The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
December 1, 2011
Oscarmetrics: National Board of Review Salutes Hugo and The Descendants
The National Board of Review announced its annual movie awards today, and although this remains a deeply weird organization whose membership is opaque and whole method of selection is — to be generous about it — impenetrable, we should probably not hold it against any of the many, many movies or people that managed to […]
Read moreGrantland Goes to The X Factor
I went to The X Factor last night. Here’s a running diary. All times in PST. 4:15: Everything on The X Factor is smaller than you’d expect. The crammed stage is backlit with glowing screens. On the floor, converging lines of light pulse to give the illusion of depth. The studio audience runs somewhere around […]
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December Razzie Odds: Can Iron Lady, We Bought a Zoo, or New Year’s Eve Go All the Way?
Welcome to December, RazzieWatchers! We’re in the home stretch. We have to say, this is the most exciting Razzie season in years — every time we think a movie’s a shoo-in, something else comes along that’s even worse! Last week saw the bloody, violent birth of Razzie heavyweight Breaking Dawn, Part 1 — seemingly a […]
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How We’d Fix The Walking Dead
If we’re being honest, The Walking Dead doesn’t really need our help: The show remains a ratings juggernaut (6.6 million tuned in to find out just what was inside that barn in Sunday’s midseason finale — an audience almost three times the size of the one that tunes in to the average cocktail party at […]
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November 30, 2011
Poster Decoder: A Thousand Words, This Means War, and John Carter
Each week, marketers release new movie posters, many for films whose releases are still months away. But for those who know where to look, one-sheets can reveal studios’ hopes and insecurities about their products. In this space, we will attempt to decode the hidden meanings of the week’s new posters. A Thousand Words What the […]
Read moreWe Found It on Watch Instantly: Wesley Snipes in Game of Death
What It’s About: When an undercover CIA agent’s assassination target is almost assassinated by other CIA agents, he decides to try and save the guy for no reason. Who It’s For: People clinically addicted to the sound of silenced pistols firing blanks. Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is certain except death and taxes. But that […]
Read moreYouTube Hall of Fame: The Worst Toys of the ’80s
The holiday gift-giving season is nearly upon us, so kids, take our advice: Be careful what you wish for. Below, a few cautionary tales from the staff of Grantland. Simon Bill Simmons: You’d think this Simon commercial was made in 2011 by the Lonely Island guys as some sort of “1980s commercial that tried to […]
Read moreWe Are All ‘Closing Time’: Why Semisonic’s 1998 Hit Still Resonates
At some point, it was decided that in order for a song to be great, it has to “stand the test of time.” This has since become a problematic cliché, but initially it must’ve seemed like a bright idea, and not just something that Jethro Tull fans use to dismiss Justin Bieber. The “test of […]
Read moreJay-Z and Kanye West Make Victoria’s Secret Models Look Awkward
Victoria’s Secret models don’t know how to dance.
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