Free Republic

Cinema in the early years of the 21st Century has experienced something of an existential crisis. Terms such as ‘TV-like’ or ‘television-esque’ were once intended as insults; now, in a period most commentators consider a new ‘golden age of television’ – a Don Draper here, a Walter White there – that is no longer the case. So, if television has evolved to a point where it is no longer considered an inferior art form, what does this mean for cinema? Perhaps it is no coincidence that David Lynch’s mind-bending mystery-drama Mullholland Drive has been named by BBC Culture’s critics’ poll...

...Film-making today, whether massively expensive or made with tiny budgets, shot on celluloid or video, is thriving artistically as much as it ever has. But today you’ll find greater diversity in the kinds of films being made, if not in the people who are making them. That’s why we, the editors of BBC Culture, decided to commission a poll of critics to determine the 100 greatest films of the 21st Century. Last year, we asked critics to name the greatest American films of all time, and we were surprised that only six films made since 2000 made the top 100....

Jurvetson's body was found Nov. 16, 1969, by a birdwatcher in dense brush off the iconic Mulholland Drive. She had been stabbed 150 times and didn't have identification. ... After going unidentified for years, Jurvetson eventually became known Jane Doe No. 59. The location and timing of her killing, just a few miles away from several Manson family murders, has long fueled speculation that Jurvetson's case was connected. ... Police said they used DNA to identify Jurvetson after her sister recognized a photo posted of the young woman's body online. The sister, Anne Jurvetson, told People that the "free-spirited and...

George Clooney and Barack Obama is a perfect example of the ageless romance between Hollywood and Washington liberals.. I’ve been living in Los Angeles for three months now, writing a book on politics in Hollywood. The question people ask time and again is, “Why is the movie business dominated by liberals?” Some critics (chiefly bloggers James Hirsen and Andrew Breitbart, and now Ben Shapiro in his new book) think it’s a conspiracy. I don’t agree. I think this town cleaves to the Left for social, not political reasons.