An Acclaimed Critic Reviews His Lifelong Intoxication with Movies

Episode description:  

With the year-end season of major movie releases upon us, it’s the perfect time to listen to the wide-ranging perspective of an acclaimed film critic who’s been in the cinematic trenches for five decades—Ty Burr. Ty, who has programmed movies on Cinemax and HBO; reviewed movies and other pop culture For Entertainment Weekly; and was a long-time film critic and cultural columnist for the Boston Globe, now writes a Substack newsletter  called “Ty Burr’s Watch List,” devoted to reviews and commentary on theatrical and streaming films, TV and other popular culture. In today’s episode, Ty, who by his own account has seen a “ridiculous number of movies” in his lifetime, will discuss an assortment of questions he hears from viewers. Are the days of the old-school movie star largely a thing of the past? Where did all the compact-to-midsize-model movies go? Why does Netflix have no good movies these days? Does the stand-alone movie even exist anymore, or is it all sequels and reboots, and should we just shut up and watch “The Mandalorian”? Ty will also assess some of the major shifts in the film and TV landscape and what trends he foresees in streaming services—even the prospect of DVDs coming back. Of course, he’ll provide a sampling of  reviews and commentary from his Watch List, which every week offers new movie recommendations as well as curated choices from years past, a little history and an anecdote or two—something to make you laugh or ponder.

Guest description:

A film critic and pop culture columnist for The Boston Globe for two decades, from 2002 to 2021, Ty Burr currently writes “Ty Burr’s Watch List” (tyburrswatchlist.substack.com), a popular e-newsletter for movie and TV recommendations—including streaming ones—and cultural commentary. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books “Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame” (2013) and “The Best Old Movies for Families” (2007), and the e-book “The 50 Movie Starter Kit: What to Know if You Want to Know What You’re Talking About”(2013). During the 1980s, he programmed movies for HBO/Cinemax. As a senior writer and editor for “Entertainment Weekly” throughout the 1990s, he wrote reviews and features and oversaw the magazine’s initial coverage of, and forays into, the Internet and new media. A member of the National Society of Film Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics, Ty teaches courses in film and criticism at Boston University and Emerson College. In 2017, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Contact:     

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