempt to rewind the clock for the fatigued franchise but there’s ultimately little of worth here It’s a strange existential feeling to be seated in front of a Saw film once again, a return not just to a franchise but an entire torture porn subgenre. As a screaming woman is forced to cut off her leg and suck out a litre of blood from her fresh wound in order to save her head from being sliced off by serrated wire, one might start wondering the hows and whys of what got us here. While financial greed is the obvious studio motivator (cheaply made horror still the most reliably profitable genre in Hollywood), it’s curious to ponder why we might want to endure another two hours of stomach-churning gore especially when served on such a musty old platter. The decision to kill the series big bad Jigsaw in Saw III was fitting given the franchise obsession with cattle-prod shock value but it also left the makers in a trap they then struggled to get out o

Two-thirds of new GPs in England choosing to work part-time

Experts call for ‘bold’ solutions as report reveals high dropout rates of trainees during training or early in their careers The NHS has to train two GPs to produce one full-time family doctor because so many have started to work part-time, new research reveals. The finding helps explain why GP surgeries are still struggling to give patients appointments as quickly as they would like, despite growing numbers of doctors training to become a GP. One in eight nursing students in England do not complete their degrees. For every five students doing a nursing degree at university, the NHS only gets three full-time nurses. One in five newly qualified nurses working in hospitals or community settings quit within two years. The number of UK nurses joining the NHS fell by about a third in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 – “a new and worrying dynamic”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WrK2w1I

Moulin Rouge: Yes We Can-Can! review – there’s zero glamour in this high-kicking tale

This documentary follows the feathered, bejewelled British women who staff the Parisian institution. Be warned: the reality is all a bit cheap and shoddy There are certain shows that make you think of the joy that must have lit up the producer’s face when news reached them of its premise. With Moulin Rouge: Yes We Can-Can!, I imagine an eager young thing bursting into the shiny office around which their boss is prowling discontentedly while chomping on a cigar, and crying breathlessly: “The Moulin Rouge … the dance troupe … they’re all Brits! And it’s run by a woman … called Janet! She’s from Yorkshire !” The prowling stops. The head turns. A smile spreads across the formerly furious face and the cigar is ground out in an ashtray made from a replica of Michael Grade’s skull. “It’s The Yorkshire Vet in Paris!” “It’s Our Yorkshire Farm in high heels!” “It’s All Creatures Great and Small with” – the voice drops to a whisper – “boobs”. How the faces of the production team must have falle

Meta to launch AI chatbots played by Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner

Host of celebrities to embody new assistants aimed at increasing young people’s interaction with AI Meta is to launch artificial intelligence chatbots embodied by celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Kendall Jenner and Naomi Osaka. Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement at the company’s annual Connect conference, where he spoke about new AI products at Facebook’s parent company. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BUGPkox

The Great British Bake Off review – Alison Hammond’s sheer joy has reinvigorated this show

It might have lost some sparkle since its 2014-15 peak, but the new Bake Off host’s irresistible charm has kicked things up a gear. The joyful vibes will engulf you As the nights draw in and the autumn leaves tumble from the trees, the chill of death is in the air. But one ray of sunshine still awaits us. Bake Off is back, bringing with it the best of British summertime in a bunting-lined tent. To be fully transparent, I am obsessed with baking. My sourdough starter has a name (Kenneth) and every children’s birthday cake I have baked could sit in the Louvre. To further complicate my relationship with the TV series, I spent a year at Prue Leith’s culinary school and failed my final exam because of my inability to make a puff pastry that would rise in 37-degree heat and over-salting a chicken ballotine. So, for me to come to every series and be charmed rather than triggered by the Bake Off challenges is a triumph for both my personal growth (37 degrees! Impossible!) and the show’s endu

Alok Sharma to stand down as MP at next election

Former Cop26 president announces he will not stand in Reading West seat he has held since 2010 Alok Sharma has become the latest Conservative MP to announce he will step down at the next general election. The former Cop26 president, who has represented Reading West since 2010, said it had “not been an easy decision” and described being an MP as the “honour of [my] life”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lpx4z5T

Rishi Sunak’s dithering over HS2 spurs on its critics and supporters

With Tory conference looming and talk of delaying decision to autumn statement, the row could intensify further When news leaked that Rishi Sunak was planning to row back on net zero goals last week, it took Downing Street less than 24 hours to get the prime minister out in front of a podium to confirm the news and lay out his rationale. But for nearly a fortnight, the fate of HS2 has hung in the balance. Far from seizing the agenda after plans to pare back the high-speed rail project emerged, Sunak has been accused by Conservative MPs of vacillating. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WNs5QHB