ALBUMS Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift 2012 was a simpler time: As conspiracy-theorists announced the approach of the world’s end, Taylor Swift was easing into pop music with catchy breakup songs. Nine years later, she has re-recorded her chart-topping album Red, adding 10 new songs (from the vault) that[Read More…]
Tag: tv
Our friend, Alex Trebek
Every weekday at 7:30 p.m., Jeopardy!’s title credits flash across the television screen. Three contestants and a family friend walk out onto the floor to an enticing crescendo, their names announced by legendary narrator, Johnny Gilbert, as they receive a well-deserved standing ovation from the studio and at-home audiences. Half[Read More…]
A roundtable discussion on the Girls finale
HBO’s Girls aired for the last time on April 16. The series finale, titled “Latching” which garnered a wide array of reactions from film and TV critics, featured main character Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) in the early stages of motherhood, assisted by her best friend Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams). In[Read More…]
Best Film and Television of 2016
Compiled by our staff editors and writers, here is the best film and television of 2016. Best Films of 2016 1. Moonlight Barry Jenkins pieces together a deeply moving investigation of masculinity, class, and race in this fictional biopic. Compelling visuals, and tense dialogue come together in heartbreaking performances to give this[Read More…]
Man vs. storm: In conversation with George Kourounis
“There have been times when I’ve had lightning strikes so close I can feel the heat on my face, [times] I’ve been hit by massive hail, [times] I’ve been caught inside a tornado […],” professional storm chaser George Kourounis said. While Kourounis was studying to become a sound engineer, he[Read More…]
Netflix announces new production of “A Series of Unfortunate Events”
Netflix recently released a preview for a new upcoming series: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now that it’s confirmed as part of the Netflix family, the surprisingy mature children’s series seems to be coming back into the public eye. The original book series, written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: The small screen reaches a wider audience
Television has long been regarded as film’s more annoying, less accomplished younger sibling. Sound bytes like 'made for T.V. movie' and 'multi-camera sitcom' continue to haunt audiences’ psyches, evoking nightmares of outrageous laugh tracks and over-dramatic soap opera acting. For decades, critics considered film the real art form—a medium that actually allowed[Read More…]
Stranger Things and The Americans: The Cold War on TV
With its 1980s pop culture nostalgia, Netflix’s Stranger Things feels comforting and familiar, yet unlike anything else on television. Stranger Things is based on a simple premise: One night after riding his bike home a kid named Will Byers goes missing from Hawkins, Indiana, a small midwestern town. Strongly influenced[Read More…]
Has “How to Get Away with Murder” lost its pizazz?
How to Get Away with Murder just finished its second season, and so far it is not at all impressive. What started as a ground-breaking and provocative television series is rapidly becoming mundane and vapid. This was expected, however, seeing as Shonda Rhimes is the executive producer of the show.[Read More…]
The case for Canadian content on Netflix
Netflix’s recent decision to crack down on the use of virtual private networks (VPN)—location maskers that permit international subscribers to access content reserved for other countries—should ultimately result in greater viewership of Canadian productions. While VPN providers—including Faraz Ali, the digital marketing manager for PureVPN—have expressed their skepticism towards Netflix’s[Read More…]