Leslie Bridgers

Press Herald

Leslie Bridgers is the features editor for the Portland Press Herald, overseeing coverage of arts, entertainment and culture. She spent 10 years as a reporter, half of that time for the Portland Press Herald, covering the western suburbs of Portland, writing feature stories and working on special projects. Originally from Connecticut, Leslie came to Maine by way of Bowdoin College and never left.

Latest

Published
July 11, 2021

‘Summer of Soul’ is not just a great music documentary but an exhilarating time capsule

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson makes a spellbinding directing debut with “Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” a revelatory documentary that exhilarates and dismays in almost equal measure. In 1969, New York producer and impresario Tony Lawrence masterminded the Harlem Cultural Festival, a summer-long live music series that would be held […]
Published
July 11, 2021

Deep Water: ‘Vesper Sparrow,’ by Richard Foerster

Maine poems edited and introduced by Megan Grumbling.
Published
July 11, 2021

Horror film ‘The Forever Purge’ mixes graphic violence with a touch of social criticism

“The Forever Purge” is bookended with scenes of families making their way across the U.S.-Mexico border. As it opens, Adela and her husband, Juan (Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta), are being escorted by a guide, known as a coyote, into Texas from Mexico, where they’re fleeing cartel violence by cover of night. By […]
Published
July 8, 2021

‘Zola,’ a movie based on a tweetstorm, is squirmy, sordid, stylized, sexy – and smart

In 2015, a 19-year-old Detroit dancer named A’Ziah Wells (now A’Ziah King) took to social media to process the trauma of a frightening trip she had recently taken to Florida. Her alternately horrifying and hilarious tweetstorm went viral, capturing the attention of such luminaries as Solange Knowles and Ava DuVernay. After Rolling Stone reported out […]
Published
July 8, 2021

‘Boss Baby’ sequel offers decent return on investment, with savvy casting and pointed social satire

For a family flick ostensibly in the business of cheap laughs, 2017’s “The Boss Baby” worked overtime to diversify its appeal. The hook – toss a superintelligent infant in a three-piece suit and give him Alec Baldwin’s raspy timbre – was ludicrous. The humor was hit-and-miss. And the world-building behind the movie’s infantile corporate culture […]
Published
July 5, 2021

Indie Film: Portland’s Longfellow Books a stop on filmed tour of indie bookstores

‘The Bookstour’ visits 50 brick-and-mortar retail havens for bibliophiles in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of supporting them.
Published
July 5, 2021

Bar Guide: Recycled ingredients make for creative cocktails at Broken Arrow

The Portland restaurant’s philosophy revolves around reducing food waste.
Published
July 4, 2021

Best-sellers: What Mainers are buying at local bookstores

FICTION Hardcover 1. “The Damage,” by Caitlin Wahrer (Pamela Dorman Books) 2. “Midnight Library,” by Matt Haig (Viking) 3. “Sooley,” by John Grisham (Doubleday) 4. “The Maidens,” by Alex Michaelides (Celadon Books) 5. “Malibu Rising,” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine) 6. “The Other Black Girl,” by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Atria) 7. “The Hill We Climb,” […]
Published
July 4, 2021

Society Notebook: Opera Maine supporters reunite to kick off new season

The summer will feature programs and performances aimed at inclusivity.
Published
July 4, 2021

Deep Water: ‘Complaint of El Río Grande,’ by Richard Blanco

Maine poems edited and introduced by Megan Grumbling.

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