All Culture
'Annihilation' has cheesy visual effectsThere are times when the film skirts silliness, but director Alex Garland has a聽gift for locating the horror inside that silliness.
鈥楾he Party鈥� has great cast, somewhat negligible storyIn its themes and tone, it resembles a minor-league distillation of Edward Albee and Woody Allen.
'The Young Karl Marx' chronicles the early life of the philosopherTrying to encompass a vast swath of historical upheaval in the story of Marx and Friedrich Engels may well be an impossible task. Still, shouldn鈥檛 the film鈥檚 style be a bit more in tune with the incendiariness of its subject?
Top Picks: The podcast 'American History Tellers,' Oscar nominees on DVD and Blu-ray, and moreNils Frahm's聽'All Melody' is the product of recording complex Saal 3, photographer聽Florian Nick's聽travels through Alberta and British Columbia yielded a beautiful time-lapse movie, and more top picks.
As 'Black Panther' hits screens in Africa, 'the hero is all of us'In Marvel's depiction of Wakanda, many African fans see something rarer than vibranium: a big-screen image of Africa that defies Hollywood stereotypes.
Meanwhile... in Copperbelt, Zambia, tending to a baby chimp led to one of the largest chimpanzee reserves in the worldAnd in Somalia,聽a young social activist is聽offering former child soldiers and other war victims a chance to heal through surfing. Meanwhile, they're hiring in Antarctica.
Why I鈥檓 so grateful to SteveI鈥檓 a can-do guy. But this problem was beyond my ability 鈥� or desire 鈥� to solve.
Popular bands turn to covers for charityRecent releases, all of which benefit charities, use the occasion of a significant anniversary to revisit a specific album.
'Loveless' is an encompassing indictment of Russian societyThe film is聽an Oscar nominee for best foreign language film and is by the extraordinary Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Top Picks: 'American Folk,' Smithsonian Channel's 'Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp'The film 'The Philadelphia Story' and its legendary trio of stars 鈥� Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart 鈥� returns to theaters, the automobiles of Pixar return with 'Cars 3,' and more top picks.
Beyond ticket sales: 'Black Panther' wields cultural punchThe movie is headed for a box office blitz. But it is the potential it has to elevate the role models for young people of color that has rallied donations of more than $400,000 from across the globe to help send thousands of children in the US to see it.聽
'Black Panther' is easily the best of the Marvel superhero moviesDirector Ryan Coogler is also the co-writer of 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� with Joe Robert Cole, and he understands better than any of the other Marvel maestros that for a superhero movie to be more than a popcorn jamboree it needs to have a purpose beyond mere cacophony and hijinks.
First LookMcDonald's tries to shake its junk food image by slimming down Happy MealThe Happy Meal menu will soon no longer list cheeseburgers and chocolate milk, although diners can specifically ask for them with the kid's meal.聽
Meanwhile... in Nouakchott, Mauritania, a determined group of teenagers is working to improve the country鈥檚 capitalIn Cyprus,聽British soldiers聽have a high-tech ally in their fight against bird trapping: drones. And in聽Kigali, Rwanda,聽the country hosted its聽first robotics boot camp聽last month.
Someone to lean on arrives just when you need themCrises may foster friendships as nurturing as they are brief.
Galentine's Day: Why the appeal of 'ladies celebrating ladies' enduresThe Feb. 13 holiday, invented by NBC sitcom 'Parks and Recreation,' is in its eighth year of bringing gal pals together to honor friendship. Observers and participants note the timeliness of an event that highlights women and interpersonal connections.聽聽
In 'A Fantastic Woman,' actress Daniela Vega gives a tour de force performanceChilean director Sebasti谩n Lelio鈥檚 鈥淎 Fantastic Woman,鈥� the favorite to win this year鈥檚 Oscar for best foreign language film, is about the tribulations of a transgender woman in present-day Santiago, Chile.
What are you watching? Readers recommend 'The Eagle Huntress,' 'Young Sheldon'Monitor TV and movie fans share what they've been watching lately.
Museums woo a new generation with 'Instagram worthy' artCurators are increasingly crafting exhibits with selfie-seeking Millennials in mind. In L.A., a hotbed for the trend on the West Cost, installation shows sell out in minutes.
Meanwhile... in Mongolia, there is excitement about young opera singersAnd in San Rafael, Colombia,聽workers are searching out and defusing land mines in an effort to make good on the government鈥檚 promise to demine the country by 2021, while in Ethiopia鈥檚 Harenna Forest,聽about 600 families practice聽a tradition of beekeeping dating back at least to the 4th century.聽
