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"The best video essay source on the web." (Roger Ebert) This web site is built on a mix of original video essays and critical, personal writing about film, TV, and their connection to broader cultural concerns. Co-founded by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine, and Ken Cancelosi, it is overseen by Editor-in-Chief Max Winter.

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The Unknown Unknowns: Just How “Ambiguous” is David Fincher’s ZODIAC?

Blogs

The following is a conversation about David Fincher's 2007 film "Zodiac." It was inspired by Twitter conversation about whether it is, in fact, an ambiguous movie, as many have claimed, or if it only seems that way; if it's open, closed, or somewhere in between.

By Sarah D. Bunting, Michael D'Angelo, and Matt Zoller Seitz
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January 28, 2013 1:35 AM
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17 Comments

Television

Writing that tries to be for everyone ends up being for no one.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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June 18, 2012 1:30 AM
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4 Comments

Television

The climactic argument between Marnie and Hannah in "Leave Me Alone" is soooo satisfying—and it's not merely because Marnie is acting as the viewer's proxy in calling Hannah fully and completely on her bullshit.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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June 11, 2012 9:15 AM
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6 Comments

Television

Was anyone else surprised that the crack in this week's episode title was crack cocaine, and not the crack of an ass?

By Sarah D. Bunting
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May 27, 2012 10:56 PM
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4 Comments

Television

One of the things I liked most about "The Return"—and I liked a bunch of things—was its title.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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May 20, 2012 10:55 PM
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0 Comments

Television

More like "Hard Writing Consistently." What *was* that?

By Sarah D. Bunting
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May 13, 2012 10:55 PM
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10 Comments

Television

I hoped the title of this week's episode wouldn't imply what I had a feeling it implied. I hoped we'd just see Hannah writing in her diary, or hear snippets in a voice-over—something, anything besides another character reading Hannah's diary and getting information s/he didn't want, while I watched, cringing, from behind a pillow.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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May 6, 2012 10:55 PM
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6 Comments

Television

Remember those Cosmo-ish "Which Sex & the City character are you?" quizzes that every single editorial outlet featured during that show's run? Of course you couldn't take the results seriously; you can't "be" one of those people, because those people weren't people. They were slices of people, meant to illustrate (and easier to write than) the composite, contradictory whole.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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April 29, 2012 10:55 PM
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8 Comments

Television

"Vagina Panic" is an attention-getting episode title—but nobody's really panicking in the second episode of "Girls" except Hannah, whose takeaway from a childhood viewing of Forrest Gump is an obsessive fear of contracting AIDS from "stuff that gets up around the sides of condoms." "Vagina Denial" might cover the subject a bit better.

By Sarah D. Bunting
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April 22, 2012 10:55 PM
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8 Comments

Television

Short verzh: yeah, it's niche and occasionally obnoxious. It's also super-watchable and good (in that "extractions portion of a facial" way at times, but still). Give it a chance.  