Stuck on what to watch, read and listen to during the holidays? Our culture reporters have done the hard work for you. Here are their picks of the best shows, films, podcasts and books from 2024. If it’s good enough for them, it’s definitely good enough for you. Share your favourites in the comments below. Luca Guadagnino’s horny tennis/threesome drama has fallen out of the conversation as a main contender this , but it’s still, hands down, one of my favourite films of the year. And the – a pulsating original score of techno bangers composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – has been on my main rotation while exercising or frantically writing to deadlines since the film’s release in April. If you missed it completely (which means you’ve sadly also missed ), the film follows a 13-year love triangle between an injured tennis star turned coach (Zendaya), her husband now limping towards the end of his successful career (Mike Faist), and his one-time best friend still chasing his shot at glory (Josh O’Connor). It’s a feverish film with frenetic cuts and pounding synth melded through moments of emotional intensity. And while that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I think it’s exactly what we need more of in cinema: original stories about somewhat regular adult relationships that take big creative swings. If nothing else, it’ll change the way you watch the Australian Open. Who would have thought a straight-to-streaming movie would top my list this year? Certainly not me, but that was before I saw Richard Linklater’s ridiculously rewatchable . Inspired by a 2001 by Skip Hollandsworth, the film sees a mild-mannered professor (Glen Powell) pick up a gig impersonating assassins for the police. However, his entire moral code is turned on its head after he falls for a woman (Adria Arjona) who hires him to kill her abusive husband. It’s a crime that this film missed out on a proper theatrical release – not only because it stars Powell (surely 2024’s Hollywood sweetheart after and ) but because of its expert weaving of comedy into a compelling examination of identity and morality. The leading pair ooze chemistry on-screen, Powell somehow makes three-quarter denim pants look hot, and the ending is entirely unpredictable. It’s refreshing to watch something this fun again. So Linklater, thanks for the hit, man. For the first couple of episodes of Steve Zaillian’s take on the chameleonic serial killer Tom Ripley, I wondered why I was watching, and why it existed. After all, Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film did such beautiful justice to Patricia Highsmith’s creation (Ripley appears not just in the 1955 novel of that name, but in another four) it was hard to see what more could be said. But by the third episode, I was completely won over by the slow accretion of detail, by the stunning black-and-white cinematography, by the lugubrious pacing, and above all by . In his hands, Ripley is not the young aspirational social climber Matt Damon gave us. Rather, he’s a mid-career petty conman almost at the end of his tether who happens to get incredibly lucky. But he’s such a bumbler that he very nearly blows it, repeatedly. The character, like the show itself, is a tightrope walk, never more than one dreadful misstep from collapse. By its end I wasn’t just grateful to Zaillian for going there, I couldn’t wait to see where he, and Ripley, might take us next. If you want a laugh or just to keep up to speed with internet culture, then the Binchtopia podcast is for you. It will have you speaking like a TikTok-addicted Gen Z after a few episodes, without having to actually TikToks. Hosted by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb, the self-titled “girlies” will take you on a journey as they explore concepts such as doomsday prep, lead you down ridiculous Reddit threads, and take on more serious and complex issues such as eating disorders. Highly researched and organically funny, the podcast is ideal listening for lying on the beach or taking a road trip. It strikes a balance between informative and light-hearted, served with a confronting (at first) but endearing vocal fry. Beware though: It’s addictive listening. I read this more than a month ago, and I am still thinking about it; it’s the best thing I’ve read in 2024. Powers, whose 2018 novel was shortlisted for The Booker and also won the Pulitzer for fiction, has essentially written a book that, once you reach the end, has you rethinking the entire story. Longlisted for this year’s Booker, is tricky to describe without spoiling. It follows the intertwined stories of Todd, a billionaire tech giant, his college best friend Rafi, Rafi’s Polynesian girlfriend Ina and a famous oceanographer, Evie, across several decades. But it’s also a story about the climate crisis, AI, colonialism, the wonders of the ocean and human mortality. And in Powers’s hands, each of these themes are deftly rendered. I’m already thinking about a re-read. The best books you read in a year are often not from that year. So I’m happy to stretch the brief and cite Cormac McCarthy’s masterful final novels, and , which were published six weeks apart in late 2022. They tell the stories of Bobby Western and his sister Alicia respectively - complex, wounded geniuses struggling to survive in marginalised America, haunted by their father’s work developing the atomic bomb and their feelings for each other. McCarthy’s writing so staggering, so erudite, so rich with ideas and so evocative that these two interconnected novels would be the high water marks of most writers’ careers. But he has also been acclaimed for , , and . I’ve struggled to read McCarthy for years, finding his books too unsettling and emotionally bruising. But that’s changed. I’ve just started his first novel, and plan to work my way through the rest. Where the hell have you been, you might well ask when I nominate reading this Australian novel as my fave culture moment of the year; after all, it was published in 1980. But while the story of orphaned Australians Caroline and Grace Bell making new lives in England starts in the 1950s and ends some time in the 1970s, it feels absolutely timeless. Hazzard has a clear eye for personality and character, unflinching but not cruel. She captures, especially in the early pages, the sometimes uneasy relationship between Australians and the world they desperately long to be part of. And she has a deft way with plot: one character’s ultimate demise is signalled soon after we first meet him, though it lies decades in the future; another’s comes right at the end, a shock, a twist, a punch to the guts. But it’s her way with language that most impresses, especially the way she crafts sentences that are unfinished yet fully complete. Full of empathy for the desires that guide us and the wrong choices we make, and the fleeting moments of perfection that are so easy to miss, is achingly sad and blindingly beautiful.Indiana edges Winthrop despite horrid 3-point shooting
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Missouri stuns top-ranked Kansas in 76-67 upset
hapabapa Amgen Overview Shares of Amgen Inc. ( NASDAQ: AMGN ) came under intense pressure yesterday, with investors selling at abruptly lower prices following the release of MariTide Phase II data. The stock opened around $260/share, a decline of 12%, but clawed losses Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMGN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. The author is presently long AMGN stock and short puts and is considering adding to the position. The author also has a smaller long position in LLY.All investment opportunities carry inherent risk, including potential loss of principle. Carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite before making any investment. The above discussion is a framework for investors (both long and short), to understand the factors that will move the underlying security’s price. It is not a prediction and should not be considered investment advice. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.