Why don’t you know about Lavell Crawford?
Is it because he is black?
Culture
The good, the bad and the ugly in books, exhibitions, cinema, TV, dance, music, podcasts and theatre.
January 27, 2019
Cold War is a true work of art
Cold War reviewed
Why SNL’s Tucker Carlson skit was a misfire
SNL writers presumably believe that all Fox News shows operate on the same level of idiocy — and that isn’t right
January 24, 2019
The dark passion of Bryan Singer
Does a 22-year-old film point to the director’s alleged perversions?
January 23, 2019
Russell Baker and Masterpiece Journalism
The absence of directness in modern American journalism reflects the cowardice and complicity of the journalists
January 22, 2019
Which Fyre Festival documentary is most worth watching?
Fyre Fraud and Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened reviewed
The Lego-cy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The politicization of the Supreme Court cuts both ways
January 19, 2019
FYRE reveals disturbing truths about millennial culture
What possible contribution could this generation make to film or literature?
January 18, 2019
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch exposes the dullness of Choose Your Own Adventure books
How else could a drama as knowing and meta and arch do anything other than disappear up its own bottom?
January 15, 2019
Why has comedy got so much worse in the Trump era?
Comics should stop trying to be activists, and commentators, and philosophers
January 13, 2019
A tale of a dead woman walking
Destroyer reviewed
January 11, 2019
Inside the strange world of Fox News fan art
May God have mercy on our souls
Twenty years on from The Sopranos
‘People have been calling me Big Pussy for 20 years!’
January 7, 2019
I could watch Marie Kondo forever
The way Kondo does it is really quite inspirational. And relatively painless
Moral preening and identity politics were the big winners at the Golden Globes
The answer to the race conundrum was to split the difference between the minorities, and give most of the awards to white actors
January 6, 2019
Feeling lucky, pops?
The Mule reviewed
January 5, 2019
Louis C.K. is not OK
Dinosaurs like the comedian steadfastly refuse to acknowledge there are 689 genders now
December 30, 2018
The critics are wrong about Holmes & Watson
Holmes & Watson reviewed
December 27, 2018
The power behind the power behind the power
Vice reviewed
December 23, 2018
Christmas music is hell on earth…
…apart from one song
December 17, 2018
Christmas at the cinema with Donald Trump
‘We can say Merry Christmas again’ — and again, and again
December 16, 2018
Hail Mary
Mary Queen of Scots reviewed
December 15, 2018
Let’s admit that comedy is problematic
Godfrey Elfwick is deeply troubled by Konstantin Kisin’s reaction to a London university’s perfectly reasonable request
December 14, 2018
How much did Churchill owe to Shakespeare?
An exhibition in Washington explores the Bard’s influence on the British Prime Minister
December 10, 2018
Why has late night swapped laughs for lusting after Mueller?
Going after Trump is the least subversive act in comedy
Hollywood loves a remake, but do we?
Once more, with feeling
December 9, 2018
Is Roger really what Ailes the American republic?
Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes reviewed
December 7, 2018
Kevin Hart isn’t funny
Academy Awards viewers have dodged a bullet
December 6, 2018
The height of hypocrisy: why on earth is Bohemian Rhapsody up for a Golden Globe?
It’s a mediocre vehicle that promotes Queen’s back catalog and some contemporary virtues
