Pop Culture

Lee at Comic-Con in San Diego on July 19, 2013.

A Marvel Of A Man: Stan Lee Dead At 95

4:27pm November 12, 2018

by Beth Accomando

Lee gave us over six decades' worth of superheroes we could identify with, characters like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk, who reacted to superpowered crises in believably flawed, human ways.

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Having A Great Time, Wish You Were Queer: Jim (Harris Dickinson) in Steve McLean's stylized, whimsical Postcards From London.

Arts

'Postcards From London': Rent Boys Will Be Rent Boys In A Stylized, Neon-Lit Soho

9:34pm November 08, 2018

by Ella Taylor

Writer/director Steve McLean's "lovely piece of whimsy" about a gay sex worker in 1970s London examines "the mixed blessings of sex, art, beauty and authenticity."

Hugh Jackman, and wig, play Gary Hart in Jason Reitman's The Front Runner.

Arts

'The Front Runner' Stumbles Into Familiar Territory

7:24pm November 08, 2018

by Scott Tobias

The film follows Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) through his three-week presidential bid that fell victim to monkey business, but what director Jason Reitman brings to it is familiar — even quaint.

Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) surveys his phalanx in Outlaw King.

Arts

In Netflix's War Epic 'Outlaw King' There's Plenty Of War, But Not Much That's Epic

5:00pm November 08, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

Director David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) keeps the scale too small and the stakes too low in this retelling of the rebellion of Scotland's Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine).

"Welcome to my pallor, said the spider to the fly": Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) goes beyond the pale in The Girl in the Spider's Web.

Arts

'The Girl In The Spider's Web' Struggles To Break Free Of Techno-Thriller Cliches

5:00pm November 08, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

Claire Foy takes over the role of Swedish super-hacker Lisbeth Salander in a reboot that reheats stale ideas from many previous spy/hacker movies.

Mira and her raccoon pal BK. Spoiler alert: He's kind of a jerk.

Books
Arts

Reading The Game: Donut County

11:19am November 05, 2018

by Jason Sheehan

Our occasional series on storytelling in video games returns with a trip to Donut County — which is about doughnuts, yes, but also giant holes, cranky raccoons, and learning not to be a jerk.

Oscar Robertson is one of the athletes who's interviewed in the new documentary series Shut Up and Dribble.

Sports
Arts

No, Athletes Will Not 'Shut Up And Dribble' — And They Never Have

5:00am November 05, 2018

by Linda Holmes

A new documentary series on Showtime, executive produced by LeBron James, offers a direct, pointed, emphatic response to commentator Laura Ingraham and her admonition to him to stay out of politics.

Julia Roberts plays a caseworker at a mysterious government facility treating veterans with PTSD in Amazon's Homecoming.

Arts

All Is Not As It Seems As Julia Roberts Leads A 'Homecoming'

5:01am November 02, 2018

by Linda Holmes

Julia Roberts headlines Amazon's thriller about a mysterious government program offering treatment to veterans. Sam Esmail, fresh off creating Mr. Robot, brings a thoughtful visual style.

Rosamund Pike plays war correspondent Marie Colvin in A Private War.

Arts

'A Private War': Combat Takes Its Merciless Toll On A Tireless War Correspondent

5:01pm November 01, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

To play the Sunday Times war reporter Marie Colvin, Rosamund Pike "transform[s] herself into a singular figure, one who goes places few people would and see[s] things that even fewer could handle."

Adam (Calum Worthy) and his rap battle mentor Behn Grymm (Jackie Long) in Bodied.

Arts

Once More Unto The Beat: A Grad Student Enters The World Of Rap Battles In 'Bodied'

5:00pm November 01, 2018

by Scott Tobias

"It's juvenile. It's irritating. Yet it's also fiendishly clever in the way it anticipates and dismantles every argument that could be made against it," says critic Scott Tobias.