EXCLUSIVE Tears, triumphs... and now this: Taylor Swift's friends reveal what's coming on July 4
She was busy onstage in Amsterdam, blasting through her blockbuster, 149-date Eras tour, which saw 10 million adoring fans pack into stadiums across the globe.
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Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I rode the world's first water roller coaster - it rivals Disneyland and it's only a few hours from the UK
'Can we just go one more time?' pleads my son as we race back round to the front of the queue (making full use of our fast passes). I sat in the front first time and my shorts got soaked. This time I'd managed to get slightly less wet in the third row and so – in the name of research – I agree to another turn to see if the back row is the place to be if you want to remain dry. We're trialling Mission Bermudes, the newest attraction at Futuroscope, the science-meets-thrills theme park in western France. The ride – which comes with splashes and surprises – officially launched last month. It's one of Europe's most ambitious theme park rides to date, combining the soaking chaos of a white-water rapids ride with the G-force drama of a rollercoaster, all set within a spectacular physical environment that includes mist-shrouded jungle, secret bunkers and a swirling vortex that threatens to suck the ride in. Boarding the specially designed 10-person 'Rocking Boats', we're told we're on a rescue mission to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a scientific team studying strange phenomena in the infamous Triangle. What follows is 10 minutes of nonstop twists, reversals, near-misses and a finale that involves a vertical 16-metre plunge. It's bold, baffling (particularly if you don't understand French) and completely bonkers – in the best possible way. We start in a foggy swamp, dodging half-submerged aircraft wreckage and passing long-lost boats before we hurtle into rapids – where miraculously this time I remain dry – have a near-miss at a blow hole and then we get sucked backwards into a concrete bunker. From there, we're lifted into the sky and spat out onto a rail that plunges into a splash pool at speeds of more than 60km/h. What makes this attraction stand out is the technology. When on water you feel as though you're on a boat, but the ride is actually on hidden rails and the electromagnetic motors allow the 'rocking boats' to climb slopes, pivot unexpectedly and even travel backwards. While other attractions in the park use screens and 3D glasses, this is like being on the set of your own action movie complete with Hollywood-worthy special effects: bubbling geysers, falling trees and even a giant water bubble that bursts metres from your boat. The immersion is physical (quite literally if you position yourself in the front seat). If Futuroscope isn't yet on your radar, it should be. Located near Poitiers in the Vienne region of western France, it's one of France's largest theme parks, attracting more than two million visitors a year. Opened in 1987, it predates both Disneyland and Parc Asterix and it's always been the clever cousin of the amusement park world – more science and space than superheroes and cartoons. Among the other rides we found motion simulators, interactive theatres, and cutting-edge projection formats focusing on space, climate, exploration and invention (we particularly enjoyed the 4D tornado chaser ride that took us into the centre of a twister). Mission Bermudes is the headline act in a €300 million revamp that's transformed the place into a full resort, with two new hotels and a brilliant new indoor/outdoor waterpark called Aquascope – the place to head if you really want to get wet. As we exit the ride for the third time, my son runs ahead repeating his cry of 'just one more time!' This is the sign of a good ride - perhaps the most exciting you'll find in Europe this summer.
