TVIf you only watch one, make it …Rolf Harris: Primetime PredatorPrime Video; available nowSummed up in a sentence A horrifying two-part documentary about how a light entertainment celebrity sexually assaulted girls for decades.What our reviewer said “Mind-boggling archive footage includes Harris appearing on Jim’ll Fix It and assuring Savile he could leave a child on stage ‘safely in my capable hands’, and, when she moved the wrong way, adding, ‘Stay here and enjoy it, girl.’” Lucy ManganRead the full reviewPick of the restFor the Record: An Incomplete History of MusicYouTube; available nowCharlotte Ritchie in For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music.Summed up in a sentence A wildly ambitious, unapologetically brainy YouTube documentary series charmingly presented by Charlotte Ritchie.What our reviewer said “It’s nothing short of amazing that something like this exists in 2026.” Stuart HeritageRead the full reviewAbandonedDisney+; available nowSummed up in a sentence Over four gripping episodes, three siblings attempt to get to the bottom of why they were left at a Barcelona train station in 1984 in this chaotic documentary.What our reviewer said “The series feels a little helter-skelter at times; a flurry of emotion and confusion and startling new information and leads and blind alleys, all jostling for space.” Phil HarrisonRead the full reviewFurther reading Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mysteryYou may have missed…The ArtistMGM+; available nowSummed up in a sentence This period comedy, starring Mandy Patinkin as a Rhode Island robber baron, is a singular work of art.What our reviewer said “It has a […] pugnacious whimsy, but with cold steel hidden in the folds of its grubby velvet gown.” Jack SealeRead the full reviewFilmIf you only watch one, make it …The InviteIn cinemas nowPenélope Cruz and Olivia Wilde in The Invite. Photograph: Landmark Media/AlamySummed up in a sentence Olivia Wilde directs and stars alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in bizarrely moving comedy of a married couple who invite their fashionably bohemian neighbours over to dinner.What our reviewer said “It is certainly broad, stagey and contrived, and the mood shifts are almost like dinner-theatre in their suddenness – yet Rogen’s comedy credentials mean that the pure outrageousness of the twists and turns are palatable.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading ‘I feel both thrilled and ruined by this’; Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton on making sex comedy The InvitePick of the restNirvanna the Band the Show the MovieIn cinemas nowNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Photograph: Neon/PASummed up in a sentence Slacker comedy adapted from Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol’s web and TV show, with the pair as goofball buddies who accidentally travel back to 2008 as they try to get a gig for their band.What our reviewer said “If there is a serious point to this film it is how very quickly time goes past while you are trying and failing to make it in the music business. But the laughs are the important thing.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewBirds of WarIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Documentary telling the story of the long-distance relationship between a BBC correspondent in London and a war photographer on the ground in Syria.What our reviewer said “Politics is to some degree set aside here in favour of matters of the heart; this is a story of romantic love among the ruins.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewFurther reading ‘Get away from there – run!’ The stunning film about love blossoming amid the carnage of AleppoTaxi DriverIn cinemas nowSummed up in a sentence Scorsese and Robert De Niro roam night-time New York in their classic horror-thriller from 1976 that won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival.What our reviewer said “As ever with this movie, no matter how many times you watch it, the horror, the almost physical smear of sleaze across your skin strikes you afresh, along with the N-bombs and the misogyny – read politically now in a way they weren’t in 1976.