Hannibal: the thrill is the terror, and the terror is the thrill
Perverse. Completely perverse. And completely seductive. Do I love it, or is it evil? Is it a wrong thing if it’s both? (please click through for commenting, social networking, tags, and more)
View Articlemovie-related flash-fiction freebie: “Disney Dystopia”
“Hey, so you wanna go to the disneys tonight?” (please click through for commenting, social networking, tags, and more)
View ArticleGemini Man movie review: the last hurrah of the movie star
No movie has ever been higher-concept than this: Today-aged Will Smith versus CGI-young Will Smith! It’s the future of film in an anemic, tedious, ironically dated spy-action shell. Bafflingly awful....
View ArticleIt’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (review)
Moi Loves Kermie I miss the Muppets. The real Muppets, that is. Not The Muppet Christmas Carol. Not Muppet Treasure Island. I want the old Muppet Show back. The other day, somebody’s cell phone rang on...
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Television Under the Swastika (review)
The Nazi Channel When you think “early television,” you think Ernie Kovacs and The Twilight Zone and Edward R. Murrow and I Love Lucy and quiz scandals and Rockefeller Center and the NBC peacock and...
View ArticleJay Leno in prime time: death knell for quality network TV?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how corporate entertainment might change if the economy tanks much more than it already has — and that seems likely to happen — and how we consumers of both...
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was ‘Pushing Daisies’ cancelled so Bryan Fuller could return to ‘Heroes’?
What? Of course not! Who would think such a thing? Crazy conspiracy people, that’s who. Line your hats with some tinfoil, crazy conspiracy people! Pfft! Was Pushing Daisies cancelled so Bryan Fuller...
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newsflash from the 20th century: ‘Secret Girlfriend’ moves from Web to TV
No no no. They’re getting it all backward! Comedy Central has just greenlighted a new show based on a Web series, “Secret Girlfriend,” according to Variety. This is going in the wrong direction — it’s...
View Articlequestion of the day: Was Jon Stewart unfair to CNBC when he lambasted Jim...
It’s hard to believe that someone so prominent would be so willing to out himself in public as a big ol’ crybaby: NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) – NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker fired back at...
View Articlequestion of the day: Is the end of ‘ER’ the end of an era?
NBC’s long-running doctor drama ER wraps up forever tonight, and a recent article in Los Angeles Times suggests that when the series goes, so goes with it our former ideas about what constitutes...
View Articlequestion of the day: Could the American broadcast networks be bigger crybabies?
They’re at it again: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC are complaining because President Obama has asked for some primetime access to discuss with the American public his first 100 days in office. As the New York...
View Articlequestion of the day: What’s the most dramatic thing broadcast TV networks...
The New York Times this morning is running an article about how terrified everyone is about the poor prospects of the upcoming broadcast television season, which doesn’t begin till September but...
View Articlequestion of the day: What’s your biggest disappointment of the just-wrapped...
Did you hear about Jimmy Kimmel’s takedown of ABC execs at the ABC “upfronts” — where the networks present their new shows to advertisers — this week. From The New York Times’ Arts Beat: [I]n a “Jerry...
View Articlequestion of the day: NBC cancels prime-time Leno: why did it take so long?
Anyone could have said that moving Jay Leno, America’s class clown, to prime time from late night was a bad idea — in fact, lots of us did say it. And NBC finally caught on: PASADENA, Calif. – NBC said...
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NBC’s business plan: burn money, then burn more money
Item: NBC will pay Conan O’Brien a severance of $40 million— no, wait, maybe it’s $45 million. Well, some of the dough will go to O’Brien’s laid-off staffers, but still: that’s a ton of money to not...
View ArticleNeil Gaiman is awesome, Regis Philbin is an idiot, Jay Leno and the end of...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View ArticleZachary Quinto gives up Spock? a Weird Al movie? save ‘Mad Men’s Sal, and...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View Articlequestion of the weekend: How do we fix what’s wrong with American politics?
Last night on The Rachel Maddow Show, Maddow proposed that we need to find a new word for “something that is both catastrophically important to the future of the United States and totally freaking...
View ArticleKevin Smith, foul-mouth? is ‘Avatar’ immoral? Penelope Cruz in ‘POTC 4’?, and...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View Articlequestion of the day: What should Conan O’Brien do next?
We haven’t heard much from Conan O’Brien since NBC unceremoniously booted him from The Tonight Show after Jay Leno’s experiment with primetime chat flopped. But now, with the networks in the final...
View Articlezombie Beatles; ‘Iron Man 2’ sexist?; good-bye, ‘Heroes’; more: leftover links
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View ArticleBret Easton Ellis, sexist pig; that hot chick in ‘Prince of Persia’ is like...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View Articlequestion of the day: The most-coveted U.S. TV viewers are turning to...
Entertainment in the United States hit a milestone this week that could potentially have a dramatic impact on the flavor of pop culture. From The Associated Press NEW YORK — Univision was the most...
View Articlequestion of the day: Why do I smell such an ominous vibe coming off NBC’s...
