All posts tagged: Talents

Erupcja review: Drama gives taste of Charli xcx’s acting talents

Erupcja review: Drama gives taste of Charli xcx’s acting talents

Published by Daniella Wilson

A star rating of 3 out of 5. Charli xcx has been enjoying her post-Brat moment these past months. Cinemagoers have already been treated to a glimpse of the singer in Julia Jackman’s singular fairytale 100 Nights of Hero. She played herself in mock-doc The Moment and – premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival – appeared in two more indies The Gallerist and I Want Your Sex. Now she takes centre stage in Pete Ohs’s sly Erupcja, a low-fi 71-minute Gen Z romantic drama that shows a tantalising taste of what she’s capable of. Titled after the Polish word for ‘eruption’, the film begins as Bethany (Charli xcx) arrives back in Warsaw with her new(ish) boyfriend, Rob (Will Madden), who is secretly planning to propose. They’re on a city break, looking for their Airbnb, but Bethany clearly has other things on her mind. No sooner have they finished lugging their cases up to their apartment than Bethany is off for a wander, reacquainting herself with the Polish capital that holds a lot of memories …

Canal+ Will Blacklist Talents Who Oppose Right-Wing Billionaire Owner

Canal+ Will Blacklist Talents Who Oppose Right-Wing Billionaire Owner

Published by Daniella Wilson

The head of Canal+, France’s largest film producer, has said the studio will no longer work with hundreds of cinema professionals, who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the studio’s rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré. More than 600 French industry figures, including actors Juliette Binoche, Adèle Haenel and Swann Arlaud, and directors Sepideh Farsi and Arthur Harari, signed the open letter, published earlier this week, calling out Bolloré’s right-wing politics and his expanding control over the French film industry. “Leaving French cinema in the hands of a far-right owner,” the letter reads, risked “not only the standardisation of films, but a fascist takeover of the collective imagination.” Through his media company Vivendi, Bolloré already owns Canal+, France’s largest pay-TV company, and its subsidiary Studiocanal, Europe’s leading film production company. Bolloré’s media empire includes CNews, a popular French news channel that figures on the left have attacked for allegedly giving a platform to far-right voices. The open letter was sparked by Bolloré’s plans to take full control of UGC, France’s third-largest cinema chain, …

People Who Can Read Moods, Energy, And Vibes Usually Have 11 More Rare Talents

People Who Can Read Moods, Energy, And Vibes Usually Have 11 More Rare Talents

Published by Jenni Sidey

Many people who have developed social awareness over their lives, whether from trauma or as a side effect of growing emotional intelligence, can read the energy of a room before they speak to anyone. It’s a natural kind of intuition that often serves in their best interests, connecting with people and protecting their peace. From noticing someone with great, welcoming energy when they’re anxious to seeing the vibes shift negatively when one person enters the room, they’re observant and aware. However, people who can read moods, energy, and vibes usually have more rare talents that others tend to miss. People who can read moods, energy, and vibes usually have 11 more rare talents 1. They have an accurate intuition Many people who can rely on their gut instincts and intuition to live their lives steer clear of overly rigid thinking because their inner voice provides all the wisdom they need. Especially when they practice building trust with themselves and regularly tap into their intuition with meditation, mindfulness, and reflection, they’re no stranger to trusting their …

Let Kids Be Kids? The Ethics of Maximizing Children’s Talents

Let Kids Be Kids? The Ethics of Maximizing Children’s Talents

Published by Jenni Sidey

Sam is fourteen years old. He spends hardly any time with friends or family. Every day, before or after school, or both, and every weekend, he trains and competes in matches. He rarely goes to social events; he doesn’t even walk home from school with friends. He keeps up with his schoolwork, but he has little interest in it, and his academic performance is below average. Instead, he dreams of being a footballer. “Sam” could be any one of thousands upon thousands of children who aspire, and often are pushed, to achieve success as professional athletes. Their lives, and often the lives of their parent(s), revolve almost entirely around this goal. It is standard for these children to practice for sixteen or more hours a week, with many hitting the mid-to-high twenties. A notable recent trend is that this is happening at an earlier age. A standard Saturday for a pair of seven-year-old twins involves playing three ice hockey games and training for two hours at four different ice rinks. At a prestigious under-twelve ice …

Is Worry About Success Undermining Your Talents and Skills?

Is Worry About Success Undermining Your Talents and Skills?

Published by Jenni Sidey

As we begin the year 2026, New Year’s resolutions abound, often centering on greater career success. For those grappling with this topic, you’ll find a relevant but little-known key concept in Maslow’s work: the Jonah Complex. His colleague, historian Frank Manuel at Brandeis University, formulated the initial notion, which Maslow found vital for understanding personal achievement—and its delay or absence. As he wrote late in life, “We have, all of us, an impulse to improve ourselves…toward self-actualization, or whatever term you like. Granted this, what holds us up? What blocks us?” The question is not only pertinent to New Year’s resolutions, but to all our goals, plans, and attempts at accomplishment. Maslow saw the biblical Book of Jonah as providing an answer. It related how the prophet Jonah was tasked with a difficult divine mission to perform. Fearful of failure, he attempted to flee from it. While doing so, Jonah was thrown overboard from a storm-tossed ship and swallowed by a huge fish. Swathed unharmed in its belly, Jonah finally accepted his mission and was …

Chris Cornell’s talents transcend the grunge genre he helped create

Chris Cornell’s talents transcend the grunge genre he helped create

Published by Sam Flores

Earlier this year, Chris Cornell released a new solo single, “The Promise,” which doubles as the theme song to the new Christian Bale movie of the same name. Although orchestras curl up around the song’s main acoustic guitar melody, Cornell’s singing takes center stage. His voice, weathered like aged leather but not raspy or faltering, defies categorization: Cornell exhibits the confidence of a pop balladeer, the vulnerability of a folk singer and the weariness of a rock ‘n’ roll icon who’s seen it all. “The Promise” marked the latest sonic iteration for Cornell, who committed suicide after Soundgarden’s Wednesday night show in Detroit. But this soundtrack song was hardly a surprising departure. Cornell lived what felt like a million musical lifetimes in his 30-plus-year career because he possessed the kind of versatile voice that gave him musical options outside hard rock. “My history of singing has always probably been closer to a David Bowie approach than, for example, an AC/DC approach,” Cornell told Spin in 2014. “I never thought of myself as being the singer that wanted …