The 15 best movie trilogies to watch
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Godfather: Part III (1990)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Well, two out of three ain't bad, especially when the first two movies are among the greatest ever made. Francis Ford Coppola's multigenerational Mafia saga redefined the American gangster epic, and every crime movie since – if not every movie, period – lives in its shadow. That includes the third film, which had little hope of measuring up. Still, it isn't quite as bad as reputation holds, and it finishes the story with the tragic denouement Al Pacino's Michael Corleone always had coming to him.
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The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I'm the one to beat': is Taylor Swift's Showgirl era set to take h to even greater heights?
Taylor Swift's podcast interview with her American football player boyfriend, Travis Kelce, this week yielded plenty of tidbits for fans. Across two hours of loose chat on New Heights, the show Kelce helms with his brother Jason – also a football player – Swift revealed she was obsessed with sourdough and lurked on baking blogs. The couple spent the summer with her family, caring for her 73-year-old father, Scott, after he had a quintuple heart bypass. She gave Kelce a lesson on Hamlet and taught him how to avoid internalising speculation about their two-year relationship. You could call them the tentpoles of the 35-year-old pop star's brand: literary passions and professional self-awareness. One surprising revelation came near the end. Until the record-breaking 149-date Eras tour that Swift mounted from 2023-24, she said she had 'never allowed myself to say: 'You've arrived. You've made it.'' Being the only artist to win the Grammy for album of the year four times hadn't done it; not the records broken, the acclaimed shifts from country to mainstream pop to indie. Nor her staggeringly successful campaign to re-record her first six albums to devalue their master recordings, sold by her first record label to an industry nemesis, and then on to a private equity company. 'But the Eras tour,' she said, 'I was like, this is nothing like what I've experienced before. It was so much better than anything else.' Eras leapfrogged becoming the first billion-dollar tour to become the first $2bn tour. That would be plenty of cause for celebration and a good long rest. So would, as Swift announced in May, finally owning the rights to those first six albums, having successfully negotiated to buy the asset outright. (It ended her re-recording project: her 2006 debut is done and waiting, and she barely started 2017's Reputation.) Her legacy isn't just culturally assured, but materially secure. But Swift evidently isn't ready to let that feeling of having 'made it' go. She appeared on New Heights to announce her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, arriving just 18 months after its predecessor and 10 months after Eras concluded: she is apparently congenitally incapable of rest, with a lot to process. The public will – correctly – have long assumed that Swift has well and truly made it like no one ever has. But the record's promised contents, intentions and release strategy are set to make Swift – and Kelce alongside her – hysterically famous at a new level, capitalising on and shifting industry norms in a way that may leave her detractors researching bunkers in which to hide from it all. Swift's new album does not arrive until 3 October, but this week's edition of the industry newsletter Record of the Day led with a tongue-in-cheek congratulations to 'everyone at EMI and Taylor Swift on her latest No 1 album The Life of a Showgirl'. Supernova success is a foregone conclusion: last year's introspective The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) was the first album to pass a billion streams in its first week, reaching 1.76bn. Swift is beloved on an unfathomable scale. She is one of the last monocultural pop stars. You suspect she could have toured Eras for five years and still sold out every night. Her devout Swifties, casual pop fans and curious rubberneckers will likely propel Showgirl past TTPD's record, such is the critical mass behind her, no matter what it sounds like. Her reign, says Annie Zaleski, the author of Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs, is unprecedented because 'she's so consistent and continuing to evolve'. But on the podcast, Swift sounded surprisingly aware of the limitations of TTPD – too wordy, too long, too downbeat – and keen to course-correct. That project, she said, had been about 'catharsis', 'mess' and 'rawness' following an apparently humiliating fling with the 1975's Matty Healy. TTPD comprised 16 songs; and on release day, Swift dropped a previously unannounced 15-track sister album, The Anthology. For Showgirl, she said she craved 'focus and discipline': just 12 songs going behind the scenes of her Eras life, with 'melodies that were so infectious you're almost angry'. She made a surprising admission about her recent quality control: 'Keeping the bar really high is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time.' Swift recorded Showgirl with the Swedish co-producers Max Martin and Shellback in Stockholm around Eras' spring 2024 European run. The second of her three dates in the Swedish capital was the 89th date of the Eras tour: she named her fifth album, partly produced by the Swedes, 1989 after her birth year. Given the endless number games she plays, sowing numerology clues for fans setting up her future movements, you can assume the scheduling was no accident. Martin and Shellback co-produced Red (2012), 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017), homes to her biggest pure-pop smashes, among them Style, 22, and Blank Space. Her first subsequent album without them, 2019's playful Lover, was regarded as ending that imperial period. Since then, Swift's music has grown more muted and experimental, often in collaboration with the producers Jack Antonoff and the National's Aaron Dessner, as if she were trying to carve out a sustainable future for a 30-something songwriter: 2020's folksy Folklore and Evermore, the dusky pop of 2022's Midnights, TTPD. They spawned no comparable radio hits; her biggest in recent years is Lover's Cruel Summer, never officially released as a single but adopted as a fan favourite. Swift now seems to be framing those records as a phase – her art school years. The Showgirl era seems to be an attempt to recapture the kind of musical ubiquity where little kids yell your lyrics at birthday parties, as they did with 2014's Shake It Off and now do with songs such as Chappell Roan's Hot to Go! 