period

Hong Kong began a five-day mourning period on Saturday, after at least 128 people were killed in fires at a high-rise apartment complex. Officials held a three-minute silence as residents laid flowers near the towers. Authorities say around 200 people are still missing.

Boss Arne Slot says Liverpool must “fight together” after Wednesday’s humiliating 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven at Anfield was the Reds’ ninth loss in 12 games – their worst run in 71 years.

READ MORE: As Liverpool hit ‘new low’ – is Slot’s job at risk?

The film now streaming has been celebrated as one of the best of the year

A film has just been added to Netflix’s extensive library which has already been dubbed a ‘phenomenal’ period drama featuring an actor’s ‘performance of a lifetime’.

Train Dreams is streaming from November 20 on the service and looks to be the latest high profile, must watch title. Like most new releases, subscribers can expect it to be available from 8am on the release day.

Like a number of big releases from the streamer that have come out this year, such as Frankenstein and Ballad of a Small Player, it has enjoyed a limited release in cinemas. Now, it is easier than ever for film fans to watch as it can be streamed from home.

The film is an adaptation of the bestselling novella of the same name written by Denis Johnson. According to the synopsis, the story follows Robert Grainier, whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th century America.

Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys and they build a home together.

However, his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.

The cast includes Star Wars and Black Mass star Joel Edgerton, William H Macy, Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones and Irish actress Kerry Condon.

Following its run in theatres, Train Dreams has managed to earn an impressive 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have lavished it with praise with many suggesting that it is one of the must watch titles of the year and earning it plenty of awards buzz.

One reviewer claimed: “Train Dreams is the most hauntingly beautiful film of the year.” Another added: “Train Dreams is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary films of this year, the type that will stick with you, deep in your mind and heart, long after the credits roll.”

Other reviews have suggested that the film might be considered as one of lead star’s Joel Edgerton’s finest performances of his career. One verdict claimed: “In an age of spectacle and noise, Train Dreams dares to whisper. It invites you to slow down, breathe and notice the spaces between moments. A simply stunning film from start to finish.”

Another review went so far as to declare: “This is one of the great films of the year. In time, it will become one of the best in a decade, then one of the movies that people speak of when asked what inspired them in their life. It is a masterpiece.”

Fans who have gone along to the cinema to see the film on the biggest screen possible before it streams, have shared similar views. Sharing their thoughts online, one person posted: “Phenomenal character study. Simple, yet compelling story. Gorgeously shot.”

Another added: “Beautifully melancholic tale that highlighted so many paradoxical aspects of life in a magnificent way. 10/10 would recommend.”

While a third commented: “An incredibly poignant and artful masterpiece. Joel Edgerton quietly pulls off a performance of a lifetime. Clint Bentley adds another notch in his belt for delivering a moving film that feels like an intimate journey.”

Someone else listed plenty of reasons to watch it as soon as possible. They said: “Such a beautiful film. Absolutely loved the scenery and what a soundtrack, timeless. Joel Edgerton, with his amazing performance and screen presence, really took the audience on a trip with him through each phase of this extraordinary story. Be sure and not to miss this, this is definitely one to remember!”

Train Drams is streaming on Netflix.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The daughter of a Hollywood screenwriter who was imprisoned and blacklisted during the anti-communist Red Scare has decried Florida’s new social studies teaching standards that other critics have warned rehabilitate shameful aspects of the McCarthy era.

“The new Florida standards you write about are appalling,” Mitzi Trumbo said late Thursday in an email to the Associated Press. “History should never be rewritten to match the politics of the day, as history has valuable lessons to teach.”

The standards approved Thursday for middle- and high-school students by the Florida Board of Education include instruction on the use of “‘McCarthyism’ as an insult” and how using the terms “red-baiter and Red Scare” is identified with “slander against anti-communists.”

The standards soften decades of criticism of former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who led a political movement to root out what he labeled communism in government, the civil rights movement and artistic communities in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The public inquisitions, ideological loyalty tests and firings of that period are often viewed as a shameful chapter in U.S. history.

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union fueled concerns in the late 1940s about communist Soviet spies infiltrating American life, including the movies and U.S. government. Many of the targets of McCarthy and the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee were banned from jobs and career opportunities for a decade or more.

One of them, Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the screenplays for classics including “Roman Holiday” and “Spartacus,” used other names or had colleagues take credit for screenplays he wrote in the 1950s because he was on a Hollywood blacklist.

Mitzi Trumbo said she and her two siblings had “some difficult and painful experiences growing up in the 1950s” because of their father’s time in prison and the repercussions of him being on the blacklist.

During the 1940s, Trumbo had been the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood. He was also a member of the Communist Party, supporting unions, equal pay and civil rights.

