Latest news with #TheStranger
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Netflix thriller leaves viewers 'gripped' with retelling of true story
Directed by Thomas M. Wright, The Stranger is a psychological crime thriller that is inspired by the real-life investigation of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe Penned and helmed by Thomas M. Wright, the 2022 psychological crime thriller 'The Stranger' draws its inspiration from Kate Kyriacou's factual tome 'The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe's Killer'. Reflecting on the heart-wrenching murder case of 13 year old Daniel Morcombe, the film casts a light on the intricate investigation of a child's kidnapping. It follows undercover detective Mark Frame (portrayed by Joel Edgerton) as he embarks on a covert mission to befriend Henry Teague (played by Sean Harris), the main suspect in the case. 'The Stranger' made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 within the Un Certain Regard category, subsequently enjoying a select cinema release across Australia. Later that year, it garnered international attention with its launch on Netflix for worldwide streaming. Boasting an impressive 92 per cent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, 'The Stranger' was met with widespread acclaim. One critic hailed it as "a standout, a high-octane look into the pursuit of a criminal – a compelling and measured film that delivers," while another described it as "Taut and effective." In July 2022, amidst concerns over the use of their son's tragedy for promotional gains, Daniel's parents 'demanded' that the filmmakers stop using their late son's name in marketing efforts, reports the Mirror US. The producers of The Stranger issued a press release regarding the movie's portrayal: "The Stranger is a fictionalised account of the undercover police operation that resulted in a successful murder prosecution. "With the deepest regard for the family involved, we've omitted any mention of the victim's name from our film, and it contains no representation of the murder's particulars. Nor does it portray the family in any form or fashion. "The focus instead lies on the unheralded police professionals whose years of service, not to mention their mental and physical well-being, were dedicated to cracking this case alongside others of a similar nature. We had initially reached out to the victim's family during the film's early stages to inform them of the project; however, they opted not to participate – a choice which we continue to honour." Critics have found favour with the film, one noting: "The Stranger offers strong, subtle performances from its leads, and a freshly vital approach to familiar material." Praise has also flowed for the director, as one review extols: "Wright artfully directs his film with the kind of precision that'll keep you hanging on to every shot." Audience reactions have been equally enthusiastic, with one viewer declaring: "Brilliant, just brilliant. Edgy, disturbing, paced, enough without too much being said... do yourself a favour. Plug in and shake yourself." Another said: "Stunning film. No other film in a long time had me as gripped and absorbed as this, even more so on the second watch. Truly visceral, but there's no denying you need to steel yourself for it. "I particularly enjoyed the score, and the varying blends of tension and mood drifting throughout. Superb lead performances and a great example of a low budget/big impact production."
Eater
12-06-2025
- General
- Eater
I Went on a Quest to Find the Best Seattle Dog Outside T-Mobile Park
As far as regional hot dogs go, the Seattle dog is a weird one. Chicago has dogs 'dragged through the garden' with all sorts of fixings. D.C. has its chili-covered half-smokes. Seattle chose a bizarre flourish of delicious whimsy. Though its origins are contested, the first documented mention of the city's namesake glizzy can be traced to The Stranger in 1999, when Traci Vogel reviewed the stand outside SoDo's the Showbox, writing, 'They make something which, when I first heard it described, sounded repulsive, but turned out to be sublime (and nothing endears me more to food than this turn of events): the cream cheese hot dog. This hot dog, nicely cooked, appears in a crispy bun smeared with cream cheese.' These days, hot dog stands in Seattle are almost required to come equipped with cream cheese, though it's the pairing with caramelized, slightly crunchy onions that make the flavor special. You'll find some of the best options during Mariners homestands, when seemingly endless Seattle dog purveyors crowd the neighborhood where the delicacy was invented. On game days, stands equipped with cream cheese start from Occidental Avenue on the west side of Lumen Field and extend all the way to Showbox SoDo. It can be hard to choose from the many vendors vying for your attention, so we tried all eight Seattle dogs available before a recent Mariners game to find what separates a quality dog from the rest of the pack. (For the sake of consistency, all dogs were eaten with cream cheese and