Latest news with #Climax
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GA mayor, wife charged with crimes against children
A small Georgia city mayor and his wife were arrested after they were accused of crimes against children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Saturday, the Decatur County Sheriff's Office requested the GBI to investigate allegations against 38-year-old Joseph Kelly, of Climax, Ga. According to the GBI, Kelly was accused of having sexual contact with multiple minors. Joseph and his wife, Natalie Kelly, were arrested later that day by the GBI and the DCSO. TRENDING STORIES: 3 illegal switches found during traffic stop on I-20 Man shot in Snellville park less than 24 hours where multiple teens were injured Man found dead, burned on Stone Mountain determined to die from suicide Joseph is the mayor of Climax and is employed by the Decatur County School District, officials said. At this time, there are no indications that the alleged acts are related to his job, the GBI said. Joseph Kelly is charged with two counts of child molestation, and Natalie Kelly is charged with two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree. The pair was booked into the Decatur County Jail. Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the school district for more information. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greenland Resources Announces Voting Results
TORONTO, May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenland Resources Inc. (Cboe CA: MOLY | FSE: M0LY) ('Greenland Resources' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce the voting results from the Company's ordinary-course annual general and special meeting held on May 23, 2025 (the 'Meeting'). Election of Directors Each of the four director nominees proposed by management were elected by over 98% of the votes cast, demonstrating robust shareholder confidence and support for the board. Details of the voting results are as follows: Director For % Withheld % Ruben Shiffman 52,889,579 98.66 719,225 1.34 Leonard Asper 52,890,079 98.66 718,725 1.34 James Steel 52,967,879 98.80 640,925 1.20 Nauja Bianco 52,967,379 98.80 641,425 1.20 Reappointment of Auditors The reappointment of McGovern Hurley LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, to serve as the independent auditors of the Company for the ensuing year, and authorization of the board of directors to fix the remuneration of the auditors, was approved by the votes cast. For % Withheld % 52,967,754 98.81 640,050 1.19 Continuation of Long-Term Incentive Plan The continuation of the Company's long-term incentive plan, including all unallocated entitlements thereunder, was approved by the votes cast. For % Against % 52,927,134 98.73 681,670 1.27 About Greenland Resources Inc. Greenland Resources is a Canadian public company with the Ontario Securities Commission as its principal regulator and is focused on the development of its 100% owned Climax type primary molybdenum deposit located in central east Greenland. The Malmbjerg molybdenum project (the 'Project') has also magnesium as a bi-product, a market dominated 89% by China. The Project is an open pit operation with an environmentally friendly mine design focused on reduced water usage, low aquatic disturbance and low footprint due to modularized infrastructure. The Malmbjerg project benefits from an NI 43-101 Definitive Feasibility Study completed by Tetra Tech in 2022, with an US$820 million capex and a levered after-tax IRR of 33.8% and payback of 2.4 years, using US$18 per pound molybdenum price. The Proven and Probable Reserves are 245 million tonnes at 0.176% MoS2, for 571 million pounds of contained molybdenum metal. As the high-grade molybdenum is mined for the first half of the mine life, the average annual production for years one to ten is 32.8 million pounds per year of contained molybdenum metal at an average grade of 0.23% MoS2, approximately 25% of EU total yearly consumption. The project had a previous exploitation license granted in 2009. With offices in Toronto, the Company is led by a management team with an extensive track record in the mining industry and capital markets. For further details, please refer to our web site ( and our Canadian regulatory filings on Greenland Resources' profile at The Project is supported by the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). ERMA is managed by EIT RawMaterials, an organization within the EIT, a body of the European Union. For further information please contact: Ruben Shiffman, PhD Chairman, President Keith Minty, MBA Engineering and Project Management Jim Steel, MBA Exploration and Mining Geology Nauja Bianco, Public and Community Relations Gary Anstey Investor Relations Eric Grossman, CPA, CGA Chief Financial Officer Corporate office Suite 1810, 25 York Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2V5 Telephone 1-844-252-0532 Email info@ Web Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains 'forward-looking information' (also referred to as 'forward looking statements'), which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'plans', 'hopes', 'expects', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes' or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, receipt of regulatory and other approvals, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and their valuation, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations, estimates of market conditions, the Company's ability to supply molybdenum to the EU, the EU's future expected demand for molybdenum, the Company's ability to commercialize the project, the applications and benefits of magnesium, and the Company's intentions regarding its objectives, goals or future plans and statements. