Entertainment and Culture 1

After ‘bottling everything up for a long time’ the faithful pet, who has remained silent for many years, will spill the beans on the pair’s ‘pet hates and fur-vent passions’Gromit, the canine star of the Wallace and Gromit animations, is “breaking his silence” and writing a memoir.After “bottling everything up for a long time”, the moment has come for him to “spill the beans”, according to publisher Ebury. Continue reading…

This documentary about a megachurch attendee who took donations for her alleged treatment – and experienced numerous ‘miracles’ that kept her alive – is a great story. What a shame this telling isn’t the most thrillingWouldn’t life be easier without a conscience? Imagine the freedom. No guilt. No anxiety. No responsibilities deeply felt, no investment in what society thinks of you, no constraints on your behaviour … My God, what a life. And above all, think of the money you could make. Frankly, I’m pretty envious of all the bastards out there scamming for a living. If I could, I’d become the next Elizabeth Holmes or Bernie Madoff in a (stony) heartbeat.Now I have a new grifter to envy: Amanda Riley. Scamanda (it’s a gift, really) is a documentary about her, made by ABC News Studios and first shown on Hulu last year. During her years-long pretence of having terminal cancer, Riley cheated her friends, church community and others out of thousands and thousands of dollars (the true amount will never be known because so much was given in untraceable cash) to cover her fictitious medical bills.Scamanda aired on BBC Two and is on iPlayer now Continue reading…

A sinister new tablet threatens the honest-to-goodness toys’ existence, but Buzz, Woody and Jessie’s big tech moral battle feels compromisedThe fifth episode of the Toy Story franchise is as slick and smooth as you like, as glitchless as Toy Story 6 or Toy Story 7 might be … or will be. As a piece of family-entertainment content it has the unblemished sheen of a brand new smartphone. But at heart, it has gone dead. For all the intensive, high-energy creative work that has clearly gone into this film’s every frame, the jeopardy, the novelty, the ideas and the passion are lacking; the crucial Toy Story theme of mortality feels underpowered, and the film even calamitously loses its nerve with its own big idea – those squeamish about spoilers had better look away now – the sinister way addictive tech devices are undermining the imaginative play that kids once had with honest-to-goodness toys.Here a creepy tablet device called Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee) enters the children’s world, but ultimately proves to be capable of sentimental self-sacrificial heroism when it comes to their mental health. Really? At least Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, the villain from TS3, had the courage of his evil convictions. Continue reading…

The short-lived series had blood, guts, sex and epic stakes. It also had a ride or die friendship in a pair of foot soldiersA sprawling cast of richly flawed heroes. Epic stakes. Elaborate sets. A family-man hero whose definition of good is skewed by the cruel world he lives in. Animated opening titles with a catchy theme song. Blood, guts, sex and a bit of incest: everything Game of Thrones did, Rome did better.Rome was one of the most expensive TV shows ever made when it launched in 2005; its two-season run was shot on a massive, immersive outdoor recreation of the ancient city in Italy’s famous Cinecittà studios, and spared no expense on costumes, props or fake blood. When it came out half a decade later, Game of Thrones would follow in Rome’s footsteps with its puzzle wheel of plotting across factions and alliances, shocking betrayals and Shakespearean dialogue punctuated with c-bombs. Continue reading…

Litter-picking creatures emerge from underground for global franchise targeting nostalgic adults and gen AlphaMove over Paddington Bear. After almost 30 years off screen, the Wombles – the furry, litter-picking creatures who live beneath Wimbledon Common – are set for a comeback.The characters, whose motto is “Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish”, are being revived after the consolidation of the brand’s intellectual property rights under The Blair Partnership, which will oversee its global development. Continue reading…