2018 British Arrows, at the Walker Art Center, Commercialize Hope (We’ll Take It)
“Christmas is not only getting too commercial, it’s getting too dangerous.”
Those words from A Charlie Brown Christmas floated back to ..
Thanksgiving Audiobook Review: Nathaniel Philbrick’s “Mayflower”
About the book: Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2006 history chronicles the Pilgrims’ journey from its genesis in turn-of-the-17th-century Britain t..
Book Review: How Much Do You Need To Know About G.I. Joe?
In Back to Our Future (2011), David Sirota argues that G.I. Joe is in significant part responsible for indoctrinating children to accept a..
Book Review: Two Titles Take Loving Looks Back at Late 20th Century Kids’ Culture
When computers failed to bring the world to an end at the dawn of 2000, everyone decided that Y2K fears had been overblown. They were, in ..
Fall Fun (and Frustration) with the Millennium Falcon
Maybe there’s something about the Millennium Falcon that’s inherently both thrilling and frustrating.
My first Falcon came into my hand..
Egypt’s Sunken Cities Surface at Minneapolis Institute of Art
If you thought archaeology had lost its magic in this age of satellite and drone photography, Mostaf Waziry would like to disabuse you of ..
Halloween Audiobook Review: “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
About the book: Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella is deliciously spooky. Despite its concise length, it takes its time getting to the ..
Halloween Audiobook Review: “Shock Value” and “Paperbacks From Hell”
About the books: Jason Zinoman cites Roger Ebert’s non-review of Night of the Living Dead as a telling inflection point in the history of ..
“Halloween” Sequel and “The Fog” Restoration Give John Carpenter a Buzzworthy Year
In exploiting the serial-killer genre, as horror historian Grady Hendrix has put it, shockmeisters took advantage of the fact that “the sc..
Halloween Audiobook Review: “Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus”
About the book: Turning 200 this year, Mary Shelly’s classic is foundational to speculative fiction. Guillermo del Toro worships all thing..
Movie Review: “The Hate U Give” is an American Tragedy with an Empowering Message
After seeing The Hate U Give, I tried to think back on what movies I saw as a (white, middle-class, Midwestern) teenager that might have t..
Movie Review: Neil Armstrong Biopic “First Man” Is a Stunning and Strange Apollo Epic
Before the Twin Cities preview screening of First Man, a University of Minnesota professor was invited to speak for a few minutes. NASA, h..