Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, with takings up 53% thanks to 2 films. #1 is Paddington in Peru but the third in the series suffers from inane dialogue, an obvious plot and little basis in reality. James was no more impressed by #2 Red One with Dwayne Johnson in a movie about Father Christmas being kidnapped. It's nonsensical, silly and cynical. Simon caught Steve McQueen's Blitz, an impressive recreation of life on the home front during nightly bombings, starring Saoirse Ronan, which he recommends. And James caught up with Demi Moore in The Substance, an astonishly original and very stylish horror film about an actress's attempt to stay young.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Warners are making driveable Batmobiles, says Steve Caplin, though they aren't street legal. In California, there's a beautifully-designed solar-powered car. A picture painted by a robot has just sold at auction for over $1m. A Mattel doll from the Wicked movie had an unfortunate mistake on the packaging. A student has invented a repairable kettle. There's a crowdfunded thermal-imaging dashcam available now. A new retro eBike comes with a sidecar. And in Kenya, they're using drones to keep track of zebras, using their stripes as barcodes.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that the emphatic victory of Donald Trump will have huge consequences for the US and the world geopolitically. He will be helped by having done the job before, will go for energy dominance, try to slim the federal government, impose tariffs, cut illegal immigration and be radical on culture too. What might it mean for the country's relationship with the UK, whose government is going in a very different direction? He also discusses why he felt, from the moment she entered Parliament, that Kemi Badenoch was a fascinating politician and why a British-African leader of a major party is to be celebrated. But can she unite her party and make the Tories electorally significant again?
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson says box office is up 12%, with Heretic at #3 a horror film starring Hugh Grant. While the first half is a blast in the vein of Sleuth, it then descends into full-out nasty horror. Although #6 Anora, starring Mike Madison, won the Palme D'Or, and has a great central performance, James was disappointed, perhaps because expectations were so high. He found #10 Clint Eastwood's 40th film as director, Juror #2, with Nicholas Hoult, totally gripping. It's a great story with multi-layered characters. James also celebrated a 75th anniversary restoration of The Third Man, one of the UK's greatest movies. The Blu-Ray and 4K disc of this riveting noir classic is also packed with great extras.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin dives into the world of gadgets. Rolls-Royce have produced a one-off car to celebrate 60 years of Goldfinger. An Australian app can detect if milk is off, while mathematicians there have proved that monkeys couldn't write the works of Shakespeare. The biggest Dutch publisher is using AI to translate books into English. The UK has the 49th worst mobile internet speed, behind Azerbaijan and Kosovo. If you're caught short, there's now an inflatable toilet. And Steve explains why your air fryer might be spying for China.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell explains that US markets are strong in the wake of Trump's victory from a sense of relief that Harris didn't win. Trump wants to boost American growth, perhaps using tariffs, while at the same time wanting a weaker dollar. As the world's reserve currency, the strength of the dollar is of massive important. Russ discusses the Triffin Dilemma, which explains why the world needs a weak dollar and a continuing US trade deficit. Gold, he says, weaker on the stronger dollar, will be the ultimate tell.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Neil Shah of Edison Group looks at Rachel Reeves' Budget. In advance, many peole were withdrawing money from investments but, although the gilts market has seen yields rise, there's a general air of relief that it isn't more draconian. He feels things should normalise in the coming weeks and that, with the UK still forecast to grow, it's a good investment climate. Low-margin, high-workforce sectors like hospitality and retail might suffer but with declining interest rates, real estate and housebuilders could benefit, as could companies associated with increased government spending in health, social care and education.
Guests: Neil Shah
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is up a mere 3% with new #1 Venom: The Last Dance, the third in the franchise with Tom Hardy. Full of British actors, it is dark and violent. The antithesis is #2 The Wild Robot, a delightful animated feature about a robot learning from the animals on an uninhabited island. It's a genuine original and looks terrific. James was moved and entertained. On Sky/Netflix is Woman of the Hour, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick. Although based on a true story about a serial killer on a TV dating show, James found it only mildly diverting. He did recommend, though, that people search out the 2011 version of Jane Eyre online, starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin explains how US scientists have found an impressive way of trapping CO2 while Australian boffins have worked out how to generate electricity from polystyrene. Airbus are to increase internal baggage space on planes by 60%. An AI version of Michael Parkinson will soon be hosting a new chat show. The largest prime number has been discovered. Steve explains how to conquer "Hi Dad" text fraud. There's a clever crowd-funded camera for kids that will project the images. And Russian judges have fined Google $20 decillion, many times the size of the global economy.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian fillets Rachel Reeves' first Budget, with a massive increase in taxes, in large part to be paid by business, particularly through an increase in their National Insurance contributions. While the public sector will be getting considerably more money, it is important for the government to make the state more efficient. It is Mike's view that Reeves will be raising taxes more further down the line. He also looks at the Tory leadership contest but believes the new leader will not only not become PM but won't even be the leader in two years' time. As for the US election, the polls are tight – as always – and if there isn't a clear, outright win, we can expect a protracted and bitter aftermath.
Guests: Mike Indian
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