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'Devastating and powerful' bullying film with perfect Rotten Tomatoes score now streaming in the UK - and viewers rave 'it should be mandatory viewing in schools'
A 'devastating and powerful' bullying film with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score is now available to stream in the UK. Playground is a Belgian drama film directed by Laura Wandel. The movie was released in 2021 and follows the story of a brother and sister try and fight off bullies while at school. It stars Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret, Karim Leklou, Laura Verlinden, Lena Girard Voss and Thao Maerten. The film has won a number of awards including Best Film at the Belgian Film Critics Association, the Sutherland Trophy at the BFI London Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Many will be happy to know that fans will be able to stream the 1 hour 12 minute blockbuster on Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service's official synopsis states: 'It's Nora's first day at school. 'Concerned at her older brother being bullied, she unintentionally sets in motion events beyond her control.' Fans have fallen in love with the film and it's managed to bag itself 100% on review site Rotten Tomatoes. It also received 81% on the Popcorn Meter. Many have shared their rave reviews on the website. Film Forward's Kent Turner said: 'This may be the most stress-inducing, heartbreaking movie of 2022, and it's only 72-minutes long.' Flick Feast's Dallas King wrote: 'This is a film that, similar to Eighth Grade, should become required viewing in schools. Providing many teachable lessons for pupils and staff alike.' Financial Times' Danny Leigh added: 'Wandel's film is too wrenching to be called a movie for children. But children would recognise the truth and the complexity of it, which is surely the highest praise.' Many have rushed online to share their rave reviews about the blockbuster Sunday Times' Tom Shone said: 'A beautiful film.' Irish Independent's Paul Whitngton: 'Acted with incredible naturalism by its young actors, Wandel's film is shot from the perspective of a young child, making even the best intentioned adults seem irrelevant to the primordial struggle being enacted at the lunchtime break.' View of the Arts' Alistair Ryder said: 'It's one of the year's boldest and best directorial debuts, in addition to being one of the most incisive films about how children experience bullying yet made.' Meanwhile on IMDB, one said: 'This is really a very remarkable film. Exploring the group dynamics of school children, director Laura Wandel has taken the radical choice of positioning her camera at children's height, registering only what children see. Adults are reduced to supporting roles, and they are only visible when they occupy themselves directly with Nora, the heroine of Un Monde, played amazingly by 9 year old Maya Vanderbeque.' 'This movie is everything it have to be. The camerawork is really brilliant , the hand held camera gives uncomfortable feel throughout the movie. The performances by siblings is just brilliant throughout the movie they carry the burden of movie. 'The story is really very simple but detailed. Every moment seem to be important and not a repetition. And thus movie is very quick but slow it gives time to viewers to get to understand what's going on. To quickly summarise this movie is a must watch, thought provoking and not easy to forget.' 'Bullying has become a big subject in the last 20 years, but this film tells a great story from the perspective of two children who are each victims of it. With the Dardenne brothers and others, the Belgians have redefined the social landscape of Italian neorealism.' 'I've never seen anything quite like this film before.' A war film based on a true story hailed as 'an absolute masterpiece' is available to stream for free. Das Boot first hit screens back in 1981 and has previously been regarded as one of the greatest war films ever made. The film is an adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's partly-autobiographical novel about his experience working on U-boat submarines as a war correspondent. This film has also received raving reviews over the years and has a near-perfect 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 90s boyband Damage reveal they were forced to dress femininely so they weren't seen as 'dangerous' as they detail music industry racism - and their surprising new careers
Legendary R&B boyband Damage have revealed the shocking racism they faced in the Nineties and how a lack of support with their mental health led them to forge new careers beyond the spotlight. In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the group - now in their 40s - explained they were forced to dress and act a certain way in order to avoid being perceived as 'dangerous', and had to fight for press coverage after being told 'black faces don't sell magazines'. Originally formed by Jade Jones, Andrez Harriott, Rahsaan J. Bromfield, Noel Simpson, and Coreé Richards, Damage burst onto the scene with their groundbreaking debut album Forever in 1995. Coreé left the band in 2001, shortly after the release of their second album, Since You've Been Gone. Today, Damage are recognised as one of the UK's most influential R&B groups, having sold over four million records worldwide - but their path to success was anything but easy. Jade, who is married to fellow pop star Emma Bunton, explained: 'Being five black guys in a band, there was an image that had to be portrayed, you know, for it to be palatable for, for the pop market.' He continued: 'We only got put on the cover of Smash Hits through fighting [for it]. We were told we weren't allowed to be on the cover before because black faces didn't sell magazines in the 90s. 