Arts

Arts

A Child's Best Interest Is The Subject Of Complex Debate In 'The Children Act'

1:41pm September 14, 2018

by Justin Chang

A new — and nuanced — legal drama features Emma Thompson as a family court judge trying to determine whether a minor can be forced to undergo a blood transfusion against his will.

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Indie pop duo Matt and Kim appear on Ask Me Another at the Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri.

Arts

Matt And Kim: How To Go Outside And Not Die

12:35pm September 14, 2018

Indie pop duo Matt and Kim talk about why their latest album, Almost Everyday, is a departure from their earlier work. Then, they play a game called "How To Go Outside And Not Die."

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Books
Arts

Here Are The 2018 National Book Award Longlists, Featuring A Fresh Category

12:26pm September 14, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

Fifty nominated books now remain in contention for prizes in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people's literature — and, in a fresh twist to the annual slate, translated literature.

Oscar (Fred Armisen) and June (Maya Rudolph) try to turn their rut into a groove in Forever.

Arts

'Forever': A Couple's Comfortable Coexistence Comes To A Crossroads

8:23am September 14, 2018

by Glen Weldon

Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen play a reasonably happy couple whose relationship undergoes a series of big changes in this low-key, 8-episode meditation on love, life and roads not taken.

Daniel Collins is one subject in the elliptical documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening.

Arts

'Hale County This Morning, This Evening' Is A Fascinating And Frustrating Collage

6:38pm September 13, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

First-time filmmaker RaMell Ross' camera captures fleeting moments in the lives of two black young men in rural Alabama, and refuses to supply us with context. We grow to care about them anyway.

"'Hit Any Key?' Where's the 'any' key?" — The remorseless alien killing machine should probably just turn the console off and on again in The Predator.

Arts

After A Promising Start, 'The Predator' Loses The Scent

6:37pm September 13, 2018

by Chris Klimek

Director/co-writer Shane Black's attempt to infuse snappy dialogue and dark humor into the alien-hunter franchise works until it, suddenly, doesn't. Blame a mess of a script and cheap-looking effects.

Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) presides over a humorless script in The Children Act.

Arts

In The Wan, Airless 'The Children Act,' A Judge Shows Poor Judgment

5:00pm September 13, 2018

by Ella Taylor

Emma Thompson stars as a British High Court judge who becomes embroiled in the life of a teenager brought before her, for reasons about which "it's hard to tell and harder to care."

Colin Jost and Michael Che will host the Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 17, on NBC.

Arts

Michael Che And Colin Jost On 'SNL,' Hosting The Emmys And Hating Twitter

3:35pm September 13, 2018

by Terry Gross

The SNL head writers have different attitudes toward co-hosting the Emmy awards Monday night. Jost admits to being nervous, but Che says, "It's comedy! ... There's nothing to be afraid of."

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Sean Penn plays a veteran astronaut who aspires to go to Mars in the Hulu series The First.

Arts

'The First' Is A Human Mission To Mars, With A Focus On The Humans

12:43pm September 13, 2018

by David Bianculli

Hulu's new series features Sean Penn as a veteran astronaut facing the personal sacrifice of deep space travel. Critic David Bianculli says the characters are explored just as deeply as outer space.

'The Dinosaur Artist' Dusts Off The Debate Over Who Should Own Fossils

10:30am September 13, 2018

by Barbara J. King

Author Paige Williams brings the discussion to life by recounting the exploits of commercial fossil hunter Eric Prokopi, highlighting one find — a 24-ft.-long Tarbosaurus fossil, the book's star.