What Price Success?

Lonette McKee is not the star of "Sparkle", she plays only a supporting role, but as the oldest of three sisters who form a singing group in the 50s she gives a fascinating, new-to-the-movies characterization. Sister-McKee's role-itches for success. Her coarseness and pragmatism tell us that she's self-destructively ambitious, the way some black people were before black consciousness. She straightens her hair to follow the styles in the movie magazines she reads, and her creamy manila complexion…

Nostalgia for Arrested Adolescents.
Superheroes punch the clock in this hollow, predictable, overly long mess.

Adults no longer outgrow comic books. Hollywood prefers that they hang on to the adolescent illusion of carefree, escapist pleasure by pretending that the form’s juvenile cynicism is a sign of sophistication — replacing the traditional sources of imaginative thinking. The cultural monopoly represented by the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its latest release, Avengers: Endgame, depends on geeked-up viewers telling themselves that they are having…