Joe Pesci stands toe to toe with Robert De Niro in this fabulous 1980 Martin Scorsese drama – not in the ring, but out of it, in this story of boxer Jake LaMotta and the people around him, on both sides of the ropes. What a brilliantly acted, stunningly photographed movie.

2012

Dec

FRINGE By David Bianculli

To jog his impaired memory about his ridiculously complex plan to defeat the Observers, Walter does something else ridiculous: He takes LSD as a memory tool. Yeah, because that worked so well for people in the Sixties. And it doesn’t help that, under the influence, Walter looks out in the distance and thinks he sees… Emerald City. As in Oz.

2012

Dec

GREAT PERFORMANCES: "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR REVISITED" By David Bianculli

Clear room on your DVRs. Here comes a double feature, both parts of which you’ll want to snag as part of your permanent video collections. First up is this one-hour documentary on the making, and the context, of Magical Mystery Tour, the 1967 Beatles TV special that was never shown nationally in the United States. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr offer new insights, and the filmmakers are generous with outtakes and other materials that make sense of it all. For my full review, and an intervi

2012

Dec

GREAT PERFORMANCES: "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR" By David Bianculli

It’s restored, it’s vivid and, for Beatles fans, it’s Must-See TV: Magical Mystery Tour, the 1967 TV special filmed by and starring the Beatles, right on the heels of the Sgt. Pepper album. See John Lennon shovel spaghetti onto a woman’s plate in a restaurant – with an actual shovel. See George Harrison play the pavement – as a musical instrument – on “Blue Jay Way.” And again: For my full review, and an interview with the documentary’s

2012

Dec

FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER: 'HOMELAND'S PORTRAYAL OF BIPOLAR DISORDER By Monique Nazareth

Homeland's protagonist, CIA operative Carrie Mathison, is a strong-willed, intuitive, dedicated agent who's hell-bent on preventing another 9-11. She also has bipolar disorder...

2012

Dec

THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli

The last new Theory of 2012 has Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and the others diving into rehearsals for Christmas carols – but even with bells on, the holiday festivities become a little less than festive. There are, however, moments of good cheer, as witnessed in the accompanying photo.

2012

Dec

MEL BROOKS STRIKES BACK By David Bianculli

Here’s another chance to see, in prime time, Mel Brooks tell stories, and jokes, and react to clips from various points in his career – including a wonderful dance duet with Anne Bancroft, his late wife. Don’t miss it. And don’t miss my two-part TVWW interview with Brooks, about this special and his new DVD/CD boxed set, in Bianculli’s Blog.

2012

Dec

LES MISERABLES By David Bianculli

With the new big-screen musical version of Les Miserables about to premiere nationwide, TCM is leading off prime time with the classic 1935 non-singing version. This is the one starring Fredric March as Jean Valjean, and the incomparable Charles Laughton as the indefatigable Inspector Javert, who chases Valjean across sewers, and across decades. Also starring: Rochelle Hudson as Cosette and Florence Eldridge as Fantine.

2012

Dec

GLEE By David Bianculli

This week’s holiday episode presents a series of mini-musicals – sort of extended videos, or dramatic sketches, that amount to a Glee Christmas equivalent of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween shows. Among them: A cleverly conceived It’s a Wonderful Life spoof, in which Kurt (Chris Colfer) has a black-and-white dream, a glimpse of what life at his high school would have been like had Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) not volunteered to teach the New Directions glee club

2012

Dec

LES MISERABLES By David Bianculli

No, you’re not seeing double. But if you stay tuned to TCM, you’re seeing double feature. After a showing of the 1935 film version of Les Miserables, TCM turns right around at 10 p.m. ET and shows the 1952 version, which stars Michael Rennie as Jean Valjean, Robert Newton as Inspector Javert, Debra Paget as Cosette and Sylvia Sidney as Fantine. And it’s followed, at midnight ET, by yet another version: the 1934 one, starring Harry Baur as Valjean and Charles Vanel as Javert.

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