Culture
Culture
Zola epic captures public imagination
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out???????? It’s kind of long but full of surprise (crying with laughter emoji) (crying emoji).” Thus begins what’s come to be known as the “Zola Story” (or sometimes just “Zola”), a scintillating tale of sex, drugs, debauchery, suicide, murder and good old […]
Culture
‘Red’: A tale of blood and the void
Classical music plays as Mark Rothko stands in the middle of the stage smoking a cigarette. The painting studio set behind him features a few completed paintings, a few blank canvases and boarded up windows. Rothko sees none if it: He’s staring out at the audience. His young new assistant Ken enters and Rothko demands, […]
CT Recommends
CT Recommends: Trainwreck
“Monogamy isn’t realistic.” In Judd Apatow’s “Trainwreck,” the protagonist Amy (Amy Schumer) lives by this motto ever since her father repeated it to her and her sister (Brie Larson) when they were young girls. She has casual sex but never spends the night. She dates but never exclusively, much to the dismay of her boyfriend […]
Culture
Tales from the cemetery: writers find inspiration in the dead
A man, Matt, and his wife, Wilma, discuss with their son where he wants to be buried. Does he want to be next to his sister, Meredith, for all of eternity? “Gross,” the son says. Fine. He can be buried between his mother and father. “But wait,” the man says. “That won’t work.” Why? Because […]
Culture
An incisive mind, an eternal dream: the life and times of Steve Jobs
Danny Boyle’s latest film, “Steve Jobs,” occurs in an explicit three-act structure. The film focuses on the failures of Jobs (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as a father, friend and human being. In Boyle’s eyes, occurred tangentially to three of his largest product launches—those of the Apple Macintosh, NeXT computer and iMac. In the first act, […]
Culture
A heroine arises in ‘Love & Mercy’
“Love and Mercy,” the alarming biopic of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, reveals the toll that sudden fame can have on an individual, particularly one in the early stages of mental illness. Alternating between two timelines—the ‘60s, in which young Brian (Paul Dano), in the initial throes of fame, begins to crumble under the pressure […]
CT Recommends
CT Recommends: ‘You Made it Weird’
Pete Holmes has perhaps the most infectious laughter in the world. It’s a long, loud cackle/bray that he breaks out at the slightest provocation. He might get a little too goofy for some, but he balances it out with one of the more thought-provoking interview podcasts around. He interviews actors, writers, spiritual figures and comedians, […]
CT Recommends
CT Recommends: ‘Boogie Nights’
Whether or not you like the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, you can’t say he doesn’t take on difficult material. “The Master” dealt with debilitating alcoholism and cults. “There Will Be Blood” was a scorching essay on capitalism and fatherhood, set in California oil fields in the 1890’s. But perhaps nothing quite touches the high […]
Culture
Deerhunter album shoots straight
Late last month, before they released their seventh full-length album, “Fading Frontier,” the indie rock band Deerhunter put an interactive map of their influences on their website. The concept map, which was signed “B. Cox”—the moniker of the band’s singer, Bradford Cox—included such eclectic sources as Pharaoh Sanders, Tom Petty, “souless new car smell” and […]
Culture
Adele’s ‘Hello’ a much-awaited greeting
“Hello, can you hear me?” Yes, Adele we can hear you, loud and clear. After a three-year hiatus from the world of music, the beloved queen of pop/soul finally returned to the spotlight on Friday, Oct. 23 with the release of her new single “Hello.” To say that Adele’s comeback has been strong would be […]