All Culture
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is, like the other films in the series, a soap opera in spaceThe latest installment is about on par with the enjoyable 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens.' Writer-director Rian Johnson does a creditable, if uninspired, job.
Meanwhile... in Gabon, scientists are asking concerned citizens around the world to help save elephantsAnd in Sweden, some girls are saying no to traditional Santa Lucia pageants, while on St. Helena, an ancient tortoise is looking forward to a new crowd of admirers.
‘Dunkirk’ won box office – is an Oscar next?The film is now one of the 10 domestically highest-grossing movies of the year. As a historical drama, it stands in sharp contrast to such fellow Top 10 list occupiers as the remake of 'Beauty and the Beast' and superhero movies 'Wonder Woman' and 'Spider-Man: Homecoming.'
How Pootie got his wayI didn’t want a Christmas tree, but my husband insisted that someone else truly did.
‘I, Tonya’ skips Harding’s love of skating for fatuous ironyMargot Robbie stars as Tonya Harding in a film that is all smirk and wink.
'1945' is a compact study of wartime guiltAs a Hungarian village prepares for a wedding after V-E Day, two strangers arrive.
Top Picks: The documentary 'California Typewriter,' the Cal app, and moreIf you’re looking up at the night sky as you leave the latest holiday gathering, use the Stellarium Mobile Sky Map app to get guidance on the stars you’re seeing, director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, 'Logan Lucky,' stars Channing Tatum and Adam Driver, and more top picks.
Meanwhile... In Rwanda, the Mahama refugee camp looks more like a city than campAnd in American Samoa, the members of firefighting Squad 61 have developed a motivational tool rarely if ever seen among other firefighters: They sing.
Ill-defined boundaries that are set in stoneFor this New Englander, permission to build a deck means scouring a thicket for obscure markers.
Spotlight is on women artists for ‘Her Paris’An American Federation of Arts exhibition presents more than 80 bold and engaging paintings by 19th-century women from the United States and across Europe.
Parts of 'The Shape of Water' recall films like Cocteau’s 'Beauty and the Beast'The cold-war melodrama featuring Michael Shannon, as a big bad government agent, is less interesting than the relationship between the mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a night-shift janitor, and the mysterious merman captured in the Amazon.
In 'Wonder Wheel,' Woody Allen's latest, the characters are too thinly drawn'Wonder Wheel' stars Kate Winslet as Ginny, a waitress in a clam house who had ambitions to be an actress. Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, and Jim Belushi co-star.
Top Picks: 'Aretha Franklin: A Brand New Me,' the app Solar Walk 2, and moreThe Ski Tracks app could become your favorite skiing buddy, director Bertrand Tavernier’s documentary My Journey Through French Cinema celebrates those who work in film, and more top picks.
Meanwhile... On Christmas Island, millions of red crabs are making their annual migration to the Pacific OceanAnd in Veracruz, Mexico, they are rocking the danzón, while in Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Iceland, farmer Ólafur Ólafsson uses a drone to herd his sheep.
Tale of an overachieving toasterIts zeal was sudden and short-lived. But it changed me.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s clothing provides insight into the artist
Romantic film 'Call Me by Your Name' is too determinedly soothingThe film centers on the romance between teenager Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer), a grad student who has arrived for a summer internship with Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg).
Top Picks: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming,' the iCatcher! Podcast Player app, and moreThe latest installment in the series based on the classic science fiction film 'Planet of the Apes,' 'War for the Planet of the Apes,' is available on DVD and Blu-ray, the PBS program 'Making a New American Nutcracker' is about a new twist on a holiday classic, and more top picks.
Meanwhile... In Iowa, three young Tanzanian visitors seem to have touched the hearts of residentsAnd in Morocco, 110 synagogues have been restored, while in Bolivia, Thailand, and Tunisia, women outnumber men as research scientists.
Gary Oldman takes on the oft-played role of Winston Churchill for biopic ‘Darkest Hour’The film follows the prime minister after the 1940 election. Kristin Scott Thomas and Stephen Dillane co-star.
