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New Statesman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
A samurai lost in the wilderness
The Scottish director John Maclean's austere second feature film opens halfway through the story, with its heroine, Tornado (played by the Japanese singer Kōki), trying to save herself from a group of hideously threatening men. The year is 1790 and the setting somewhere in the British Isles; the group chasing her is following the orders of head honcho Sugar (an enjoyably dead-eyed Tim Roth). We don't know yet why these ne'er-do-wells are after Tornado, but they obviously mean business. As they follow her, Sugar casually slits the throat of one of his own underlings; even when Tornado seeks refuge in a beautiful manor house, her chances of survival don't look great. The film has been described as a samurai western – Maclean's debut, the much-admired Slow West, was set in 19th-century Colorado – and it does feel like it's been made by someone who knows their way around Akira Kurosawa's collected works. But it's also a gory revenge thriller in which considerable amounts of blood end up darkening the wind-beaten heath, and a period drama that says audaciously little about the period or locations it's set in (much of it was in fact shot in the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh). Tornado, we soon learn, is being pursued by the men, who are thieves, because she's nicked their stuff. Specifically, their gold. They've stolen two sacks' worth of coins from a church. First the gold was taken from the thieves by a young urchin (Nathan Malone), then Tornado took the gold from him and hid it beneath a tree. What she hopes to achieve with the loot long-term the audience is never told – no one does anything so gauche as explain themselves in this film – but she seems to want to strike out from her father, Fujin (Takehiro Hira), who runs a travelling puppet show. Fujin is also a samurai of sorts, who has taught Tornado how to wield a sword with deadly skill. When they aren't practising sword-swishing, or putting on their quaint little show for entranced and grubby locals, Fujin gives his daughter life advice in weighty proclamations. She finds them, and him, quite annoying. 'I hate you,' she tells him, before he is killed by one of Sugar's men. The film looks and sounds like a better film than it is. Beautifully shot by Robbie Ryan (the director of photography on Poor Things) in a wilderness that feels forsaken, it has the tawny look of a Toast ad campaign. The costumes, too, are gorgeous, if a little distracting: Tornado troops around in an enviable poncho-type outfit and yeti boots, and Sugar's men – including Jack Lowden as his taciturn son, Little Sugar – sport rugged sweaters and overcoats. The score (by Jed Kurzel, who also wrote the soundtrack for Slow West) is angular and appropriately melodramatic, and the production design, by Elizabeth El-Kadhi, is charming. Among the places Tornado seeks refuge is a circus, and every frame of this sequence reveals inventive attention to detail, from the delicate lace left drying in the open air to the circus troupe's rickety carriages. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Even so, moments of beauty aren't enough to make a film worth seeing, and there is something lacking here. Characters speak ponderously and act incomprehensibly. Though Tornado looks deeply cool, with her long black hair flicking in the biting wind, you never particularly care about her. Lowden and Roth acquit themselves perfectly in their roles, but they're not given that much to do. As top baddie, Roth spends his time looking disappointed with the life he's condemned himself to, while Lowden mainly strides through long grasses and remains impassive when Sugar punches him. It's not unusual for films that present themselves as avant-garde – as Tornado does in its trailer – not to have all that much to say. Depths are promised but never delivered; characters are well acted, but the words they're saying are banal. Viewers who go to the cinema to see such films may feel virtuous for doing so, like they're engaging with high culture, but they are unlikely to emerge moved or amused or changed in any way. It's not bad cinema, per se, just rather pointless. 'Tornado' is in cinemas now [See also: Bruce Springsteen faces the end of America] Related
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Coloradans are far from America's best tippers
Coloradans tip above the national average, but are nowhere near the country's best. Why it matters: Tipping is crucial for many Colorado workers, and gratuities make up roughly a quarter of restaurant staff's income, per data from payment company Square. By the numbers: Colorado diners tip 19.4%, slightly above the 18.8% national average, per new data from the restaurant software management company Toast. State of play: Average nationwide tips at full-service restaurants rose from 19.3% in Q4 2024 to 19.4% in the first quarter of this year, per Toast's latest restaurant trends report. Caveat: That's based on data from restaurants that use Toast; cash tips aren't included.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TOST Stock Rises 19% in Three Months: Time to Hold or Make an Exit?
