This 2014 movie barely made a dent in pop-culture consciousness, but maybe it’s a fun TV diversion on a slow Saturday night. John Travolta stars as an imprisoned ace art forger who gets early release from prison so he can forge and replace a priceless Monet. He gets his father and son to help, so it’s a family affair (Christopher Plummer plays the father). But you know what they say: Beware of business ventures involving family and Monet.

2016

Mar

THE STING By David Bianculli

One of my favorite movies. This 1973 film, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, does everything with style. The music, the photography, the plot, the twists – everything’s perfect. And on TCM it’s uninterrupted, and shown in the proper widescreen ratio. Enjoy. It’s pretty much impossible not to.

2016

Mar

LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL By David Bianculli

I saw this performance on Broadway, in a nightclub-like setting to add to its verisimilitude, and it was a very impressive illusion. Audra McDonald played Billie Holiday at a fragile point in her later singing career, playing a nightclub set while fighting drug addiction and her own emotions. In that live setting, McDonald was so committed to the role that she once lunged forward off the stage unexpectedly, depending on audience members to reach out and break her fall. (On the night I was there,

2016

Mar

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

Tonight’s musical guest and host are the same person: Ariana Grande. So I guess that makes this an extra shot – a double Grande.

2016

Mar

FLAKED By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: The newest Netflix series drops today – and the more series that Netflix premieres, the more average its average seems to become. Flaked stars, and is co-created by, Will Arnett, and is a comedy series about a guy named Chip, who lives in Malibu as some sort of self-help guru, while needing lots of emotional help of his own, as a recovering alcoholic and seemingly hopeless romantic. Chip and his friends navigate through their emotional territory with difficulty, especially

2016

Mar

THE LODGER By David Bianculli

It’s Merle Oberon month on TCM, and each Friday night is devoted to a mini-festival of her works. It all begins at 8 p.m. ET with The Lodger, a 1944 thriller in which a landlady fears her new tenant may be Jack the Ripper. Oberon doesn’t play the landlady, though – she plays another tenant in the same building, a cabaret singer (pictured). Then, at 10 p.m. ET, comes one of the romantic classics of the ages: 1939’s Wuthering Heights, in which she stars opposite Laurence Ol

2016

Mar

RUDDERLESS By David Bianculli

William H. Macy directs this 2014 character study, about a grieving father (Billy Crudup) who dives into his late son’s box of lyrics and personal recordings, and is both stunned and inspired by the samples of the talent he left behind.

2016

Mar

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli

Bill Maher doesn’t have any major name guests on tonight’s show – but sometimes, those shows end up sparking the best conversations of all. And if it depends upon the news week, once again, this should be a doozy.

2016

Mar

A PRESENT TO SHARE AND ENJOY By Jim Davis

Here is a controversial and moving short film, The Present, that has been around since 2014, but quietly keeps winning awards...

2016

Mar

WILL ARNETT GIVES US ANOTHER SAD CLOWN IN NETFLIX'S 'FLAKED' By David Hinckley

Who knew this would be such a fruitful TV year for sad clowns? Is it, like, another effect of El Niño? Will Arnett’s new Flaked, which drops Friday on Netflix, is comedy playing off against a story that’s deeply melancholy.

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