The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
June 24, 2014
Let’s All Appreciate the Renegade Artistry of a Breathtaking ‘True Detective’ Bootleg DVD Cover
Like any great work of art — and this piece might even surpass the admittedly lofty aesthetic achievements of the show itself — it’s best to just sit before this bootleg DVD cover in prolonged silence, taking it all in.
Read moreWait: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Might Be OK??
This new trailer could change our minds.
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Gary Oldman in ‘Playboy’: Cheers for Mel Gibson’s Anti-Semitic Rants, Jeers for His Son’s Dumb Photography Aspirations
And more revelations from his controversial corker of a ‘Playboy’ interview.
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‘24: Live Another Day’ Episode 9 Recap: No One Ever Really Dies (The N*E*R*D Episode)
The following takes place between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
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Spike Lee’s Vampire Weekend: What to Make of His Kickstartered ‘Da Sweet Blood of Jesus’
The U.S.-Portugal soccer match had more suspense and more horror than Lee’s movie. In its defense, ‘Da Sweet Blood of Jesus’ is actually going for something beyond scares: churchiness, drugginess, eroticism, and social commentary.
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‘Tyrant’ Preview: FX Exports Middling Drama to the Middle East
The pilot suggests a show less interested in exploring an unfamiliar region than it is in unspooling a very familiar story, especially on cable TV, about an otherwise decent man’s descent into violence and sin. And there’s certainly no need to fly halfway around the world for that.
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Freak Show and Tell: Get Lost in the Lustrous Mane of Catfisher Elijah
I’m not going to act like Elijah’s hair is acceptable, because it’s stupid. It’s so stupid, in fact, that when we saw his brother go down to the basement to fetch him and Elijah appeared, I wasn’t sure it wasn’t the brother in a new outfit and wig.
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Lifetime’s Aaliyah Biopic Won’t Gloss Over the R. Kelly Relationship
Like him or feel deeply disturbed by him, Robert Sylvester Kelly was Aaliyah Dana Haughton’s lover. When she was 15. And he was 27.
Read moreJune 23, 2014
Steven Soderbergh Brings the ‘Girlfriend Experience’ Series to Starz
Also in the Afternoon Links: Some great new Icona Pop, Aaron Sorkin finds his next screenplay, and Jay Z finally gets into the nonalcoholic-beverage biz.
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Dissecting ‘Third Person,’ ‘Crash,’ and the Paul Haggis School of Melodrama
If you want to start a knife fight with a film nerd, casually suggest that Crash 100 percent deserved its Best Picture Oscar for its profound examination of contemporary race relations. (Personally, I think Avenue Q did a better job in a fraction of the time with “Everybody’s a Little Bit Racist.”) But the fact remains that Crash won, earning an oddly eternal notoriety and giving us the strange, frustrating filmography of Paul Haggis.
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We Went There: The Long Island Medium Feels Your Pain, Live at the Beacon Theatre
A skeptical visit to Theresa Caputo’s live show in Manhattan.
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5 Reasons to Get Excited and/or Worried About the Wachowskis’ Netflix Series
Breaking down the first significant ‘Sense8’ news blast, and looking at why we should be thrilled, afraid, or both.
Read moreRobin Thicke’s Desperate Quest to Get Paula Patton Back Now Takes Music Video Form
Check out “Get Her Back.”
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The Juliet Show: With Special Guests Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel of ‘Girl Meets World’
Cory and Topanga, a.k.a. Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel from the new ‘Girl Meets World,’ come by Grantland with their TV daughter and her best friend.
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Pray for Pay: Jailed Christian Rocker Tim Lambesis Faked His Religion
Maybe public renunciation of a religious affiliation that propelled you into fame also happens to be a clever way to rebrand and announce that you’re starting a new project.
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I Tried Out to Be a U.S. Open Ball Boy and Saw Dave Chappelle, and All I Got Were These Two Lousy T-Shirts
I had no real idea what I was getting myself into, was excited about the prospect of what the day would bring, and fully realized that so much could go wrong.
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Box Office by the Numbers: ‘Think Like a Man Too’ Beats ‘22 Jump Street’ by a Nose
The gap between the two sequels was just $1 million.
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