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Kelvin Harrison Jr. in "Monster."
MOVIES

In ‘Monster,’ on Netflix: when matters of innocence and guilt get complicated

This adaptation of the Walter Dean Myers young adult novel, starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. as a 17-year-old boy accused of being accessory to a murder, is solid, well-acted, and thought-provoking.
Giovanni Battista Pittoni the younger's circa 1720s painting "Hannibal Swearing Revenge against the Romans" is among the works displayed in "What the Nazis Stole from Richard Neumann (and the Search to Get It Back)" at the Worcester Art Museum.

What’s happening in the arts world

This week's picks from Globe critics.
Jason Statham, left, and Josh Hartnett in "Wrath of Man."
MOVIE

In ‘Wrath of Man,’ Jason Statham works for an armored car company. Now there’s trouble.

It's a propulsive but wearily routine revenge thriller directed by Guy Ritchie with none of the Ritchie hallmarks (wit, surprises, oddball supporting characters played by slumming name stars).

BOOK REVIEW
Author Joan Silber.
Joan Silber explores family secrets in new novel-in-stories
“Secrets of Happiness” is told in seven first-person stories narrated by characters whose lives intersect in surprising and enriching ways.

BIBLIOPHILES
Alison Bechdel is the creator of the comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” and her graphic memoir “Fun Home” was a bestseller that was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical.
Alison Bechdel on reading biographies and self-help books
In her new memoir, “The Secret to Superhuman Strength,” writer and graphic artist Alison Bechdel delves into her long-time obsession with fitness crazes, an often-comic self-examination that leads from spin classes eventually, somehow, to Eastern philosophy.

ARTS HEADLINES

BOOK REVIEW
books photo

In Chris Bohjalian’s latest, accusations of witchcraft

In Boston in 1622, it was safest to fit in. To buck the strictures of the Puritan elders was to court death in this life and possibly damnation in the next, as the young woman at the center of “Hour of the Witch” comes to know.

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS
Karl Stevens's new graphic memoir is told from the perspective of a philosophical, dream-traveling cat named Penny.

From the mind of a cat; the return of the Mass. Poetry Festival; a look at some upcoming titles

News of a bookish bent from all over the region.

STORY BEHIND THE BOOK
sbtb illo

How the séance gave voice to real, live Victorian women

Author Emily Midorikawa remembers six 19th-century women whose clairvoyance brought celebrity and influence.

BOOKINGS

Virtual author readings for May 9-15

All events take place online; visit the venue website for more information.

Local bestsellers for the week ending May 2

Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.

OMNIPOP
Miranda Lambert with Jon Randall (left) and Jack Ingram, her collaborators on "The Marfa Tapes."

Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe are two Pistol Annies whose aim is true

Their new albums are stylistic opposites, but each defies country radio airplay expectations while showcasing the artists' songwriting bona fides.

TELEVISION
Dick Wolf's next legal drama will focus on defense attorneys.

Playing defense: ‘Law & Order’ creator Dick Wolf switches focus

It’s notable that the multitasking maestro of the “Law & Order” franchise of scripted crime procedurals is creating a show about the defense side of the courtroom.

A.Z. MADONNA
Boston Symphony Orchestra violinist Ala Jojatu (left) and her daughter Maria will perform Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins for an online Mother's Day concert.

For mother-daughter violinists, Boston Pops concert is a pandemic high note

An online Mother's Day program features Ala and Maria Jojatu performing Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins.

most read

Kaylee Lambert, Pete Pierantozzi, and Fasha Banson will all be participating in "Campus Goes Complex!"

Student dancers and choreographers are in the spotlight during Dance Complex’s May series

Conan O'Brien (pictured at right interviewing Anthony Anderson on a 2017 episode of "Conan") will leave late-night TV on June 24.

For Conan O’Brien, the end nears for a sometimes bumpy but long and creative ride in late night

Peter Dalle and Charlie Gustafsson in "The Restaurant."

16 TV shows that make your family look functional

Vijay Iyer (center), with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh. The trio carried the momentum of a late 2019 performance in Cambridge into the recording studio for "Uneasy."

Art, activism, optimism: Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer navigates uneasy times

MORE ARTS HEADLINES

Dionne Warwick is planning two Mother's Day concerts online.

Dionne Warwick knows the way to San Jose, and she’s quite familiar with Twitter, too

A conversation with the hit-maker, now 80, about "Bridgerton," Burt Bacharach, and finding a new audience on social media.

FILM FESTIVALS
Jesmark Scicluna in "Luzzu" by Alex Camilleri, one of notable award-winning films from Sundance being screened at the 2021 Nantucket Film Festival.

See the complete lineups for the 2021 Provincetown and Nantucket film festivals

In-person events are making a comeback this summer. Here’s what else to expect.

TY BURR
Peter Dalle and Charlie Gustafsson in "The Restaurant."

16 TV shows that make your family look functional

Dramatic series that explore the bonds and betrayals of sprawling, ungainly family units scratch a primal itch, the one that says: You think your family is crazy? Wait’ll you get a load of this one.

Kaylee Lambert, Pete Pierantozzi, and Fasha Banson will all be participating in "Campus Goes Complex!"

Student dancers and choreographers are in the spotlight during Dance Complex’s May series

On Thursday nights in May, Campus Goes Complex gives students a chance to showcase their work via Facebook Live

DOC TALK
A scene from "The Crime of the Century."

A man-made plague; the pursuit of peace; honor thy mother

The COVID-19 pandemic did not slow down the progress of another plague – that of opioid addiction. In “The Crime of the Century,” Alex Gibney exposes the history, causes, and culprits behind the wave of addictions and overdoses that have killed over half a million people so far in this century.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch game console became a hit during the pandemic.

Animal Crossing among four inductees to Video Game Hall of Fame

The World Video Game Hall of Fame Thursday inducted the groundbreaking Microsoft Flight Simulator, franchise-inspiring Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, award-winning StarCraft and Animal Crossing, whose popularity has surged during the pandemic.

STAGES
Courtney Sale directs a rehearsal for Merrimack Repertory Theatre's "A Woman of the World," starring Denise Cormier as Mabel Loomis Todd.

At Merrimack Rep, a spring awakening followed by an upbeat fall forecast

‘A Woman of the World’ is the theater’s second virtual production this season as it prepares for an autumn reopening.

Three designs that Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya created for the "We Are More" installation, now displayed around Boston.

City of Boston, MBTA unveil digital billboards celebrating Asian American strength, resilience

Amid Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, dozens of digital billboards around Greater Boston boast slogans supporting the country’s largest diaspora.