On another site, I came across a reference to an ignorant or just plain inexperienced reviewer from Entertainment Weekly comparing French actress Simone Signoret to Amercian Shelley Winters. Okay, both ladies were blonde and kind of "full-blown" in their latter days, but there are worlds of difference between the two, not just their nationality.
Be that as it may, I usually scarf up a copy of EW when I visit my doctors and find that it can be entertaining, informative, and will tell me more than I ever wanted to know about such folk as Tobey Maguire, Brad Pitt et al. I also like the concise, but interesting book review section. Overall, it seems a cut above People, and often Newsweek and Time, at least when it comes to discussing popular culture. I do find that some, but not all the writers there are kind of naive about film history at times, but sometimes someone will write an affectionate appreciation of an obscure figure who passes or a review of a dvd that surprises me pleasantly.
What do you think of Entertainment Weekly? Are there any magazines that you rely on for info on pop culture regularly any more?
Thinking about this briefly, the only magazine that I'd miss alot if it ever stop being printed would probably be The New Yorker, especially since it woke up from its long, smug snooze a few years ago and started to attract some lively writers again. Intermittently, I also enjoy Vanity Fair occasionally, especially the gadfly columnist Christopher Hitchens and a few others. Interesting glossy photos too.
Entertainment Weekly: Opinions, please
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moira finnie
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VANITY FAIR, as Moira mentioned, would get my vote as the most consistently interesting magazine with film-driven features. Their current issue has an entertaining cover piece on Bruce Willis and last month featured a fairly in-depth article on THE SOPRANOS. And then there's their annual film issue--usually about 400 pages devoted to all things film.
But as far as magazines like ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (and the others that ape it), I can't say that I find them to be either interesting or informative (apart from who's in what, when it's coming out, or how much it's grossed). I also enjoy the film reviews in THE NEW YORKER. Not as much, tho, as when the late Pauline Kael was doing them. FILM COMMENT was a magazine that could once be counted on for provocative writing, but they have slipped considerably over the past few years.
But as far as magazines like ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (and the others that ape it), I can't say that I find them to be either interesting or informative (apart from who's in what, when it's coming out, or how much it's grossed). I also enjoy the film reviews in THE NEW YORKER. Not as much, tho, as when the late Pauline Kael was doing them. FILM COMMENT was a magazine that could once be counted on for provocative writing, but they have slipped considerably over the past few years.