'My business is making music and taking care of my fans and I have ways of monitoring what they want from me and how best to entertain them, which is my job,' she told the Kelces. Eras was divided into segments reflecting each of her albums (except her 2006 debut): imagine it as a 149-night focus group. Swift's monitoring also cannot have failed to note that her brand of hermetically sealed, grown-up pop has been ceding ground to Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx, who have seized culture's centre with less inhibited and far rowdier hits than the exacting Swift has ever made. Or perhaps ever could: one insurmountable difference is that Roan and xcx are unlikely to ever monitor fan desire or cater to it. And Martin, despite being second only to John Lennon and Paul McCartney for having the most US No 1 singles, has waned as a hitmaker. 'I don't think she can get ahead of those artists because she's such a millennial pop star,' said a publicist for comparably superstar acts who asked to remain nameless. 'She can't create trends like those younger artists because they have a lot less to lose.' There is a sense that Swift is catching up: that she's clocked criticisms, read the room. She released 19 physical variants for TTPD, and was accused of exploiting fans and damaging the environment with excess vinyl production, a practice Billie Eilish has called 'wasteful'. Showgirl appears to have a fairly industry-standard four. She is also competing with herself: if there is a tour, says the music business expert Eamonn Forde, it will have to take a significantly different form to Eras – residency-style, perhaps Vegas or in a bespoke venue, as recently done by Adele – to avoid unfavourable comparisons to the biggest tour of all time. Swift drew mass media coverage for her appearances at Kelce's games with the Kansas City Chiefs, prompting some aggrieved football fans to boo whenever she appeared on the jumbotron. In a trailer for her episode of New Heights, traditionally a sports show, Swift joked: 'I think we all know that if there's one thing that male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens, it's more of me.' Unluckily for them, the brand-building between Kelce and Swift looks set to make their association unavoidable. New Heights is part of their lore: after Kelce tried and failed to land a meeting with Swift after an Eras show, he told listeners he wanted to meet her. Intrigued, she took him up on it. The synchronicity began. It can be no mistake that Kelce's cover of GQ magazine landed the same week as Swift's podcast. Meanwhile, Swift rarely gives interviews: New Heights offers a mutually beneficial space where the couple wield full control, albeit with a soft touch: giving cute disclosures, such as his love of wild otters or her running to tell him about getting her masters back when he was gaming with the boys. The moment capitalised on the prevailing trend for A-listers to reserve their media engagements for fairly fannish video podcasts, making traditional journalists fear for their jobs as they dutifully write up any news lines. Premiering Wednesday night in the US, the episode livestream crashed; within 24 hours it had 13m YouTube views, not including other podcast platform stats. The value to advertisers is huge, especially in anticipation of future Swift revelations. And Kelce, a comparatively old player at 35, is rumoured to be retiring after the coming season – his 13th year, Swift's lucky number – so will be power-brokering his post-game career. He admitted to GQ he had literally taken his eye off the ball, with underwhelming stats in his past two seasons, because he was chasing other opportunities. 'It's his Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO move,' said the publicist. 'It's future-proofing their lives. He can't be a football player for ever; she can't be a pop star for ever. It makes them a unit – look at how it worked for the Beckhams.' After a backlash around 2015-16 resulting from her beef with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Swift managed to convincingly reboot her brand: a dedicated, literary songwriter who fights for artists' rights. To onlookers outside the NFL, Kelce's is ripe for shaping from two years of dating Swift. The couple are clearly conscious of this: Kelce told GQ he had 'become way more strategic in understanding what I am portraying to people', something you may imagine constitutes pillow talk in a business-minded household. 'No man has ever said those words,' said the publicist. Kelce's image is openhearted romantic. Notably, he is Swift's first significant boyfriend to seem undaunted by her celebrity – her previous six-year relationship with the British actor Joe Alwyn took place almost entirely in private. A sweet aspect of the New Heights episode was two beefy jocks being so excited by and supportive of a girly pop star. Swift joked of his public entreaty to date her that 'this is sort of what I've been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager'. The couple riffed on memes questioning Kelce's intelligence – 'it's so hot when she says big words,' he said when Swift called Folklore 'esoteric' – which is in itself very smart: positioning Kelce as lovable and non-threatening. Swift said she immediately warmed to him for not being 'judgmental', describing him as 'a vibe booster in everyone's life … like a human exclamation point'. The implication is that he could pep up your sentences if you let him into your heart. Kelce's post-football business is being everyone's boyfriend, not just Swift's. His pesky family ties to Maga Trumpists won't hurt him in the US; if Swift, who endorsed Kamala Harris in the last election, were to be questioned about this, 'her argument can be that she's the leftwing voice in these rooms', the publicist said. Win-win. Although Swift seemed keen to establish some distance from the voluble TTPD era, a song from The Anthology about her and Kelce's relationship seems to outline her present mindset. 