Along with the widely observed deaths of Amy Winehouse and Gil Scott-Heron, a number of lesser-known musical figures passed …
A Separation: How about an Oscar for This Fascinating Iranian Drama?
Director Asghar Farhadi shows how, even in the nicest families, things can go horribly wrong
One More for the Road: Mary Pols’ Top 10 Films of 2011
Have you noticed the new trend in Top Ten lists? Some critics now produce more than one list, ranging from quick and dirty ones for critic’s polls (like Indiewire’s or MSN Movies) to carefully argued lists for one’s …
Tuned InTelevision
Vacation Robo-Post: What TV Are You Looking Forward to in 2012?
Speaking of vacation binge-viewing–I’m writing this in advance to auto-post while I’m away, so just take my word for it that I recently put up a post on vacation binge-viewing–my holidays are a time when I’m consuming a lot of midseason TV along with my egg nog. Around this time last year, I was about to screen the full season of FX’s …
Remembering Dick Clark
Generations of Americans celebrated New Year’s Eve with Dick Clark. Take a look at images at decades of music stars and the man who hosted it all.
Thumbs Down: 2011 Saw Least Movie Tickets Sold Since 1995
Meryl as Maggie in The Iron Lady: A Stunt of Genius
With the help of some great makeup, Streep slips into Thatcher’s skin and finds the British PM’s mettle as well as her metal
Top 10 Video Games We’re Looking Forward to in 2012
2011 turned out to be a great year for video games. Here are the 10 titles we’re most looking forward to in 2012 (and beyond)
Mary Tyler Moore: A Life In Pictures
As the legendary actress snags a SAG lifetime achievement award, we look back at the career, the fashion, and the acting that spanned decades and captivated audiences.
Tuned InTelevision
Vacation Robo-Post: Your Vacation Binge Viewing
More and more often, when I’m talking to someone about a TV show I follow–which I do a lot, because I am very boring and have little other frame of reference–they’ll say that they haven’t watched it yet, but are soon going to …
Wenders’ Pina: Dance Crazy
One icon of German modernism pays thrilling tribute to another in Wenders’ 3-D doc on the late Pina Bauch’s Wuppertal Dance Theater Company
The Top 10 Moments in Reading in 2011
(Lev Grossman writes about books here every Wednesday. Subscribe to his RSS feed.)
Over in some other post on this site, we all listed our favorite Cultural Moments from 2011. That struck me as such a good idea that I thought …
The Weeknd’s Echoes of Silence: A Third Mixtape, a Third Success
Despite not yet releasing a proper album, Abel Tesfaye has crafted some of this year’s most compelling and captivating music.