Entertainment Weekly Magazine Review

Keeping up with the latest in Entertainment is easy nowadays. Cable television, the internet, and countless other sources are always available to keep everyone informed about the recent happenings in Hollywood and in other media outlets. Published sources are also very popular, and one of the better entertainment publications is Entertainment Weekly, a weekly magazine that keeps you up to date with the most current information available on movies, music, videos, DVD's, and books. Let's take a look at what you can get with this magazine:

Magazine Commentary:

I read a large number of magazines covering a wide range of topics. With the majority of magazines I read, I usually begin by turning the pages directly to one or more of the monthly features that I like best. Then, after getting my fill, I proceed to the longer stories based on which ones seem the most interesting. But with Entertainment Weekly, I approach the magazine in reverse. But with this magazine, I prefer to start with the longer articles found at the beginning and middle of each issue. The reason for my "reverse approach" with Entertainment Weekly is because the weekly articles and interviews are often so candid and so entertaining I want to read them before I look at anything else.

Each issue of Entertainment Weekly can usually be counted on to have an interview with someone in the entertainment business, and these interviews are often the best part of each magazine. These interviews are often direct and enticing, with the interviewee free to say exactly what he/she thinks in response to questions that are often very provocative. Yes, there are simple questions thrown in as well but it's the tough, in your face interview questions that I like best. Often, it depends on the person being interviewed. There was a recent exchange in the July 9, 2004 issue with filmmaker and political activist Michael Moore and, as you might have guessed, it was much more outspoken and entertaining than other interviews with less controversial people.

The reviews of movies, books, music, and DVD/Video provide some great reading to those who love entertainment. I don't always agree with the conclusions and the grades awarded to different films, CD's, and books, but that's one of the magazine's many beauties. It wouldn't be much fun if I was reading reviews that I agreed with week after week. I like to read different perspectives on these different forms of entertainment media.

I like the way Entertainment Weekly includes movie reviews and grades from other critics, along with an average grade (A+ all the way down to F) so that readers can make fair comparisons. Other magazines stress the exclusive journalism of their own critics, with a viewpoint that is sometimes slanted and biased. With Entertainment Weekly, you can compare the reviews side by side from other critics, to get a more rounded criticism that makes your movie going choices easier to make. The magazine doesn't do this with the other areas (music and books), but I wish it would. It would be nice to see what other prominent critics think and then make comparisons.

One other nice feature of this publication is the price. The cover price, at $3.50, is pretty high for such a short magazine. But the subscription price is hard to beat. Not many magazines can boast a base subscriptions rate that works out to only 71 cents per issue, and that includes other weekly magazines. A standard, 28- week subscription can be purchased for roughly the cost of two large pizzas. This makes Entertainment Weekly a bargain, in my book. Where else can you find such fun, entertaining, up to the minute information on movies, music, and books for such a low price?

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Entertainment Weekly is one of my favorite magazines in the entertainment sector of the publishing business. I find many of the entertainment magazines to be silly and often too prone toward gossip, so it's a refreshing change to read a publication like this one. It's not going to win any awards for intellectually challenging articles, no. But when it comes to pure entertainment with up to the minute coverage on what's in and what's out, Entertainment Weekly is my magazine of choice. It's a nice, inexpensive guide for those who love entertainment