Spinal Tap II is an amusing, honorable successor to the original film
Above all, Reiner proves his vim and vigor by the very quality of the film
Culture
Tuesday
Monday
What can we expect from the Simpsons sequel?
It’s gotta be really, really good if it wants to stay even slightly relevant
Friday
‘Media Literacy’ and the decline of Woke
The left has entirely abandoned even the pretense of postmodern skepticism
Thursday
‘From the folks that brought you 9/11’
American comedy is embroiled in a war of words over the Riyadh Comedy Festival
Monday
Why is Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl?
Globalization is coming for America’s most popular sport
Is Slow Horses slowing down?
It might be time to take the show out to pasture
Tuesday
Trump is right to take on the Smithsonian
The curators’ political peacocking has long carried no risk
Ben Shahn’s work remains as timely as ever
The artist’s unflinching vision of a world gone awry is as powerfully direct as his late-in-life compositions of compassion and hope
Eyes of the Storm revisits an era
In early photos, the crowds – and the band members – are eager, curious and frank
Nick Drake’s explosive creativity
The first comprehensive repackaging of any of Drake’s albums does justice to the musician
Viola’s Room is beguiling
Every detail, every sound, every object feels intentional
Over the Moon renders the present with an eye toward the timeless
The play rises from social commentary to legitimate art piece, avoiding mere parody and ax-grinding
Monday
Jason Bateman breaks bad in Black Rabbit
The actor follows in Bryan Cranston’s footsteps
Thursday
Don’t cry for Jimmy Kimmel
His schtick wore thin a long time ago, and his continued presence owed as much to a lack of imagination as it did genuine talent
Wednesday
Splitsville defends monogamy
The movie knows we long for monogamy even as we court licentiousness
Tuesday
Is Antifa a terrorist organization?
Probably, but designating it as one won’t change much
Sunday
Please let this be the end of Downton Abbey
Grand? Probably not. Finale? Hopefully.
Friday
America’s ‘fringe’ has taken over the country
How did regular people become so radicalized?
Stephen King, The Long Walk and Charlie Kirk
King feels too much and thinks too little
After Charlie Kirk, Trump should crack down on campus ‘safetyism’
Kirk’s murder should spur the administration to compel colleges to live up to their duty to the public and to their own students
Tuesday
Why Jane Austen is still the queen of romance
The writer remains supreme in part because women don’t merely want dazzling men, we want to be dazzling ourselves.
Vermeer’s Love Letters is something of a riddle
The paintings become mysteries, enticing and deserving of attention precisely because there are so few
How Esther inspired the imagination of Rembrandt
The enchanting and historically haunting show consists of more than 120 objects
The problem with Heathers: The Musical
The musical flirts with nonconformity and then, scared, retreats into its own shadow
The Phoenician Scheme is Wes Anderson at his most transparent
Everything is a dolly shot of dolled-up people in a doll’s house
Sunday
Camus comes to America
His travel journals reveal him to be a hopeful, humane thinker – unlike Sartre
Is Hilma af Klint overrated?
Her show at the Museum of Modern Art is a head-scratcher
Saturday
I love Labubu
Demonic? Maybe. Irresistible? Definitely.
Friday
The Paper is really, really bad
It’s not the worth the paper it was written on
