Category Archives: Movies

2025.05.08

Trump tariffs to hit small farms in Maga heartlands hardest, analysis predicts
Major corporations are best placed to benefit from Trump polices at the expense of independent farmers
Nina Lakhani in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/08/small-farms-trump-tariffs

‘Get rid of the pseudoscience’: top doctor’s plan to improve America’s health
Eric Topol says we can prevent age-related disease and live fuller lives – but only if we reject anti-science ‘malarkey’
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/08/eric-topol-health-book

Forever review – an absolutely adorable TV take on Judy Blume’s banned teen sex classic
The 1975 novel might be barred from US schools and libraries, but it gets a hugely important telling here. It’s powerful, sweet – and with a cast as excellent as Heartstopper’s
Rebecca Nicholson
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/08/forever-review-an-absolutely-adorable-tv-take-on-judy-blumes-banned-teen-sex-classic

‘A safe haven from racial violence’: Sinners shows the importance of juke joints
Ryan Coogler’s smash hit horror focuses on the opening of a juke joint, a one-time mainstay in Black southern culture
Andrew Lawrence
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/07/sinners-movie-juke-joints

Rio’s record, giant dogs and a psychic crocodile – take the Thursday quiz
Questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes, every Thursday. How will you fare?
Martin Belam
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/may/08/the-guardian-thursday-quiz-general-knowledge-topical-news-trivia-209

The stunning retro space-age homes that are perfect for today
Clare Dowdy
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250507-the-stunning-retro-space-age-homes-that-are-perfect-for-today

Men found guilty of violent murder of Aboriginal schoolboy
Tiffanie Turnbull
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9vzzxpdm7o

Teen unable to eat due to rare digestive condition
Stuart Woodward
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly5gkl3dg5o

Karmel Mall owner faces foreclosure suit against his Minneapolis apartments over maintenance issues
Basim Sabri contests many of the allegations in the suit made by Fannie Mae, mortgage holder on two apartment buildings he developed. (No Paywall)
by Mike Hughlett | The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://sahanjournal.com/news-partners/basim-sabri-karmel-apartments-fannie-mae-foreclosure-lawsuit/

2025.05.07

US supreme court allows Trump trans military ban to take effect
Justices rule ban can be enforced while challenge plays out in court, a decision that could lead to thousands discharged
Sam Levine
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/06/trump-trans-military-ban-court

Aardman announces third Shaun the Sheep movie: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
Studio promises ‘smashed pumpkins, wayward science and a wild hairy beast’ in third big-screen outing for the much beloved animation
Catherine Shoard
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/07/aardman-announces-third-shaun-the-sheep-movie-the-beast-of-mossy-bottom

By calling a genocide a genocide, Andor just made its most political point yet
Tony Gilroy’s Star Wars show has repeatedly felt like it was ripped from today’s headlines – but Mon Mothma’s radical speech was written two years ago
Walter Marsh
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/07/by-calling-a-genocide-a-genocide-andor-just-made-its-most-political-point-yet

Gang who smuggled thousands of queen ants sentenced in Kenya
Akisa Wandera & Wycliffe Muia
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0x07pr8dno

2025.05.06

My coverage of the Met Gala:

Mall Park in Uptown: A missed opportunity for meaningful community engagement
Opposition to the redesign mostly came from renters adjacent to the Minneapolis park — not privileged residents fighting change.
by Mike Erlandson
https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2025/05/mall-park-in-uptown-a-missed-opportunity-for-meaningful-community-engagement/

X-ray reveals ancient Greek author of charred first century BC Vesuvius scroll
Ink traces show text is part of work by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, burned during AD79 volcano eruption
Ian Sample
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/06/x-ray-reveals-ancient-greek-author-of-charred-first-century-bc-vesuvius-scroll

Osteoarthritis study could lead to new treatments
Grace Shaw
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy48jynpm8wo

The enthusiast searching for stunning sea slugs
Zhara Simpson
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg1dk3km25o

I made a Wallace & Gromit contraption in real life! - Joseph's Machines

2025.05.05

Trump orders reopening of Alcatraz prison for ‘most ruthless offenders’
Plan to expand and reuse long-shuttered penitentiary off San Francisco described as ‘not serious’ by Nancy Pelosi
Edward Helmore and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/trump-plan-reopen-alcatraz-prison

