All Arts & Culture
'The Journey' is an unconvincing talkathon that might have worked better on the stageTimothy Spall and聽Colm Meaney star as聽Protestant British conservative loyalist Ian Paisley and Catholic former Irish Republican Army leader Martin McGuinness, respectively.
'Maudie' star Sally Hawkins gives a standout performance as artist Maud LewisEthan Hawke鈥檚 character, Lewis's husband Everett, remains a theatrical conceit in the movie directed by Aisling Walsh.
'Cars 3' is reasonably diverting but somewhat sluggishThe movie attempts to bring back the heart of the first installment, but talk in the film of retirement and the good old days will make kids and adults alike fidgety.
With drama in Washington, TV shows find it hard to competeNearly 20 million people tuned in to former FBI director James Comey's hearing, while top political dramas drew less than half that. Viewership is down by about 20 percent this year.
Top Picks: The Netflix documentary 'Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower,' the Skyview app, and moreAsghar Farhadi's Oscar-winning film 'The Salesman' is available on DVD and Blu-ray, Fathom Events brings Studio Ghibli films back to theaters, and more top picks.
Verbal EnergyUnshackling the roots of 鈥榠mpediment鈥�A hardworking ancient three-letter root turns out to be at the foot of many words across Indo-European languages.
Artists team up with planners for urban changeArtists are experienced at gathering diverse voices, celebrating local history, and connecting with communities. Planners want to do that better.
'The Mummy' is a tentpole production with nothing under the tentThe latest and lackluster reboot of the 'Mummy' story has mediocre CGI warfare. Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, and Jake Johnson star.
Sam Elliott and Laura Prepon are quietly effective in 'The Hero'The film stars Elliott as an over-the-hill actor who was recently diagnosed with cancer. In family scenes, director Brett Haley and co-writer Marc Basch don鈥檛 plow any new dramatic ground.
When sparks fly in 'Beatriz at Dinner,' it's entertaining but not surprisingSalma Hayek stars as a masseuse/holistic healer who clashes with a famously boorish billionaire (John Lithgow) during a dinner.聽Lithgow is so good at playing CEO oiliness that you have to smile.
Footage in documentary 鈥楧awson City: Frozen Time鈥� is all fascinatingThe poetic documentary directed by Bill Morrison that traces the history of the gold mining town from its earlier origins with First Nation peoples to the advent of the gold rush in 1896 up through roughly contemporary times.
'My Cousin Rachel' star Rachel Weisz freshens up the Gothic storyThe film, which is based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier, rises or falls on the casting of Rachel. With Weisz, it ascends to heights it might ordinarily never reach.
Top Picks: PBS's 'The Story of China,' the J酶rgen Emborg Quartet鈥檚 album 'What's Left?,' and more'Toni Erdmann' tells the story of a corporate strategist and her聽mischievous father who loves playing pranks on people, artist Thomas Dambo's 'The 6 Forgotten Giants' brings creatures out of fairy tales to life, and more top picks.
First Look鈥榃onder Woman鈥� stirs social media as most tweeted-about film of 2017The film depicting Amazonian heroine 鈥榃onder Woman鈥� has shattered Hollywood鈥檚 glass ceiling, simultaneously becoming the best-selling female-directed film in its opening weekend and聽the most tweeted-about film in 2017.聽
Verbal EnergyGoing off, leaving the furniture in chargeThe Monitor鈥檚 language columnist is reminded that bureaucracy is literally 鈥榬ule by desks.鈥�
Latin music scores with chart-topping 鈥楧espacito鈥�When the song 'Despacito,' by singer Luis Fonsi and rapper Daddy Yankee,聽reached No. 1, it became the first mostly Spanish-language song to do so since the mid-1990s track 'Macarena,' by Los del R铆o.
Uneven 'Churchill' feels more like an expos茅 than a deep-dish psychological explorationBrian Cox is the latest to portray the legendary politician and the actor brings the private Churchill to the fore.聽The film becomes more about Churchill鈥檚 battle to conquer himself than about the Allies鈥� battle to defeat the Nazis.
'Wonder Woman' has a frisky, friendly spiritStars Gal Gadot and Chris Pine share a charming chemistry and director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg don't overdose on the violence, despite the film's World War I setting.
Top Picks: Chris Stapleton's 'From a Room: Volume 1,' 'Land of Mine' on DVD and Blu-ray, and moreIn PBS鈥檚 'The American Epic Sessions,' artists including Elton John, Jack White, and the band Alabama Shakes are challenged to create music using old technology, the聽NPS National Mall聽app could help you on a Washington, D.C., trip, and more.
Why female comic book fans are cheering for 'Wonder Woman''Wonder Woman,' which opens Friday, is on track to become the first female-helmed superhero blockbuster. It also features something harder to find than an invisible plane: a woman directing a big-budget action movie.
