Arts & Life

Resistance is feudal: John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf) and Bjorn Borg (Sverrir Godnason) face off in Borg vs. McEnroe, a dramatized take on their famed '80s rivalry.

Arts

'Borg vs. McEnroe': Game, Set And An Unlikely Match

5:01pm April 12, 2018

by Ella Taylor

This "smoothly crafted, satisfyingly earnest" film features many sports-movie clichés, but digs a bit deeper to find psychological affinities between the two very different athletes.

Rosamund Pike plays a U.S. operative who helps Jon Hamm's diplomat in the political thriller Beirut.

Arts

Factions, And Hidden Agendas, Clash In 'Beirut'

5:00pm April 12, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

In this controversial, "involving if somewhat predictable" political thriller, Jon Hamm plays a diplomat who returns to Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War to negotiate the release of an old friend.

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami is an intimate and personal look at the Jamaican megastar, who became a New Wave icon in the eighties.

A Diva Deconstructed In 'Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami'

5:00pm April 12, 2018

by Scott Tobias

Sophie Fiennes' film about the legendary performer "achieve[s] a level of intimacy and candor ... that's uncommon for documentaries about figures who control their images this closely."

In writer/director Chloe Zhao's The Rider, Brady (Brady Jandreau) is forced to rethink his life after a traumatic rodeo accident.

Arts

After The Fall: A Cowboy Picks Up The Pieces Of His Former Life In 'The Rider'

4:44pm April 12, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Filmmaker Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me) tells the sensitive and searching tale of a young cowboy (Brady Jandreau) confronting his uncertain future.

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Books
Arts

Jo Nesbo Gives 'Macbeth' A Gritty, Action-Packed Update

2:29pm April 12, 2018

by Bethanne Patrick

The latest installment of the Hogarth Shakespeare series sees crime novelist Nesbo taking on the Scottish Play in an adaptation that comes alive the farther he strays from Shakespeare's original.

Barbara J. King points to some of her favorite science commentaries she has written for NPR.

A Thank You To NPR's Science Commentary Readers

1:29pm April 12, 2018

by Barbara J. King

For 6 1/2 years, Barbara J. King has written commentaries for NPR on everything from animals and anthropology to gender and higher education. Here, she offers up some of her favorite pieces.

The Roots Of 'Black And Gray Realism' Tattoos

5:19am April 12, 2018

by Shereen Marisol Meraji

A popular style of tattooing called "black and gray realism" has its roots in East LA's Chicano culture. It moved from California prisons in the 1970s to high-end tattoo shops worldwide.

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Rumors of the NECCO maker's impending demise have sparked a renewed interest in its products â especially its famous chalky-tasting wafers that some people love to hate.

NECCO-Mania: Fans Stock Up On Chalky Wafers In Case Candy Company Folds

9:07pm April 11, 2018

by Craig LeMoult

Rumors of the impending demise of NECCO have sparked a renewed interest in the company's products — especially its famous, eponymous, chalky wafers that some people love to hate.

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Arts

Comedy Club Owner Mitzi Shore, A Gatekeeper Of Careers, Dies At 87

9:06pm April 11, 2018

Many of America's most well-known comedians got their break at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in LA. Chris Rock, David Letterman, Robin Williams were just three. Mitzi Shore owned the place. She died Wednesday at 87.

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Arts

New York's Metropolitan Museum Announces Max Hollein As New Director

4:54pm April 11, 2018

by Andrew Limbong

The Metropolitan Museum in New York City has hired a new director. Max Hollein takes over at a time of increased visitor numbers, but also as the institution deals with financial instability.