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewNow streamingNot a Pretty PictureMubiMartha Coolidge in Not a Pretty Picture. Photograph: Capital Pictures/AlamySummed up in a sentence Martha Coolidge’s recreation of the key moments before and after her rape – along with the actors’ reflections on their roles – is still absolutely essential.What our reviewer said “Could a movie of such unselfconscious daring be made today? It’s not clear. But the riding-in-the-car sequence has an ominous queasiness for the audience who know where it is leading.” Peter BradshawRead the full reviewBooksIf you only read one, make it …Long Wave by Daisy JohnsonReviewed by Rhiannon Lucy CosslettSummed up in a sentence A sublime story of motherhood and separation from a Booker-shortlisted author.What our reviewer said “What a joy it is to read a writer who so confidently prioritises character and language above gimmick or twist.”Read the full reviewPick of the rest Photograph: InternetCommunion by JD VanceReviewed by Rowan WilliamsSummed up in a sentence The vice-president on his journey back to faith.What our reviewer said “How are we to take seriously a book that ignores the rampant corruption of the Trumpian ruling class and the murderous brutality of the implementation of new immigration controls?”Read the full reviewFurther reading JD Vance has written another book? Couldn’t he just concentrate on his day job?Queenie Is Working on It by Candice Carty-WilliamsReviewed by Shahidha BariSummed up in a sentence In this sequel to the 2019 bestseller, the “Black Bridget Jones” is now in her 30s.What our reviewer said “The experience of race is a condition of Queenie’s existence, but never the thing that defines her: it’s a point that Carty-Williams always makes with a skilfully light touch.”Read the full reviewFurther reading Candice Carty-Williams: ‘People feel very attached to Queenie’ Photograph: InternetDepraved by Daisy DixonReviewed by Chloë AshbySummed up in a sentence A history of dark and dangerous art.What our reviewer said “Depravity, she writes, can lurk beneath the surface of a ‘pretty, oil-soaked canvas’.”Read the full reviewOn the Mark by Florence HazratReviewed by Steven PooleSummed up in a sentence Everything you ever wanted to know about punctuation, from the ancients to emojis.What our reviewer said “This book is no mere wacky usage guide of the Eats, Shoots & Leaves sort; it is an appealing, lavishly researched scholarly inquiry into punctuation over the centuries.”Read the full reviewYou may have missed …The Odyssey By Homer, translated by Emily Wilson The Odyssey, translated by Emily WilsonReviewed by Charlotte HigginsSummed up in a sentence Published in 2017, the first version of Homer’s epic poem by a woman was a touchstone for Nolan’s upcoming screen adaptation.What our reviewer said “Emily Wilson’s crisp and musical version is a cultural landmark.”Read the full reviewAlbumsIf you only listen to one, make it …Madonna: Confessions IIOut now Photograph: Warners/Boy Toy/APSummed up in a sentence More than two decades since the release of her last truly great album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna returns with this excellent, banger-heavy sequel, co-produced by Stuart Price.What our reviewer said “An accommodation with her past that bodes well for her future.” Alexis PetridisRead the full reviewFurther reading Vagina lasers, bananas and an awkward Cumberbatch: 10 surprising moments in Madonna’s new videoPick of the rest2K88, Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller & Bianca Scout: Everything Always Changes, for We’re Truly HereOut nowSummed up in a sentence The Polish producer 2K88 teams up with British musicians Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller and Bianca Scout for this 10-track album of slow-moving grandeur. What our reviewer said “Haunting and vaporous, with glacial sound design, fragments of FX’d voice and stabs of low end.” Safi BugelRead the full reviewSienna Spiro: VisitorOut nowSummed up in a sentence The British TikTok sensation turned global star releases her debut album of big piano ballads and full-band torch songs.What our reviewer said “A little more subtlety and Spiro’s “new Adele” tag might actually stick.” Shaad D’SouzaRead the full reviewNow touring …My Chemical RomanceBellahouston Park, Glasgow, 4 July; and Wembley Stadium, London, 8, 10 & 11 JulyMy Chemical Romance. Photograph: Bryce Hall/Mixed Media WorksSummed up in a sentence The emo overlords celebrate their ludicrous 2006 concept album The Black Parade by amping up the spectacle to stadium-levels of OTT.What our reviewer said “Midway through The End, Way is stabbed by a man dressed as a pierrot: he concludes the song prone on the stage, covered in blood, before the pierrot guy detonates a suicide vest.” Alexis PetridisRead the full review