The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
September 24, 2014
Small(er) Movie Roundup: Now Big Enough to Include America’s YA Movie Flavor of the Week!
Directors do dystopian civilization (again, and again) in ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Zero Theorem’ and dystopian daily life in ‘The Drop’ and ‘The Skeleton Twins.’
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The Lessons of ‘Lost’: Understanding the Most Important Network Show of the Past 10 Years
Understanding the most important network show of the past 10 years.
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Do You Like Prince Movies? Podcast: ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones,’ Shonda Rhimes, and a Conversation With A.O. Scott
This week, Alex and Wesley discuss ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ and the scandal over an essay about Shonda Rhimes. Plus: They call A.O. Scott!
Read moreSeptember 23, 2014
HBO Has Two True Detectives Onboard for Season 2
Also in the Afternoon Links: Rick Ross goes to Hoth, Sarah Silverman cooks up a Broadway musical, and Tarantino wants Viggo for ‘The Hateful Eight.’
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We Went There: Drake vs. Lil Wayne vs. the World-Famous Hollywood Bowl
Last night the Drake vs. Lil Wayne tour came to the Hollywood Bowl for a sold-out show. The pair has been hitting amphitheatres through August and September, but the Bowl is a historic spot, and not just because it’s the setting for “The Rabbit of Seville.” These days it’s best known as the outdoor home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Playboy Jazz Festival, and the summer-long KCRW World Festival.
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Lightning Round: Kendrick Lamar’s New Single, ‘i’
After releasing one of the most critically acclaimed major-label debut albums in recent pop music history, Kendrick Lamar spent most of the last year becoming a household name. Now he’s back, with the first single of his still untitled follow-up to his masterpiece album, which is always a tricky proposition. It’s called ‘i.’ Here are relatively instant reactions to the track from a few Grantland staffers.
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How Smart Are the Quirky Geniuses of ‘Scorpion’? Let’s Just Ask Them, They Can’t Shut Up About It
Did you forget this is a show about geniuses? Don’t worry, they’ll drop that in three more times before the next ‘Big Bang Theory’ promo.
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The Moment Podcast: Brian Koppelman and Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block, author of ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ and other classic crime novels, talks about the grit required to succeed at writing, running, and distance walking.
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Aphex Twin But Were Afraid to Ask (Before Today’s Release of ‘Syro’)
Let’s say you’re a fan-not-fanatic, the type of person who can say with objectivity that Aphex Twin is one of the most respected and innovative electronic producers ever and that you owe ‘Syro’ a good deal of your time. That’s where I’m at, too, and speaking as objectively as possible, there’s a lot to like immediately.
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A Rare Antiquity: 10 Thoughts on Steven Soderbergh’s Black-and-White Reimagining of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
“At some point you will say to yourself or someone THIS LOOKS AMAZING IN BLACK AND WHITE,” Steven Soderbergh wrote about a movie yesterday. He was referring to — wait for it — ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ Dr. Soderbergh had performed a new experiment at his lab over at Extension 765. First — after explaining that he wasn’t sure any of this was legal — Soderbergh drained ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ of its colors. Then he swapped out the famous John Williams score for moody Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross music from ‘The Social Network’ and ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.’
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Hollywood Prospectus Podcast: ‘Gotham,’ ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones,’ and the Replacements
Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald talk ‘Gotham,’ ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones,’ and the reunion of the Replacements.
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Indie, Incidentally: The Rise of Alt-J and What It Means to Be a ‘Normal’ Band
The difference between Alt-J and indie’s class of 2009 is the element of surprise — before those albums were codified by legions of imitators, they seemed bracingly original and legitimately forward-thinking.
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Celebrating Colin Farrell’s Most ‘True Detective’ Roles
Despite having been saddled with the unfair reputation of being a celebrity before an actor, Farrell’s been excellent before in films that, if they didn’t anticipate his role in True Detective, at least show he’s on that level.
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Stephen King, Roving Format Dabbler, Is Coming to Hulu With ‘11/22/63’
It’s a great read, a fascinating novel with a gigantic concept and slick execution. The Hulu series should be a great period piece, as most of the book takes place in a small town in Texas in the dawn of the 1960s, when ‘Mad Men’ happened.
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