Category: media

“Back in the movie wasteland of last January, no one could have guessed what a bounty of good films the year would bring. Not just good films, but several that measure up to our idealized notions of what the medium once was.”

“There’s the Oscar lesson, proven year after year: You might win with a dark vision, but in general, keep it light and keep it in English.”

“No contemporary magazine could duplicate Life’s success, and not just because 1945 was such a monumental year. No modern magazine has remotely close to its influence.”

Fans “are so eager for the murder, villainy, depravity and wedding banquets gone horribly wrong depicted on that series that they don’t mind engaging in a little piracy to see the show.”

Well, the New York Times video game critic would say that, wouldn’t he? But Chris Suellentrop may have a point.

In 2012, Americans spent more money purchasing online movies than they did physical formats such as DVDs. It’s a historical shift with unknown consequences. If Netflix is capable of bringing everyone together, we should be seeing manifestations of this power anytime now. Then again, the advertisement’s tagline only mentioned, “might.” There was never any promise of “will.”

“What Buffy showed us is that having one strong female character per show – even if she’s well-written, interesting and complex – just isn’t enough.”

“This was the year of the “What is TV, anyway?” question. The surge of viewers to Netflix and the increasing number of younger people watching TV online only caused the question to be asked. And it caused confusion. There should be none – TV is content watched on any platform.”

“He keeps making movies in which extremely needy people get what they are seeking (a ghost orchid, an escape from mom, fifteen minutes inside John Malkovich, an O.S. for a girlfriend) but can’t keep it.”

Virginia Cannon: “Admittedly, a reality show about a hunting clan of self-proclaimed rednecks in West Monroe, Louisiana, sounded problematic to me, too – like having to spend time at home with a southern branch of the Palins. But what is remarkable about the show, at least what I’ve seen of it, is its gentle nature.”