Movies
98 Percent Pure Fiction
The real Chris Hansen has watched Robert Pattinson play him, and he took his review to his own podcast. We check his case against the record, then line up the documentary and the Pattinson films to watch next.
4 min read
Every biopic has a critic it cannot please, and Primetime has found its own. A24's film, which opened last Friday, September 25, casts Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, the Dateline host who spent the mid-2000s telling men in sting houses…
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This Week in Entertainment
Cover Story / The Long Read
Kind of Blue Belongs Second on the Shelf
Someone hands you Kind of Blue and tells you it is the greatest jazz album ever made. You put it on. It is lovely. Forty five minutes later it is over and you cannot describe one thing that happened on…
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More this week
Television
Which Scrubs Actually Counts?
The revival's second season arrives this Wednesday and the original turns 25 on Friday. We rule on the Med School season, name the true finale, and lay out three catch-up plans, one of which fits in a weekend.
Books
Is American Hagwon Worth 656 Pages?
Min Jin Lee's first novel since Pachinko arrives this Tuesday. What the two dissenting critics caught, who will love it anyway, and the order to read her books in.
Games
Is Ace Combat 8 Worth the Long Wait?
The first reviews call it one of the best in the series. Whether you need Ace Combat 7 first, the one caveat worth hearing, and the three older games to queue up after the credits.
Television
Matthew Rhys Won Two Emmys in One Night, So Which of His Shows Do You Watch First?
The Welsh actor took lead-actor Emmys for a Netflix thriller and an Apple TV horror comedy, a first. Our order for his three great shows, what each one asks of you, and what to watch after.
Music
Every New Beatles Fan Should Start With Rubber Soul
The special edition out this Friday adds a Lennon song sketch nobody knew existed, the 1965 mono mix and the old Capitol running order. Which of the formats to buy depends on one question about you.
Movies
What Should You Watch Before Fielder's Holmes Film?
Nathan Fielder's first feature, a three-hour documentary shot inside Elizabeth Holmes's house, opens next month. Six things to watch first, from Alex Gibney's Theranos doc to a Florida retirement community, and the one that matters most is not about Theranos at all.
Television
Sixteen Emmys Against Fifty-Three Losses
Bob Odenkirk on why his show is the harder watch, Bryan Cranston on the scene that rewrote Walter White, and a verdict Vince Gilligan still refuses to give. Plus the newcomer's order: where El Camino goes, what to do with the black-and-white Omaha hours, why Pluribus comes last.
Books
Threshing Day Is a Trap for New Fourth Wing Readers
Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean side collection lands this Tuesday with thirteen Threshing stories, Xaden's among them. What its own jacket gets wrong for newcomers, and the exact slot it earns in a reread.
Games
Should You Play E-Day Before Gears of War?
Reviews land this Thursday and the full launch comes early next week. Our answer for newcomers, a different one for lapsed fans, and which older Gears games are worth a replay before then.
Movies
Susan Sarandon Turns 80, and Her Oscar Film Is the Wrong Place to Start
She turns 80 this Sunday. A seven-film watch order for the birthday weekend, from a Venice winner with Burt Lancaster to a vampire film with David Bowie, opening with the role she says was the most fun.
Music
Chad Gilbert Put a Hardcore Heart Inside Every New Found Glory Chorus
The founding guitarist died earlier this month at 45. His Shai Hulud roots, the A Day to Remember records he produced, and where to start with a catalog that ends on the album he finished during chemotherapy.
Cross-media
Where Should a Law & Order Newcomer Start?
The original jumped 65 places on our drama chart in two weeks, just as Stabler heads back to SVU next month. The decade of the original worth your time, the spin-off that works as a bridge, and a ten-day plan before the premiere.
From the archive
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The Week inEntertainment
No. 14
Tom Cruise's Best Oscar Shot Comes With a Combover
Lizzie Borden Is the Monster Netflix Can Get Away With
The Week of September 21
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Is Robert Pattinson the Best Actor of His Generation?
Does Anyone Need a Harry Potter TV Show?
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Don't Rewatch Practical Magic Before Friday
What Would Back to the Future 4 Have Looked Like?
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Can Onslaught Make Adria Arjona Undeniable?
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Coyote vs. ACME Was Worth Saving
Someone Should Have Saved the Cheerleader
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No. 9
Is the Gang Still Worse Than Us?
Disney Has a New Home for Iron Man
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No. 8
Should You Trust This Mystery Box?
Where Is All the Green?
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No. 7
The Best Spider-Man in 22 Years?
Can Ted Lasso Do It Twice?
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Zendaya and Pattinson's Strangest Movie Yet Hits HBO Max Friday
Is Marvel Actually Back?
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The Best Panel at Comic-Con Is Not the One Everyone Camps For
See It Big or Wait Until You Can
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