Danny Dyer, Luca Pasqualino, Brendan Patricks and Alex Hassell star in the return of Jilly Cooper's over-the-top TV industry romp, Rivals, on Disney+. The adaptation of Cooper's 80s bonkbuster is back, and everyone involved is clearly having the time of their life. Our reviewer Sarah Dempster said: "Rivals is beyond earthly praise. Let us insert a single rose between its bum cheeks and raise a glass of Cinzano to its naked audacity. Bottoms up!"
Television Highlights
Children of the Blitz
BBC iPlayer presents a wonderful, moving and hugely important film where the last survivors of the blitz tell their shattering stories. Phil Harrison noted: "This kind of access to the inner lives of children in wartime is priceless and it's impossible not to transpose these insights into emotional dislocation on to the modern-day kids of Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan."
Off Campus
A straight copy of smash-hit hockey romcom Heated Rivalry, now on Prime Video. Lucy Mangan advises: "Sit back with your beverage of choice, turn off your brain and relax."
Wrestling With Trump
Channel 4 features Munya Chawawa delivering a smackdown to the US president. Lucy Mangan wrote: "If the Democrats had done what comedian and satirist Munya Chawawa does in his punchy, passionate and weirdly uplifting documentary, it might be a slightly better world today."
Believe Me
ITVX offers a sensitive, compelling look at the fight for justice for the survivors of "black-cab rapist" John Worboys. Lucy Mangan described it as "A punchy, intelligent script makes it a compelling as well as nonexploitative drama that others would do well to learn from."
Film Picks
The Christophers
In cinemas now, this film stars Ian McKellen as an irascible painter and Michaela Coel as his assistant. Peter Bradshaw said: "Steven Soderbergh's latest London-set movie is terrifically exhilarating and funny, as bracing as a large vodka and tonic before lunch: fast, literate and funny."
Obsession
Writer-director Curry Barker follows up his YouTube hit with an effective and head-smashingly gory cautionary tale. Benjamin Lee called it "satisfyingly slick proof that Barker knows just what to do when levelling up to a different platform."
Northern Soul: Still Burning
This documentary centres on the Wigan Casino and its amphetamine-fuelled all-nighters, offering a passionate portrait of a unique cultural moment. Peter Bradshaw said: "This is an absorbing docu-celebration of the northern soul scene that flourished from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s."
Top Gun
Tom Cruise's entry into the A-list as a brilliant, courageous rule-breaking pilot returns to cinemas. Peter Bradshaw commented: "It's all very silly, though it's impossible not to feel some affection for this film."
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
Now streaming on Mubi, this striking debut mixes magic realism and melodrama in a tale of an LGBTQ+ community facing fear and superstition in 1980s Chile. Cath Clarke described it as "a beautiful, raw debut from young Chilean director Diego Céspedes."
Books
The Savage Landscape by Cal Flyn
Reviewed by Edward Posnett, this is a fascinating exploration of wilderness and its meaning. "It's a work of extraordinary physical and narrative movement that takes us from the depths of the ocean to volcanoes and icebergs, but is also a journey into our own psyches."
John of John by Douglas Stuart
A father and son in the Hebrides keep secrets from each other in a story of faith, isolation and gay love. Yagnishsing Dawoor noted: "While this book will not appeal to those with a low tolerance for excess, diehard romantics will find much to love."
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Shortlisted for the Women's prize for fiction, this novel follows one woman's life in letters. Rebecca Wait called it "an immensely enjoyable read."
Uprising by Tahmima Anam
A story of female rebellion inspired by a "brothel island" in Bangladesh. Sana Goyal said: "Through her unwaveringly political and unflinchingly forthright novel, Anam shows the power of rage and radical hope."
Weimar by Katja Hoyer
How one small town voted for the Nazis and changed German history. Alex Faludy wrote: "Understanding why people turned away from democracy in the past is essential to safeguarding freedom in the present."
Albums
Kevin Morby: Little Wide Open
With help from Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver and Lucinda Williams, the Americana artist shares his uncertainties in subtly melancholic songs. Alexis Petridis said: "There are a couple of moments that leap out, but for the most part, Little Wide Open's main currency is subtle pleasures."
Genesis Owusu: Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge
The Australian artist's genre-hopping LP seethes with righteous anger and moshpit-ready tracks. Jack Tregoning noted: "For all its engagement with the unease of the present moment, the album is also a reminder that art – especially this raw and human – is itself a source of hope."
Marisa Anderson: The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music
The US guitarist excavates the outer reaches of famed record collector's work. Jude Rogers said: "Anderson's album constantly and magically questions how porous far-flung musical cultures really are."
Ensemble Modern and HK Gruber: Dancing on a Volcano
An eclectic snapshot of musical Germany between 1920 and 1933, from Schoenberg to Kurt Weill. Clive Paget called it "a perfect example of the kind of thing the Nazis couldn't abide."
Now Touring
Angine de Poitrine
The polka-dotted phenomenon balance supremely complex musicianship with ridiculous good fun, touring Europe to 31 May and the UK from 13 to 20 October. Dave Simpson said: "Wonderfully, their music is every bit as outre as their clothing: a weirdly hypnotic, berserk hybrid of math rock, prog rock, punk, jerkily repetitive rhythms, microtonal loops and twiddly guitar bits."
