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Lovia Gyarkye

Arts & Culture Critic

Lovia Gyarkye is the Arts and Culture Critic at The Hollywood Reporter, where she reviews film, TV and the occasional Broadway show. Previously, she was an editor at The New York Times‘ monthly print section for kids and a researcher for The New York Times Book Review. Her essays and reviews have been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vogue and The Nation.

More from Lovia Gyarkye

‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’ Writer-Director Raven Jackson Brings Poetry to Motion With First Film

Watching Raven Jackson’s audacious debut feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, is like participating in an intimate ritual. The film follows Mack (played by Kaylee Nicole Johnson as a child and Charleen McClure as an adult) as she comes of age in Mississippi, tracking the emotional arc of her life from girlhood to maturity. […]

‘Appropriate’ Review: Sarah Paulson Is Entertainingly Vicious in Caustic Broadway Family Drama

The actress stars alongside Corey Stoll and Elle Fanning in Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins' acerbic play about three estranged siblings wrestling with dark secrets after the death of their father.

10 Arts and Culture Favorites From 2023

A charming South London rom-com, a retrospective of an African cinema giant and a handful of plays about death and illness are among picks by THR’s arts and culture critic.

‘Apolonia, Apolonia’ Review: Sincere Meditations on Art, Motherhood and Friendship

Lea Glob's documentary about the uneven career of a French painter doubles as a reflective project on what it means to be a contemporary woman artist.

Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the Best Films of 2023

A romantic collision of past and present, a subversive feminist fairy tale, a metaphysical ghost story, an epic retelling of a horrific footnote in American history and a sublime anti-rom-com are among this year’s highlights.

Critics’ Conversation: The Great Film Performances of 2023

THR film reviewers delight in an assortment of deliciously unlikable lead turns, single out stars delivering career bests (a wild Emma Stone, a wily Natalie Portman) and celebrate new and rising talents from various corners of the globe.

Critic’s Notebook: Female Rappers and the Visibility Trap

From Megan Thee Stallion’s new single to the latest season of Issa Rae’s 'Rap Sh!t,' recent pop culture highlights a conundrum for women in hip-hop as undersupported players and overscrutinized subjects.

‘Candy Cane Lane’ Review: Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross Can’t Redeem Reginald Hudlin’s Bizarre Holiday Comedy

The stars play a married couple whose determination to win a neighborhood house-decorating contest puts them in the path of a vengeful elf.

‘Leo’ Review: Adam Sandler Is an Advice-Dispensing Lizard in Netflix’s Animated Charmer

The actor voices a curmudgeonly class pet in this Netflix coming-of-age musical about fifth-graders facing their last year of middle school.

‘Wish’ Review: Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine Voice a Disappointing Tale of Two Disneys

Disney's latest animated offering — a celebration of the company's centennial anniversary — introduces Asha, a headstrong 17-year-old determined to save her kingdom.

‘Tiger Stripes’ Review: In Malaysia’s Oscar Entry, Puberty Is a Nightmare

Amanda Nell Eu's Cannes Critics' Week prize-winning feature follows three middle-schoolers whose bodily changes are accompanied by creepy happenings.

‘The Marvels’ Review: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani Are a Winning Trio in Nia DaCosta’s Heartfelt MCU Sequel

In the highly anticipated follow-up to 'Captain Marvel,' three heroes find their fates and powers intertwined.