Viewers are finally shown the Lana Winters we’ve longed for: sassy, determined and channeling Jackie O as she struts her stuff in “Spilt Milk.” Just before her release, she promises Jude that she will return and expose all the horrors at Briarcliff. In present day, the episode unveils some highly disturbing, Oedipal interaction between Johnny Morgan and a prostitute...
Just close your eyes and listen—actually, don’t close your eyes. You might fall asleep, albeit in the coolest way possible, to legendary indie band Yo La Tengo’s “Fade.” Their latest album—also, their first since “Popular Songs” (2009) and 13th overall—consists of a dreamy set of sometimes catchy, sometimes endearing tracks that leave the listener in a happily-induced daze.
The album...
A mother’s love is unconditional and precious—sometimes to the point of being frightening, and that’s when you feel the constriction in the relationship. This is definitely the case in “Mama,” a thrilling and more comprehensive recreation of director Andres Muschietti’s Spanish short film, “Mamá” (2008). He collaborates with fairy tale and horror genius, executive producer Guillermo del Toro (“The...
The troubadour was a figure of lyrical poetry that became very popular during the Middle Ages. Christopher Owens seems to embody this role in the 21st century. After the breakup of his debut band Girls just six short months ago, Owens takes listeners through the journey of his promising musical career with his first solo album “Lysandre,” titled after...
Space has long been regarded as the final frontier of human travel. But once we have found our place among the stars, what happens to human culture? “Free Enterprise: The Art of Citizen Space Exploration” seeks to answer this question through an exhibition of 25 international artists and organizations that closely examines civilian space exploration. Ranging from thought-provoking choreography...
Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a smashing comeback to the silver screen in the action-packed thriller, “The Last Stand.” Like many of his earlier roles—take the futuristic “Terminator” film series for example—this B-feature can be summed up by its title. Audiences can expect lots of gunfire, revved engines and clichéd one-liners that are dropped in at the end of violent scenes.
After...
When we last left Showtime’s wildly obscene series “Shameless,” the Gallaghers were entrapped within a vicious circle of insane antics. In the past, the show has pushed the boundaries of ordinary programming, but the birth of an infant afflicted with Down syndrome, a mother falling in love with her soon to be son-in-law, and a homosexual relationship between the...
Prior to listening to their 3rd and latest album, “Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones,” Black Veil Brides seemed to me like a band whose gimmick heavily relied on an overabundance of guyliner, hairspray and hazardously spiked clothing. They had failed to seize my attention with “Knives and Pens” from their debut EP “Sex & Hollywood,”...
When I sat down to read “Tenth of December,” I knew nothing about author George Saunders beyond his lauded description as “the writer of our time” with an “original writing style.” I’ll see for myself what this tremor in the literary community is all about, I thought. I didn’t begin to expect that his latest short story collection would...
We are back to the ‘90s when it comes to just about everything in today’s pop culture: fashion, makeup and now, music. Never Shout Never’s 4th album “Indigo” seems to bring an abrupt end to the band’s indie days in exchange for a classic pop-rock sound reminiscent of Sonic Youth. The retroactive resonance accentuates the entire band this time...