Maureen Ryan – Page 2

Nick Cave has been singing about mortality for decades, and he's really good at it. Whether the narratives are biblical or pulpy, the victims innocents or death row convicts, the circumstances comprehensible or cruelly random, Cave's songs are on intimate terms with the infinite ways a life can be extinguished. And yet, "Skeleton Tree", his latest album with his estimable band, the Bad Seeds, is a relatively concise song cycle shadowed by death that feels different than all the rest. <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/kot/sc-music-nick-cave-skeleton-tree-ent-0916-20160916-column.html" target="_blank">Read the full review.</a>

‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ review: Overstuffed, but warm and reassuring

August 6, 2019 at 2:43 p.m.

People go to Luke's Diner for reassuring takes on classics like grilled cheese, pie, and coffee, not for foodie creations that look and taste unfamiliar. Most of the viewers who...

What the Amy Schumer saga says about feminism and compromises

December 17, 2018 at 5:40 p.m.

Watching "Inside Amy Schumer" has often elicited a storm of different reactions: laughter, recognition, shock, occasionally frustration. So it's not surprising that this week has been a rollercoaster for those...

‘Feed the Beast’ review: David Schwimmer drama is a flavorless concoction

June 10, 2018 at 1:14 p.m.

The existence of "Feed the Beast" is hard to justify at any time, but in an age in which fans of scripted TV have hundreds of choices available, this drama...

Alicia revisits her past, faces ambiguous future in ‘The Good Wife’ finale

June 10, 2018 at 3:12 p.m.

Don't read on unless you've seen "End," the series finale of the CBS drama "The Good Wife."You almost had me, "Good Wife" finale, right until the end. I have some...

‘Scandal’ & more TV shows tackle abortion issue head-on

April 5, 2019 at 6:00 a.m.

TV loves to show characters hooking up. Steamy moments punctuate countless TV episodes, but the topics of contraception and abortion? Many shows would rather run for the hills than address...

Looking back at a decade ago when TV first peaked

June 8, 2018 at 9:17 p.m.

"Mad Men" didn't premiere until 2007 -- after the landmark year of 2006 -- but what Don Draper said about the Kodak Carousel is eternally true: "Nostalgia: It's delicate, but...

Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, Hugh Laurie as Richard Onslow Roper and Elizabeth Debick as Jed Marshall in "The Night Manager."

‘The Night Manager’ review: Charming Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie are hard to resist

June 11, 2018 at 1:19 a.m.

The contours of the spy story at the core of "The Night Manager" are familiar: A damaged, mysterious operative goes undercover with bad people who live luxurious lives that leave...

‘Anyone can die?’ TV’s recent death toll says otherwise

June 11, 2018 at 2:08 a.m.

It has been a deeply frustrating and blood-soaked spring. Just about every week lately, it's felt as though TV was hosting a Red Wedding for any character who wasn't a...

Introducing a new way to think about female characters in TV and film

June 11, 2018 at 2:35 a.m.

TV viewers and moviegoers don't see character introductions in scripts, but they're enormously important. These short descriptions -- usually just a line or two of text -- provide a template...

Anthony Anderson, left, and Miles Brown appear in a scene from the family comedy "Black-ish."

‘Black-ish’ is the ideal sitcom for the age of Black Lives Matter

June 11, 2018 at 6:13 a.m.

It's a small prop, dwarfed by other items on the dark wooden table. Among the books, decorative objects and remotes in the large family room, which is at the heart...

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