In Ari Aster’s dark comedy, Joaquin Phoenix plays the sheriff of a New Mexico town riven by political clashes and pandemic anxieties.

Superman” is still atop the hierarchy of power at the box office in its second weekend, flying above new wide releases “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Smurfs” and “Eddington.” The DC Studios universe-rebooter earned about $16.

Welcome to your ultimate sonic guide for Eddington, Ari Aster’s neon‑tinged neo‑Western starring Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix.

What — beyond Aster’s evident desire to tweak both sides of the political spectrum — might be going on here? Look deeper and you’ll find the answer was hiding in plain sight. If Aster has a thesis in Eddington,

Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal face off in "Eddington." Credit: A24 Comedy is tragedy plus time. There may be a day when critics look back on Ari Aster's COVID-19 comedy Eddington with kinder eyes.

Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ is perfect, but it took Aster trying hundreds of songs after not getting the rights to a Jay-Z track.

No one in the cast seems keen to talk about Ari Aster’s latest film.

Eddington's lacerating social satire about a town torn apart by pandemic paranoia takes a violent turn without losing the plot.

A helpful guide on what new releases to watch, including movies in theaters, on streaming or available to rent or buy on digital and on-demand.

The first and maybe only true jump scare in Ari Aster’s “Eddington” comes right at the start. A barefoot old man trudges down the center of a road running through an empty Western town. He’s ranting and incoherently raving as he climbs a craggy hill silhouetted against a twilight sky. He gazes, or maybe glares, out at the town below.

Exclusive: Ari Aster digs deep into his COVID Western Eddington and how it represents a modern world where everyone is online. "It's not that we disagree on any number of issues. It’s that we don’t agree about what those issues even are.