'I'm making a comeback to where I belong,' she sings on The Alchemy. 'Ditch the clowns, get the crown / Baby, I'm the one to beat … These blokes warm the benches / We've been on a winning streak.' That streak is assured: next year marks the 20th anniversary of Swift's self-titled debut, and she will inevitably release the re-recording to mark the occasion. Showgirl's successor will be her 13th album, a significant moment in her lore. There are rumours of a behind-the-scenes Eras documentary to complement the record-breaking concert movie, extending the moment's IP. Any new tour will once again recalibrate the live industry. Before Swift drops a note of music, or Kelce touches grass, they're the coming season's reigning champions.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Disney Plus hidden gem with 'addictive' plot hailed as 'best ever' by fans
A hidden gem crime series that's perfect for Silent Witness fans is streaming on Disney Plus A Disney Plus hidden gem with an "addictive" plot has been hailed the "best ever" by fans. Crafted by Todd Harthan, American police procedural series Rosewood follows a private pathologist named Dr Beaumont Rosewood Jr (Morris Chestnut), who uses his cutting-edge laboratory to discover murder evidence that the Miami police overlook. He eventually teams up with Detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz), who finds herself both fascinated and frustrated by Rosewood's unorthodox techniques and upbeat demeanour. Beyond cracking cases, the programme also delves into the characters' private worlds, including Rosewood's bond with his sister, Pippy (Gabrielle Dennis), and mother, Donna (Lorraine Toussaint), alongside the tragic loss of Annalise's spouse, reports the Express. Rosewood initially launched on Fox in September 2015, with its second series debuting in April 2017. The programme was axed just days after the second season's conclusion. Lead actor Morris Chestnut has subsequently featured in numerous films and television programmes, including Watson and Reasonable Doubt. Meanwhile, Jaina Lee Ortiz achieved tremendous acclaim after landing the starring role of Andy Herrera in Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Station 19. Whilst reviewers weren't particularly taken with Rosewood during its original broadcast, the series proved popular with audiences, with countless fans still posting glowing testimonials online. "This show is addictive. The mixture of comedy and chemistry between the 2 main characters draws you in. Hated that there wasn't more seasons. I would buy them all. Love this show," one person penned on IMDb. Another chimed in: "Literally one of the best shows I have ever watched in my life. Seriously not joking, this show is so good I have to pause it because it will have your heart beating out of your chest." A third viewer enthused: "Definitely a MUST watch series if you like action and suspense, with a touch of romance to spice it up. Loved this series!!!! Really wish they would have continued it longer but it is well worth it." Echoing the sentiment, a fourth fan said: "Detective series are taking over and I must admit this should definitely be in the top bracket of the most watched. Best of the best." Another loyal fan recently shared their disappointment at the show's cancellation, writing: "It's been over 8 years since Rosewood ended and I still 100% believe it deserved a 3rd season. It was a fantastic show! One I still miss." If you're looking to fill the Silent Witness void, Rosewood is the perfect late-night viewing. Prepare to dive into a world of murder, romance and intrigue, all set against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. What's not to love?
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
The surreal deal according to author Douglas Murray.
He recently found himself discussing politics with an American podcaster, who advocated being a realist in matters of international affairs. Murray languidly shrugged off such a claim, pointing out that it would be rare to find a commentator who is NOT a realist in such matters. For as Douglas pointed out, 'almost nobody says he's a surrealist.' Murray did concede that Salvador Dali considered himself one, though, 'that didn't really catch on very widely.' The name game Global politics, continued. Chatting with a pal in the local boozer, reader Alan Jones happened to mention that faithful and feisty Robin to Donald Trump's Batman… JD Vance. 'I've always wondered,' mused the pal, 'If JD Vance is related to the writer JD Salinger.' A perplexed Alan replied: 'You do realise that's not how it works, right?' Dusty dealings Philosophical thought of the day from Derek Moore, who says: 'When you clean a vacuum cleaner, you become the vacuum cleaner.' The Browning version Our more cynical readers probably assume that today's youngsters indolently waste their every waking hour hypnotised by TikTok videos. Nothing could be further from the truth, for the modern youth is as driven and dynamic as any previous generation. Reader Sue Graham was on a train and overheard two teenage girls chatting. Said one to the other: 'I'm tanning tonight and I'm tanning tomorrow.' Her friend found it impossible to hide her admiration as she answered: 'Wow! You do keep busy, don't you?' A true tale Another Glasgow conversation containing a great deal of profundity. Paul Murray was in Waterstones bookshop on Sauchiehall Street where a man and woman were chatting. Reproduced below, in full blazing Technicolor, is a snippet of their dramatic dialogue… Man: This week's been a week. (Thoughtful pause.) In fact, I'd go so far as to say this year's been a year. Woman: Oh my God… so true! Speak your truth Gavin, speak your truth. Birdy blast blues Mystified reader Kevin Devine gets in touch to ask the Diary: 'Why do people always moan about the start of the grouse season?' The Herald Diary is published twice a week - on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Do you have a tale to tell? Contact The Diary on 07375 137824 or thediary@
