Toby Foster

  Alex Garland’s intense dystopic thriller is unquestionably timely, but a dearth of context quietens its political alarm bell In a year when record numbers of people around the world are voting in elections, and amidst various escalating threats to democratic traditions, there is no better time for a film like Alex Garland’s Civil War to remind us of where irreconcilable political divisions can lead. This fictional dystopic thriller envisions the disastrous and grisly consequences of a modern-day American Civil War. It portrays a United States which has descended into brutal conflict between a tyrannical third-term President (Nick Offerman) who has disbanded the F.B.I., and an insurgent militia of ‘Western Forces’ from Texas and California attempting to overthrow him.  The film’s narrative follows four journalists – weather-worn veteran conflict reporters Lee and Sammy (played superbly by Kirsten Dunst and Stephen McKinley Henderson respectively), spirited interviewer Joel (...

  This week, British radio lost one of its icons. Steve Wright, master of the microphone at the BBC for more than three decades, passed away suddenly at the age of 69. Steve Wright in the Afternoon (SWITA) was a national phenomenon, reaching eight million listeners in its pomp - a popularity emphasised by its tagline "The Big Show". Wright's cheery, feature-filled broadcasts were a daily soundtrack for workplaces, cars, homes and shops across Britain. An opening jingle would announce the show was “now playing everywhere”. It was not much of an exaggeration. On many radio stations, the afternoon slot is the most dull of the day, a boring bridge between the higher-rating mid-morning and drivetime programmes. But for 23 years on BBC Radio 2, Steve Wright in the Afternoon was an explosion of colour, comedy and camaraderie. Wright's sunny disposition, warm wit, pursuit of perfection and effortless ability to marshal the various elements of his busy programme were what mad...

  The archaeologist adventurer bows out in good style and gives cinemagoers plenty of bang for their buck along the way. Since he first arrived on cinema screens in Raiders of the Lost Ark way back in 1981, Indiana Jones’s swashbuckling escapades have made him a firm favourite among audiences worldwide. Dial of Destiny is a worthy fifth instalment for this franchise, combining jaw-dropping action sequences with Harrison Ford’s reliably assured performance as an aging Indy to deliver an impressive summer blockbuster. In an extended prologue sequence set in 1944 (with a digitally de-aged Ford), Jones and Nazi scientist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelson) are grappling for one half of the mystical Archimedes Dial in a tense tussle atop a fast-moving train. The Dial may be the most powerful artefact Indy has encountered yet – an object apparently capable of changing history by identifying fissures in time. Cut to 1969 New York, where a weary, miserable and newly-divorced Indy is deli...

Local election voters delivered an emphatic warning to Rishi Sunak, but stopped short of anointing Sir Keir Starmer as Britain’s PM-in-waiting. These contests were in many ways a dress rehearsal for the likely 2024 general election, with 70% of England’s electorate having the opportunity to cast a ballot. And while there is always some debate over voters’ primary motivations for choosing a particular party in a local poll – potholes perhaps mattering more than PMQs – there is no doubting that the Conservatives were sent packing by the electorate in swathes of England. The Tories lost more than one thousand seats nationwide and had 48 councils taken out of their control, in results even Rishi Sunak described as “disappointing”. They suffered bruising defeats in East Staffordshire, Dover and Medway, with the councils switching from Tory to Labour control, while the Liberal Democrats seized Windsor & Maidenhead and Dacorum from Conservative clutches. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey jubil...

Review: 'Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss' by Harry Cole and James Heale ( Harpercollins ) Rating: 3.5 out of 5 When Boris Johnson finally gave in to fierce pressure from backbenchers, ministers, the media and the public by announcing his resignation as Prime Minister, it fired the starting gun on one of the most extraordinary four-month periods in British political history. A giant field of candidates threw their hats into the ring for the titanic tussle to be Johnson's successor.  Among them were so-called 'big beasts' of the Conservative party (Grant Shapps, Nadhim Zahawi, Rishi Sunak), the 'rising stars' (Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt) and those who might be most politely described as 'under the radar' (Rehman Chishti). Elizabeth Truss MP, the Foreign Secretary, was the eleventh and final candidate to declare, and the last one standing when all was said and done. She battled her way through the ...

Recap and Review: The Apprentice 2023 (Series 17), Episode 1: Antigua Tourism Score: 2.5/5  The following review contains spoilers When The Apprentice bounded back onto our screens in 2022 after a two-and-a-half year pandemic-enforced hiatus, it delivered one of its finest series to date. Brilliantly-chosen candidates and an enjoyable set of tasks made the show a captivating, entertaining triumph - and my TV highlight of the year.  Which means there's plenty to live up to for 2023's eighteen confident contenders, all scrapping for Lord Sugar's £250,000 investment in them and their business proposal. And scrap they most certainly do, after being dispatched to Antigua for an extravagant first task in which they must sell and conduct tours of the island. The ladies team are at daggers drawn almost immediately, with discord at almost every decision point, while some of the gents try to insure themselves against an early firing by theatrically announcing their disagreement wit...

  In Britain, the world’s sixth-largest economy, it has long been taken for granted by many that our electricity provision is fit for purpose. But for the first time in almost half a century, this supposed guarantee of living in the first world is no longer so cast-iron. National Grid, the organisation responsible for balancing Britain's electricity supplies, has warned in its annual winter outlook that Europe faces a “challenging winter for energy supply”. In the event of reduced gas and electric imports from the continent, coupled with insufficient gas supply in Britain, National Grid warns there will be a “large negative surplus” of energy. This may result in emergency measures that would leave some customers “without power for pre-defined periods during a day – generally this is assumed to be for three-hour blocks.” While National Grid stresses that this situation continues to be an “unlikely event”, and that it remains “cautiously confident” of maintaining supplies throughout ...