TVIf you only watch one, make it …The Lowdown
Disney+
Summed up in a sentence Ethan Hawke stars in this very funny but profound drama from Reservation Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo.
What our reviewer said “A poignant and surprisingly personal story, about purpose and ageing and noble failure; about the timeless truth that the journey is more important than the destination. ” Phil Harrison
Further reading Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater on power, combovers and Blue Moon
Pick of the restTea With Judi Dench
Now
Char lady … Judi Dench. Photograph: Sky UK
Summed up in a sentence The acting great invites Sir Kenneth Branagh over for a cuppa, and proves a surprisingly good interviewer – and owner of a foul-mouthed parrot.
What our reviewer said “The section on Dench’s late husband, Michael Williams, in particular, is the highlight here. Her house is full of trinkets of the pair of them, and when Branagh pulls out a tablet to show her a clip of Williams in Henry V, she’s moved to silence by the sight of him. If there’s a lovelier, more touching moment on television this month, I’ll be staggered.” Stuart Heritage
The Great Christmas Bake Off
Channel 4
Summed up in a sentence The Peep Show cast (minus Robert Webb) reunite for a festive special that is oddly soothing to watch.
What our reviewer said “It is lovely to see the old gang again: this time in the spotlessly clean environs of the Bake Off tent instead of a shabby Croydon flat painted various shades of B&Q’s Miasmic Despair range, for The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading Did Egg get a Michelin star? Did Super Hans make it to Macedonia? The TV shows that most need a comeback
Amandaland Christmas special
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence It’s a mini Ab Fab reunion for this festive special, as the cast – including Joanna Lumley – decamp for a Christmas at the home of Aunt Joan (AKA Jennifer Saunders).
What our reviewer said “It has been around for less than a year, yet the wildly popular Motherland spin-off feels as if it has been with us for ever, so timeless are the characters.” Sarah Dempster
You may have missed …The Ridge
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence A bitterly funny, achingly realistic thriller about an anaesthetist who flies to New Zealand for the wedding of her younger sister, only to find her dead.
What our reviewer said “The inherent strangeness and wild beauty of the New Zealand setting add a dash of menace to every scene, a sense that anything might be possible if you take your eye off someone or something for a moment too long.” Lucy Mangan
FilmIf you only watch one, make it …Marty Supreme
In cinemas now
Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme. Photograph: A24
Summed up in a sentence Timothée Chalamet stars as an on-the-make hustler trying to rise up the table tennis rankings in the early 1950s in an anxiety-inducing tale directed by Josh Safdie.
What our reviewer said “It’s a marathon sprint of gonzo calamities and uproar, a sociopath-screwball nightmare like something by Mel Brooks – only in place of gags, there are detonations of bad taste, cinephile allusions, alpha cameos, frantic deal-making, racism and antisemitism, sentimental yearning and erotic adventures.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading Josh Safdie on Marty Supreme, latent Jewish anxiety and why men are lost
Pick of the restSentimental Value
In cinemas now
Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning in Sentimental Value. Photograph: MUBI/PA
Summed up in a sentence Joachim Trier’s entertaining drama sees Norwegian auteur-on-the-slide Stellan Skarsgård putting his showbiz family through the wringer in the service of his fading career.
What our reviewer said “An uproarious but bittersweet black comedy of the movie world and showbusiness and the emotional vampirism and ruthlessness it involves, with a touch of All About Eve perhaps – made worse when you are working with members of your own family.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading Sentimental Value’s Renate Reinsve on vomit-inducing reviews and 19-minute standing ovations
Bowie: The Final Act
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Documentary covering the late musical hero’s last couple of decades, in which he bounced from mediocrity to national treasure to creative resurgence.
What our reviewer said “It would be wrong to call it going out on a high, under the circumstances, but it’s heartening that Bowie could craft such a poignant, defiant, dignified exit.” Steve Rose
Further reading I thought I was a lesbian. David Bowie made me realise the truth
The Devil’s Backbone
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Rerelease of 2001 gothic gem from Guillermo del Toro, a part-horror, part-fairytale set in a haunted orphanage, executed with trademark technical flair and a good deal of empathy.
What our reviewer said “The political and the supernatural come together beautifully (and violently), and the unsentimental portrayal of childhood is refreshing, with terrific performances from the boy actors.” Steve Rose
Now streamingLight Needs
Streaming on True Story
Another green world … Light Needs. Photograph: True Story
Summed up in a sentence Meditation on plants and their people in which houseplants appear to make conversation and yearn for lost friends in a witty yet luminous film.
What our reviewer said “This experimental documentary by Jesse McLean about houseplants inspired me to go around my house and water all my vegetal housemates and treat the mealybug infections afflicting the jade plants in my office. Now I feel better for it in every way, while also basking in the afterglow of this luminous piece of film-making that is cinematic fertiliser for thought.” Leslie Felperin
BooksIf you only read one, make it …Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert
Reviewed by Dorian Lynskey
Summed up in a sentence A globe-spanning history of capitalism’s first thousand years.
What our reviewer said “Beckert enjoys shredding capitalism’s self-flattering myths. He calls the notion of the free market ‘nothing more than a figment of scholars’ and ideologues’ imaginations’.”
Pick of the restPalaver by Bryan Washington
Reviewed by Michael Donkor
Summed up in a sentence An estranged mother and son come to terms with each other in Tokyo.
What our reviewer said “All the staples of Washington’s style are on show: the mumblecore prose, the interest in Asian culture, messy gay bars, a chosen family of queer sidekicks, frank presentations of sex and sexuality.”
Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World by John Blair
Reviewed by Steven Poole
Summed up in a sentence A deep dive into the world of the undead.
What our reviewer said “The author, a historian and archeologist, argues that belief in the unquiet dead is found in many cultures and periods, where it can lay dormant for centuries before erupting.”
Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen
Reviewed by Chelsea Leu
Summed up in a sentence The American novelist uses fiction to explore her Chinese mother’s life and their difficult relationship.
What our reviewer said “Just as her mother was berated as a girl for her curiosity and spirit, so she berated Jen with the same cutting refrains: ‘Bad bad girl!’ and ‘No one will ever marry you’.”
You may have missed …Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn
Reviewed by Chris Power
Summed up in a sentence A brilliant debut short story collection confronting Northern Ireland’s bloody past.
What our reviewer said “Ní Chuinn’s stories are unpredictable and memorable … they describe entanglements that cannot be ignored or consigned to history.”
Albums
For the year’s outstanding releases, explore the Guardian’s best of 2025 music coverage, including the best rock and pop, jazz, folk, classical, experimental and global releases, plus the five-star albums we missed this year