Entertainment from Thursday, March 20th, 2025

1998 was the year in which Britney Spears released her debut single 'Baby One More Time', Google was founded, Frank Sinatra died, the first ever MP3 player was available in the UK, France won the World Cup, if you wanted to watch a movie at home, you'd rent it on a video from Blockbuster as the DVD still hadn't been invented, and it was also the year the Spice Girls had the Christmas number one for the third year in a row.

There are some pretty decent offerings this week, beginning with the taut, twisty spy thriller Black Bag. Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett lead a strong cast in this tale of subterfuge, loyalty, double-crossing, and gameplaying. It's a neat entry into my 'decent films lasting no more than 90 minutes' list, as George Woodhouse (Fassbender) is tasked with finding a mole within their spy circle. Unfortunately for him, one of the possible suspects is his wife Kathryn (Blanchett). Will he put his job before his marriage?

With the cost of a first-class stamp set to rise to £1.70 in April, the sixth increase in the last three years. I'd suggest buying a book of stamps at the current price and stashing them away for a rainy day. Just call me Martin Lewis and be done with it.