What’s good, bad and happening, from pop culture to high culture

+Movies | 119 days ago

Top 10 Haunted-House Movies

Why do these people always stay?!? As Paranormal Activity 3 hits theaters, TIME takes a look at at the best of its brethren.

+Television | 119 days ago

TV Weekend: The Bootleg Empire of Ken Burns’ Prohibition

By James Poniewozik

There may be nothing more gratifying and unifying for people than coming together in disdain for a past idea, now universally agreed on to be stupid. One of the greatest of these in American history is alcohol prohibition, not merely the impetus for the criminal events of Boardwalk Empire, but the case study for the [...]

+Review Movies | 119 days ago

Dream House: You Wouldn't Want to Live There

By Richard Corliss

Director Jim Sheridan is just going through the motions in this misfiring psychodrama

+Television | 119 days ago

Dead Tree Alert: The Post-Post-9/11 Drama of Homeland

By James Poniewozik

This week in the print edition of TIME, I review what was pretty easily my favorite new series of the fall, Showtime’s Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis and debuting Sunday night. It’s subscription-required, as usual, so I can only steal so much from my employer to give to you here, but in brief: [...]

+Review Movies | 120 days ago

Are You There, Audiences? It’s Me, Margaret

By Mary Pols

Anna Paquin is spectacular in Kenneth Lonergan’s long-delayed follow-up to You Can Count On Me

+Review Movies | 120 days ago

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50: Cancer Lite

By Richard Corliss

This comedy doesn’t live up to its killer premise and affecting backstory, despite the lead actor’s beautifully judged performance

+Television | 120 days ago

The Morning After: New Beginning for Endings

By James Poniewozik

There is a case to be made that most sitcoms should have only enough of a premise to get put on the air by a network. Then the show can ditch whatever it was ostensibly “about” at the pitch meeting and simply be about: Here is a group of people, and every week they will [...]

+Review Movies | 121 days ago

What's Your Number?: Neither a Bridesmaid nor a Bride

By Mary Pols

Even the gifted Anna Faris can’t elevate this dopey rom-com

+Tuned In | 121 days ago

TV Tonight: Suburgatory

By James Poniewozik

There are a lot of things that critics look when reviewing pilots: premise, plot, dialogue, chemistry between actors, directing and so on. To me the most important is an intangible that’s hard to put a finger on, but without which you don’t have a show worth watching: voice.

+TV Recap Dancing with the Stars: Season 13, Episode 4 | 121 days ago

Dancing with the Stars Results, Week 2: Elisabetta Canalis is Finito

By Melissa Locker

Welcome to this week’s Dancing with the Stars recap. On Monday night, the show’s judges left fan favorite Chaz Bono with the lowest score and Ricki Lake with the highest. Let’s see how the voters treated them:

+Tuned In | 121 days ago

The Morning After: Who’s That Guy? It’s–

By James Poniewozik

Having gotten all cranky yesterday over the second episode of 2 Broke Girls, let me offer a little balance here: the second episode of New Girl, “Kryptonite,” was really, encouragingly funny.

+News Media | 122 days ago

Can’t Complain: Andy Rooney to Step Down from 60 Minutes

By James Poniewozik

Don’t you hate when a fixture of the past several decades of your life comes to an end, reminding you of your own inexorable process of aging? That will happen this Sunday, when 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney, the proud original H8R, will announce that he is ending his regular commentaries at the end of 60 Minutes.

+Tuned In | 122 days ago

First Look: HBO’s Luck

By James Poniewozik

Among the things I didn’t get around to blogging about yesterday: Before the season premiere of Boardwalk Empire, HBO screened a trailer for horseracing drama Luck, which debuts in January. (They also aired an even briefer tease for season 2 of Game of Thrones, with no footage, just a recitation of the Red Priests’ line [...]

+Tuned In | 122 days ago

A Second Look At: 2 Broke Girls

By James Poniewozik

When I previewed the pilot of 2 Broke Girls, I noted that it was essentially two sitcoms that seemed to be fighting for space. One was an odd-couple insult comedy, surprisingly crude for network primetime and crowded with ethnic stereotypes, not-especially-funny zingers and wacky situations (a horse in the backyard!). The other was an appealing–if [...]

+TV Recap Dancing with the Stars: Season 13, Episode 3 | 122 days ago

Dancing with the Stars Week 2 Recap: Nancy Grace Suffers a Wardrobe Malfunction

By Melissa Locker

Welcome back to season thirteen of Dancing with the Stars. Last we met, L.A. Laker Ron Artest, a.k.a. Metta World Peace, was on his way out. That’s right, America—we voted down World Peace. Explain that to your grandchildren.

+Television | 122 days ago

Judicial Disrobing? Nancy Grace Denies DWTS Wardrobe Malfunction

By James Poniewozik

The goddess Justice is traditionally depicted in art with one breast bared. So avenging HLN legal-show host Nancy Grace might have gone with the “artistic effect” line of spin after a vigorous performance last night on Dancing With the Stars, when one of her nipples appeared to briefly let slip the bonds of her clothing. [...]

+Television | 122 days ago

The Morning After: Atrocious or Bodacious Cretaceous?

By James Poniewozik

Last night we finally saw the two-hour premiere of Terra Nova, which, whatever I thought of it, will stun me if it is not the highest-rated drama debut of the fall season. I won’t bother restating my blog restatement of my print-magazine review, but I was surprised to see that most reviews I’ve read pretty [...]

+Box Office Report | 123 days ago

Box Office Moneybrawl: The Lion King Edges Brad Pitt's A's and the Dolphins Too

By Richard Corliss

According to early studio estimates, Disney’s 3-D re-release of The Lion King will win the weekend box-office race at North American theaters with $22.1 million, a slim 27% drop from last weekend.