Trump says non-US movies to be hit with 100% tariffs
Peter Hoskins Business reporter Maia Davies BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr7e2z1rxyo

US scientist who touted hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid named to pandemic prevention role
Steven J Hatfill, who promoted the drug despite scant evidence of efficacy, becomes special adviser at HHS
Chris Stein in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/covid-hydroxychloroquine-steve-hatfill

Madness, murder and rape on the Batavia: new theory on Australia’s most horrific shipwreck
Dutch academic says an ‘unlikely story about a mad heretic’ has been repeated for 400 years – and poses an alternative
Tory Shepherd
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/06/batavia-shipwreck-new-theory-what-happened

Three people killed after shooting in Phoenix restaurant
Five others injured while police say more than one person may have been firing a gun in Arizona restaurant
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/phoenix-arizona-shooting-restaurant

NZ airport to remove Hobbit-themed eagle sculptures
Koh Ewe
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7949plre0o

2025.05.04

Have you followed Trump’s 100-day disaster? Try this quiz!
Lawrence Douglas
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/04/trump-100-days-quiz

Trump feels tug of political gravity as economy falters and polls plunge
The president started his second term fast and furious with a flurry of activity – much of it legally dubious – but analysts say the honeymoon is over
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-popularity-voters-economy-immigration

Trump says he doesn’t know if he needs to uphold constitutional due process
President also says he sees himself as leaving office at the end of his current term and not seeking a third one
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-due-process-rights-constitution

Paris-based thriller offers fresh inside take on French-Tamil community
Writer, actor and director Lawrence Valin says that in Little Jaffna he wanted to ‘show new role models’
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/04/paris-based-thriller-offers-fresh-inside-take-on-french-tamil-community-little-jaffna

Are actors getting better (and ‘bett-ah’) at Australian accents?
No longer must we wince through a jarring Cockney-Kiwi mix: Hollywood has finally cracked Aussie dialects. Is it the teaching, the spread of Bluey, AI – or something else?
Donna Lu
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/03/are-actors-getting-better-and-bett-ah-at-australian-accents

‘It was born to be a champion’: How Dubai chocolate conquered the world
Soumya Gayatri
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250502-how-dubai-chocolate-conquered-the-world

The bizarre space explosions scientists can’t explain
Jonathan O’Callaghan
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250502-cow-flares-the-bizarre-space-explosions-scientists-cant-explain

Scientists say they’ve found another source of gold in the cosmos
Ashley Strickland
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/03/science/magnetar-flare-cosmic-gold?Date=20250503&Profile=cnn&utm_content=1746272935&utm_medium=social&utm_source=threads

Vietnamese artists trace the fragments of war and refugee life in new St. Paul exhibit
Fifty years after the first wave of Vietnamese refugees arrived, five artists map the diasporic experience through art installations reimagining nail salons, prisons booths and border checkpoints.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/vietnam-war-diaspora-art-exhibit-st-paul-minnesota/

2025.05.02

Elliot Hughes at the Star Tribune reports: “Jill Sobule, whose 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl” was the first song with openly gay themes to hit the Billboard Top 20, died Thursday morning in a house fire in Woodbury.” Via MinnPost
https://www.minnpost.com/glean/2025/05/i-kissed-a-girl-singer-killed-in-woodbury-house-fire/

Groundbreaking musician Jill Sobule dies in house fire
George Wright
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g4l9nxjd0o

Trump officials gut 25 centers that monitor flooding and drought in the US
White House orders closure of USGS water science centers, which shares data with weather service for flood warnings
Tom Perkins
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-administration-united-states-geological-service

Moldy food, used underwear: inside the US prisons where Trump is jailing immigrants
As Trump dramatically expands detention, immigrants are moved to notorious penitentiaries where they report horrific conditions
Sam Levin in Los Angeles
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/trump-immigrants-federal-prisons

Mummy mystery solved: ‘air-dried’ priest was embalmed via rectum
Method of preserving 18th-century Austrian vicar has never been seen before, say researchers
Nicola Davis Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/02/mummy-mystery-solved-air-dried-priest-was-embalmed-via-rectum

