Culture

M y wife — as usual — understood the situation before I did. The night before, Monday, Jan. 6, we’d both been awoken by the wind. Hundred-year-old pine branches snapping off like matchsticks. Iron lawn furniture tumbling across the yard. Our dog, shaking, tried to crawl under our pillows. “This …

T he sun rose over Los Angeles County at 6:59 a.m. on Jan. 7 with many of its residents already on high alert. In Malibu, David Hertz had spent most of the night prowling around Xanabu, his aptly named 150-acre property nestled four miles above the Pacific Coast Highway. Hertz …

W e’re in serious trouble. That’s the message I saw written in the ashes of Los Angeles. And by “we,” I mean every human on this planet, rich or poor, young or old, Black or white or brown. In L.A., an $83 million house with 18 bedrooms and six bathrooms …

You can’t please all the people all of the time — even if you’re as popular as Taylor Swift. Having attained a somehow higher level of mega-celebrity with her record-breaking Eras Tour and a closely followed romance with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs (who are headed back to …

About 50 hours into Avowed, I had to put down my controller and step away after becoming emotionally overwhelmed. It wasn’t because of some big narrative moment or choice, but rather a diary I discovered off the beaten path. An innocuous merchant I’d run into in every previous region had …

In the ideological battle for the soul of video games, South of Midnight (out April 8) is the stop-motion heart beating a strange, staccato rhythm at its center. The upcoming third-person action-adventure title from Montreal-based studio Compulsion Games (We Happy Few, Contrast) challenges Roger Ebert’s infamous “video games will never …

When Brynne Weaver first released her novel Butcher & Blackbird, she was on a fact finding mission in the self-publishing world. The author had started with fantasy, then moved into paranormal, and then contemporary dark romance— all with the express purpose of laying the groundwork for her eventual big hit. …

Seems like Jeremy Strong is taking a page out of Timothée Chalamet’s whimsical A Complete Unknown press tour —Club Chalamet’s wrath be damned. The Apprentice star joined fellow Boston natives Ben and Casey Affleck on screen for Dunkin’ Donuts’ Big Game ad, joining the Afflecks’ infamous DunKings group, orange jumpsuits …

Duracell released its first-ever national Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, so who better to welcome their debut onto the nation’s football stage than the 10-time Super Bowl-appearing quarterback himself: Tom Brady. Brady appeared in the commercial in the role of a Fox commentator who powers down just as he’s beginning …

Tennis legend Serena Williams took time during Super Bowl LIX to come to the defense of Taylor Swift, after the singer received a loud chorus of boos when she was shown on the screen during the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles matchup. “I love you @taylorswift13 dont listen to …