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鈥榃e Grown Now鈥� review: Amid gritty Chicago reality, two friends embrace childhoodFor the Monitor鈥檚 reviewer, the young boys in 鈥淲e Grown Now鈥� exude something that is often difficult to find believable amid tough surroundings: innocence.聽The new film, he says, honors 鈥渏ust being a kid.鈥�
OK, she鈥檚 worth $1 billion, but can Taylor Swift write poetry? We ask the experts.Taylor Swift鈥檚 new album, 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department,鈥� will be released on April 19. In advance, we asked poets what they think of the pop star鈥檚 wordsmithing.
鈥楽tay gold, Ponyboy鈥� ... set to music? 鈥楾he Outsiders鈥� comes to Broadway.鈥淭he Outsiders鈥� offers a timely 鈥� and tuneful 鈥� reminder that differences that seem so intractable might not be impossible to overcome after all. Adam 鈥渘ot a musical theater person鈥� Rapp talks about how he came to write the book.
Andr茅 3000 trades hip-hop for the flute 鈥撀燼nd still resonates with listenersOur commentator says that even if the artist, one-half of the hit duo Outkast, doesn鈥檛 say a word in his new music, he鈥檚 still able to impact culture in a way that invokes creativity and healing.聽
Bird migration to Kashmir Valley brings a wonderland of wingsMore than 1 million migratory birds flocked to a wetland reserve in the Kashmir Valley, bringing cheer to gray skies 鈥� and to wetland officials.
Bryan Stevenson Q&A: Alabama park confronts difficult history in sculptureIn Montgomery, Alabama, a new sculpture park has joined two memorials created by the Equal Justice Initiative started by Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer perhaps best known for his memoir, 鈥淛ust Mercy.鈥�
Not 鈥榗ountry enough鈥�? Beyonc茅 proudly proclaims her Texas roots in 鈥楥owboy Carter.鈥�Houston native Beyonc茅 offers her takes on everybody from the Beatles to Dolly Parton in a clarion call of an album, 鈥淐owboy Carter.鈥�
鈥楽teve! (Martin)鈥� review: The wild and crazy (and private) guy shares his storySteve Martin is known for turning high-style goofiness into an art form, the Monitor鈥檚 film critic writes. A new documentary offers the notoriously private entertainer an opportunity to consider what it takes for a funnyman to find happiness.- 鈥楽teve! (Martin)鈥� review: The wild and crazy (and private) guy shares his storySteve Martin is known for turning high-style goofiness into an art form, the Monitor鈥檚 film critic writes. A new documentary offers the notoriously private entertainer an opportunity to consider what it takes for a funnyman to find happiness.
First LookHe survived Hiroshima. What did he think of 鈥極ppenheimer鈥�?鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� the film about the American scientist who invented the nuclear weapons that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 79 years ago, opened in Japanese theaters March 29, to mixed reactions and strong emotions.
鈥業f you want to be happy for the rest of your life,鈥� keep a bottomless bucket listAs we searched for elusive flora and fauna, I learned that joy isn鈥檛 in the discovery 鈥� it鈥檚 in the quest.
The Taiwanese family keeping the noodle-making art aliveThe Lin family is one of the last families in Taiwan to聽prepare聽misua聽鈥� a wheat vermicelli 鈥� mostly by hand.聽
鈥榅-Men 鈥�97鈥� is nostalgic and compelling, but its superpower is its inclusivityUltimately, 鈥淴-Men 鈥�97鈥� is a blast from the past that resonates in this time, while retaining its ability to present difference in a humane way.
This Vermont ice swimming festival is only for the brrr-aveThe Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival lured 175 brave souls, who gladly jumped into 31-degree water.聽
What my adopted sons from Russia and Ukraine taught me about trustIn journeying with a stranger to a new life in a new land, my boys showed immense trust 鈥� and taught me that it flows both ways.
Welcome to Luna Luna, the carnival that time forgotLuna Luna, on display in Los Angeles, resurrects whimsical works by the likes of Salvador Dal铆 and Keith Haring. Just don鈥檛 climb on the rides.
Where the ribbit meets the road: My adventures in frog shuttlingHelping others 鈥� even amphibians 鈥� helps us. Our writer learns, it鈥檚 impossible to fixate on your own concerns while focusing on alleviating those of others.
First LookSeven Oscars for 鈥極ppenheimer,鈥� a fittingly foreboding film for the timesChristopher Nolan鈥檚 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� swept the Academy Awards show with seven wins, including the Oscar for best picture. The awards show was shadowed by the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, with pro-Palestinian protests outside the Dolby Theatre.
鈥楾he Lily Gladstone effect鈥�: Will Native actors get boost at Oscars?If Lily Gladstone wins an Academy Award for her performance in 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� she would be the first Native woman to receive an Oscar. Before her, there was a century of work that tended to go unrecognized.
A cult classic album gains new life, and new meaning, onstageA new stage adaptation of 鈥淚llinoise鈥� opens March 7 at New York鈥檚 Park Avenue Armory.聽It is not quite a musical, not quite a ballet, not quite a concert 鈥� but an experience all its own.
