10 Terrific Trios

To simply say that The Power of Three is a popular trope would be to vastly understate its importance in creative works. The Trio pops up all over film, television, literature, and assorted other mediums. The concept of three plays with and unseats our natural preference for the more stolid (or boring!) number two and creates something more unstable, and with inherently more possibilities. You won’t be surprised to see a lot of our picks have got some... issues to work out.

Cinema Scope: A Short History of the End of Silent Film

The Artist is receiving many an accolade for its ambitious take on that peculiar episode of American cinema, the passing of the silent film to make way for "talkies". It’s a beautiful effort and a challenging watch, and it addresses that most artistic question of all artistic questions, that being: What is it to be an artist when it becomes impossible to practice that art? To the silent film actors at the end of the ‘20s, that question was a near constant concern, with varying opinions addressing philosophical and practical worries. The Artist barely addresses any of the milestone events during this transformation, choosing instead to focus on the acutely personal angle. The struggles that George Valentin faces in The Artist were echoed by many of our most popular film stars of the era.

10 Ways Disney Parks Bowdlerized Their Own Rides (And Your Childhood)

We all know Disney has a nagging tendency to cover up its faults. Some are good -- for example, the embarrassingly racist Song of the South is no longer for sale in the parks or online – and some are not so good – helicoptering anyone with injuries off Disney property as quickly as possible so as to avoid having to say anyone ever died on grounds. The theme parks have always been a push-and-pull between the twinkling nostalgia of the past and the domineering pull of the ugly present. Let’s not equivocate: the parks have always been a money-grubbing entity. But some of their recent changes have made that grubbing front-and-center, as opposed to a background only cynics wanted to delve into. Over the years, your favorite rides have undergone some changes. Some were to make the parks less rape-y. Good! Some were to appease boring parents. Bad! And some called into question why the parks ever had the original way of things in the first place. Let’s get to it.

The Girls of Summer (Television)

While television is largely populated by male-helmed vehicles this summer (television is always populated by male-helmed vehicles), female characters are popping up in all sorts of interesting ways. Take it as another entry in the so-called Golden Age of Scripted TV, because women these days comprise a wide array of flawed and flawless, seen and unseen, known and unknown.

A Few Questions About Harry Potter

Listen, there may be no more devoted fan than I to the Harry Potter continuum. As testimony, accept my Halloween costume (Luna Lovegood), my trips to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Harry Potter: the Exhibition, my attendance at last fall's Quidditch Cup, the intricate Marauder's Map framed on my wall, the official Ravenclaw robes and casual wear in my closet and a pret-a-porter knowledge of the Trio and their various goings-on. But over the years, after several readings and viewings, I've collected a veritable treasure trove of questions regarding our heroes at Hogwarts. Now, before the last film arrives, it is time to share that trove with you lucky few.

Game of Thrones Novice Recap: Fire and Blood

Welcome to our Game of Thrones recap from a viewer who hasn’t read the books. Enjoy the love and snark. Once upon a time, the first season of Game of Thrones began with a bang and scared us all sillier. Ten

Game of Thrones Novice Recap: Baelor

Welcome to our Game of Thrones recap from a viewer who hasn’t read the books. Enjoy the love and snark. Whoa! This week, an incredibly shocking thing happened on Game of T