I can’t help it. Whenever I hear or see something about NBC’s new drama The Event, which debuts on Monday night in the U.S. (and on Channel 4 in the U.K. in October), all I can think about is M. Night...
View Articlewas ‘The Event’ an event for you?
We speculated a few days ago about how much NBC’s The Event was going to suck, and now that it’s debuted, the real speculation can begin. (Missed it? You can watch it — presumably only if you’re in the...
View Articlequestion of the day: Should Jon Stewart be afraid of Conan O’Brien?
Last winter, NBC decided to cancel Jay Leno’s disastrous experiment in primetime talk shows — which American audiences stayed away from in droves — and booted Conan O’Brien out of the late-night NBC...
View ArticleNBC is sooo regretting letting Conan go; new Wolverine movie is called ‘The...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
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female gazing at: Richard Engel
Speaking of dashing foreign correspondents, please look upon NBC’s Richard Engel: The flak jacket is the new black: Or maybe war-torn deserts are the new black: Live and direct and gorgeous: I’m...
View Articlewtf: Keith Olbermann off the air?!
I leave the country and mere days later, Keith Olbermann announces he’s leaving MSNBC and that Countdown is going off the air. Can this be coincidence? I think not. Clearly, Keith felt his show was...
View ArticleFacebook smears Google; Disney trademarks “Seal Team 6”; men made...
Every week my browser gets cluttered up with tabs for stuff that I stumble across and figure I might be able to use as a Question of the Day or a WTF Thought for the Day or grist for some other post....
View Articlesomeone should really do something about piracy!
From The New York Times: The music and movie companies, which estimate that digital piracy costs the United States economy $16 billion in lost revenue each year, have been eager for an efficient way to...
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question of the day: Is a streaming Super Bowl a nail in the coffin for...
Headline I missed yesterday being offline most of the day: In New-Media First, Super Bowl to Be Streamed Online That’s from Advertising Age, which continues: The next Super Bowl will be streamed...
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FlickFilosopher.com will join the SOPA protest on Wednesday, January 18
This coming Wednesday, January 18, the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act, which I wrote about last month. Here’s some more background: PROTECT IP / SOPA...
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watch it: “Conspiracy Theory Rock By Robert Smigel”
I can’t believe this actually aired on Saturday Night Live, even if it was way back in 1998. Probably would never make it to air today. And in fact, this clip was edited out of future airings of this...
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how much coverage of SOPA have you seen in the mainstream American media?
bronxbee emailed me today to say, about the SOPA Web strike: it’s really amazing how little news media coverage there is about this event. the NYTimes does have a front page article about it, but...
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Doctor Who thing of the day: Inspector Spacetime gets real
Back in September, readers Teenygozer and Lisa (and soon after Ide Cyan) alerted me to the Doctor Who stand-in/parody on the NBC sitcom Community. I never got around to posting anything about it, so...
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Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch yakking at TV BAFTAs (and other...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch yakking at TV BAFTAs. Bunk. I’ll be in it. What could Matt Smith & Benedict Cumberbatch be...
View Articlea celebration of London, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (and other adventures...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • This is the crap that assaults little girls and warps our brains. As explained by the brilliant Everywhereist. WTF Weds: Dream Bride...
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Sherlock Holmes meets steampunk Iron Man (and other adventures in social...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Worst part of the Jonah Lehrer fiasco: Everyone keeps using the term “fabulist,” which sounds so awesome, like a fey...
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what Batman thinks about (and other adventures in social networking)
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • I’ve been asked to sign an embargo form for an upcoming screening that forbids, among other things, talking about said film “in public...
View Articleis this really a collection of Terry Gilliam’s notes and sketches? (and other...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • My critical colleague Scott Renshaw unravels the tangled issue of how critics should — and actually do — see movies. The Wisdom of...
View Articleis NBC’s Revolution a *complete* theft of S.M. Stirling’s Dies the Fire? (and...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Oh dear god no please someone make it stop. ‘ALF’ Movie Lands at Sony Animation With ‘Smurfs’ Producer (Exclusive) • There’s a lot of...
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Darth Vader meets Batman, on the subway (and other adventures in social...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Ooo. I’m a little bit dreading and a little bit excited. Mostly to see how Keanu Reeves deals with Ted Logan today… ‘Bill And Ted 3’...
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are we being overzealous with the spoiler warnings? (and other adventures in...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • NBC: still keepin’ it classy. NBC uses song about penis to promote fall programming • And because girls can’t play videogames, natch....
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Revolution: Pilot (review)
We really need to thank NBC for allowing us to view, on the Web, the pilot for its new faux science-fiction series Revolution in advance of its over-the-air debut this coming Monday, September 17....
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corporate journalmalism at its finest (and other adventures in social...
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Corporate journalmalism at its finest. Every Tech Journalist’s Worst Nightmare. Editors at CNET were forced to rescind a product award...
View Article“Remain Indoors”
Which That Mitchell & Webb Look sketch is now thought to be prophetic? I originally posted this on September 29th, 2010. *sigh* My new favorite British comedians… Also, excellent unintended...
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