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: future planned development and other activities on the Project; an inability to finance the Company including successfully concluding off-take arrangements, banking facilities and strategic investment; obtaining the permitting on the Project in a timely manner; no adverse changes to the planned operations of the Project; continued favourable relationships with local communities; current EU and other initiatives remaining in place into the future; expected demand for molybdenum in the EU and abroad, including by companies that expressed an interest in purchasing molybdenum; our mineral reserve estimates including magnesium and the assumptions upon which they are based, including geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock confirming to sampled results and metallurgical performance; tonnage of ore to be mined and processed; ore grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount rates being appropriately applied to the technical studies; estimated valuation and probability of success of the Company's projects, including the Malmbjerg molybdenum project; prices for molybdenum remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; capital decommissioning and reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions upon which they are based; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; reliance on finders and other third parties; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: favourable local community support for the Project's development; the projected demand for molybdenum and magnesium both in the EU and elsewhere, including by companies that expressed an interest in purchasing molybdenum and magnesium; the current initiatives and programs for resource development in the EU and abroad; the projected and actual status of supply chains, labour market, currency and commodity prices interest rates and inflation; the projected and actual status of the global and Canadian capital markets, fluctuations in molybdenum, magnesium and commodity prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar versus the Euro); operational risks and hazards inherent in the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structure formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices in Greenland, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal restrictions relating to mining; risks relating to expropriation; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; the availability of additional capital; title matters and the additional risks identified in our filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ in Canada (available at Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described, or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by applicable securities regulations, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update the forward-looking information. Neither the Cboe Canada Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greenland Resources Closes Private Placement
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES TORONTO, May 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Greenland Resources Inc. ("Greenland Resources" or the "Company"; CBOE CA: MOLY | FSE: M0LY) is pleased to announce that it has closed its oversubscribed and upsized non-brokered private placement announced on May 5, 2025, issuing 3,882,352 units in the capital of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.85 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of up to approximately $3,300,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one Common Share at a price of $1.00 for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Offering. PowerOne Capital Markets Limited and Integrity Capital Group Inc. acted as finders in connection with a portion of the Offering. Completion of the Offering is subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The securities issued under the offering were offered by way of private placement pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. Greenland Resources Inc. Greenland Resources is a Canadian public company with the Ontario Securities Commission as its principal regulator and is focused on the development of its 100% owned Climax type primary molybdenum deposit located in central east Greenland. The Project has also magnesium as a by-product, a market dominated 89% by China. The Malmbjerg molybdenum project is an open pit operation with an environmentally friendly mine design focused on reduced water usage, low aquatic disturbance and low footprint due to modularized infrastructure. The Malmbjerg project benefits from an NI 43-101 Definitive Feasibility Study completed by Tetra Tech in 2022, with an US$820 million capex and a levered after-tax IRR of 33.8% and payback of 2.4 years, using US$18 per pound molybdenum price. The Proven and Probable Reserves are 245 million tonnes at 0.176% MoS2, for 571 million pounds of contained molybdenum metal. As the high-grade molybdenum is mined for the first half of the mine life, the average annual production for years one to ten is 32.8 million pounds per year of contained molybdenum metal at an average grade of 0.23% MoS2, approximately 25% of EU total yearly consumption. The project had a previous exploitation license granted in 2009. With offices in Toronto, the Company is led by a management team with an extensive track record in the mining industry and capital markets. For further details, please refer to our web site ( and our Canadian regulatory filings on Greenland Resources' profile at The Project is supported by the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). ERMA is managed by EIT RawMaterials, an organization within the EIT, a body of the European Union. Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" (also referred to as "forward looking statements"), which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "hopes", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, receipt of regulatory and other approvals, completion of the Offering, anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and their valuation, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations, estimates of market conditions, the Company's ability to supply molybdenum to the EU, the EU's future expected demand for molybdenum, the Company's ability to commercialize the project, the applications and benefits of magnesium, and the Company's intentions regarding its objectives, goals or future plans and statements. