Apocalypse in the Tropics to Clipse: the week in rave reviews

The Guardian

17 hours ago

Channel 4; all episodes available
Summed up in a sentence A painstaking account of a journalist's investigation into the deaths of users of a suicide forum, and the identity of the person selling them lethal poison.
What our reviewer said 'If you can get through this two-part documentary without sliding down on to the floor in despair – well, you're a better viewer than I.' Lucy Mangan
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BBC iPlayer; all episodes available
Summed up in a sentence A staggering reality TV hate-watch about the entitled guests staying at luxury rental properties – and the histrionic staff looking after them.
What our reviewer said 'Imagine that The White Lotus's characters were real, but worse, and that none of them – increasingly unbelievably – ended up murdered.' Lucy Mangan
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Now TV; all episodes available
Summed up in a sentence The unbelievably dark tale of a US crematorium owner who began jamming multiple bodies into his incinerator to make more money.
What our reviewer said 'Joshua Rofé's three-part documentary about California cremator David Sconce is a feat of construction, patiently doling out larger and larger transgressions until the whole thing becomes swamped in unimaginable horror. It's the kind of documentary where, when the credits roll, you realise that you haven't drawn breath for several minutes.' Stuart Heritage
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In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Documentary outlining how Brazilian politics succumbed to rightwing fundamentalism as screeching evangelical Christian leaders have become kingmakers to all politicians.
What our reviewer said 'The tone is set by televangelists like the always angry Pastor Silas Malafaia, interviewed at some length here; he is a man clearly thrilled and energised by his own national celebrity and wealth, though irritated by questioning about his private plane.' Peter Bradshaw
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Further reading 'God chose you, Jair Bolsonaro!' Is Brazil now in the grip of evangelicals?
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Witty uncoupling comedy from Spain finds Alex and Ale marking their separation with a party – but not everyone thinks it's a good idea.
What our reviewer said 'Right at the beginning, the pair lie in bed, mulling over the party idea. Ale isn't convinced. 'It's a good idea for a film, but in real life …?' And here The Other Way Around gets meta; Ale is busy editing her new film, which turns out to be the film we're watching.' Cath Clarke
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In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Brilliant grifter classic from Argentina from the late Fabian Bielinsky, whose questions about greed, cynicism and the human condition remain evergreen.
What our reviewer said 'It is confidence trickery perpetrated on the victim in parallel to narrative trickery perpetrated on the audience, who are invited to assume that however hard the fictional characters on screen are falling, the rug under their own feet is perfectly secure.' Peter Bradshaw
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In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence A talking tree leads a study of European exploitation of the Congo's natural resources in Sammy Baloji's experimental film.
What our reviewer said 'Though perhaps leaning a little heavily into an academic visual experiment, The Tree of Authenticity offers a fascinating look at how extraction can take many forms.' Phuong Le
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Mubi; available now
Summed up in a sentence Beautifully acted film in which a man returns to the Japanese seaside town where he met and fell in love with his wife, in a glowing reverse love story with echoes of Before Sunrise.
What our reviewer said 'Nairu Yamamoto gives the performance of the film as aspiring photographer Nagi: funny, scatty and earnest. She plays it so naturally, so true to life, that Nagi feels like someone you might have actually met.' Cath Clarke
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Reviewed by Chris Power
Summed up in a sentence A short-story collection set in Northern Ireland from a brilliant new voice.
What our reviewer said 'Ní Chuinn's stories almost entirely lack the resolution provided by that familiar trait, the epiphany. Rather than accounts of revelation, these are reports from the knotty midst of things.'
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Reviewed by Alexis Petridis
Summed up in a sentence A warts-and-all memoir from the Dexys Midnight Runners frontman.
What our reviewer said 'It makes for a picaresque story, albeit one that you occasionally read in a state of dread – oh God, what's he going to do next? – and Rowland tells it with an impressive lack of self-pity'
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Further reading Kevin Rowland looks back: 'Trying to calm myself down never even occurred to me'
Reviewed by John Simpson
Summed up in a sentence An impeccably sourced look behind the scenes at the CIA.
What our reviewer said 'No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer.'
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Reviewed by Christobel Kent
Summed up in a sentence Hi-jinks and hysteria in a crumbling boarding school gripped by Cold War paranoia and a mysterious illness.
What our reviewer said 'Waits mines the rich seam of girls' school fiction to delirious and rewarding effect. There are welcome echoes of St Trinian's, but beneath the comedy lies a distinctly unsettling undertone.'
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Reviewed by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
Summed up in a sentence Captivating fairytale debut about a mother and daughter isolated from the world.
What our reviewer said 'With the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality.'
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Reviewed by Gaby Hinsliff
Summed up in a sentence The former New Zealand PM takes us behind the scenes of her years in office.
What our reviewer said 'Ardern is a disarmingly likable, warm and funny narrator, as gloriously informal on the page as she seems in person.'
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Further reading 'Empathy is a kind of strength': Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump's America
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Fifteen years after Malice quit, he rejoins younger brother Pusha T for as strong a restatement of Clipse's skills and power.
What our reviewer said 'Let God Sort Em Out offers far more than nostalgia: familiar but fresh, it's one of the albums of the year.' Alexis Petridis
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Out now
Summed up in a sentence Having survived the heights of their much-hyped debut, the Isle of Wight duo return as a fully-fledged band – swapping sardonic comments on parochial indie culture for big fat lurve songs.
What our reviewer said 'Moisturizer does not seem much like the work of a band nervous about following up an unexpectedly huge debut. It's a very confident record indeed, from the leering grin Teasdale sports on its cover, to the big, knowingly dumb garage rock riffs that gust through Catch These Fists and Pillow Talk, to the dramatic shift in its lyrics.' Alexis Petridis
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Further reading 'This weird dream just keeps going!' Wet Leg on overnight success, sexual epiphanies and facing fears
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The US singer's seventh album takes his meta-theatrical style almost into showtune territory as he confronts being abused by a camp counsellor as a child.
What our reviewer said 'Christinzio's inventive, infuriating writing often packs three extra songs into every single track – but this time for good reason. When the chatter falls away on instrumental closer Leaving Camp Four Oaks, he achieves a hard-won, sun-lit sense of peace.' Katie Hawthorne
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Out now
Summed up in a sentence Wonky techno DJ Gwenan Spearing pursues generative electronics and real-time responses on an ambient EP that blurs the lines between electronic and acoustic.
What our reviewer said 'It's a lovely, drifting listen with just the right amount of curiosity and texture to keep you locked in.' Safi Bugel
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Principality Stadium, Cardiff; touring to 23 July
Summed up in a sentence The two US superstars and friends lead the biggest co-headline tour in history.
What our reviewer said 'For Lamar, this tour is about narrative … SZA is here to fight for Glasgow's hearts and minds. It feels like a genuinely historic celebration of their individual achievements and the elevating power of their friendship.' Katie Hawthorne
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