Is this the most disastrous movie of 2026?

Saturday, March 7, 2026

Hello! This is the Independent Culture Newsletter, and I am Louis. I don't know if you've noticed, but me and Annabel are tag-teaming this newsletter on a week-by-week basis, and this week, the see-saw has touched down on my side. (I may be mixing my metaphors there a smidge.) I've had a pretty nice week personally! I went to see a production of Our Town with Michael Sheen, the inaugural show for his new Welsh National Theatre company. Given it's nearly nine decades old, Thornton Wilder's play still holds up incredibly well. It's charming and thoughtful and profound. And it's made me think about death all week! Fun.

There are worse things than death, of course. What if your cadaver was brought back as Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Bride"? The reactions to this new Frankenstein riff have been something to behold. Clarisse Loughrey had mixed feelings, but plenty of critics have elsewhere described it as an absolute calamity, with Oscar-winner-in-waiting Jessie Buckley catching a lot of flak. Truthfully, hearing people describe it as one of the worst films they've ever seen has only made me more curious to watch it.

Elsewhere this week, Harry Styles has released a new album, titled Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. Roisin O'Connor thought it was strong, despite the insufferable title. Incidentally, I've recently decided to give up red meat, and try and eat a more pescatarian diet, which I suppose you could describe as "Fish all the time. Chicken, occasionally". (That may sound like I just made that up as an excuse to crowbar in a godawful pun, but it's actually true.)

What else? I really enjoyed Adam White's incredibly funny review of the new UK's Eurovision single, which he describes as a "very heterosexual Eurovision entry, devoid of camp or glitz". What it lacks in camp, it seems to more than make up for in noise.

And I want to flag my interview with the indie musician Snail Mail. (Including it below under "Louis' Must Reads" feels a little too self-aggrandising.) Her new album is great and I thought she came off incredibly well, speaking frankly and humorously about her own troubles.

More good things to read below, including this week's Saturday Interview, which is with the outspoken (and delightful) Doon Mackichan.

Until next time,

"Lily Allen's West End Girl is a ferociously candid account of the ruptures and revelations leading to the collapse of a marriage. It is her big comeback, her renaissance, and it has been met with widespread acclaim – praised for its storytelling and Allen's trademark candour. On Monday night, Allen performed it in full at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, the opening show of a tour of UK theatres and her first proper live gig in seven years. It feels like an unconventional venue for a pop star, but what lies ahead is more like a one-woman play. Read more...

– Blue Kirkhope

Kazuo Ishiguro's novels are simple and unadorned – no wonder they're easy to turn into films

Flashy novelists like Martin Amis can never seem to be done right on screen. So perhaps it's the restrained prose of Ishiguro – the writer behind 'The Remains of the Day', 'Never Let Me Go' and 'A Pale View of Hills' – that makes his work so filmable, writes Xan Brooks

Doon Mackichan

'If I hadn't fought that battle, you would have seen me naked on an ITV drama'

Friends is officially coming back to UK streaming

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