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: future planned development and other activities on the Project; an inability to finance the Company including successfully concluding off-take arrangements, banking facilities and strategic investment; obtaining the permitting on the Project in a timely manner; no adverse changes to the planned operations of the Project; continued favourable relationships with local communities; current EU and other initiatives remaining in place into the future; expected demand for molybdenum in the EU and abroad, including by companies that expressed an interest in purchasing molybdenum; our mineral reserve estimates including magnesium and the assumptions upon which they are based, including geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock confirming to sampled results and metallurgical performance; tonnage of ore to be mined and processed; ore grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount rates being appropriately applied to the technical studies; estimated valuation and probability of success of the Company's projects, including the Malmbjerg molybdenum project; prices for molybdenum remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; capital decommissioning and reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions upon which they are based; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; the use of Offering proceeds as anticipated; all requisite regulatory and stock exchange approvals for the Offering are obtained in a timely fashion; reliance on finders and other third parties; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: an inability to complete the Offering on the terms or on the timeline as announced or at all; favourable local community support for the Project's development; the projected demand for molybdenum and magnesium both in the EU and elsewhere, including by companies that expressed an interest in purchasing molybdenum and magnesium; the current initiatives and programs for resource development in the EU and abroad; the projected and actual status of supply chains, labour market, currency and commodity prices interest rates and inflation; the projected and actual status of the global and Canadian capital markets, fluctuations in molybdenum, magnesium and commodity prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar versus the Euro); operational risks and hazards inherent in the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structure formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices in Greenland, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal restrictions relating to mining; risks relating to expropriation; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; the availability of additional capital; title matters and the additional risks identified in our filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ in Canada (available at Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described, or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by applicable securities regulations, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update the forward-looking information. Neither the Cboe Canada Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. View source version on Contacts For further information please contact:Ruben Shiffman, PhD, Chairman, PresidentKeith Minty, MBA, Engineering and Project ManagementJim Steel, MBA, Exploration and Mining GeologyNauja Bianco, Public and Community RelationsGary Anstey, Investor RelationsEric Grossman, CPA, CGA, Chief Financial OfficerCorporate office: Suite 1810, 25 York Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2V5Telephone: 1-844-252-0532Email: info@ Web: Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
A24: The best of the cult studio's films ranked, from Moonlight to Lady Bird
There are few companies across the entire entertainment industry that evoke more brand loyalty than A24. Over the past decade, the hip distributor has taken the world of film fanatics by storm, releasing a host of the most acclaimed indie films in recent memory, among them Aftersun, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Midsommar, The Zone of Interest and Ti West's X trilogy. While the phrase 'an A24 film' has almost become a term with a specific set of stylistic connotations, the fact is that the company has released a multitude of different films, spanning all sorts of styles and genres. From coming-of-age comedies to sweeping period epics, here are the 15 best A24 movies ranked... 15. Climax (2018) A great workout playlist disguised as a grimy, slimy psychosexual thriller, Gaspar Noé's Climax plays out in a series of long takes (one is 42 minutes long), with a troupe of French dancers spiralling out of control after imbibing spiked sangria. Like the best of Noé's films (among them the 'stoner in film class' fave Enter the Void and the distressing Irreversible), Climax is practically designed to be divisive, and its striking mix of horror, psychedelia and pure aesthetic razzle-dazzle make it peak A24. Adam White 14. Under the Silver Lake (2018) Another divisive A24 cult classic, Under the Silver Lake tends to inspire groans as often as it does praise – and that's really OK! Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell seemed to be given creative carte blanche after the success of his 2014 micro-budget horror It Follows, and voila: a chaotic, romantic neo-noir conspiracy tale that wears its inspirations, notably Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, on its sleeve, tosses in a great fake-band song ('Turning Teeth' by the fictional Jesus & The Brides of Dracula), and boasts an irresistibly committed performance by Andrew Garfield as an aimless Los Angeleno investigating his neighbour's disappearance. What a weird, wondrous pleasure. AW 13. