Critical Hits & Misses #314

This face, Disney?

• Yesterday we mentioned Taylor Swift's lawyer serving a cease-and-desist letter to a blogger who demanded Swift renounce her Nazi and white supremacist fans. Today, The Atlantic takes a deeper look at how Swift's Anti-PR Campaign is backfiring, by drawing more attention to her scumbag Nazi fans. 


• The House of Mouse tried to throw its weight around yet again, by blacklisting the LA Times from screening its movies just because the paper had run a story about Disney's dealings with the City of Anaheim, which angered the beast. Many news outlets, including the New York Times, stood in solidarity with the LA Times, calling out Disney over its nonsense, and forcing the movie behemoth to back off and lift the ban. TFW you realize you aren't ALL powerful master of the universe... yet... so like freedom of the press is actually a thing you have to respect. 

For today's musical hit, we have Bishop Briggs and "The Way I Do"

Today's critical rolls: Speaking of the House of Mouse and infinite power, there's been talk that Disney is looking at possibly purchase Fox (ie the movie division). Whether that is true or not, is that something you would look forward to? Joining the Disney (aka Marvel) and Fox (aka X-Men and Fantastic Four) universes together? 

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Critical Hits & Misses #313

• Taylor Swift might sue a blogger who demanded that she denounce white supremacy and Nazism. But why, though?


• In the Beyond Stranger Things aftershow series that Netflix aired with episode recaps and cast interviews to celebrate the second season of Stranger Things, there was a revelation concerning the kiss between Max and Lucas in episode nine. Apparently, the kiss wasn't scripted, and despite it being quite sweet and endearing on the show, turns out that neither young actor were super happy about all the ribbing they've been getting. The internet has strong feelings about this and this blogger discusses why it's important for young actors to be treated with the same respect older actors receive. 

For today's musical hit, celebrate Thor: Ragnarok with a classic: Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"

Today's critical rolls: Did you see Thor: Ragnarok? What did you think? If you didn't, are you planning on seeing it?

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Critical Hits & Misses #310

• Hallelujah! Reddit just banned Nazis and white supremacists from their site! It's about time! 


• That moment when you get busted for hitting on a prepubescent boy, so you... come out as gay? The fuck, Kevin Spacey. Over at the Boston Globe, this opinion piece talks about how FUCKED UP it is for Spacey to equate being gay with being a predator. And then there's the news that Netflix is cancelling House of Cards because of the allegations against Spacey. 

For today's musical hit, we have Sabrina Claudio and "Belong To You"

Today's critical rolls: Happy Halloween! Are you dressing up? What as? Maybe conducting witchy rituals (I'm Wiccan, Samhain is special to me!)? What's going on today!

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #271

• Mic takes a look at anti-immigrant hate groups in America, and how these once fringe ideas have suddenly become mainstream. 


• Fortune discusses the dismal summer blockbuster season as August comes to a close, and looks at why Hollywood suffered its worst summer ever. 

For today's musical hit,we have Echosmith and "Future Me"

Today's critical rolls: Did you see any of this year's big summer flops? (Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Valerian, to name a few). Did you  actually enjoy any of them?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #268

(Editor's Note: we apologize for the lack of CH&M yesterday... stuff happens)

• The New York Times has a rather amazing and in-depth article about how white supremacy didn't just pop up all of a sudden because 45 was tone deaf after the Charlottesville tragedy. As the article points out, tv and film have been chockful of white supremacist nonsense for a while now. 
• Comicbook.com has a list of the ten DC comics events that would adapt well to the standalone film treatment. Check it out and see if you would like to see any of these on the big screen!

For today's musical hit, we have Computer Games, Darren Criss and "Lost Boys Life," starring the adorable Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things.

Today's critical rolls: Happy last Friday in August! What's on the agenda for the weekend for you?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #263

• 90s sitcoms, emirite? The List has, well a list, of cringey and misogynistic moments from 90s tv shows that are worth examining today. Sidenote: I was a young teen in the 90s, and I literally grew up on ALL of these shows, and it's startling to realize how much of this I completely missed or just plain ol' internalized as normal back then. Check this list out and see if you feel the same way. 


• We don't normally cover business-related news on this site, but because of the uproar this week in the United States that began last weekend with race-related riots in Virginia, this article is worth taking a look at. Because Mr. Trump has refused to truly condemn the Nazis and white supremacists, we have seen a LOT of reactions from all walks of life, and this article discusses how 6 CEOs have walked away from Trump's manufacturing council, in protest of Trump's refusal to condemn American white supremacists. 

For today's musical hit, here's Kesha and her live performance of "Praying" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Today's critical rolls: Whether you're Gen X or Millenial, have you ever watched an old tv show (American, British, whatever), and suddenly been struck by the blatant misogyny on display that was considered totally normal at the time? What kind of shows/moments?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #165

• The New York Times examines how Get Out, Jordan Peele's directorial debut and surprising hit, shows that the "postracial America" myth is just that: full of shit. Lots of talk about white supremacy in America, and how this horror film subverts the typical horror tropes. An excellent an opinion piece. 


• Over at Forbes, Erik Kain discusses what a good poster for a superhero movie looks like. He may not be looking forward to yet another Spiderman reboot, but the latest poster sure looks pretty awesome, and so did Logan's. Compared to those two, Justice League's poster is not much to look at. 

For today's musical hit, we have Bruno Mars latest, "That's What I Like"

Today's critical rolls: What are some great (and not so great) examples of movie posters, for any genre and any point in Hollywood history? Share pics!


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.