Serve and volley
Books and ArtsKing Richard reviewed
Culture
The good, the bad and the ugly in books, exhibitions, cinema, TV, dance, music, podcasts and theatre.
Nanny bait
Books and ArtsMrs. Doubtfire reviewed
Returning to live gigs
Books and ArtsWhen Covid rampaged through the world like a Viking raid of death-cult realtors, the world was suddenly shorn of live music
Get with the program
Books and ArtsBoth in Pittsburgh and Miami, I was struck by the rousing enthusiasm that the symphony and soloists evoked with their temerarious playing
January 21, 2022
Hollywood awards shows have become boring
Let’s just hope Spider-Man doesn’t sweep all the Oscars and Golden Globes — then we’ll know we’re in real trouble.
A fond remembrance of Meat Loaf
The singer once christened ‘the uncoolest man in the universe’ delivered Big Rock Drama in spades
January 19, 2022
Where does Joss Whedon go now?
The talented writer-director is disgraced but Hollywood loves a penitent comeback
January 17, 2022
Writing and the conservative impulse
All writers are, in a certain sense, conservative
January 15, 2022
The joie de vivre of Emily in Paris
It’s a charming escape from all the virtue-signaling and haranguing — which is why the elite critics hate it
January 10, 2022
Thanks for the laughs, Bob Saget
He was America’s dad and a filthy comedian; his range was just one reason so many loved him
If Hamilton is cringe, then America is done for
The woke, and a few on the right, are ready to jettison the Founding Fathers
January 9, 2022
Sidney Poitier refused to be defined by race
The Old Hollywood great once declared, ‘I am artist, man, American, contemporary’
January 4, 2022
‘Don’t Look Up’ and Hollywood virtue-signaling
If the filmmakers are correct, debating the legacy of a 2021 comedy will be the last thing on anyone’s mind
January 3, 2022
Kandinsky’s colors
Books and ArtsKandinsky is getting spun up the Guggenheim’s spiral
Wynton’s works
Books and ArtsWynton Marsalis has not allowed tradition to become self-serving traditionalism
How did Walt Disney learn from Ancien Régime decoration?
Books and ArtsInspiring Walt Disney makes the case that Disney’s studio functioned in a similar way to an eighteenth-century decorative art manufactory
Truth in Duluth
Books and ArtsGirl from the North Country is a delight as pure as birdsong
Jake Gyllenhaal is guilty
Books and ArtsHe carries his latest film and keeps it from going off the rails
Country music drowns out cancel culture
The snitches came for Morgan Wallen — until his fans fought back
Richard Lester at ninety
Books and ArtsHe lent ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ the spirit of untamed frivolity
January 2, 2022
On the road with Bob Dylan
The Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour is on and Dylan is like no 80-year-old you’ve ever seen
December 31, 2021
How Covid killed grown-up movies at the theater
Audiences may never leave their couches again — unless it’s for Spider-Man 7
December 21, 2021
The Christmas carol canon that could have been
Pheasants? ‘Dickory dock’? Here’s how a narrow slice of our history changed the holidays forever
December 20, 2021
Seventy-five years of It’s a Wonderful Life
In George Bailey, we see our own fathers, our own brothers and husbands and sons
December 10, 2021
Glee gives us a lesson in wokeness
No toleration for intolerance
The problem with Christmas movies
Our writer gets grinchy about Love Actually and Elf
December 8, 2021
The return of the brilliant Nicolas Cage
He’s one of our most talented actors, elevating even the most awful of scripts
December 7, 2021
What if the Beatles never broke up?
Peter Jackson’s new movie shows fans everywhere would swoon, but maybe they should just let it be
December 6, 2021
Yellowstone appeals to a nation of soft hands
The show reminds us of a time when men knew how to do more
