Pop Culture

Rick Baker sculpts a puppet head for the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London. Now retired, Baker's work has been collected in the two-volume collection Metamorphosis.

Books
Arts

Rick Baker, The Monster Maker Of Hollywood

5:08pm October 31, 2019

by Mandalit del Barco

An American Werewolf in London, Maleficent, the ghouls in "Thriller": the costume designer has made some of film's great creatures. His four-decade career is collected in a new book, Metamorphosis.

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Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate.

Arts

In 'Terminator: Dark Fate,' A Faltering Franchise Gets A Hard Reset

5:00pm October 31, 2019

by Chris Klimek

Linda Hamilton is back — and funny! — as Sarah Connor in a lean, propulsive and women-centered sequel that seeks to wave away the recent sequels in the Terminator franchise.

Motherless Brooklyn, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (left) and Edward Norton (right), follows a detective who get caught up investigating corruption in New York City.

Arts

'Motherless Brooklyn' Is A Noir Miss

5:00pm October 31, 2019

by Scott Tobias

Edward Norton's passion project — an over-lit, neo-noir adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's 1999 novel — struggles to convey the novel's interiority.

Cynthia Erivo (left) stars as Harriet Tubman along with Aria Brooks (right).

Arts

In Earnest, Contrived Biopic 'Harriet,' Tubman Is An Action Hero

5:00pm October 31, 2019

by Mark Jenkins

Cynthia Erivo is quite good, and the story of Harriet Tubman is a tale worth telling, but as presented here it's earnest, conventional and "fundamentally inert."

Kerry Washington reprises her role of Kendra from the 2018 Broadway play in Netflix's American Son.

Arts

Netflix's 'American Son' Adaptation Exposes The Play's Flaws

5:00pm October 31, 2019

by Andrew Lapin

The cast and director of the 2018 Broadway play reunite, but the performances prove more nuanced than the characters, revealing a script that takes "shortcuts to catharsis."

John Witherspoon leaves a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman in New York in December 2009. Actor-comedian Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube's father in the Friday films, has died at age 77.

Arts

Film And Television Comic John Witherspoon Dies At 77

11:06pm October 30, 2019

by Scott Neuman

He was a veteran of 1970s television comedies such as Good Times and What's Happening!!, but was best known for his role in Ice Cube's Friday films.

Music & Culture

A Jeopardy! Question That's Good As Hell

6:41am October 29, 2019

Lizzo posted on Instagram, " MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I MADE IT" after this aired: "In 2019, this five-letter rap and R&B artist had the 'Juice' to be nominated for best new artist at the VMA's."

Tricia Helfer in "Lydia Layne's Better Half," an episode of the Shudder original series Creepshow.

Arts

Shudder Puts The Screaming In Streaming Video

6:37pm October 28, 2019

by Neda Ulaby

Horror is enjoying a rise from the dead right now — particularly on TV. And as streaming TV services multiply, AMC's Shudder has found success with a menu of classic horror and original programming.

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Robert Evans attends a 2002 book signing for his memoir The Kid Stays in the Picture.

Arts

The Kid Bows Out: Movie Producer Robert Evans Dies At 89

6:01pm October 28, 2019

The Hollywood legend was discovered in a swimming pool by the wife of a movie mogul and went on to helm Paramount Pictures, producing huge hits like Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Godfather.

A skull door knocker and cobweb decorations on the day before Halloween in Philadelphia.

Arts

The Code Switch Guide To Halloween

4:59pm October 28, 2019

by Angela Vang

Halloween each year brings a cauldron of unpleasantness for people of color — and a surge of questions to our inbox. To get through it all, we put together the official Code Switch Guide to Halloween.