“Deadpool 2” is not better than the first one or emotionally deeper (despite trying), but that does not matter because it is funnier. New director David Leitch sticks to the same formula of raunchy humor and low blows to other superhero movies for a film that succeeds in feeling new and hilarious enough to keep […]

ALL HAIL Thanos. Superhero cinema has a new king. Disney/Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” which introduces reigning baddie Thanos (Josh Brolin) in full, is the biggest superhero movie ever, before adjusting for inflation. Boosted by a massive $200 million opening in China, according to industry estimates, “Infinity War” has now grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, topping 2012’s […]

THE NEWEST national magazine cover featuring a golfing President Trump might not be making its way to the proud walls of the president’s country clubs any time soon. The image is by John Cuneo, and the cover illustration, which appears on the latest issue of the New Yorker, is titled “The Swamp.” Rather than rendering a […]

PERHAPS LUCASFILM can now exhale deeply with relief. The keepers of the Star Wars cinematic franchise have had a couple of white-knuckle landings into theaters since Disney bought Lucasfilm and rebooted George Lucas’s creation. But arguably none have been as harrowing as “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which opens May 25. Ever since Lucasfilm head […]

SHOULD GINA HASPEL lead the Central Intelligence Agency? In another time, further from the shadow of post-9/11 torture, the deputy CIA director would likely be a lock for the top job. Her colleagues at the agency have called her a “consummate professional,” and The Washington Post’s Marc A. Thiessen says the spymaster’s accomplishments across a […]

Forgotton Anne Developed by: Throughline Games Published by: Square Enix Collective Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One I wonder what philosophers or poets would make of “Forgotton Anne,” a sumptuously animated game about a place where forgotten things go when people lose track of them. In this vibrant refuge, so redolent of the Japanese […]

PRESIDENT TRUMP’s decision this week to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement — a 2015 deal that he called “defective at its core” — is already having a ripple effect. “In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons,” […]

ON WEDNESDAY evening at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, Ward Sutton spoke both as a cartoonist specifically and a Fourth Estate representative generally, seeking to summon the kind of battling journalistic spirit embodied by Herblock — the late legend for whom Sutton’s newly acquired trophy was named. Herblock was committed to “a lifelong fight […]

AS WARD SUTTON accepts the prize tonight that is named for Herblock, he can’t help but marvel at what a different world the legendary Washington Post cartoonist inhabited. For most of the 20th century, Herblock got to hurl his inky slings and arrows from a rare Post perch, fearlessly coining the term “McCarthyism” to metaphorically […]

FOR MUCH of the history of American editorial cartooning, the standard format has held strong: a bold, single image carrying the entire metaphoric weight of the opinion being expressed. Major mainstream contests have reflected that primacy, including the Pulitzer Prizes for nearly a century, and more recently the RFK Award and the Herblock Prize, named […]

IS THERE a method to Rudy Giuliani’s mouthiness? As the new member of President Trump’s legal team, “America’s Mayor” has been firing shots from all points on the media floor, but critics say Giuliani’s game plan has turned into a full-court mess. Consider that amid a swamp of rumor and innuendo about Trump, his longtime […]

There is perhaps no bigger comic book-inspired cinematic enigma than Sony’s “Venom” movie, which will arrive in theaters this October. After a seemingly pointless teaser trailer release in February that had plenty of star Tom Hardy but absolutely no Venom, the grumbling began as to whether Sony, which needed Marvel Studios to save Spider-Man on […]

JOE RUSSO, co-director of “Avengers: Infinity War,” sat in a Washington conference room last week and half-joked: If only the film had already opened in China, too. “Infinity War’s” global box office is already so massive, though, it hasn’t needed China (where the film opens this coming weekend) to set records. Disney/Marvel’s “Infinity War” passed […]

There is a new bulletproof black man in Harlem, and it is not Luke Cage. Netflix and Marvel released a new trailer for the second season of “Luke Cage,” and in it, the titular hero (Mike Colter) is seen doing something you rarely see on this show: being knocked to the ground by someone’s fist. That […]

WHETHER BY caravan or boat or airborne book, the Library of Congress’s annual National Book Festival likes to envision reading as a journey that leaves you transported. So it is with the festival’s latest official poster, as created by Brooklyn-based artist Gaby D’Alessandro, who depicts the intellectual lift of literature by rendering an atmospheric expanse […]

Note: Major “Avengers: Infinity War” spoilers ahead. IF THE Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a weakest link during its unprecedented decade-long winning streak, that has arguably been the depth of its villains. Fortunately for the studio, though, 2018 has been a very good for Marvel baddies. In March, “Black Panther” delivered an exceptionally engaging villain […]

PART OF the power of film is its ability to share ideas forward across centuries. And today, so many flickering decades after Georges Méliès pioneered trick after effect after sleight of eye at the dawn of moviemaking, Google and its creative partners are listening to one of cinema’s first great wizards by tuning in across […]

IN 2006, from the belly of the Washington Hilton, I found myself immensely enjoying the brilliant routine by that night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner talent, rookie “Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert. We chatted briefly afterward, and he seemed to grasp what a great career move this gig was. His stand-up that night, strafing as […]

