TCM’s prime-time lineup tonight is a double feature devoted to sibling rivalry, and it’s serving up an entrée that’s as singular as rat on a silver platter. They say revenge is a dish best served cold – but in this 1962 grand guignol thriller (every bit as grand as it is guignol), Bette Davis plays a vengeful sibling who serves her invalid sister, played by Joan Crawford, a vermin that’s not only hot, but served in a covered silver dish. This movie really, re

2013

Jan

HYSTERIA By David Bianculli

One of the most sexually suggestive and naughtily entertaining period British films since Tom Jones, this 2011 comedy is a romp based on truth: in the Victorian era, women were diagnosed with “female hysteria,” a catch-all diagnosis that is so widespread that, according to one eager doctor, “half the women in London are affected.” The prescribed treatment for this malady? Bringing the poor, unfortunate women to orgasm -- thanks to a doctor’s new invention, the vibra

2013

Jan

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE By David Bianculli

The second part of tonight’s TCM “sibling rivalry” double feature, this 1951 movie classic features Southern sisters: Blanche, played by Vivien Leigh, and Stella, played by Kim Hunter. Between the two of them, of course, is Marlon Brando’s Stanley, whose performance here, as on Broadway, changed the style of acting for every generation since. Elia Kazan directed this brilliantly sexually charged film version of the Tennessee Williams play.

2013

Jan

MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli

Another timely new edition: This weekend, Bill Moyers’ guests include economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who discusses President Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of the Treasury – who wasn’t Krugman. But Krugman says he’s fine with that, saying he can still be called on to give advice, while “what the president needs right now is a hard-nosed negotiator. And rumor is that’s what he’s got.” Moyers & Company airs from F

2013

Jan

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS By David Bianculli

With Sherlock on PBS, and Elementary on CBS, there’s a big resurgence of interest in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective, one of the most iconic characters in all of literature. And we shouldn’t forget Robert Downey, Jr.’s modernistic take on Sherlock Holmes, presented here in this 2011 sequel, with Jude Law as Watson, Jared Harris from Mad Men as Professor Moriarty, and Rachel McAdams as a very vivacious Irene Adler.

2013

Jan

THE IRON LADY By David Bianculli

Meryl Streep earned Oscar Number Three, and her first in decades, by portraying British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in this 2011 film biography. Its framing device, a mixture of flashbacks and ghostly visitations, is a bit unusual, but Streep’s impersonation is ghostly, too: less acting than channeling. Jim Broadbent co-stars.

2013

Jan

FRINGE By David Bianculli

Next Friday, Fox presents two episodes of Fringe back-to-back – the final two episodes of the series. So if the second of those episodes is the series finale, and the first of those episodes is the penultimate Fringe episode, then what’s tonight’s installment called? It mght be called Altered States – because look at what Walter (John Noble) is doing.

2013

Jan

BANSHEE By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: This new series places killers among the Amish, sort of like Witness did – but also adds the wrinkle that the new small-town sheriff actually is a wily wanted fugitive. Banshee wants to be Justified, but its premise and its characters are equally unbelievable. Not just improbable. Unbelievable. Anthony Starr stars. Give Cinemax credit, though, for trying to mount another original series. For a full review, see Uncle Barky's Bytes.

2013

Jan

1999: JON STEWART TAKES THE REINS OF 'THE DAILY SHOW' By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1999, comedian Jon Stewart took the reins of Comedy Central's satirical newscast, The Daily Show, replacing original host Craig Kilborn...

2013

Jan

SUNDAY’S CABLE COMEDY WARS: HBO’S ‘GIRLS’ VS. SHOWTIME’S 'SHAMELESS', AND OTHERS By David Bianculli

HBO and Showtime butt heads, intentionally and aggressively, Sunday night, launching new seasons of their respective comedies directly opposite one another…

Posts 121-130 of 204

12 13 14 15 16

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption