The Norwegian drama “Dreams (Sex Love),” a tender, often funny film by the director Dag Johan Haugerud, won the top prize at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. Part of a trilogy about contemporary relationships in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, the understated feature follows the consequences of a high school student’s obsession with her … Read more
Three book events at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta were abruptly canceled late this week, raising questions about whether leadership changes at the National Archives and Records Administration were affecting programming at the 13 presidential libraries it oversees. The events, which featured authors of books on climate change, homelessness and the … Read more
The skies are typically gray and gloomy at the Berlin International Film Festival, but this year’s edition, which runs through Sunday, began with snow for days. The wintry weather gave the event — known as the Berlinale — a magical glow at first, but it wasn’t enough to keep the demons at bay. Looming over … Read more
Dear readers, If the retail price of a book were pegged to the number of high-quality ideas it contained, the two books below would sell for downright goofy sums. And by the same logic, a book that contained zero ideas or — worse — lazy or unsupported ones would owe the reader money for squandered … Read more
I think every crime and mystery writer has four types of novels they will inevitably write in their career: a murder mystery, a heist novel, a novel of revenge — and a serial killer novel. Serial killers are our modern-day boogeymen (and women). They have replaced the vampire, the werewolf and even the ghost as … Read more
Last fall, after an especially blistering concert overseas, the veteran rocker Bob Mould walked offstage and realized he couldn’t breathe. “I’d thrown myself so hard into the physicality of the show that I hyperventilated for about 15 minutes,” the musician, 64, said. “It was just one of those shows where I was like, ‘Did I … Read more
The beauty industry has seen exponential growth over the past few years, driven in part by a growing interest in preventative skin care among Gen Z and increased demand for clean and personalized formulations. As a consumer, it can be overwhelming to navigate all of the various acids, oils and vitamins claiming to be the … Read more
“If you label me, you negate me,” the performance artist and fashion designer Leigh Bowery said in 1993, one year before his death at age 33. Maybe it is this resistance to easy categorization that has meant Bowery never quite became a household name. His cultural influence, though, is beyond question: His provocative performances led … Read more
In his Tony-winning musical, “Rent,” Jonathan Larson asked: “How do you measure a year in the life?” The question took on an even heavier weight, with striking resonance, after Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35 in 1996, hours before the show’s first preview. In the years after, dozens of his unheard songs were … Read more
In his debut special, Ian Karmel, a veteran comic and writer for late night and award shows, turns his worst joke into one of his best by continually refusing to tell it. It’s a neat trick, characteristic of his unpredictably funny style. Explaining his hesitance, he makes a meal out of the idea that it … Read more