David Beckham at 50: his gorgeous, outrageous life in 50 pictures
One of the most photographed men in the world, he has gone from captain of the England football team to elder statesman. We look back at the red cards, redemption, scandals, fashion and family life
Tim Dowling on David Beckham at 50
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/may/02/david-beckham-at-50-his-gorgeous-outrageous-life-in-50-pictures

Archaeological project maps historic boat sheds on Isles of Scilly
‘Pilot gigs’ were crucial for islanders for centuries and 90 important sites housing the boats have been identified
Steven Morris
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/02/archaeological-project-maps-historic-boat-sheds-isles-of-scilly

‘Delicious seafood served with charm and ice-cold white wine’: readers’ favourite restaurants in France
From a hidden gem in Nice to a rustic revelation in Beaujolais and a bargain bistro in Brittany
Guardian readers
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/may/02/readers-favourite-restaurants-in-france

Thunderbolts* to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: 12 of the best films to watch this May
Nicholas Barber
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250423-12-of-the-best-films-to-watch-in-may


Public Functionary launches free series by local filmmakers of color
Also this weekend: A community open mic honors elders at Indigenous Roots Cafe and a pop-up market at Eat Street Crossing features 26 local makers and six food vendors.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/twin-cities-things-to-do-film-screenings-open-mic-pop-up-market/

2025.04.30

Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy, err. night
US economy shrinks in first quarter of Trump 2.0 amid sweeping tariffs
Drop comes amid a huge fall in consumer sentiment which in April dropped 32% to lowest level since 1990 recession
Lauren Aratani
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/30/economy-gdp-q1-trump-tariffs

We are witnessing slow constitutional collapse in the US
Moira Donegan
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2025/apr/30/we-are-witnessing-slow-constitutional-collapse-in-the-us

The US left Vietnam 50 years ago today. The media hasn’t learned its lesson
Norman Solomon
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/01/us-vietnam-war-media

Florida to become second state to ban fluoride in water, alarming experts
Following Utah, Florida passes DeSantis-backed bill to block flouride use, ignoring CDC guidance on child health risks
Jessica Glenza and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/30/florida-fluoride-water-ban

Erin Patterson concocted cancer diagnosis to ensure children missed fatal mushroom lunch, murder trial hears
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023
Nino Bucci Justice and courts reporter
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/30/erin-patterson-mushroom-poisonings-murder-trial-ntwnfb

Runaway kangaroo on the loose named Sheila shuts down Alabama interstate
Marsupial spotted hopping along side of interstate before police surrounded area and owner used dart to tranquilize it
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/29/kangaroo-sheila-alabama

Woman’s eyesight saved by cutting-edge test after mystery infection
Fergus Walsh
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx45vze0vyo

The experts: neurologists on 17 simple ways to look after your brain
Sleep well, swap butter for olive oil, learn a musical instrument – or embrace some other ‘magnificent obsession’. Here is what doctors do themselves to delay the onset of cognitive decline
Sarah Phillips
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/30/the-experts-neurologists-on-17-simple-ways-to-look-after-your-brain

Scientists use live human brain tissue to speed up hunt for dementia cure
Exclusive: British team exposed live cells to toxic proteins to gather rare insight into how dementia develops
Andrew Gregory Health editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/30/scientists-use-living-human-brain-tissue-mimic-early-stages-alzheimers

Billion year old meteorite ‘influenced early life’
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yg3pg4edro

Piers Morgan warns rise of YouTube is a ‘wake-up moment’ for traditional media
Presenter is expanding his own business on the platform and likens change to when vinyl music went digital
Michael Savage Media editor
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/apr/30/piers-morgan-warns-rise-of-youtube-is-a-wake-up-moment-for-traditional-media

Is Doctor Who doomed?
With record low ratings and Ncuti Gatwa rumoured to be departing, the Time Lord faces an uncertain future. Could this be it for good?Martin Belam
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/30/is-doctor-who-doomed-ncuti-gatwa-russell-t-davies

