Author: NY TIMES

The line between star and character gets thoroughly blurred in “William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill,” a profile documentary that treats Shatner, the sole interviewee, as if he were as polished as Capt. James T. Kirk — as opposed to merely being the durable, hard-working actor who played him on “Star Trek” and a terrific raconteur.The director, Alexandre O. Philippe, churns out movie-themed documentaries that veer between insightful (“78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene”) and obsequious (“Memory: The Origins of Alien”). The fawning “You Can Call Me Bill” makes you like Shatner. Still, listening to the actor’s wit, wisdom and drippy…

A branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for the attack in Moscow that killed at least 40 people and injured about 100 others, and U.S. officials confirmed the claim shortly afterward.The United States collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. ISIS members have been active in Russia, one U.S. official said.After a period of relative quiet, the Islamic State has been trying to increase its external attacks, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials. Most of those plots…

The louche, dark-haired singer Loren Kramar has a confident, feline saunter onstage. The Angeleno can pitch his voice lower than Lou Reed’s, or project it like Fiona Apple’s.At the Eckhaus Latta fall 2024 fashion show in February, he wowed the jaded crowd with covers of Lana Del Rey and Leonard Cohen, practically stealing the show in loose brown pants, a corduroy blazer and an insouciant boa that dragged behind him as he performed.“He’s such a showman that any song would have been good,” said Zoe Latta, who co-founded the brand and has known Mr. Kramar for several years. “But at…

Do you dream of leaving the planet?NASA is looking for its next group of astronauts, and you have until April 2 to make a pitch for yourself.“Typically, it’s a very popular application,” April Jordan, NASA’s astronaut selection manager, said.The odds that you will be chosen are slim. The last time NASA put out a call for applications, in 2020, more than 12,000 people applied.It took the agency a year and a half to go through the applications. NASA selected just 10 of the hopefuls, or 0.083 percent. That makes Harvard’s 3.5 percent acceptance rate among high school applicants appear bountiful.“So…

Although it is not known what type of cancer Princess Catherine has, oncologists say that what she described in her public statement that was released on Friday — discovering a cancer during another procedure, in this case a “major abdominal surgery” — is all too common.“Unfortunately, so much of the cancer we diagnose is unexpected,” said Dr. Elena Ratner, a gynecologic oncologist at Yale Cancer Center who has diagnosed many patients with ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and cancers of the lining of the uterus.Without speculating on Catherine’s procedure, Dr. Ratner described situations where women will go in for surgery for…

The 1989 blockbuster “Road House,” was something of a pastiche. It delivered disreputable B-picture thrills with big-picture production value. The lead actor Patrick Swayze, playing a philosophizing roughneck, smirked with unshakable confidence while breaking arms and jaws, as cars and buildings blew up real good around him. The action was served up with glossy studio polish.Hence, a remake of the film, some might argue, is destined to be a pastiche of a pastiche. But as we move further into the 21st century, we find the notion of authenticity ever more devalued. And who needs it when you’ve got Doug Liman…

The mood was somber Friday afternoon in the section of Manhattan’s West Village that some people call Little Britain after Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced that she was being treated for cancer.At Myers of Keswick, a shop on Hudson Street that sells British goods like Hobnobs biscuits, Wilkin & Sons marmalade and steak and ale pie, Jennifer Myers-Pulidore, the owner, said she had watched the announcement live while fielding alarmed texts from her father, Peter Myers. He opened the store 39 years ago and is now retired and living back in Keswick, England.“I feel for her,” said Ms. Myers-Pulidore, 45,…

Amy Shack Egan describes herself as an “anti-wedding” event planner. The company she founded in 2015, Modern Rebel, creates what she calls “love parties,” personalized events that celebrate the couple and their relationship and often include modernized or reimagined wedding traditions (or sometimes almost no traditions at all).The couples she works with may forgo walking down an aisle or even conventional attire. (Ms. Egan once did an event where the wedding party was dressed as astronauts.) Another offered permanent tattoos to guests instead of a wedding favor. A few might skip the dance floor, but maybe have a bouncy castle…

The fashion house Valentino announced on Friday that Pierpaolo Piccioli, its creative director, would be leaving after more than two decades at the brand and just weeks after unveiling a much heralded women’s wear collection during Paris Fashion Week.Mr. Piccioli was instrumental in redefining Valentino for the era after the retirement of the brand’s founder, Valentino Garavani. Worn by celebrities like Frances McDormand and Florence Pugh, his work combined ease and elegance in an ineffably modern way.“I’ve been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I’ve existed and I’ve lived with the people who have woven the…

Both lean on film-score tropes. A racing pulse out of Bernard Herrmann finds its way into the first section of “To See the Sky,” and “Three Muses in Video Game” aspires, in its middle, to John Williams-esque melodic sweep. But unlike Williams’s best, this stuff never took flight; Tan’s piece, for all its frenetic changeability, is plodding at its core.Alessi brought a clear, smooth sound to the solo part’s droops and hoots. His slippery, jittery cadenza in the first section, over a thin frost of strings, is the most memorable moment in the score, though the eerie sliding of those…