DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2017
Mar
8
 
 
The same year Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor filmed William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, they filmed another movie based on a classic play: This telling of the Faust story, by Shakespeare contemporary Christopher Marlowe. Burton plays a man tempted by the Devil – and by Taylor, who embodies several forms and guises, from satanic demon to Helen of Troy. Her wardrobe and makeup choices don’t make Dr. Faustus amazing – but they sure do make it memorable.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
Since none of Joe Weisberg’s earliest concerns about The Americans turned out to be a problem, he sees no point in worrying now whether the show can stick the landing...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
Season 5 of FX’s The Americans remains set in the 1980s, specifically George Orwell’s 1984 at this point...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: “Every comic has some special where they wear all leather and they regret it later,” Amy Schumer says at the start of her standup comedy concert from Denver. Then she launches into a very lengthy discussion about genitalia and sex and – well, for a long time, that’s about it. Eddie Murphy wore all red leather in his 1983 Delirious tour, but one thing he didn’t have to regret was the range and intelligence of his comedy. The Leather Special takes a
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
It’s very interesting to watch this show, for both the talent of the contestants and the chemistry among the judges. This cycle, you have Gwen Stefani interacting with her now-boyfriend Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine and Shelton poking fun at each other, as they have since the start, like brothers. But the dynamic to watch, this time, is the one between Stefani and Alicia Keys. They have different ways of trying to appeal to a contestant they want on their team – and when they’
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
On a plane trip last week, I listened to one traveler tell a stranger, very excitedly, about why she should be watching This Is Us. This was like watching the Internet in three dimensions, and it’s exactly the sort of word-of-mouth enthusiasm that has built up around this show.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
Shows such as this one depend upon the mercurial abilities of its stars, to embody different characters and looks as they work their way through a series of schemes and scams. This series counts on actress Inbar Lavi – and so far, adopting only a few guises, she’s managed already to make quite a strong impression.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: The Americans begins Season 5 with an unexpectedly heightened profile, thanks to Russian espionage becoming headline news of the most important kind these days. The new season begins with a clever jolt, then resets to focus strongly, as it did last season, on the family dynamics of the Russian operatives who were placed as a couple outside Washington, D.C., to have and raise two children and blend in, while completing a series of missions for their Russian handlers. Matthew Rhys
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
7
 
 
Just in case you don’t think advertising pays, here’s an example of E*TRADE’s latest commercial, an ambitious-looking 30-second spot starting out with a flat panel display on a desktop, but as the dolly shot reveals, the setting turns out to be quite something else...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Mar
6
 
 
Robert Osborne showed us why television, more than any other medium, turned hosts into stars...