The lies in The Farewell, Lulu Wang’s sophomore effort, are multifaceted—some big, some large, all uttered with the intent to placate, soothe, and protect. In the film’s opening sequence, Billi (Awkwafina, radiant and heartbreaking), walks down a busy street in New York on the phone with her grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao…
Lately, reading has been difficult for me; my attention span and my desire to focus on really anything have been lacking. At night, which is my preferred time to read, I will optimistically settle into the warm embrace of the sofa with two books and then play Candy Crush on my phone for hours until a hand cramps and I…
Reboot culture continues to run rampant, sinking its sharp claws into everything beloved, so this news is, by and large, fine: Look Who’s Talking, the movie about a baby who talks like an adult in his head, is getting a remake.
The fictional rendering of Monterey, California as portrayed on Big Little Lies is an enclave rich in breathtaking vistas, obscene wealth, tightly-wound parents, and lies. Five women slink around corners at children’s birthday parties and lurk in parking lots at night, hissing “the lie, the lieeeee” through gritted…
On an average day, I do not spend much time thinking about my underwear because if it’s good, it’s doing its job: covering my front bottom and my back bottom without muss, fuss, or internal strife. If it is bad, on the other hand, it is the only thing I can think about. Life is certainly too short to bother with…
On Monday, Mindy Kaling turned 40 and celebrated by posting a lot on Instagram and also having a birthday dinner. B.J. Novak, the godfather of her child and very close friend, was in attendance. During said event, a photo was taken of the two, prompting BuzzFeed (and others) to write a breathless blog post about how…
Here’s a great case for making your indoor cat wear a collar with a cat bell: this cat, Felix, got stuck in the washing machine, ran through an entire 35-minute wash cycle, and survived?
Truly nothing—nothing—warms the cockles of my cold and hideous heart like these seals who have been trained to “sing” songs.
Summer—she’s here. The beach— she’s there too. Your body? Always there, babe!
There is no better occasion than now to revisit director Stephen Herek’s 1991 sleeper Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. It’s summer-ish, contemporary retroism has the movie’s keen sense of style looking relevant, and our species has not yet been wiped from the face of our planet. If you haven’t seen it, you should…
Last summer, sometime in the depths of August, Vogue.com published a small report from Copenhagen Fashion Week declaring loudly that flip flops—Havianas, specifically— were back. Because it was August and the news was slow, this blog made a small, nearly imperceptible splash and then disappeared. I did not see flip…
Drake, a rapper who thinks he’s a basketball coach, has been courtside throughout the NBA Finals, screaming and touching basketball players in excitement as his beloved Toronto Raptors play against the Golden State Warriors. At Game 5 of this blessed sporting event, Toronto’s biggest, shiniest boy showed up with a…
Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is out and about doing what a royal person does best: rolling up their sleeves and getting in the muck to cosplay at being a regular. Today she’s in Cumbria, shearing a sheep! At a farm! Okay, girl!
Wonder Woman, a powerful feminist icon and moneymaker for Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot, in that order, is coming back to theaters June 2020. Wonder Woman’s outfit has been updated—shiny, gold armor, fishnets, thigh high gold boots—and it looks very practical for fighting super villains and also Kristin Wiig. However,…
After eating bugs in methods both crude and extremely refined, our journey into the dark heart of entomophagy for sustenance and fun reaches its inevitable conclusion. Joined by our new best friends Adam Brody and Jude Tallichet from the Brooklyn Cricket Farm, Rich and I visited the small cricket friends that we would…
When news broke in 2017 that Ali Wong and Randall Park were teaming up to film a romantic comedy, the general tenor of the chatter around this development was breathless and hyperbolic—fans of both actors screaming from the rafters about how desperately we needed a rom-com with Asian American actors that finally put…
An old and possibly racist saying states that in some cultures, there are over 50 words for “snow.” American English has at least as many words for ejaculate, most of which are gross. It seems like now is the time to set the record straight. There should be only one word for this substance and it is likely not what…
The best kind of movies centered around the teen experience function as a type of mirror for the viewer, with the expectation that everyone will see the greatest—or worst—version of their past selves, and feel enriched by a story that semi-accurately reflects their memory of the past. When executed well, this trick…
Orientalist concerns aside, the original cartoon version of Aladdin is a cherished treasure, elevated from your standard Disney cartoon to something greater than the sum of its parts, thanks to a stellar, manic performance from Robin Williams as the Genie. Finding someone to fill those shoes seemed to be the most…
