The Crown season 5 review: Queen’s death brings timeliness, but not relevancy

Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, sitting at a desk and looking up at someone, in The Crown

Early in the new season of The Crown, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) sits across from Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) at a dining table aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, lamenting the decrepit state of the […]

RIPD 2 review: a surprise Netflix prequel improves on the original

Dead sheriff Roy (Jeffrey Donovan) looks dubious as he and his more experienced, black-leather-clad ghost-hunter partner Jeanne (Penelope Mitchell) look at something offscreen in RIPD 2: Rise of the Damned

The team behind the surprise spinoff RIPD 2: Rise Of the Damned understands a cardinal rule of prequels: They should stand on their own, rather than endlessly calling back to the film that spawned them. […]

RIPD 2 review: a surprise Netflix prequel improves on the original

Dead sheriff Roy (Jeffrey Donovan) looks dubious as he and his more experienced, black-leather-clad ghost-hunter partner Jeanne (Penelope Mitchell) look at something offscreen in RIPD 2: Rise of the Damned

The team behind the surprise spinoff RIPD 2: Rise Of the Damned understands a cardinal rule of prequels: They should stand on their own, rather than endlessly calling back to the film that spawned them. […]

Taylor Swift- A “Midnights” Review

Taylor Swift- A "Midnights" Review

credit:@taylorswift Taylor Swift has reinvented herself, showing us her most vulnerable, raw, and self-critical side. In this review, I give you my honest opinion on Swift’s latest album, “Midnights,” which went down in Spotify history […]

Duval Timothy: Meeting With a Judas Tree review – disrupted piano minimalism at its most satisfying | Music

Duval Timothy: Meeting With a Judas Tree Album artwork

One would hope that the profile of the pianist and composer Duval Timothy might rise exponentially after his high-profile production work on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr Morale & the Big Steppers. This former art student – […]

Louis Tomlinson: Faith in the Future review – ex-One Direction star gets lost in a sea of influences | Pop and rock

Louis Tomlinson: Faith in the Future album art

Louis Tomlinson: Faith in the Future album art Louis Tomlinson has always felt like the scrappiest member of One Direction. While his former co-workers found specific lanes, he juggled genres, trying everything from EDM to […]

‘Spirited’ review: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds form holiday bromance

Octavia Spencer smiles while surrounded by other partygoers in the movie "Spirited."

“Spirited,” the umpteenth screen incarnation of Charles Dickens’ evergreen “A Christmas Carol,” is such an amusing, buoyant and good-natured entertainment that it’s not hard to forgive this flashy musical-comedy-fantasy’s missteps. Grinchy viewers, however, may sing […]

Cheick Tidiane Seck: Kelena Fôly review – deeply human vocals and piano from a Malian master | Music

Cheick Tidiane Seck: Kelena Fôly album cover

There are few places to hide on a solo piano record. The often fragile and expressive format has been a gauntlet for some of music’s great improvisers, including Abdullah Ibrahim on 2021’s Solotude and Keith […]

Youssou N’Dour review – Senegalese superstar is on magnificent form | Youssou N’Dour

Youssou N’Dour and his band.

As the MC announces that we are to meet “the king of African pop” before Youssou N’Dour comes on stage, this still seems to underplay the history and importance of the most celebrated and influential […]