Culture
From NYT ARTS section
movies
How Olivia Wilde Builds Comic Tension in ‘The Invite’
The director and actress discusses a tense scene from her dinner-party comedy, in which she stars with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton.
By Mekado Murphy
arts
Review: Spoken and Sung Stories Duel in ‘Suddenly Last Summer’
Tennessee Williams’s darkly operatic one-act play becomes a proper opera in a new adaptation by the composer Courtney Bryan.
By Joshua Barone
arts
‘The Chosen’ Studio Is Accused of Shortchanging Crowdfunders
A lawsuit by a former shareholder says he was not fairly compensated when the company behind the popular drama about Jesus’ life went private.
By Malia Mendez
arts
Bayeux Tapestry Arrives in U.K. After Maximum-Security Operation
The 11th-century tapestry will go on display at the British Museum in September. Tickets for the exhibition have already been selling rapidly.
By Alex Marshall
arts
CeCe Winans Revisits the Simple Power of Worship Music
Best known for contemporary stylings of praise music that topped charts across genres, this singer’s new album of pared-down sacred music, “The Hymns,” put her back atop the gospel charts.
By Robert M. Marovich
arts
PEN America President Resigns After Article About Israel and Cultural Boycotts
The novelist Dinaw Mengestu, who was elected seven months ago, said the article “continues this approach toward defending some rights while not defending others.”
By Malia Mendez
podcasts
Jay-Z’s Definitive Album? Debating ‘Reasonable Doubt’ vs. ‘The Blueprint’
Ahead of the rapper’s three celebratory nights at Yankee Stadium, our “Popcast” hosts debate two major Jay-Z albums.
By Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli
movies
Now Entering Noir City
Crime and mystery fans can catch a 10-day festival of film noir at the Paris Theater, or find some killer movies streaming on major platforms.
By Jason Bailey
movies
In ‘Remake,’ a Life Documented on Film Prompts Painful Questions
Ross McElwee (“Sherman’s March”) reconsiders footage of himself and his family, including a son who died of an overdose.
By Alissa Wilkinson
arts
Failure Is Inevitable in a Franchise That’s Incredible
In the psychological horror series Pathologic, eerie theatrics and impossible decisions unfold in a Russian town overrun by plague.
By Christopher Byrd
arts
‘Survival of the Thickest’ Showed How Clichés Can Be Transgressive
The Netflix rom-com series that just ended after three seasons succeeded thanks to an irresistible performance by its star, Michelle Buteau.
By Maya Phillips
movies
5 Children’s Movies to Stream Now
This month’s picks include two 2026 animated adventures and the finale to a Guillermo del Toro franchise.
By Dina Gachman
arts
‘The Ghost in the Shell’ Director Wanted Humans in Charge
In an interview, Mokochan discusses his new adaptation of the classic cyberpunk manga and why this story continues to resonate.
By Rafael Motamayor
arts
The Best Seat in the House Is No Seat at All
Multimedia art is often challenging, provoking. Now it is also potentially bruising. Check your joints before you check out these summer shows.
By Alexis Soloski and Lexi Parra
theater
‘Giulia’ Review: Jennifer Nettles Delivers Empowerment (and Poison)
A stirring but tonally muddled new musical about the “poison queen of Palermo” gets an elegant Off Broadway production.
By Elisabeth Vincentelli
books
A Decorated Historian’s Research Comes Under Fire
Kerri K. Greenidge appeared to lose her professorship at Tufts University after scholars began scrutinizing her 2022 book, “The Grimkes,” which is no longer listed on its publisher’s website.
By Neil Vigdor
arts
Museum Spreads 800 Pounds of Peanut Butter in Tribute to Dutch Artist
An installation honoring the artist, Wim T. Schippers, features a 270-square-foot hexagon spread on the floor of a museum in Rotterdam.
By Natan Odenheimer
movies
Five Action Movies to Stream Now
Upgrade your movie night with these picks, featuring karate-chopping families, rogue assassins and more.