When Trumbo and nine other members of the film industry were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, they refused to answer questions about their communist affiliations and were found in contempt. Trumbo landed in federal prison for 11 months.

While blacklisted, Trumbo wrote screenplays under a pseudonym or fronted by others, including “Roman Holiday” and “The Brave One,” whose scripts won Academy Awards. It wasn’t until 1960 when Trumbo was able to get public credit for the screenplays “Exodus” and “Spartacus.” This period of his life was recounted in the 2015 film, “Trumbo,” starring actor Bryan Cranston.

Other blacklisted Hollywood figures included actress Lee Grant, singer and actress Lena Horne and actor and director Charlie Chaplin.

Florida’s new teaching benchmarks were prompted by a law signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024 requiring instruction on “the consequences of communism” to prepare students against purported indoctrination in higher education.

“It is our responsibility to make sure future generations can thrive and they learn how to think, not what to think,” Layla Collins, a member of the State Board of Education, said during Thursday’s standards meeting.

The move follows the Republican-controlled Legislature’s designation of Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Day in Florida’s public schools, to include at least 45 minutes of instruction on figures such as Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro.

Under the new standards, Florida teachers should instruct on efforts by “anti-communist politicians,” such as McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and Presidents Truman and Nixon.

Teachers also are instructed to identify “propaganda and defamation” used to “delegitimize” anti-communists.

“Instruction includes using ‘McCarthyism’ as an insult and shorthand for all anti-communism,” the new standards said. “Instruction includes slander against anti-communists, such as red-baiter and Red Scare.”

Trumbo, who exchanged email messages with the Associated Press from her Northern California home, said she didn’t want to be interviewed by telephone or video because she wasn’t comfortable talking about politics, “especially in today’s political climate.”

“I am glad people are speaking out about the actual history of the period and are explaining how careers and lives were destroyed by HUAC and McCarthyism,” she said, “and how dangerous such political repression is to our freedom of speech and to democracy itself.”

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.

Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Ducks 6-3 on Thursday night to end a three-game losing streak.

DeBrincat has 18 goals and 33 points in 20 games against the Ducks.

Moritz Seider and Dylan Larkin each had a goal and an assist, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka scored his second career goal. Michael Rasmussen also scored after being a healthy scratch for Detroit’s 5-1 loss to Chicago on Sunday.

Jonatan Berggren, Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond added two assists apiece.

Seider and DeBrincat scored on power plays, reviving a Detroit unit that had gone one for 20 during its previous five games.

John Gibson and Cam Talbot combined for 25 saves for Detroit. Gibson departed after two periods because of an undisclosed injury.

Cutter Gauthier, Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 27 saves. Leo Carlsson’ss 11-game points streak ended. The Ducks have lost two straight after a seven-game winning streak.

Detroit took a 3-2 lead in the second period after a scoreless first.

The Red Wings broke the deadlock at 5:57 of the period after the Ducks’ Mason McTavish was whistled for his third penalty of the game. Seider scored on a shot from the point but the Ducks tied it less than two minutes later on Gauthier’s team-high 12th goal.

Rasmussen and Kreider traded goals before Sandin-Pellikka scored from the point for his second career goal.

DeBrincat gave the Red Wings a 4-2 lead 50 seconds into the third period when he tipped in Seider’s shot during a power play. Larkin scored on a two-on-none breakaway to answer Granlund’s goal. DeBrincat added an empty-netter.

The teams split their two-game season series.

Joel Edmundson and Quinton Byfield each had a goal and an assist as the Kings scored three quick goals in the second period to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings (8-5-4), who won their second consecutive game on the road and improved to 7-1-2 away from home this season. Warren Foegele added an empty-net goal and Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots.

The Kings won their ninth straight game against Montreal dating to the 2021-22 season. It’s their longest active run against one opponent.

Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (10-4-2). Lane Hutson, last season’s rookie of the year, added an assist in his 100th game and Sam Montembeault made 21 saves.

Trailing 1-0 after Anderson’s one-timer with 46 seconds left in the first period, the Kings scored three goals in a span of 4:05 in the second.

Edmundson’s slap shot from the point 1:17 into the period — the hardest shot this season at 96.75 mph, according to the NHL — beat Montembeault for his first of the season. Then, with a delayed penalty, Byfield finished off a lengthy six-on-five sequence by gathering a rebound and shoveling the puck into the top of the net at 4:17.

Fiala made it 3-1 only 65 seconds later, capitalizing on a gift from Montembeault, who pushed the puck directly onto his stick near the crease.

Armia chased down Hutson in the Montreal zone, stripped him of the puck and slotted a shot past Montembeault to give the Kings a three-goal lead with 8:52 remaining.