onions only, without additional toppings. All stands have more toppings available.) The best tasting dog can be found at the blue tent of SoDo Grill. The default option is a massive Polish dog that's saltier, pepperier, and richer in flavor than the competition. The meats are steamed before they're grilled, and they're given ample time to develop texture through char. The business is busy — the secret is evidently out about the quality here — but a well-staffed tent ensures minimal wait times. Plus, there's a ludicrous array of toppings available, and it's one of the cheaper dogs at only $7. Al Griffin, owner of Al's Gourmet Sausage, has carried cream cheese without fail since 1994, when a sloshed patron outside the Bohemian Cafe in Pioneer Square came equipped with their own. 'He had it wrapped in aluminum foil,' says Griffin. 'I swear I stared at him for 10 minutes.' While other stands serve slippery onions with little pizazz or color, the onions at Al's are the kind you smell before you see. Deeply golden brown, with a rich, almost buttery flavor, they're the best on the block. Al's also has great reggae music, infectious vibes, and a generous hand with the cream cheese. There are two Al's in the Lumen Field row; be sure to visit the larger stand closer to the stadium to be served by Griffin himself. A small one-person stand located right outside SoDo Showbox, Monster Dogs distinguishes itself with thin, lightly crisped, caramelized onions and butterflied dogs. Slicing the meat may upset some purists, but ultimately it allows for more texture during grilling, and the shape functions as a mini-trough to more safely apply precarious toppings such as jalapeños or relish. Additionally, a butterfly cut avoids any risk of a disappointing, lightly cooked, waterlogged dog. At Seattle Sausage, onions marinated in barbeque sauce add a welcome distinction from the rest of the stands. The line moves quickly and the employees are friendly. You'll know Hot Dogs Sinaloa, on the corner of Edgar Martinez Drive and First Avenue (across the street from King 5), by the small depiction of Jesus on the front of the stand. While the flavor on the dog is fairly standard, its bacon wrapping and accompaniment of bell pepper, jalapeños, and mayo transform this offering into a sort of Tijuana/Seattle dog hybrid (albeit without as many toppings). This spot, as well as the stands on the corner of Royal Brougham near the left field gate, often change out frequently, but if you're on the lookout for a bacon-wrapped Seattle dog, you'll likely find one at these locations. See More:
Forbes
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Billy Joel's Albums Surge Back To The Charts Following His Major Announcement
Billy Joel's albums The Hits and The Stranger reenter the Billboard 200 after the piano player ... More canceled all upcoming shows following his diagnosis. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 09: Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Billy Joel has been a major touring force for many years, which seems to have appeased many longtime lovers of his work, as he disappointingly no longer releases music as frequently as he once did. Sadly, the superstar is stepping away from all scheduled performances, which have been canceled for the foreseeable future. This sweeping move follows a May announcement revealing that he has been diagnosed with a condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus, which can affect everything from vision and hearing to balance, making it unsafe for him to perform live. Fans of Joel are understandably disappointed they won't be seeing him play anytime soon, but they don't seem to be complaining. Instead, they're showing their love by returning to his music. Just days ago, Joel didn't appear on any Billboard rankings, but following the announcement of his health condition, several of his projects have experienced a resurgence, and they bring him back to the most important albums tally in the United States. Leading the comeback is The Hits, a compilation of Joel's most beloved tunes. The appropriately-titled release returns to the Billboard 200 at No. 178. According to Luminate, the collection moved just under 8,900 equivalent album units in the latest tracking frame. Fewer than 10 spots behind The Hits comes one of Joel's classic studio efforts, The Stranger, which reenters the Billboard 200 at No. 187. The project moved 8,700 equivalent units, with nearly 800 of those coming from pure purchases. Streaming activity appears to have largely made up the rest. Between the two, The Stranger stands out as the greater success on the Billboard 200. It originally peaked at No. 2 and has now spent 139 frames on the list. The album ranks as Joel's second-longest-charting title, behind only The Essential Billy Joel, which — somewhat surprisingly — does not return to the ranking this time around. The Hits, meanwhile, has spent just over half a year on the Billboard 200 since debuting in 2011. The project narrowly managed to become a top 40 success on the competitive list, as it once peaked at No. 34.