Carême review – a sexy French romp about a chef who’s too spicy to handle
It’s hard to resist this moreish story about Napoleon’s renegade pastry chef (who is also a spy). Orgies, opium and tantalising fun with whipped cream are all on the menu
Rebecca Nicholson
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/30/careme-review-french-superchef-drama-is-bake-off-in-the-tuileries-even-if-its-not-the-bear

Thunderbolts* review – Florence Pugh is saving grace of Marvel’s hit-and-miss mess
The Oscar nominated actor is the most impressive member of a ragtag Suicide Squad-esque team in an often charmingly unusual yet still baggy adventure
Radheyan Simonpillai
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/apr/29/thunderbolts-review-florence-pugh-marvel

2025.04.28

Sarah Ritter at the Star Tribune is reporting: “The National Weather Service is advising Twin Cities residents to have plans in place in case they need to take shelter on Monday due to a threat of strong thunderstorms and tornadoes.” Via MinnPost

Dustin Nelson at Bring Me the News reports: “President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee raised a record $239 million for his January inauguration, which included a sizable donation from Minneapolis-based Target, according to new filings from the Federal Election Commission.” Via MinnPost
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-business/target-donated-1m-to-trump-inauguration-before-backing-away-from-dei-initiatives

Twin Cities metro fails air pollution report card
Alex Fitzpatrick, Torey Van Oot
https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/04/25/twin-cities-air-quality-report-2025

Mercado Central, one of Minnesota’s oldest Latino markets, weathers another storm
Three decades ago, the market helped lead a revival on Lake Street. Vendors hurt by the current immigration crackdown say city efforts — and their own creativity — will help them bounce back.
by Alfonzo Galvan
https://sahanjournal.com/business-work/mercado-central-lake-street-minneapolis-loan-forgiven-immigration/

What your earwax can reveal about your health
Jasmin Fox-Skelly
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250424-what-your-earwax-can-reveal-about-your-health

Ultra-processed foods may be linked to early death
Philippa Roxby Health reporter
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm30kwvv17o

Spain and Portugal hit by massive power outage causing blackouts
Phones, traffic lights, Spanish parliament and newsrooms all reportedly affected as metro stations plunged into darkness
Jon Henley, Ashifa Kassam, Sam Jones and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/28/spain-portugal-power-outage

‘I wish I’d never written that damn movie’: Rust director Joel Souza on finishing his film after the fatal on-set shooting
Ryan Gilbey
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/28/rust-joel-souza-alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins-shooting

Greta Garbo documentary reveals star as ‘a relaxed, silly, funny person’
Exclusive: Previously unseen footage of actor larking about with friends at home upends Garbo’s aloof image
Dalya Alberge
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/28/greta-garbo-documentary-reveals-star-as-a-relaxed-silly-funny-person

No more ‘subway spaghetti’! New Yorkers adjust to first new transit map in 50 years
The first major overhaul since 1979 seeks to simplify the map’s old illegible squiggles – but faces opposition from change-averse New Yorkers
Matthew Cantor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/nyc-new-york-subway-map

Watch: Londoner creates live 3D Tube map https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cd6jlvev478o

Sea bass in space: why fish farms on the moon may be closer than you think
The Lunar Hatch project aims to blast eggs into space, hoping that aquaculture will provide protein for astronauts on missions
Kim Willsher in Palavas-les-Flots
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/28/sea-bass-in-space-lunar-hatch-fish-farms-moon-aquaculture

Chicago: security truck drops money bags worth $300,000 on its rounds
People found scrambling away with the money after it fell when the back door of a truck opened
Guardian staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/chicago-security-truck-money

Two suspects arrested for theft of Kristi Noem’s purse, Secret Service says
Noem’s purse was nabbed on Easter Sunday and reportedly contained about $3,000 in cash, her keys and identification
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/27/kristi-noem-purse-suspects-arrested

Uncovering a hangar full of rare historic campervans
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0l5rbbx/uncovering-a-hangar-full-of-rare-historic-campervans

2025.04.27

Tyrants like Trump always fall – and we can already predict how he will be dethroned
Simon Tisdall
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/27/donald-trump-us-constitution-president

Chaos unleashed by Musk’s Doge is starting to wane – what does that mean?
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/27/elon-musk-doge-trump