By Robert Daniels
movies
7 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week
Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.
By The New York Times
books
Hershel Parker, Melville Scholar of Ahab-Like Obsessiveness, Dies at 90
The author of an exhaustive two-volume biography, he was “fanatical about his approach to scholarship and infatuated with Melville,” a colleague said.
By Richard Sandomir
books
Sex and Surrealism on the French Riviera
A group of artists gathered at a hotel on the Côte d’Azur in 1937. A new book by Anna Thomasson captures the art and escapades the holiday inspired.
By Emily Eakin
arts
Ronny Chieng Tackles Trump’s Two Air Force Ones
“Is that why there’s no gas in the world anymore? Because the president flies with an extra emotional support plane?” Chieng said on “The Daily Show.”
By Trish Bendix
arts
Art Gallery Shows to See in July
This week in Newly Reviewed, Travis Diehl covers the ramblings of Tinmantis, Jill Magid’s politics, a gory group show and Erin Johnson’s look at Lawrence, Kan., after “The Day After.”
By Travis Diehl
arts
Wes Anderson and Luke Wilson Walk Into an Elevator and … Get Stuck
Don’t worry, they’re fine, though the Los Angeles Fire Department did have to use a hand crank to free them.
By John S.W. MacDonald
arts
Smithsonian Leader Defends Museum After Negative White House Report
In a letter to staff, Lonnie G. Bunch III wrote that the report was “not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History.”
By Robin Pogrebin
arts
Bonnie Tyler, Who Sang ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ Dies at 75
With a voice both weathered and operatic, she minted 1980s pop anthems like “Total Eclipse” and “Holding Out for a Hero.”
By Alex Williams
arts
5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now
Mozart choral works, a pairing of Dvorak and Carlos Simon and piano music by Philip Glass are among our selections.
arts
Paul Thek’s Art Legacy: A Shriek and a Giggle
A pioneering painter, sculptor and installation artist, he achieved posthumous glory as a rule breaker, as two riveting exhibitions show.
By Arthur Lubow
arts
‘The Man Will Burn’: On Filming the Sacred and Propane at Burning Man
The directors of a new four-part docuseries talked about why the long-running desert festival is important — and like being on “another planet.”
By Alexis Soloski
theater
She Became a Private Eye for Her Art. Investigators Had Questions.
A new play is its own piece of art: A first-person account of an official inquiry into an artist’s use of private investigation databases to create work.
By Carolina A. Miranda
movies
‘Westhampton’ Review: A Humiliating Return
They say that you can’t go home again; in this movie, a young filmmaker learns that the hard way.
By Glenn Kenny
movies
‘Night Nurse’ Review: An After-Hours, Erotic Con
In this thriller, a phone scam is being run out of an elder care facility. Eleni, a skittish but observant nurse, quickly becomes enmeshed with two others in the grift.
By Lisa Kennedy
movies
‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ Review: Seeing the Words Clearly
A film adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s celebrated memoir of teaching literature in a repressive Iran suggests that the story might be more suited to the page.
By Ben Kenigsberg
movies
‘Moana’ Review: It Doesn’t Go Far
This live-action remake of the 2016 animated film has nothing to add to the original, and winds up subtracting instead.
By Alissa Wilkinson
movies
‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass’ Review: Hamming It Up
A small-town naïf heads to Los Angeles to bed her celebrity crush (Jon Hamm) in this bonkers sex comedy.
By Jeannette Catsoulis
movies
‘Do You Love Me’ Review: Images of a Beirut Beyond War
The director Lana Daher creates a complex emotional portrait of Lebanon with found footage assembled into a 75-minute film of memory, trauma and life.
By Nicolas Rapold
movies
‘Evil Dead Burn’ Review: Stop, Drop and Kill
A dark spirit boils and sears its way through an unhappy family in the latest “Evil Dead” installment.
By Beatrice Loayza