Valerie Ettenhofer
School
Saint Mary's College Of California
Expertise
The Last Of Us, Stranger Things, Streaming TV Shows
- A major "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fan since 2005, Valerie has previously ranked every episode of the series and even has a tattoo of the four element symbols.
- Valerie wrote an essay about the Nicolas Cage drama "Pig" – her favorite movie of 2021 – that appears in the 2023 Simon & Schuster anthology "Sad Happens."
- Valerie has previously served on the Critics Choice Awards TV comedy nominating committee, where she was thrilled to help highlight breakout performances from great shows like "Reservation Dogs" and "Abbott Elementary."
Experience
Valerie has been working professionally as an entertainment journalist since 2012, when she began freelance writing for her local college newspaper and quickly rose through the ranks to become editor-in-chief. After college, Valerie interned at the historic Roxie Theater in San Francisco, writing copy for their website and falling even more in love with film in the process. Since then, her work has appeared in print in the East Bay Express, as well as on websites like The Playlist, IGN, Dread Central, IndieReader, Movie Mezzanine, and more. Valerie is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association's TV and Documentary branches and the LGBTQ+ critics' circle, GALECA. For several years, she served as the head TV critic at Film School Rejects. She also publishes a weekly pop culture newsletter titled "Hey, What Are You Watching?"
Education
Valerie graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's College of California, where she studied English. Her film-heavy education allowed her to study special topics in pop culture, including independent film and the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
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Stories By Valerie Ettenhofer
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There's a new Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry action-comedy on Netflix that's getting some attention.
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Robert Downey Jr. is opening up about his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom, and it sounds like it's going to be a little complicated.
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Barney Miller was, in some ways, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine of its time. Let's catch up with the cast members who are still with us today.
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The X-Files timeline isn't as cut and dry as you might think. Here's the correct order to watch the cult sci-fi series.
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Kurt Russell quietly committed a major Marvel no-no during production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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Alien: Romulus was initially planned as a direct-to-Hulu release, like Prey, but the box office's recovery helped it leap to the big screen.
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David O. Russell, the director of Three Kings, is back in the news thanks to a recent comment from George Clooney. Here are the big allegations against Russell.
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Deadpool & Wolverine has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history. As of now, four of the top five R-rated films are based on comic book properties.
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Director David O. Russell has years of troubling allegations against him, including George Clooney's from their time making Three Kings.
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The first reactions to Alien: Romulus are hatching. What are folks saying about the new sci-fi horror pic?
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While AMC's Interview with the Vampire has yet to air a bad episode, there are a few episodes we'd rank just a hair or two above the rest.
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Legendary comedienne Catherine O'Hara very nearly appeared on a golden age episode of The Simpsons, but didn't quite fit her part.
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The Stuntman is one of three upcoming films set in the rebooted Kick-Ass universe. Here's what we know about the movie so far.
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Maude remains an important cornerstone of the sitcom house Norman Lear built, and several key actors in the series are still with us today.
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Superstore is one of the last great network sitcoms to break through in the streaming era, so we went ahead and ranked every season.
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Rumors are running wild about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's alleged behind-the-scenes drama on It Ends With Us. Here's what we actually know so far.
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The Umbrella Academy wraps up on an emotional yet rather confusing note. Here's our breakdown of the show's fourth and final season.
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The car attendants in Ferris Bueller's Day Off are getting their own movie with Sam and Victor's Day Off. Here's what we know so far.
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Some members of the original The Munsters show are still with us.
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The first Cloverfield movie was a huge deal, and it spawned an entire franchise. Here's how to watch the series.
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The biggest broken promise of the streaming era? Original shows would stay on the service that made them. Here are the Netflix originals no longer on Netflix.
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Jason Reitman's Saturday Night Live movie has an official title that references the original name of SNL.
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Maya Rudolph is officially returning to Saturday Night Live to play Vice President (and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee) Kamala Harris.
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A new rumor suggests that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom might show up before the next Avengers movie.
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The Simpsons season 5 episode 'Cape Feare' has a fascinating legacy that includes inspiring the postmodern work Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play.
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Friday Night Lights is often dismissed as just a 'football show,' but it holds a special place in the heart of fans.
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The Bear has everything from star-studded cameo-fests to introspective foodie stories. However, these ranked episodes stand out the most.