News18
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Tom Hanks Shares His Love For Billy Joel At Tribeca Film Fest Premiere Of Joel's Documentary
Tom Hanks attended the opening night of the documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival on June 4. Hanks, who also serves as an executive producer of the film, opened up about his sheer admiration for the music icon. 'I was a huge fan as soon as I saw the album cover of The Stranger,' he said. Watch the video for his full statement. bollywood news | entertainment news live | latest bollywood news | bollywood | news18 | n18oc_moviesLiked the video? Please press the thumbs up icon and leave a comment. Subscribe to Showsha YouTube channel and never miss a video: Showsha on Instagram: Showsha on Facebook: Showsha on X: Showsha on Snapchat: entertainment and lifestyle news and updates on:
The Age
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
This is fine: An existential guide to Australian politics
Albert Camus would have been a lousy goalkeeper. Think about it. The French-Algerian standing between the posts, his head in the clouds. Reports say the writer excelled for Algiers Racing Uni's First XI, but I have my doubts. Imagine relying on Albert as your last line of defence, the bloke spouting stuff like, 'The only real progress lies in learning to be wrong all alone'. Or: 'An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself'. Wake up, Albie! The ball is coming! Tuberculosis intervened, sadly, the goalie trading gloves for philosophy, plus those olive-green novels – The Stranger, The Fall – that ask the big questions. Each title has been a staple of high school and Existentialism 101. Not that Camus used the term. Indeed he rejected the e-word, preferring instead to forge fables around the incomprehensibility of existence. As that's the central plank, that irksome query about why we're here, and what we should do about it. 'Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is,' as Camus said. Which makes you wonder what we're meant to be. Precisely the conundrum heard in Canberra this month. Is it any wonder? How can a power bloc of two parties implode into a rabble, losing seats like musical chairs, going from Coalition to Noalition? Cartoonist Cathy Wilcox depicted a bisected couch, one parent per half, both insisting 'Mummy and Daddy still love you very much'. Question being, are Mama Ley and Papa Littleproud going through a break-up, or merely a break? Either way, whether this new reunion lasts, the existentialism burns deep, fanned by those pesky Camus questions. 'I can't go on, I'll go on,' as Samuel Beckett said, a handy left-hand opener for Trinity College, and another writer besotted by existentialism. Macquarie Dictionary defines the ideology as 'a group of doctrines – some theistic, some atheistic – deriving from Kierkegaard, which stress the importance of existence, and of the freedom and responsibility of the finite mind.' Existential first emerged about 1693 as an adjective for existence. A century on, Soren Kierkegaard co-opted the ism to refute the divine logic that Georg Hegel fancied, where the rational is actual, and vice versa. Lort, thought Soren: Danish for bullshit. In his milestone work Either/Or, the philosopher writes, 'There are two possible situations – one can either do this or do that. My honest opinion, and my friendly advice is this: do it, or do not do it. You will regret both.' Loading Remind you of anyone – federally, I mean? Hence the e-word's rise. Existential now applies to politics, the arts, deconstruction cuisine, eco-anxiety, and anywhere you look. Last year Flinders University revealed how doomscrolling – surfing online between Gaza and La Nina – breeds existentialism. Reza Shebahang, the study's lead, claimed the custom has 'dire consequences on our mental health, leaving us feeling stress, anxiety, despair and questioning the meaning of life'. Smart machines and AI inroads only deepen the abyss. Pushed to existential extremes, we feel like adjuncts to this thing called life. Avatars. Daydreamers in the goalmouth. Or characters living life forwards so that we might understand what we're doing in hindsight, to paraphrase Kierkegaard. If it's any comfort to party leaders, doomscrollers and general AI alarmists, remember that 'the key to being happy isn't a search for meaning. It's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you'll be dead'. Camus? Beckett? Try Mr Peanutbutter, the easygoing labrador from BoJack Horseman.
