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Fred Schruers

Fred Schruers

"Joker: Folie`a Deux...That's Entertainment?

"Joker: Folie`a Deux...That's Entertainment?

Okay, we all know this is where the slagging is meant to come in. Where the writer cites the grand success of the first "Joker" movie and proceeds to indict director Todd Phillips for catastrophically and self-indulgently, in league with his cast, screwing up the sequel. So is

Saoirse Ronan, in "The Outrun", "Rides It Like A Soldier"

Saoirse Ronan, in "The Outrun", "Rides It Like A Soldier"

Who here can stomach a medium-grade blast of positivity? I ask because the current entertainment climate, as depicted by blogger Ted Gioia in a post this week, is trending away from hopefulness and joy. “The pop culture audience today,” he notes, “craves darkness and dysfunction.” The mission of today’s

The “Cultural Tragedy” of the Suppressed Prince Doc

The “Cultural Tragedy” of the Suppressed Prince Doc

The words in quotes in the above headline for this post come from New York Times Magazine culture editor Sasha Weiss, as spoken in a podcast cited below. And she’s right, of course—she steadily proves that throughout her exemplary, 9,000+-words article on the topic (“The Prince

Who is Nastier--The Killer Elite of “Gangs of London” or the Mafiosi of “The Sopranos”?

Who is Nastier--The Killer Elite of “Gangs of London” or the Mafiosi of “The Sopranos”?

Ultimately, it may come down to the role of the common meat cleaver in crime dramas. (Well, perhaps they’re not so common. My domicile lacks one.) Whether in a kitchen or in a plastic-lined car trunk, the gleaming instruments are used, as one corporal in “The Sopranos” notes, for

Lainey Wilson Is the Childless Cat Lady Country Needs

Lainey Wilson Is the Childless Cat Lady Country Needs

It’s true that despite the headline above, I have never seen country singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson posing with a feline. But who can resist putting the boot into the determinedly pubescent twerp that is J.D. Vance? His stupidly mocking phrase, as echoed up top, has become encoded as a

Brits To the Rescue: "Slow Horses" Remounts With Elan

Brits To the Rescue: "Slow Horses" Remounts With Elan

Is there anything more modern—after the now-requisite whinging about the price of everything—than exchanging notes with our fellow cyber-citizens about what to stream? It’s the kind of thing that can take a dinner party (you know, those formerly regular gatherings of like-minded persons to compare dietary restrictions)

The film says: “It Ends With Us”; The Cast Says, “Don’t You Start With Me”

The film says: “It Ends With Us”; The Cast Says, “Don’t You Start With Me”

One thing I can tell you, that Blake Lively sure can swim. Before we get into the squabbling referenced in the headline above, let’s just be clear on that. It’s a minor part of a skill set that’s making her a full-on star the old-fashioned way—she’