Toast, Inc. TOST shares have gained 19.2% in the past three months, outperforming the Internet Software market and the Zacks Computer & Technology sector's growth of 12.5% and 9.7%, respectively. The S&P 500 Composite has returned 5.3% over the same time frame. TOST is one of the leading providers of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and hardware solutions focused on the restaurant market. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research TOST declined 2.4% last day and closed the session at $41.54, close to its 52-week high of $45.56. While the recent momentum may seem encouraging, let's take a closer look at the company's pros and cons to ascertain whether investors hold the stock or exit the investment. Heightened uncertainty prevailing over the macro environment amid escalating trade war, with tariff troubles raising fears of increased costs and dampening consumer purchasing power, remains a concern. Higher tariffs can lead to a reduction in profit for the average independent restaurant operator. Management highlighted that it was closely monitoring the macro environment and emphasized restaurants' ability to navigate macro challenges. Despite Toast's confidence, the restaurant industry is still highly sensitive to consumer spending, labor inflation and supply chain volatility. A consumer downturn or cost pressures could reduce restaurant spend on technology, thereby impacting TOST's performance. Toast, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Toast, Inc. Quote Decline in Gross Payment Volume or GPV per location is another problem, as it implies lower average transaction volumes. TOST's overall GPV surged 22% year over year to $42 billion in the first quarter, but GPV per location declined 3% year over year. TOST added that it expects GPV per location to remain down in a similar range in the current quarter. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Higher costs can weigh on profitability. In the last reported quarter, operating expenses, excluding bad debt and credit-related expenses, increased 12%. Sales & marketing expenses grew 25% year over year due to higher headcount and brand marketing investments across core, retail and international segments. Higher costs can prove a drag on margins, especially if revenue growth does not keep pace. Although Toast emphasized progress in the international, retail and enterprise verticals, the investment in these nascent areas could take time to scale and may drag on margins in the near term if costs outpace revenue contribution. TOST needs to watch out for the competitive pressure from various small and big players who are also vying for a larger share of this lucrative market. Block XYZ, Oracle ORCL, and Lightspeed LSPD compete in varying degrees with Toast, though each company approaches the market differently. Tech behemoth Oracle offers a wide range of products, including POS systems like Oracle Retail Xstore and Oracle MICROS Simphony POS. MICROS Simphony targets large restaurant chains, hotels, casinos, and resorts. Lightspeed provides a one-stop commerce platform for merchants and serves retail, hospitality and golf businesses. It offers a cloud solution that transforms and combines online and physical operations, multichannel sales and aids in expansion to new locations. It also facilitates global payments, financing and connection to supplier networks. Block, formerly known as Square, offers financial and marketing services through its comprehensive commerce ecosystem that helps sellers to start, run and grow their businesses. Block's Square for Restaurants POS platform competes directly with TOST's offerings. TOST stock is also not so cheap, as its Value Style Score of F suggests a stretched valuation at this moment. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research TOST is quite expensive, with the stock trading at a premium with a price/book multiple of 12.35X compared with the industry's 6.26X. Toast faces several challenges, like an uncertain macro environment, competitive threats and stretched valuation. These concerns suggest that the recent rally over the past three months provides a strategic opportunity to exit before macroeconomic headwinds or company-specific issues wipe out returns. With a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), investors would be better off if they offloaded this stock from their portfolios. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (LSPD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Toast, Inc. (TOST) : Free Stock Analysis Report Block, Inc. (XYZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Michigan diners tip more than average
Michiganders tip a little more than average, new data shows. Why it matters: Tipping is an essential aspect of American commerce that has developed its own culture around personal habits and opinions. Many restaurant workers rely on tips to make ends meet. By the numbers: Michigan diners leave 20% on average, more than the national average of 18.8%, per Toast's latest restaurant trends report. Zoom out: Delaware, West Virginia and New Hampshire are home to America's best tippers, with diners leaving nearly 21% or better on average. At the other end are California and Washington state, where average tips run under 18%. The intrigue: At full-service restaurants, average nationwide tips rose from 19.3% in Q4 2024 to 19.4% in Q1 2025.
Axios
7 days ago
- Business
- Axios
State of tipping in Texas
Texans aren't the worst tippers in the country — but we're not far off. State of play: Statewide tips averaged 18.7% in the first quarter of this year, per Toast's latest restaurant trends report. That's not as bad as in Washington (17.8%) and California (17.3%). The best tippers are in Delaware, at 22.1%. The big picture: Average nationwide tips at full-service restaurants stood at 19.4% in the first quarter of 2025, according to Toast. "This is down from a pandemic high of 19.9%, but closer to what Toast observed in 2018 and 2019," per the report. How it works: That's based on data from restaurants using Toast; cash tips aren't included. 📬 Tell us: As requests for tips become more common, we want to know where you tip and what for — is a great latte, or excellent service at the counter, worth 15% or 20%?