Outside of Anderson’s blistering shot, Montreal couldn’t solve Kuemper. The Kings’ netminder stopped Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky’s slot shots in the third period and showed stellar rebound control.

Armia, who joined the Kings last summer after seven seasons in Montreal, returned to a loud ovation during a first-period video tribute. Armia, Edmundson, Corey Perry and Phillip Danault of the Kings all played for the Canadiens in their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

As the nights start to draw in even earlier leading up to Christmas, TV viewers will be looking for sumptuous dramas to get lost in

ITVX is presently broadcasting a popular period drama featuring a British ruler that’s ideal for a comfortable binge-watch throughout the lengthy winter nights.

With darkness falling increasingly early in the run-up to Christmas, television enthusiasts will be seeking lavish dramas to lose themselves in.

Viewers need look no further than ITV’s digital streaming platform, which boasts an extensive range of celebrated programmes to select from.

Among the finest choices available this winter is the successful series Victoria, which launched in 2016 and featured Doctor Who’s Jenna Coleman as the youthful sovereign, charting her journey from defiant adolescent years through to responsible adulthood over three captivating seasons.

Whilst critics have targeted the programme’s shortage of historical precision, it’s undeniable that the series crafted by Daisy Goodwin provides tremendous entertainment that’s ready for exploration, or potentially a second viewing, reports the Express.

The Guardian’s favourable critique captured the essence: “As ever, it all hinges on Jenna Coleman’s performance as Victoria and her ability to conjure up a portrait of this queen as understanding, sympathetic, kind and decent, even under unimaginable and possibly imaginary pressures.

“It might not be elegant and it might not survive the strain of putting its plot points to the search engine test, but as diverting drama it gets the job done.”

An enthusiastic review from an IMDb viewer declared: “Rather captivating, I loved it. Every inch a Queen.

“I love [Coleman’s] portrayal of Victoria, she has some presence and a definite strength of character. Rufus Sewell I thought was exceptional as Lord Melbourne too, the complex relationship the pair had in real life was explained very well.

“The settings, costumes, and general production values were first rate, the show felt incredibly plush and lavish, I shudder to think of the budget for this series. Totally engaging, this was first rate viewing 9/10.”

Sadly, the series left many fans feeling let down when it was cancelled after just three seasons, leaving Queen Victoria’s story incomplete.

However, ITV gave a glimmer of hope in 2021, stating “there are no plans presently to film Victoria, but that’s not to say we won’t revisit the series with the production team at a later date”, hinting that a fourth season featuring an older Victoria might eventually be on the cards.

One hopeful fan penned: “This has been the most amazing series since Downton Abbey I have watched. I laughed, I cried, I got angry. I felt every emotion humanly possible through watching it.

“My mother and I binge watched it together and couldn’t believe how much it draws you in from beginning to end. I am so heartbroken that it has not yet come out with a 4th season. My mother and I both are. We pray they decide to release another season.

“I plead to ITV or whoever, to please give the green light for the 4th season and then some. This is an amazing love story that NEEDS to be completed.”

There’s a glimmer of hope for the series to carry on if enough viewers rewatch the series on ITVX, so it’s time to start binge-watching.

Victoria is available to stream on ITVX.

Ireland’s 40-29 win in Chicago nine years ago was one of the apogees in the team’s history, while the intensity and stakes of the World Cup quarter-final extracted herculean efforts from both sides in what is widely considered the rivalry’s apex.

But Saturday’s entry did not resemble either of those games.

Neither team reached anywhere near their maximum, and with a raft of protracted stoppages for tackle reviews and injuries, it failed to deliver an interest-generating spectacle in a country which is hosting the World Cup in six years.

Ultimately, New Zealand will not care. For them, a long-awaited fifth Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere remains in play after a second-half surge that yielded three tries in 15 minutes.

Ireland, however, have much to stew on.

Last year, they opened their autumn campaign with a loss to the All Blacks. Their performance in Dublin that night was one of the flattest of the Farrell era and they were not much better here.

There were, at least, some positives. They responded strongly to Tadhg Beirne’s highly controversial early red card to lead 10-0 thanks to a Jack Crowley penalty and Tadhg Furlong’s first try since 2021.

Elsewhere, Stuart McCloskey, a surprise inclusion at inside centre, shone in his first appearance against the All Blacks before being forced off injured, while Ryan Baird staked his claim to be a regular fixture in the back row.

But while they led for 57 minutes, Ireland never seemed fully in control. Having lost a tenacious operator in Beirne, they were bested at the breakdown and missed crucial tackles, while a creaky lineout blunted their ability to create opportunities and ramp up scoreboard pressure.