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth was the first answer to the decades-old hypothetical, 'What would a Coen film be like if Joel and Ethan separated?' (The second answer was, Ethan's 2024 romp Drive-Away Dolls.) This Macbeth is a pretty compelling answer, and remains one of the best, and most cinematic, Shakespeare adaptations put to screen. Denzel Washington is magnificent as the scheming king-to-be, while Frances McDormand sizzles as his poisonous paramour. Louis Chilton 12. Eighth Grade (2018) Heartbreakingly honest when it comes to coming-of-age, Eighth Grade is anything but easy viewing. We follow young Kayla (a revelatory Elsie Fisher) as she transitions between years in school, her fears and anxieties rising to the surface while she desperately attempts to mask them. The specificities here – vlogging, iPhones, the internet – feel decidedly of the 2010s, but there's a universal melancholy to Eighth Grade that will strike a chord with audiences of any age. Shamefully, director Bo Burnham – a graduate of internet comedy – has yet to make his follow-up feature. AW 11. The Brutalist (2024) Brady Corbet's architecture epic was a frontrunner for many of the major 2025 Academy Awards, and will partially be remembered as the film that birthed the most interminable Best Actor speech of all time (Adrien Brody's). Thankfully, The Brutalist is sure to be remembered for other things too: it's a film of staggering ambition, rich in meaning and audaciously stylish. It's one of the best films A24 has released, and one of the best films in recent memory. LC 10. Janet Planet (2023) While A24 has certainly increased its commercial aspirations in the last year or two (most notably via films including Alex Garland's Civil War and indistinct horror comedies such as Death of a Unicorn and Opus), they are also a company still eager to make films like Annie Baker's tender, intimate Janet Planet. Zoe Ziegler is the quiet 11-year-old of the title, a girl trapped in a cycle of odd father figures and endless existential yearning courtesy of her mother (a spellbinding Julianne Nicholson). AW 9. Lady Bird (2017) Greta Gerwig's debut feature as a solo director is a charming and specific coming-of-age story following 17-year-old Sacramento misfit Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson (Saoirse Ronan). It's by turns funny, moving, world-wise, and wonderfully shot, with Laurie Metcalf turning in career-best work as Lady Bird's combative mother. This is the movie that really put Gerwig on the map as a filmmaker; it's no less than she deserved. LC 8. High Life (2018) High Life is an utterly unique sci-fi drama from French maestra Claire Denis. Robert Pattinson plays a prisoner on board a spaceship bound for a black hole, alongside Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth and Andre 3000. Some clunky, stylised dialogue only heightens the weirdness of this film, which is all things to all people: vibrant, tactile, philosophical, sexually perverse and even, at times, quite moving. LC 7. Hereditary (2018) Much like Robert Eggers's A24 folktale The Witch – which just missed a spot on this ranking – Hereditary felt like the birth of an incredibly special horror visionary. Ari Aster's haunting and genuinely scary feature debut revolves around a fractured family (led by Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne) seemingly cursed by ancient evil. The film travels to ghoulish places consistently, notably in a shock end-of-act-one plot twist involving a telephone pole that entirely upends where you think Hereditary is going. AW 6. 20th Century Women (2016) Mike Mills's 2016 drama is a warm hug of a film, bursting with such lived-in feeling that it wouldn't be too surprising if you burst into tears repeatedly while watching it. Annette Bening is the free-spirited yet overbearing, wise yet drifting single mother determined to raise her young son right at the tail end of the Seventies, and roping in friends and lovers to help her. AW 5. Under the Skin (2013) Jonathan Glazer boggles the mind. The British director has made just four films – each of them a masterpiece and each entirely distinct from what's come before. Under the Skin is an arthouse horror starring Scarlett Johansson as an alien who assumes the appearance of, well, Scarlett Johansson in order to lure randy Scottish men into some kind of lair. It's a completely singular piece of work, endlessly inventive and both emotionally and philosophically profound. LC 4. American Honey (2016) British filmmaker Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank; Red Road) turned her attention to US poverty with American Honey, a vivacious and poignant film about love on the road. Then-newcomer Sasha Lane is utterly transfixing as Star, a teenager who flees her home to join a band of travelling magazine hustlers. (Shia LaBeouf, as her rough-and-tumble love interest, gives an unexpectedly brilliant performance too.) There is life in every crevice of this film: a total triumph. LC 3. Moonlight (2016) It's still remarkable that Moonlight, from a then-unknown director named Barry Jenkins and a nascent film studio with only so much awards campaign money to their name, won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2017. But it's deserving of its acclaim in every frame, this being a richly human triptych of tales in the coming of age of a gay Black man from childhood to adulthood. Sensationally acted and absolutely gorgeous to look at, it's deservedly something of a modern classic at this point. AW 2. I Saw the TV Glow (2024) Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw the TV Glow revolves around two teenage loners drawn together by an alluring fantasy series – a Buffy -like Nineties horror hit – and finding their own lives mirroring its strange, surrealist twists. Primarily, though, it's about growing up trans, and the trauma of ultimately living a life that doesn't fit right. This is dazzling, beguiling filmmaking, Schoenbrun conjuring a dream-like suburban fantasia full of purple neon, moon men and Caroline Polacheck wailing on the soundtrack. Glorious. AW 1. Uncut Gems (2019) A film with tension so thick that you'd need a machete to cut through it, Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems is the story of Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler), a New York diamond dealer consumed by his chaotic gambling addiction. It's brilliant and transformative work from Sandler, in service of one of the funniest, tensest, and altogether best films the 21st century has yet produced. LC
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Oh, brother! Is The White Lotus incest storyline a sign of a show running out of ideas?
