All told, Updike has published more than a million words on books. ... In Picked-up Pieces (1975), Updike’s second collection of essays, he lists his rules for reviewing... Without coyness, Updike renders a stern judgment based on telling quotation. He builds toward his findings in plain sight, earning him an authority that is based on his presentation of a plausible case. [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Dec 11, 2011 -
6 comments
"But when a saga popular with pre-adolescent girls peaks romantically on a night that leaves the heroine to wake up covered with bruises in the shape of her husband's hands — and when that heroine then spends the morning explaining to her husband that she's incredibly happy even though he injured her, and that it's not his fault because she understands he couldn't help it in light of the depth of his passion — that's profoundly irresponsible."
MetaFilter's own Linda Holmes on the "psychosexual horror-show" that is
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.
[more inside]
posted by davidjmcgee
on Nov 18, 2011 -
274 comments
The French romantic thriller “Diva” dashes along with a pellmell gracefulness, and it doesn’t take long to see that the images and visual gags and homages all fit together and reverberate back and forth. It’s a glittering toy of a movie... This one is by a new director, Jean-Jacques Beineix... who understands the pleasures to be had from a picture that doesn’t take itself very seriously. Every shot seems designed to delight the audience. - Pauline Kael, 1982
[more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Sep 16, 2011 -
33 comments
Two and a half years ago, we explored
the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact,
Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's
truly venerable forerunner:
Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative
QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to
the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is
looking back with
a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including
Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and
All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments
Blogger jailed over critical restaurant review. The Taichung branch of Taiwan High Court on Tuesday sentenced a blogger who wrote that a restaurant’s beef noodles were too salty to 30 days in detention and two years of probation and ordered her to pay NT$200,000 in compensation to the restaurant.
posted by lily_bart
on Jun 23, 2011 -
89 comments
Infinity Blade is an
iOS game available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It is typically seen as a send-up of the classic game
Punch-Out!! mashed up with
roleplaying game conventions such as experience points and character-modifying equipment. Its defining trait is that it relies upon
new game+ to advance your character (actually your character's family/bloodline) and the story.
J. Nicholas Geist over at
Kill Screen has written
a review to match the game.
posted by curious nu
on May 20, 2011 -
43 comments
Pizza!
Slice Harvester is one man's quest to taste and review every pizza slice offered by NYC's pizzerias. His mission statement reads,
"...I'm going by neighborhood, starting in Manhattan, getting a plain slice at every place. I am f***ing sick of the current trend in Pizza Journalism that's all about f***ing artichoke guacamole tahini pizza on rice dough. That s*** isn't pizza. Sorry."
posted by Arthur Phillips Jones Jr
on Sep 28, 2010 -
69 comments
Possibly having tired of reviewing blockbusters such as Avatar, Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones (previously:
1,
2,
3, respectively),
RedLetterMedia has taken a different approach and posted a video review of John Hughes' 1994 family comedy,
Baby's Day Out.
Then, in a visual you might find more creepy than anything you've seen in The Shining, the baby's little hand reaches down and starts grabbing at his cock. He actually squeezes his dick over and over again with the creepy little baby hand.
Not to be missed are Plinkett's other reviews, including several
Star Trek films. RedLetterMedia also dabbles in comedic
shorts.
posted by Christ, what an asshole
on Jul 14, 2010 -
31 comments
You might have thought
The Phantom Menace was the worst movie ever made, but no - it's Attack of the Clones. And RedLetterMedia is here to tell you
exactly why.
Parts
one,
two,
three,
four,
five,
six,
seven,
eight, and
nine.
posted by flatluigi
on Apr 4, 2010 -
310 comments
"Papers that are scientifically flawed or comprise only modest technical increments often attract undue profile. At the same time publication of truly original findings may be delayed or rejected."
In an
open letter addressed to Senior Editors of peer-review journals,
Professor Austin Smith (
publications) and another 13 stem cell researchers from around the world have
expressed their concerns over the current peer review process employed by the journals publishing in the field of stem cell biology.
[more inside]
posted by kisch mokusch
on Feb 3, 2010 -
25 comments
There isn't a single decent candidate running for office, the homeless guy struck by a car was more fortunate than the auto workers and if you want a grilled raccoon they sure have a deal for you: it's
Detroit 2009, The Movie, the chronicle of a rough year from The Detroit News.
posted by krautland
on Jan 1, 2010 -
40 comments
David Levine, beloved caricaturist for several publications, but most notably for the
New York Review of Books,
died last Tuesday at age 83 due to complications of prostate cancer. Since 1963, he contributed over 3,800 caricatures for the magazine, which prominently featured his drawings in promotional material. You can look at over 2,500 of his drawings
here, review his website featuring his painting
here, and see him interviewed
here.
Toward the end of his life, his vision failed due to macular degeneration and his relationship with the magazine became
somewhat strained. Upon his death, the magazine noted that he was, simply, "the greatest caricaturist of his time."
[more inside]
posted by pasici
on Jan 1, 2010 -
24 comments
"
In the lawless mountain realms of Asia, a Yale professor finds a case against civilization"
Zomia is a rugged swath of Asia that for 2,000 years has remained culturally aloof from the traditional centers of power and the pull of empires. Its inhabitants, Asia’s “hill people,” have earned a reputation for egalitarianism, insurrection, and independence. Up until the second half of the 20th century, many of the societies there remained nonliterate and supported themselves through trade, smuggling, and Iron-Age practices like slash-and-burn agriculture... In Zomia’s small societies, with their simple technologies, anti-authoritarian tendencies, and oral cultures, Scott sees not a world forgotten by civilization, but one that has been deliberately constructed to keep the state at arm’s length.
posted by andoatnp
on Dec 13, 2009 -
82 comments
Blindspots is a continually-updated collection of movie reviews based around one very interesting concept -- how accessible they are to the visually impaired.
[more inside]
posted by flatluigi
on Nov 22, 2008 -
25 comments
