Pop Culture

Back on my beast: Eddie Redmayne returns to his old, squirrelly tricks as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Arts

'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald': Beasts? Check. Crimes? Check. Fantastic? Not Quite.

5:00pm November 15, 2018

by Glen Weldon

The second installment of J.K. Rowling's follow-up Potter franchise is as overstuffed as the first, but it's less muddled. It dutifully advances the story, but fails to deliver thrilling set-pieces.

Lara (Victor Polster) is impatient to become the girl she knows herself to be, in Lukas Dhont's Girl.

Arts

'Girl': Belgian Drama About A Young Trans Ballet Student Is On Point

5:00pm November 15, 2018

by Bob Mondello

A precise performance from young Victor Polster grounds this closely observed tale of Lara, a trans girl impatient with the process of transition.

Viola Davis stars as Veronica, a woman who loses her husband and gains a heist gang in Widows.

Arts

A Heist, And A Whole Lot More, As Viola Davis Delivers In 'Widows'

5:00am November 15, 2018

by Linda Holmes

The exciting, engaging, entertaining Widows is the rare fun heist film that also functions as a solid drama, thanks largely to the lead performance from Viola Davis.

Toxic gases rise from cracks in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii, during this year's eruption of the Kilauea volcano.

Books

'Toxic' Is Oxford Dictionaries' Word Of 2018

1:08am November 15, 2018

by Barbara Campbell

The publisher's research found "the sheer scope of its application" made "toxic" stand out this year.

Comic book writer Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of Marvel Studios Black Panther.

Arts

Opinion: How Stan Lee Helped This Blerd Find His Superhero

6:02pm November 13, 2018

by Eric Deggans

For one black nerd growing up in Indiana, Stan Lee's world was an amazing step forward.

Marisol (Malena Villa) and Carlos (Lorenzo Ferro) get triggered in El Angel.

Arts

Death Wears A Pleasing Face In The Swoony, Stylized 'El Angel'

5:28pm November 13, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Writer/director Luis Ortega invests the tale of a brutal but beautiful young serial killer who terrorized Argentina in the 1970s with an intoxicating sense of glamour.

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Jeff Tweedy of Wilco performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 5, 2017, in New Orleans, La.

In 'Let's Go,' Wilco Frontman Jeff Tweedy Details His Struggles And Joys

9:59am November 13, 2018

by Michael Schaub

The singer-songwriter tells the story of how a kid from a Midwestern, working-class family became an idol to country-punk and alternative rock fans — and the obstacles and celebrations along the way.

Stan Lee, American comic book writer, editor, publisher and former President of Marvel Comics, attends the premiere of Doctor Strange in 2016. Lee died Monday at the age of 95.

Books
Arts

A True Believer Remembers Stan Lee

6:25pm November 12, 2018

by Glen Weldon

Stan Lee — born Stanley Martin Lieber — co-created many beloved Marvel Comics characters, but he became the company's tireless, beloved figurehead. NPR's Glen Weldon offers a remembrance.

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."