Arts

The Arts

Regé-Jean Page's Duke

We Swoon, We Faint — ‘Bridgerton’ Will Return For Season 2 Without Its Hunky Duke

Season two of the hit TV series Bridgerton will roll out for fans without its hunky star, Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. Set during the Regency era in 1813 London, the show’s first season was a steamy love story between Simon and Daphne Bridgerton. Continue Reading We Swoon, We Faint — ‘Bridgerton’ Will Return For Season 2 Without Its Hunky Duke

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Tina Turner and her children, photographed in 1967. Courtesy of HBO

Tina Turner’s Life Explored In New Documentary

Near the end of HBO’s new documentary, Tina, the movie implies the legendary singer has made a decision: after this film rolls out, Tina Turner just might be done appearing in public and talking about her life. It’s an odd message, coming from a woman whose life story and experiences have inspired at least four books, an Oscar-nominated biopic, a Broadway musical and, now, this new film. Continue Reading Tina Turner’s Life Explored In New Documentary

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Eddie Izzard co-wrote the script for Six Minutes to Midnight, and stars as half German, half British teacher Thomas Miller. Courtesy of IFC Films

Comedian Eddie Izzard Switches To Screenwriting And Acting For ‘Six Minutes To Midnight’

Eddie Izzard, the wildly-admired and inventive comic, was in a museum in the British resort town of Bexhill-on-Sea, where she spent much time as a child, when historians showed her an old badge from the Augusta Victoria school for girls in the 1930’s. There was a Union Jack on the crest — and a Nazi swastika. Continue Reading Comedian Eddie Izzard Switches To Screenwriting And Acting For ‘Six Minutes To Midnight’

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BOOK COVER - The Life of the Mind, by Christine Smallwood

Farcical ‘Life Of The Mind’ Skewers Academic Life And Adjunct ‘Hell’

The Life of the Mind is about endings that dribble to a close, the inexorable erosion of dreams, the slow leak of youthful buoyancy. It’s about being young-ish at a time in history when it feels like many things might be fading away, including the natural world. The great accomplishment of Smallwood’s taut novel is that while it is, indeed, about all those grim subjects, it’s also one of the wittiest, most deliciously farcical novels I’ve read in a long time. Continue Reading Farcical ‘Life Of The Mind’ Skewers Academic Life And Adjunct ‘Hell’

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In The Father, Anthony Hopkins plays a man with dementia, and Olivia Coleman is the daughter whose name he occasionally forgets. CREDIT: Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures Classics

FILM REVIEW: In ‘The Father,’ Anthony Hopkins’ Mind Is Playing Tricks On Him — And On You

There have been many fine films over the past several years about characters struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, like Away From Her, Still Alice and the recent Colin Firth/Stanley Tucci drama Supernova. But few of them have gone as deeply and unnervingly into the recesses of a deteriorating mind as The Father, a powerful new chamber drama built around a mesmerizing lead performance from Anthony Hopkins. Continue Reading FILM REVIEW: In ‘The Father,’ Anthony Hopkins’ Mind Is Playing Tricks On Him — And On You

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James Levine conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007. CREDIT: Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images

James Levine, Former Met Conductor Fired After Abuse Allegations, Dies At 77

James Levine, the immensely accomplished conductor who wielded power and influence in the classical world, and whose singular tenure at the Metropolitan Opera ended in a flurry of accusations of sexual abuse, died on March 9 in Palm Springs, Calif. His physician of 17 years, Dr. Len Horovitz, confirmed his death to NPR, saying that Levine died of natural causes. He was 77 years old. Continue Reading James Levine, Former Met Conductor Fired After Abuse Allegations, Dies At 77

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BOOK REVIEW: Story Collection Puts A Ghostly Spin On Digital ‘Reality’

In John Lanchester’s collection, Reality and Other Stories, the supernatural manifests itself through cell phones, social media, computers, reality tv shows, and smart houses. “Signal,” the opening story, was originally published in The New Yorker and it’s a standout: an eerie homage to Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Story Collection Puts A Ghostly Spin On Digital ‘Reality’

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