Volunteers rush to send abortion pills to US women in need as ‘war between the states’ looms
Massachusetts abortion project pushes for access across country as controversial shield laws are put to legal test
Carter Sherman
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/26/abortion-clinic-pills-shield-laws

I used to laugh at my Chilean father’s paranoia about life in the US – not any more
Stacy Torres
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/27/chile-trump-pinochet-authoritarianism

‘It makes me sick’: the Amsterdam shops closing because of soaring rents
As Dutch capital prepares to celebrate 750th anniversary, small business owners fear for independent retail
Jennifer Rankin in Amsterdam
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/27/it-makes-me-sick-the-amsterdam-shops-closing-because-of-soaring-rents

‘It’s done wonders’: trading card game featuring middle-aged men revives Japanese town
Ojisan trading cards bear the faces of real people – local men whose competing professional qualities determine the outcome of each game
Justin McCurry in Kawara
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/27/its-done-wonders-trading-card-game-featuring-middle-aged-men-revives-japanese-town

Rattlesnake venom evolves and adapts to specific prey, study finds
An animation of a snake
Surprising new evidence challenges longstanding ideas about evolution
Richard Luscombe in Miami
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/apr/27/rattlesnake-venom-evolves-study

Bestselling German novelist found killed on Hamburg houseboat
Police launch murder inquiry after Alexandra Fröhlich is found dead on her boat on the Elbe
Kate Connolly in Berlin
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/27/alexandra-frohlich-bestselling-german-novelist-murder-inquiry-hamburg

How did Hitler’s film-maker hide her complicity from the world?
A new documentary delves into controversial German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl’s private archive to uncover a director who spent a lifetime covering up her central role in the Nazi propaganda machine
Eliza Apperly
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/27/leni-riefenstahl-nazi-hitler-film-maker-documentary

Chè trôi nước in Vietnamese, tangyuan (汤圆) in Chinese, glutinous rice balls to the rest of us

Preserving English eccentricity: 20 years of the World Marmalade Awards
The contest now draws in more than 3,200 entries from as far afield as the Czech Republic and South Korea
Oranges are not the only fruit: Cumbrian marmalade awards offer blend of fruits
Hannah Al-Othman
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/26/preserving-english-eccentricity-20-years-of-the-world-marmalade-awards

2025.04.25

Katy Read at the Star Tribune reports: “(The) first hotel built on Lake Minnetonka in a century opens May 1.” Via MinnPost

Dustin Nelson at Bring Me the News reports: “Chef Yia Vang’s Vinai has acquired another accolade. The Minneapolis restaurant has been named among the best new restaurants in the world by Condé Nast Traveler in its newly released 2025 Hot List.” Via MinnPost
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/minneapolis-eatery-named-one-of-the-best-new-restaurants-in-the-world

May the force be with you! How to save every tired TV superfranchise, from Star Wars to Game of Thrones
Does anyone know what Marvel multiverse we’re in? And will anything ever happen in Westeros again? The world’s biggest fantasy franchises are in trouble … but we have ways to make them must-see TV once more
Luke Holland
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/25/may-the-force-be-with-you-how-to-save-every-tired-tv-superfranchise-from-star-wars-to-game-of-thrones

Warfare to Sinners: 10 of the best films of 2025 so far
Nicholas Barber and Caryn James
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250423-the-best-films-of-2025

Tom Hardy Netflix thriller ‘puts Wales on world map’
Rebecca Miles & Gareth Bryer
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dg7zrvdj2o

Han Kang Nobel prize lecture book sells 10,000 copies in first day online in South Korea
Korean retailers report strong sales for Light and Thread, featuring speeches, essays and poems by novelist
Ella Creamer
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/25/han-kang-nobel-prize-lecture-book-sells-10000-copies-in-first-day-online-in-south-korea

California passes Japan as fourth largest economy
Christal Hayes
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly80zlk1lyo

Warhol print accidentally thrown away by Dutch town hall
Vicky Wong
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv58ejyrpzo

Inside the fortress that inspired Hamlet
Laura Hall
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250416-inside-the-fortress-that-inspired-hamlet

Exploring the desert secrets of a lost Nabataean world
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0l621p6/exploring-the-desert-secrets-of-a-lost-nabataean-world