SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “XO, Kitty,” now streaming on Netflix. Jenny Han’s 2014 novel “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” first introduces readers to Kitty Song Covey as the mischievous younger sister of main protagonist Lara Jean. Kitty, a precocious pre-teen, harbors a penchant for instigating drama — an affinity that…
Has Director Jonathan Glazer Finally Hit the Oscar ‘Zone’ With ‘Interest’?
With Jonathan Glazer’s previous films “Under the Skin” and “Birth,” the man was playing checkers. Now he’s playing chess with “The Zone of Interest.” For 105 minutes, the auteur filmmaker who’s helmed just three feature films, including the 2000 crime thriller “Sexy Beast” with Oscar nominee Ben Kingsley, puts the audience through the wringer with…
‘Brokeback Mountain’ Review: Well-Acted and Well-Meaning Play Version Doesn’t Make for Compelling Theater
Canny casting of Mike Faist (“West Side Story”) and Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”) and abundant efforts to honor Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain,” immortalized in Ang Lee’s screen version, are all in place. Above all, the sincerity underpinning director Jonathan Butterell’s premiere of a stage version is never in doubt. But despite…
Juanes on His Deeply Personal New Record ‘Vida Cotidiana’: ‘This Is My Best Album — in All Aspects’
Juanes’ new album took two years to complete for many reasons. Countless No. 1s (his 2004 song “La Camisa Negra” continues to be a Spanish pop radio hit) and some 20 Latin Grammys later, the Colombian singer-songwriter has been a part of the upper echelons of Latin music for several years. The stillness of the pandemic, however,…
Patricia Arquette and Director Jay Roach on ‘High Desert,’ the Writers Strike and Making an Underground Comedy
In the new Apple TV+ comedy noir series “High Desert,” Patricia Arquette and Matt Dillon play an off-and-on again couple so naturally that it seems like they must have starred together in some iconic 1990s indie movie. Surprisingly, they haven’t, but the off-kilter, sun-baked menace of films like Arquette starrers “True Romance” and “Lost Highway”…
YouTuber Hank Green Reveals Cancer Diagnosis, Will Miss VidCon as He Undergoes Treatment
Hank Green, the popular YouTube video creator and VidCon co-founder, announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with cancer. In a video posted Friday on YouTube, Green said he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer of the lymphatic system (which is part of the body’s immune system). But he said he will…
Germans Ply a Panoply of Movies in Cannes
German cinema is in Cannes with new works by Wim Wenders and films that explore Nazi propaganda, gender identity, economic crisis, romance, betrayal and fast cars. In addition to domestic films, a dozen German co-productions are screening in this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, including major works from the likes of Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismäki…
‘Riddle of Fire’ Director Weston Razooli Takes Flight Into Fantasy With Directors’ Fortnight Feature Debut
Weston Razooli is far more than just a writer, producer and director. He’s a world-builder, as evidenced by his feature debut, “Riddle of Fire.” The faux-’70s children’s fantasy adventure, which premieres May 20 in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight program, follows three tweens (Charlie Stover, Skyler Peters and Phoebe Ferro) on a quest for ingredients to…
A24’s Nazi Drama ‘Zone of Interest’ Is a Cannes Sensation With 6-Minute Standing Ovation
Jonathan Glazer just delivered the first instant sensation of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. “The Zone of Interest,” only the director’s fourth feature film after “Sexy Beast,” “Birth” and “Under the Skin,” earned a six-minute standing ovation following its world premiere. Glazer’s film is austere and challenging as it tells the story of the commandant…
Paul Simon Considers God, Man and for Whom the Bell Tolls in Quietly Stunning ‘Seven Psalms’: Album Review
All these decades on, Paul Simon is still looking for angels in the architecture. Maybe especially now; he’s 81 and, like many of his contemporaries, thinking about end-of-life issues both spiritual and corporeal. The observations in his quietly stunning new album, ”Seven Psalms,” reflect a sort of consummate maturity: There aren’t many more stages of…