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04 May 2011 15:01

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Biz: Warner Bros. buys up Rotten Tomatoes, Flixster

  • A conflict of interest on the side? One of the internet’s most popular movie review websites will now be owned by one of America’s major movie and entertainment studios. The acquisition has less to do with Rotten Tomatoes, however, than it does Flixster, a movie review/streaming company that counted RT as one of its subsidiaries — Warner Bros. wanted Flixster to push a competitive advantage against Netflix, and their new ownership of the widely-known review aggregator is a byproduct of that. So, if Warner Bros. makes a piece of utter dreck, hopefully you’ll still be able to see that not-so-fresh “tomatometer” rating. source

03 Feb 2011 02:15

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Tech: Review: The Daily makes an awful solid argument for 99¢ a week

  • Have to say… we just checked out The Daily. Honestly didn’t expect to be as impressed with it as we were. Visually, it’s stunning … some rough edges, but it makes the Wired app look like last year’s model. The modular masthead on the front page is creative. And the sheer density of the content is just insane. There is enough here to keep you reading for an hour. The editorial sensibility is very New York Post, though with a much softer and more beautiful edge. The Post snarkiness shows up in the briefs and the gossip page more than the main stories. It’s definitely a Murdoch pub. One feature of note: There’s a “By The Numbers” page that kinda reminds us of this site a little. The daily furniture is beautiful. There are share functions so it’s not closed off to the web. But more than anything, you get the overwhelming feeling of disbelief that you get all this stuff for 99 cents a week – and that’s a feeling that’s been missing from a lot of journalism lately. Will be interesting to see how others respond. source

24 Sep 2010 09:09

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Culture: “The Social Network” early reviews are in! Here’s a sample

  • one “Despite its insistently unsexy moving parts (software, algorithms), the movie is paced like a thriller, if one in which ideas, words and bank books blow up rather than cars.”
  • two “Thanks to lightning-fast line readings by Eisenberg and other actors, there is probably more dialogue in “The Social Network” than all of [David] Fincher’s other movies put together.”
  • three“[Fincher’s] portrait of campus life among America’s elite is pitch-perfect, every bit as much as the drug-and-party excesses of Silicon Valley and the war rooms of corporate attorneys.”

21 Aug 2010 22:35

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29 Jul 2010 20:40

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Tech: I won’t back down, part 4: The new Kindle’s killer reviews

  • We have to hand it to Amazon. Despite looking like they might be a little outgunned by the iPad, they not only came out with a new version of the Kindle, but the device is thus far getting some killer reviews. Sure, it’s not color, but it looks a step or two above the first two Kindles. source

12 Jul 2010 23:24

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Music: Pitchfork plays turncoat on M.I.A. and her new album, /\/\/\Y/\

  • Right or wrong, the social contract is simple: If you bring the hits, we’ll put up with your #(&@. With
    /\/\ /\ Y /\, M.I.A. has broken that contract. And she could not have chosen a worse time to do it.
  • Pitchfork reviewer Matthew Perpetua • Ruining M.I.A.’s entire week with a 4.4 album review that simply savages the wildly experimental political rapper. She’s not had much good press of late, what with a New York Times Magazine article that simply did not put her in a good light (and a huge fight that revolved around truffle fries – no joke), and this review will likely compound her problems. When you fall from 8.9 to 4.4 on Pitchfork in the span of an album, it’s not helpful to your career. Just ask Travis Morrison. source

04 Jun 2010 17:42

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27 May 2010 22:16

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Culture: “Sex and the City 2” on the fast track to winning lots of Razzies

  • » The lesson to take from this: Don’t make comedies in deserts. It never works. The cast of Ishtar knows this fact all too well, guys.

07 May 2010 11:13

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Culture: “Iron Man 2” can’t keep up the luster of the original

  • 57 the second film’s disappointing Metacritic score source

06 May 2010 23:00

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