The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
April 1, 2013
The Walking Dead, Season 3 Finale: A Shoot-out, a Sad Good-bye, and a Gubernatorial Rampage
What, you really thought I was gone? Hasn’t this interminable show taught you anything? People, please! It’s Walking Dead 101: Even if someone has died of boredom, a second kill-shot is always necessary. So come on. Time to lock and load. I last wrote about The Walking Dead seven weeks ago, when the show returned […]
Read more
The Kardashiad, Week 10: Rickshaws, Helicopters, Submarines, You Name It
Full disclosure: I still haven’t watched last week’s episode, which aired while I was on vacation, so I have no idea what it was about. Smart money’s on “ridiculous rich people doing rich-people things,” which is also what we’re presented with as this week’s episode opens. Kim and Kourtney climb aboard personal watercraft for some […]
Read moreThis Weekend in the Misadventures of Justin Bieber: Biebs Spits on a Dude and Loses His New German Monkey
“Since Bieber didn’t have the proper documentation for the monkey …”
Read more
Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 1 Recap: The Queen of Dragons Goes Window Shopping for Eunuch Soldiers
There are no straight lines in Westeros. Everything twists and turns at its own deliberative speed. And woe to those unable to adjust accordingly! The titular Game of Thrones tends to devour players who lack the requisite patience to participate far before those who merely lack skill: Noble Ned rushed to speak the truth and […]
Read more
March 29, 2013
Afternoon Links: Bronson Pinchot, Renegade Weatherman
Bronson Pinchot (a.k.a. Balki from Perfect Strangers) took over a Fox weathercast after making professional weather person Jeff Jumper self-conscious about his “grown-up haircut” and then jumping into frame to wreak havoc on a live feed of Harrisburg (“There’s a woman in this building right now, she’s on a little squeaky bed and she’s got […]
Read moreTrailers of the Week: Pain & Gain, The Wolverine, Riddick, and More
White House Down (June 28) Silver: A Roland Emmerich film about the White House being attacked and a 2:17 trailer that doesn’t reveal either of its leading men till 1:11. And these aren’t just your run-of-the-mill Emmerich leads (i.e., John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Matthew Broderick, Dennis Quaid), these are two legit above-the-line talents. One is […]
Read moreReality TV Podcast: Real World: Portland, Real Housewives, and More
MTV’s Real World franchise is still holding strong after 21 years. Last weekend, the network reminded us of how captivating its early seasons were with the #MTVretro marathon, allowing us to remember that Puck was a terrible roommate and Julie was a babe. But this was all just an amuse-bouche for the new season, Real […]
Read more
Songs of the Week: With Special Guest Claire L. Evans of YACHT
This week we’re handing the Songs of the Week mic over to Claire L. Evans, sci-fi sage, sometime model, and one half of the conceptual pop group YACHT. Those of you in the Los Angeles area can catch them this weekend headlining at the Santa Monica Pier for 98.7’s All Bands on Deck! show, and […]
Read moreVampire Weekend Defends Itself Against Explosive Allegations of Saab Torture
“I want people to understand that we do respect cars …”
Read moreVideo On Demand Report: Lincoln, Now Pause-able for Bathroom Breaks, Arrives on VOD
The Headliner Lincoln Last week’s big On Demand release was the controversial Zero Dark Thirty, which found itself in the middle of the debate about “enhanced interrogation techniques.” This week’s is the controversial Lincoln, which found itself in the middle of a debate about its accuracy, and about the way its story sidelined the African […]
Read more
In Praise of Ben Mendelsohn and the Evolution of ‘That Guy’
Derek Cianfrance’s new movie, The Place Beyond the Pines, is a winding local epic about two generations of men failing at life in the rural-suburban sprawl of Schenectady, New York. Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and their screen sons are at the center of things, but there’s another guy tucked into the story who steals every […]
Read more
Q&A: G.I. Joe: Retaliation Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on Stuck on Dirty, Their Never-Aired Ol’ Dirty Bastard Reality Show
“Lying there on the floor next to [him] is a guy named Panther who was fleeing the police, and wanted a ride to Philadelphia … I think we might have aided and abetted.”
Read more
Five Notes on the Stunning Ascendance of America’s Crazy Drunk Uncle: Florida
The Miami Heat’s epic winning streak may have ended, but the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles are the NCAA tournament’s Cinderella story and Spring Breakers is a surprise hit. Here are five more reasons why Florida is the nation’s current cultural capital. 1. Electronic Dance Music & Trap Rap The EDM bubble has yet to […]
Read more
Grantland Reality Fantasy League: ‘Hurricane’ Nia Makes Landfall
Last weekend, MTV programming suits ran back The Real World: New York, San Francisco, and Las Vegas to whet the appetite for this week’s debut of The Real World: Portland. It was a genius move. I may or may not have watched 12 episodes of that shit and I may or may not have remembered […]
Read more