Note: Major “Avengers: Infinity War” spoilers ahead. It turns out Captain Marvel was in “Avengers: Infinity War” — just not in the way some fans thought she would. In a post-credit scene that saw both Nick Fury and Maria Hill fall victim to Thanos’s plan to wipe out half of existence, Fury quickly assesses that a universe-altering […]

Turns out the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe hero wasn’t in “Avengers: Infinity War.” Marvel Studios has released the latest trailer for “Ant-Man and The Wasp,” in theaters this July, and we get plenty of Ant-Man in his Giant-Man form, using trucks as scooters in the streets of San Francisco. What we don’t get is any […]

Note: Major “Avengers: Infinity War” spoilers. Haven’t seen it? Don’t read this. The king is dead. Long live Shuri? One of the most shocking moments of “Avengers: Infinity War” was when Thanos snapped his fingers and half of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to fade away. At that point, it was a guessing game as […]

Note: This post contains spoilers. You probably clicked on this to read about a certain fight scene, and we’ll get there shortly. But first, we need to talk about behinds. Yes, that kind. In the individual character posters Marvel Studios released in April to promote “Avengers: Infinity War,” Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian […]

WITH THE massive opening of “Avengers: Infinity War” over the weekend, the $200 million benchmark continues to become a bit less rarefied. Yet the Disney/Marvel movie has just hit a peak that might not be beat anytime soon. “Infinity War” grossed $258.2 million in its domestic debut, according to industry totals Monday, topping “Star Wars: […]

Note: Of all the spoilers regarding “Avengers: Infinity War,” this is the big one. If you haven’t seen it, don’t read this. You’ve been warned. Thanos won. Of all the shocking twists and surprises offered in “Avengers: Infinity War,” the Mad Titan sitting in a peaceful quiet after wiping out half the universe with the […]

WELL BEFORE Comedy Central-turned-Netflix comedian Michelle Wolf took the lectern Saturday evening at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and New York Times investigative reporter Maggie Haberman had already come into the sights of Showtime’s humor. “Can you believe the lying fake media invited me again to the White […]

“WHY DOES the show endure?” legendary comedy writer Mike Reiss asks of “The Simpsons,” the show he used to run, in his forthcoming book “Springfield Confidential.” “Because it’s based on two fundamental principles: family and folly.” With that in mind, it only seems fitting that “The Simpsons” draws upon both principles to dramatize its act […]

CONGRATULATIONS, Avengers. You’re the new modern box-office champ. Disney/Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” had a domestic debut of $250 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, as published by the industry tracking site Box Office Mojo. That tops the $247.9 million North American opening of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” before adjusting for inflation. (Worth noting: […]

THE RECOGNITION continues to stream in for first-time graphic novelist Emil Ferris. On Thursday, San Diego’s Comic-Con International announced that Ferris had scored five Eisner Awards nominations for her debut, the diary-style opus “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters” (Fantagraphics), including best new graphic album and best writer-artist. Ferris’s work is also a Hugo Award nominee and […]

The Thin Silence Developed by: Two PM Studios Published by: Nkidu Games Inc. Available on: PC In the last decade, a number of indie developers have reinterpreted video game forms from the past to tell emotionally infused stories. Ben Follington and Ricky James’s “The Thin Silence” does this by mining the look of 1980s games […]

Ahead of the official opening of “Avengers: Infinity War” on Friday, it bears taking a little time to recall just how we got here. The path of milestones since “Iron Man” kicked things off a decade ago can be reflected in telling quotes along the way. With that in mind, here are six of the […]

“Avengers: Infinity War,” which officially opens Friday, is the culmination of a decade-long unspooling of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, which together represent one of Hollywood’s longest studio winning streaks ever. Yet while Marvel Studios is viewed as a pioneering success story, that doesn’t mean the individual films haven’t been marred by some creative missteps. Here’s how […]

FRENCH PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron arrived in Washington this week packing panache — and a verbal punch. Macron got touchy-feely with President Trump in scenes worthy of a French buddy comedy, filled with amusing vocal props and awkward photo-ops before the fun State Dinner montage unspooled. Then Macron got to Congress and removed the diplomatic glove. […]

Frostpunk Developed by: 11 bit studios Published by: 11 bit studios Available on: PC When the temperature dropped to -70°C I knew I was in trouble. That was when the level of discontent rocketed among the refugees I was leading. The generator around which we’d founded our small society was gobbling up fuel and we’d […]

IN THE wake of the most recent “Simpsons” controversy, cast member Hank Azaria is calling for greater cultural diversity and sensitivity on the show — including perhaps a major change to one of his characters. Azaria appeared on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday evening to promote his IFC show “Brockmire,” but talk […]

“Avengers: Infinity War” is an experience unlike anything fans have seen in Marvel Studios’  10-year superhero reign. It would be easy to think that’s because of this historic gathering of not only the best, but also all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in one place. And make no mistake, that is a huge part of what […]