Happy 20th Birthday to “Phantom Menace,” the Terrible Star Wars Movie That Changed Everything
20 years ago today, millions of Star Wars fans settled into their seats for one of the most epic disappointments in movie history.
Audiobook Review: “Dooku: Jedi Lost” is a Whirlwind Backstory
A new audio exclusive tells the backstory of Count Dooku, the Star Wars prequel villain who left the Jedi Order only to return to haunt it.
Audiobook Review: “H.G. Wells: The Science Fiction Collection”
A new Audible collection enlists a stable of screen stars to read H.G. Wells’s five best-known science fiction novels. They’re still ripping good stories.
Movie Review: “Tolkien” Quests for the “Lord of the Rings” Backstory
A new biopic unsubtly connects J.R.R. Tolkien’s World War I experiences to the dark visions he’d later evoke in ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Movie Review: “Wild Nights With Emily” Humanizes Dickinson
What if Emily Dickinson wasn’t a bizarre recluse who had a way with words, but a confident proto-modernist poet who also happened to be a queer woman?
Audiobook Review: “Master & Apprentice” Spotlights Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Before Jar Jar
Distinguished as the earliest book in the current Star Wars timeline, Claudia Gray’s ‘Master & Apprentice’ is lavish exposition of Qui-Gon Jinn’s backstory.
Hetty McKinnon’s “Family” Vegetarian Cookbook, Reviewed by a Carnivore
I didn’t grow up in a house where roasted cauliflower was “highly sought after,” but now I’m on the same page as McKinnon’s kids: ready to ditch the Spam.
The Five Millionth Sally Rooney Book Review To Use the Word “Millennial”
Depending on your preferred review source, Sally Rooney is ‘the first great millennial novelist’ or even ‘the first great millennial author,’ full stop.
Movie Review: Tim Burton’s “Dumbo” Is the Best Flying-Elephant Movie of the Year
Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo’ feels less like a Disney animated classic than one of the studio’s live-action adventures about a pair of spunky kids and a trusty pet.
Movie Review: “Us” Proves Jordan Peele Is the Heir to Horror’s Crown
With his thrilling and wildly entertaining “Us,” Jordan Peele has crafted a worthy successor to “Get Out.” It’s a throwback to the golden era of horror.
Book Review: David Lynch’s Visual Art Gets a Dark Spotlight In “Someone Is In My House”
David Lynch’s genius began with drawings and has constantly returned to the canvas. ‘Somone Is In My House’ offers a generous selection of his visual art.
Audiobook Review: In “Up Against the Wall,” David Hasselhoff Saves the Free World
David Hasselhoff wrote and narrates a new alternate history that inflates his role in the end of the Cold War beyond, even, the strange reality of it.