Neil Armstrong

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: The new Game of Thrones prequel is 'very funny' and a 'total delight' The latest spin-off from Game of Thrones tells the story of an inexperienced knight and his cheeky squire. With its mix of brutal drama and plentiful humour, it's a "nailed-on winner".

Could not have loved A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms more. A real triumph. www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

@oliverwearing.bsky.social Hi Olly - just emailed you.

I’d Rather Go Blind — Etta James poured her heart into this soul classic Co-written with an imprisoned friend, the 1967 track quickly became a standard and was memorably covered by Beyoncé

Always a pleasure to contribute to the FT's Life of a Song column, especially when it's about an Etta James classic covered by everyone from Rod Stewart and Christine McVie to Beyoncé, Dua Lipa and Perrie Edwards. www.ft.com/content/6e22...

'Danger! Norse grave ring at High Peak. Please beep off!' You're welcome.

The Studio: Why you need to watch this 'spot-on', star-studded takedown of modern Hollywood Launching on Apple TV+, a new film industry satire co-created by and starring Seth Rogen nails the business – and features Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron and others as themselves.

Wrote about The Studio, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's satire of Hollywood. It's a clever, lovingly made, mostly affectionate portrayal with some really hilarious cameos. And you can congratulate yourself on getting the industry in-jokes! bbc.com/culture/arti... via
@BBC_Culture

Avalon — Roxy Music’s 1982 hit signalled the end of an era The track’s wistful, elegiac quality captured a moment in the band’s story

Wrote about the Roxy Music hit Avalon for the FT’s Life of a Song column. www.ft.com/content/a8a8...

Spellbound by uncompromising weirdness | Neil Armstrong | The Critic Magazine Look out James Graham; move over Jack Thorne; London’s theatreland has a new darling. Sophocles, a hotshot writer out of Attica, currently has not one but two major productions of his cheery family…

Saw #Elektra, #Oedipus. Loved them. thecritic.co.uk/spellbound-b...

'The truth is she did the right thing': The mystery of why Jane Austen's letters were destroyed – by her own sister Austen is one of the greatest writers in the English language – but relatively little is known about her. And that's in part because of an act that infuriates many to this day.

"Miss Austen" appears in the UK on 2 February and then will make it to PBS "Masterpiece" on 4 May. www.bbc.com/culture/arti... #booksky

Severance season two is better than everything else on TV Mark and his fellow refiners are back at Lumon after an excruciating three-year wait. I can't get it out of my head

Praise Kier! #Severance inews.co.uk/culture/tele...

I Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor gave voice to an anthem of resilience The 1979 disco hit went on to be covered by artists such as Diana Ross and Miss Piggy

Wrote about Gloria Gaynor's disco anthem I Will Survive for the FT's brilliant Life of a Song column. www.ft.com/content/0071... via @ft

'Weird things can happen in the countryside': Britain's creepiest new horror stories Beginning with his acclaimed 2018 debut novel The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley has spooked readers with his tales of strange rural communities – and now they're moving to film and TV.

Enjoyed talking to author Andrew Michael Hurley for BBC Culture. His appearance and demeanour suggest he is an affable, mild-mannered, cultured fellow but his writing reveals him to be an unhinged satanist who has killed repeatedly for occult purposes. www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

Slow Horses: The anti-James Bond that gets to the heart of Britishness With a new series launching today, Apple TV+'s spy show about MI5 rejects is more popular than ever. As with the Mick Herron books it's based on, it has lots to say about the UK today.

Wrote about Slow Horses for BBC Culture. www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

Blyton really phoning it in with this title.

The 36 doesn't go to Pokémon any more and you NEVER get two in a row. You're lucky to get one in a row. State of this country.

The New Look review: Four stars for Coco Chanel and Christian Dior Nazi drama Covering the lives of fashion designers Coco Chanel and Christian Dior during WW2, The New Look explores what it was like to be under Nazi occupation in Paris.

Reviewed Apple TV+’s The New Look for BBC Culture. Enjoyed it more than some of the other critics. www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

One Day review: This 'beautiful, note-perfect' love story is a hit A perfectly judged adaptation of David Nicholls's bestselling 2009 novel One Day arrives on Netflix this week – prepare to laugh, prepare to cry, but don't miss it.

Reviewed Netflix's adaptation of One Day for BBC Culture. Loved it.