'Therefore, for them to make it more palatable for everybody, we had to do a shoot, which was definitely not our style at the time, but it was something we had to swallow. 'There a picture of us with pastel coloured suits on, with flowers and roses all around us. 'Boyband Five were out at the time and they were able to dress and act however they wanted. We had to act a certain way. 'Not saying that we were bad boys. We never were, but we could never portray ourselves or even have an inkling of any aggression about us or any attitude, otherwise we just get shut down.' MailOnline has contacted Smash Hits for comment. Noel added: 'We could never ever be portrayed as the bad boys of pop. Our stuff would have been cancelled straight away.' Sharing his thoughts, Andrez said: 'There were bands like Five, NSYNC which all come down the lineage of people like New Kids on the Block, which come down the lineage of the Jackson 5, etc. 'All those bands, they could take American clothing, American language, use American music producers, and create R&B songs.' He continued: 'And when Damage would do something like a cover of an Earth, Wind and Fire song, which should have been a massive hit, radio struggled to play it. 'There is a really restrictive, dominant, paradigm that black males have to fit into. 'And there is unconsciously and consciously an idea that we are dangerous, and for us as young black males, we have to provide a counter narrative to that nonsense just to be us. 'I remember our record label, we went to Aquascutum to get jackets in central London and the English gentleman image was really kind of being portrayed through us because we have limited bandwidth. 'We couldn't come out in baggy jeans and hoodies, or everyone would be terrified. 'It's really different now, but at that time we had to provide a counter narrative to this idea that five black guys in a space is dangerous.' Mental health struggles were also a significant part of each member's journey, a challenge that wasn't openly discussed during their rise to fame. Reflecting on a turning point while on tour in Southeast Asia, Rahsaan explained: 'At that point we were just like a hard no, we need to stop doing what what we're doing right now. 'Up until that point, we didn't realise that we had the power to do that. 'We were just part of the machine, that kept those cogs going and It was really something therapeutic for us to be able to do that.' Andrez shared: 'You know, when we were coming up as a band, mental health was not discussed in any space, whether it was creative industries or private business or statutory spaces, you know, the welfare of individuals wasn't really considered. 'For us, the impact of being so young, getting up really early for television shows, this constant hamster wheel of trying to get the records out, etc. I don't think we'd have reflected on the impact of that until many years later. 'The hardest time would have been when we first separated and you have to really find yourself within society. We did this since we were 12, 13, 14 years old. 'We had to go out and do job interviews and work in organisations and, you know, find ourselves in the world. 'It wasn't necessarily the impact of the band, it was more so the closing when we ended and then when we came back together.' Noel said: 'You get into a band and you're really young, you don't think it's ever gonna end. 'The free clothes, the taxis everywhere, the trainers, all the amazing stuff, the red carpets and all that, and you never think it's gonna end. 'You know, when it does come all crashing down and for me personally, I had to go and like sign on, which was an eye opening experience for me when when we first when we first split.' Explaining how their tight bond helped them through their hardship, Jade explained: 'I think even when we were younger, I think we, we always had a real family connection between all of us. 'So therefore we were always there, everyone was always allowed space and you could always tell if somebody wasn't feeling too good. 'So we kind of helped pick each other up a lot and that was throughout performances and everything. 'I think that's just our synergy that we have together that allowed us to kind of have that safe space between each other.' Damage initially split in 2002 after releasing their album Live & Liberated. They then had a brief reunion in 2010 before officially splitting up. Each member of Damage has gone on to forge a career outside the spotlight - paths that, in many ways, reflect the personal growth and life lessons they took from their time in the band. Rahsaan now serves as a deputy head at an alternative provision (AP) school, supporting young people who don't thrive in mainstream education. Noel works with the charity Carers Choices, offering vital support to those looking after loved ones. Jade discovered a passion for food and became a professional chef, while also dabbling in property. Andrez spent over a decade working with children in the justice system through the local authority, eventually launching his own organisation. He's now an organisational consultant, working within the NHS. Damage are now gearing up for their biggest headline show in over a decade as they prepare to celebrate 30 years since their debut. The iconic R&B group will return to the stage on December 5, 2025, with a special anniversary show at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. Speaking about the highly anticipated show, the group said on Instagram: 'Our fans have shown us so much love, and we can't wait to hit the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire stage next December for our biggest headline show in 10 years, celebrating 30 years together. 'It's going to be epic! With Kele Le Roc, Manny Norte plus more joining us, it's a party you don't want to miss!' Tickets went on sale in November, and limited availability remains for fans still hoping to attend.
