The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
February 21, 2014
Grantland Reality TV Fantasy League: Hey, Look, ‘Real World’ Has Another Cast Member!
This week, reality TV spawned a mystery fetus on ‘Real World,’ caused a woman to leave ‘The Bachelor’ because of superior intelligence, and bid adieu to the surprise delight that was Season 2 of ‘Vanderpump Rules.’
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2014 Grantland Oscars Preview: Best Director
Grantland’s Wesley Morris and Chris Connelly break down the Best Director category, which comes down to the directors of two excellent movies that couldn’t be more different. Will Steve McQueen’s heart-wrenching ’12 Years a Slave’ or Alfonso Cuarón’s technically brilliant ‘Gravity’ win?
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Hollywood Archaeology: The TV Show Tonya Harding Kneecapped
Twenty years ago, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan took to the ice in the women’s figure skating short program at the 1994 Winter Olympics. High-stakes sporting events always carry suspense, but this had drama beyond a network executive’s wildest imagination.
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Frankensteined ‘Anchorman 2’ Seeks Vengeance With All-New Jokes
By the end of that 40-year campaign trail, it felt like ‘Anchorman 2’ had coursed all the way through our veins before it even premiered. Then $169.3 million worth of folks saw it anyway, and now Paramount’s reaching for the Triple Bold Semi–George Lucas Style sauce and rereleasing the movie. The extended, R-rated version will feature 95 percent new jokes. But does that mean we need it out in the world?
Read moreFebruary 20, 2014
Talking Tree vs. Talking Raccoon, in Brief
Watch Vin Diesel very, very briefly talk about playing a talking tree.
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All Man, All Machine, All Cop: The Enhanced Personhood of ‘RoboCop’
Is Alex Murphy a cop dreaming that he is a robot, or is he a robot that only dreamed it was a cop?
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Rembert Explains ‘H-Man,’ the French Superhero Show Featuring Fiona Apple
Yes: A French superhero show.
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Know Your Beef: James Ellroy vs. ‘The Wire,’ Hipsters, Obama, Every Bond Movie Other Than ‘Skyfall,’ the Rest of the Modern World
At some point today, you may have caught on Twitter a passing reference to James Ellroy — the extensively accomplished noirist behind ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘The Black Dahlia,’ ‘American Tabloid,’ and, coming in September, ‘Perfidia’ — bashing ‘The Wire.’ Which is true! He did do that.
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Overplayed Song of the Week: Bastille, ‘Pompeii’
This is the sounds of mainstream rock and roll in 2014, seemingly built solely to get licensed in pharmaceutical commercials. “Pompeii” wouldn’t make a bad jingle for Lexapro — “Does it almost feel like nothing’s changed at all?”
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Girls in Hoodies Podcast: ‘True Detective’ and ‘House of Cards’
Molly, Tess, and Emily announce their ‘True Detective’ fan-fiction contest and pour one out for a beloved ‘House of Cards’ character.
Read moreHere Are Your 2014 Best Picture Nominees, Reenacted by Adorable Children
As great as the ensemble of ‘Kindergarten Hustle’ is, it’s hard not to believe that one of the Kid McConaugheys is going home with a statue.
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2014 Grantland Oscars Preview: Best Supporting Actress
Grantland’s Wesley Morris and Chris Connelly break down the Best Supporting Actress category, and it comes down to a two-woman race between Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o.
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I Can Haz 18-to-34 Demographic? HLN’s Millennial Makeover
Intended for an audience of “millennials and the millennial-minded”, HLN is loading its lineup with shows like “I Can Haz NewsToons” (“social media’s best satirical cartoons”) and “One.Click.Away” (a dig into mysterious online classified ads).
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Michelle Rodriguez and Cara Delevingne Are Official-ish … and Other Triumphs of Love From This Week’s Tabloids
They seemingly met at a Knicks game Cara attended with Rihanna last month, where they were seen drunkenly making out courtside.
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B.S. Report: Lena Dunham (With Video!)
Lena Dunham reveals to Bill Simmons how she found out her boyfriend dated Scarlett Johansson, and why she found the Internet’s backlash to ‘Girls’ hilarious.
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Fox Raids Art House for ‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot Cast
By casting a who’s who of indie cinema and prestige TV, Fox seems to be setting its artistic ambitions a little higher — which is to say setting any artistic ambitions at all.
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