
From Marty Supreme to The Traitors: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Marty SupremeOut nowJosh Safdie’s new sports comedy takes loose inspiration from the career of New York ping-pong icon Marty “the Needle” Reisman, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Abel Ferrara and Fran Drescher in supporting roles, and Timothée Chalamet in the lead as the vibrantly eccentric sportsman.The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePantsOut nowThe ever-popular underwater adventures of the amiable yellow sponge continue, with a fourth big-screen adventure that sees SpongeBob tracking down the Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill). Expect to see just as many child-free millennials in the audience as families.AnacondaOut nowApologies to anyone who views it through rose-tinted spectacles, but the original 1997 Anaconda was a load of drivel. But this isn’t a faithful remake: it’s a meta-horror-comedy-action remake about a couple of guys (Jack Black and Paul Rudd) attempting to remake Anaconda only to be attacked by – yes – a giant snake

Jewish klezmer-dance band Oi Va Voi: ‘Musicians shouldn’t have to keep looking over their shoulders’
After 20 years playing around the world, the group had two UK gigs cancelled this year after protests from activists. It’s made them feel targeted for who they are, the band sayJosh Breslaw was looking forward to a homecoming gig with his band of two decades’ standing. Oi Va Voi, a predominantly Jewish collective mixing traditional eastern European folk tunes with drum’n’bass and dance, were due to conclude a spring tour of Turkey with a gig in May at Bristol’s Strange Brew club, plus one in Brighton where Breslaw lives. But then, after protests from local activists about both the band’s past performances in Israel, and with Israeli singer Zohara, Strange Brew abruptly cancelled, citing “the ongoing situation in Gaza”.To be told they hadn’t met the venue’s “ethical standards” was devastating, says Breslaw, the band’s 52-year-old drummer: “It felt so unjust

British Museum’s plan for ‘red, white and blue’ ball sparks row
An internal row has broken out within the British Museum over its director’s suggestion of a “red, white and blue” themed ball for 2026, after staff condemned it as “in poor taste” following the rise in flag-hoisting across the UK.Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the 272-year-old museum, has proposed a colour theme based on the union jack and French tricolore to mark next year’s loan of the Bayeux tapestry from Normandy.The suggestion has led to concerns being raised by staff within the museum’s curatorial and administrative departments, the Guardian understands.Some of the staff are said to argue that the idea is “in poor taste due to the current far-right flag campaigns around the country,” a source said.Since the summer, union jacks and other flags of the four nations of the UK have been hoisted from windows, bridges and lamp-posts in what has been described by some as a celebration of Britishness

The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK
Britain has been mismanaging inventions and ideas with impeccable style for centuries. Next spring, we will finally get a museum to celebrate the results: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK.Its founder, Dr Samuel West, is anticipating a warm welcome: Britain, he said, was the museum’s spiritual home. “I’ve travelled all over the world with the museum but I’ve always wanted to bring it back home because of our black humour and our support of the underdog,” he said. “The Brits totally get it

The 10 best Australian films of 2025
What do films about occult practices, delicious porridge, Mongolian herders and a very cranky shark have in common? They’re all among the best Australian features released in 2025. To be eligible for this list, films must have had an Australian release outside the festival circuit in 2025, either theatrically or via streaming. All of the listed streaming or cinema information is correct at time of publication.10.Where to watch: stream on Prime Video or rent/buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTubeMany years of watching horror movies has given me a steely stomach – but some of the images in Bring Her Back really got to me; they’re truly grotesque and I’m not sure I can ever forgive directors Danny and Michael Philippou (whose previous film was the fiendishly great Talk To Me)

The Apartment: Billy Wilder’s Christmas classic is the blueprint for romcoms everywhere
For romantic comedies and Christmas movies alike, a little misery can go a long way. No one understood this balancing act more than Billy Wilder, whose films ran the gamut from bottomless cynicism (Ace in the Hole) to gender-bending farce (Some Like it Hot). His 1960 film, The Apartment, splits the difference.Like another yuletide classic, Carol, the film finds inspiration in David Lean’s Brief Encounter, which depicts an extramarital affair briefly consummated in the bed of a friend’s apartment. In an old interview, Wilder says he was compelled by a character “who comes back home and climbs into the warm bed the lovers just left”, and so The Apartment’s hero, CC “Bud” Baxter, was born

No longer ‘unloved’: retailers investing more in physical stores, UK data shows

Shoppers shun UK high streets despite lure of Boxing Day sales

How Las Vegas police ended up with a fleet of free Tesla Cybertrucks

Apple seeks to appeal against £1.5bn ruling it overcharged UK customers

Haiti Couleurs victorious in Welsh Grand National: racing from Chepstow and Kempton – live

Naoya Inoue sees off Picasso to set up Tokyo super-fight with Junto Nakatani
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