When The White Lotus first aired on TV in 2021, it arrived with little fanfare or expectation. Made during the pandemic, it was set in a high-end hotel resort in Hawaii – all the better to keep the cast and crew in a secure bubble. Yet its portrait of emotionally stunted, odiously spoiled guests, as seen through the eyes of the desk clerks, waiters and beauticians who served them, was a massive word-of-mouth hit. Now, four years later, you can't move for satires about the rich and dreadful. From Triangle of Sadness to Saltburn to Anora, the 'eat the rich' narrative has become a trope, and an increasingly tired one at that. All of which means the third series of The White Lotus, which launched last month, needed something spicy up its sleeve to stay ahead of the game and justify its continued existence. After all, outré set pieces and grotesquery have become the genre's calling card (you may recall the mass vomiting in Triangle of Sadness, or the bathwater incident in Saltburn). Here (spoiler incoming) the extra spice turns out to be incest. Too much? Perhaps – or perhaps we're simply inured to such shock tactics. In the latest episode, teenage naif Lochlan (Sam Nivola) and his twentysomething gym bro brother, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), go to a full moon party and kiss each other in a drunken dare. Ick, you think, but no lasting harm. But then Saxon wakes up with the mother of all hangovers, and another scene from the night before floats into view: a hand pleasuring him beneath a bedsheet that belongs not to the woman he planned to seduce but to his little brother. When incest crops up in popular fiction, it is customary to call it the last taboo. But given the sheer number of storytellers deploying it as a subplot, it's one that sure gets a lot of airtime. Think of the sibling sex in Climax, the 2018 picture by filmmaker and habitual boundary crosser Gaspar Noe. Or Game of Thrones and its offshoot House of the Dragon, in which sex within families is normalised and an entire dynasty – the Targaryens – is built on inbreeding to keep the bloodlines pure. A slightly different case is Ryan Murphy's true-crime series Monsters: The Lyle and Eriki Menéndez Story in which the titular siblings kiss and take a shower together. There the incest was controversial mainly because there is no evidence that the real-life brothers had had a sexual relationship; Murphy seemed to be throwing it in to zhuzh up a story that already contained the double murder of their parents. Plenty of other series have gone down the incest path: True Detective, Taboo, the rebooted Gossip Girl, even Channel 4's now-defunct soap Brookside. In The White Lotus, there have been warning signs of the transgressions to come, via Saxon's unsettling actions and asides. In the opening episode, he called his sister 'pretty hot' and speculated about her virginity. Later we saw him watching porn on his iPad in front of Lochlan before heading off to the bathroom to masturbate, though not before giving his brother an eyeful of his naked backside. Which is to say the incest storyline has been trailed since the beginning, the hope perhaps being that it would sustain the tension for the first half of the series. If that was the plan, it didn't quite work out. Of all The White Lotus seasons, this one has been the most sluggish, disjointed and hard to love. Part of that is its familiarity. We know writer-director Mike White's schtick too well now: a corpse at the start, beautiful sunsets, unhappy workers, guests with literal and metaphorical baggage making culturally insensitive gaffes (see Parker Posey's Victoria, wife of Jason Isaac's financier-in-meltdown, thinking she was holidaying in Taiwan, not Thailand). The White Lotus often has a cynic in its midst who this time around is Piper, sister of Lochlan and Saxon, who disparages the resort as 'a Disneyland for rich bohemians from Malibu in their Lululemon yoga pants' for the benefit of those asleep in the stalls. Another common theme in all three seasons of The White Lotus is the repression of its characters: the CEOs trying to keep a lid on their stress; the serving classes resisting the urge to tell guests where to shove it. In the past, there was fun to be had waiting to see who would blow a gasket first. Who can forget Armond, Murray Bartlett's hotel manager, dramatically losing it in season one and emptying his bowels in a guest's suitcase? Or Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya shouting, 'The gays are trying to murder me.' But that's the problem with this series – there's no levity. Having two brothers make out may have provided a jolt, but laughter? Not so much. We've yet to see whether the series will interrogate the 'why' of the brothers' impulses, or if a further plot twist will throw a different light on their activities. In any case, the storyline has perhaps already served its purpose by getting social media – and, yes, newspaper columnists – talking about it. But if incest really is the last taboo and Mike White has, in a sense, done his worst, then where can The White Lotus go from here?
