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Melanie McfarlandSalon |
One of the oddest aspects of 2015's “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” is how badly Robert Durst wants to be known and understood....
South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook wants us to picture fireworks while watching “The Sympathizer.” That image inspires his visual...
On April 26, Vanessa Williams pulled a Beyoncé – or is it a Cher? – by dropping her first new single in 15 years without much fanfare, relying on...
A couple of years ago Drew Barrymore posted an Instagram video of herself giddily strolling in a downpour, hair soaked and laughing...
Last week Gerry Turner and his wife Theresa Nist, whose competition-driven courtship was chronicled on the first ever edition of “The Golden...
At some point last year, Anna Sawai struggled through an existential crisis. Proving that such paroxysms can descend on anyone at any time and...
While growing up, "Manhunt" creator Monica Beletsky wondered why the neighborhoods in her hometown of Philadelphia were so different from each other...
War blurs clean-cut reasoning despite the concrete "one versus another" description. "The Sympathizer" reminds us of this in its opening frames,...
Some of us have never known a time when O.J. Simpson wasn't onscreen somewhere or part of the cultural conversation. Starting in 1975, Simpson was the...
Michael Burnham's "Star Trek" journey was destined to be among the franchise's toughest and most complex. Some of us knew this from the moment...
Giancarlo Esposito has a different energy about him these days. The shift may be subtle enough to evade someone sitting down to “Parish,” the new...
For a brief window of time — no more than a crack — it looked as if Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) might get what was coming to her. The finale of...
Mary Villiers wasn’t born to power. She had to scheme her way there from the dirt, learning what she was up against on the way up. An early episode...
Last week Hulu canceled “Death and Other Details” which isn’t surprising considering what a derivative concept it was working with. Setting a...
The shadow cast by “Breaking Bad” is inky, far-reaching and difficult, but not impossible, to escape. A few of “Parish” lead Giancarlo...
When the writers put their backs into it “The Walking Dead” can spin decent relationship tales. That’s easy to forget with all the marauders and...
Forty-six years ago, PBS' "NOVA" series debuted its first documentary about artificial intelligence. "The Mind Machines" featured many of the field's...
Awkwardness is human. It’s also Harry Vanderspeigle’s defining characteristic as a stranded extraterrestrial, making “Resident Alien” one of...
Some costs can only be fully understood through numbers. In chronicling the two defamation lawsuits brought against Alex Jones and his website,...
Let’s recognize what a brave and daring act Doug Liman has undertaken in remaking “Road House” especially considering, and I am simply repeating...
One ingredient can change a dish's entire profile. That isn't what the producers of "Top Chef" wanted in choosing Kristen Kish to succeed Padma...
It doesn't take long to decide whether Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” is extraordinary or a disarranged travesty. That decision rests on a variety...
Throughout “Stormy” we’re shown the many ways Stormy Daniels has been co-opted to suit others’ purposes. To right-wing bullies, she’s a safe...
Much like one of its secondary characters, "Manhunt" is a peculiar kind of double agent. Initially, it progresses as advertised: a conspiracy thriller...
At some point in our lives, all of us have shared polite verbal exchanges with people whose political, cultural and social views are diametrically...
For the 96th Oscars, ABC’s host Jimmy Kimmel chose to pay tribute to the unforgettable work of Robert Opel, the man who streaked the 1974 Academy...
It took about two years for a scene in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2004 feature “Downfall” to become an internet meme Hall of Famer. You’ve probably...
Over the nearly 50 years that “Saturday Night Live” has been on the air the headlines it generates take on a certain sameness. We search for signs...
If you want to believe one of the more dubious claims concerning the influence of the 1980 adaptation of “Shōgun,” Americans may thank the...
You might have heard that President Joe Biden has been struggling to reach certain voters lately. It’s telling, though, that he hasn’t responded...
Scott Gimple extends his apologies to everyone who abandoned "The Walking Dead" after the bloody seventh season premiere. He also mourned the demise...
Lately, I've encountered a slew of stories promising to decode the psychology of Gen Z workers. What motivates them? Which common assumptions about...
Will the victor be the aging leader who can preserve only part of the Earth, or the one who is eager to burn it?
By the conclusion of FX’s “Shōgun,” we won't be talking about Cosmo Jarvis. He takes second billing to Hiroyuki Sanada, which is proper. It...
The Screen Actors Guild Awards aren't on most must-watch lists during Oscar season. Past telecasts ran on TNT and TBS, treated as temporary departures...
Some reality shows take a season or two to become their best selves. Remember the first season of “Big Brother”? Unless you’re a superfan,...
Three years ago Wendy Williams declared herself “the queen of ‘I don’t care.’” She was responding to a Los Angeles Times reporter asking if...
Clenching is a respectable response to any announced adaptation of a beloved animated property, especially when Netflix is producing it. The company...
In the wake of the “True Detective: Night Country” finale debates arose concerning two mysteries Issa López left unsolved, starting with the...
Winter is a woman, stunning, just and cruel. She blankets the land in glitter to give the flowers and grass time to sleep. She slows decay and gives...
By every metric that matters – standing ovations, media orgasms and, above all, Nielsen ratings – Jon Stewart’s return to “The Daily Show”...
Years ago, while visiting Florence, Italy’s famed Uffizi gallery, screenwriter David Hemingson found himself captivated by the famed painting of the...
A week before Bobi Wine and his wife Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi received word that their documentary "Bobi Wine: The People's President" had been...
At first glance, a person can be forgiven for mistaking Ennis’ police department as a family operation upon meeting police chief Liz Danvers (Jodie...
There’s a nice symmetry between last year’s Super Bowl reveal of an expectant Rihanna, and this year's, featuring a shirtless Usher doing his...
Mastercard calls it “The Swift Lift.” That has more of a ring to it than “The Swift Effect,” the more common term used to describe Taylor...
Can I admit something? I never liked Elmo. “Sesame Street” isn’t to blame for that. The fault lies with my mummified heart, I guess, along with...
Consensus is the rarest gem in a time defined by division. If Tracy Chapman’s recent Grammys rendition of “Fast Car” struck an...
Women are more likely to believe in ghosts than men. Women also tend to be more religious, pray more frequently and believe in heaven. A few polls...
Second time around . . . or Second Coming? Measuring the explosive ovation at the news of Jon Stewart’s once-a-week return to “The Daily Show”...