Private Greatness: David Fincher’s ‘Mank’

This week, Hollywood is abuzz about HBO Max’s assault on theatrical windows. It is perhaps the greatest threat yet to cinema as we know it, in a year that had already been most unkind to older forms of entertainment, giving streaming platforms even more of an upperhand — a shot in the arm they really […]

What’s Good: 12 Netflix Picks

There’s a lot of disagreement in the air these days, in case you haven’t noticed. The one thing everyone can agree on right now is that streaming entertainment is our lord and savior, a recently elevated equivalent to food, shelter, and oxygen in our current hierarchy of needs, and we need some goddamn more of […]

Irish Goodbye: Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’

Believe it or not, it’s been nearly 30 years since Martin Scorsese made GoodFellas, one of the auteur’s least disputed masterpieces. The film was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture. Joe Pesci won Best Supporting Actor. Scorsese’s name has been mentioned in a lot of film criticism lately, and not just because […]

Orphan Is The New Bad: The Best Fucking TV Of 2013

And now it’s time to talk TV. I don’t watch a whole lot of TV, compared to the average American. The number of reality shows I watch regularly — or ever, unless I’m a captive audience — is zero. (Yes, this includes all housewives from any given location, dynasties related to any fowl, and anything […]

‘Orange’ Juicy: Netflix Is The New Showtime

Yes, I’m talking about it too. If you’re a twenty- or thirty-something with access to the internet, I find it hard to imagine that you’ve escaped hearing anything about Orange Is The New Black, the newest Netflix Original Series that has, as per the service’s M.O., dumped all 13 episodes of its first season online […]

Well Played, Netflix: ‘House Of Cards’ Chapters 1-3

(Originally posted on Justin + 7.) I figured I’d be writing something about the Oscars today, as I normally would do a few days before the big show, but since I have been covering them since the nominees were announced anyway — and particularly heavily this week — I have almost nothing left to say. […]