This 1972 movie is another one that pulls me in every time – I call them spider-web films. A beautiful realization of the allegorical novel by James Dickey, this 1972 John Boorman movie is about a Deep South canoe trip that tests its four suburban friends more than they could imagine. Jon Voight stars, Ned Beatty steals scenes, and Burt Reynolds delivers the best role of his entire career. The photography is beautiful. The plot is ugly.

2016

Apr

KEN BURNS' JAZZ By David Bianculli

Part 2. This is the episode containing a superb segment on Louis Armstrong. If you didn’t know how great, and important, he was to jazz, this installment will teach you – by isolating some of his best early improvisations. Check local listings.

2016

Apr

TRAINWRECK By David Bianculli

This 2015 comedy stars, and is written by, Amy Schumer, co-stars Bill Hader, and is directed by Judd Apatow – a triumvirate of clever comic minds. You expect funny from them – but from supporting player LeBron James? Yet he scores, repeatedly, playing a version of himself that’s unexpectedly amusing.

2016

Apr

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

After its spring break, SNL returns with a new episode. Peter Dinklage hosts, and Gwen Stefani is the musical guest. Is it too much to hope for a Game of Thrones sketch, with Stefani playing Daenerys Targaryen, the blonde-haired dragon lady?

2016

Apr

IT TAKES A LAUGH TRACK TO GET THE HUMOR IN NETFLIX'S 'THE RANCH' By David Hinckley

When they trace the impressive ascent of Netflix into the mainstream of original television productions, The Ranch will not be a major milestone...

2016

Apr

HELL'S BATHROOM By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: The Fox network has gotten plenty of cooking shows out of Gordon Ramsay already – but after a series of such shows, including Hell’s Kitchen, the network and the TV celebrity have branched out into other areas. And tonight, we see the results of this latest limited six-part spinoff series, Hell’s Bathroom, in which contestants are given copious amounts of food and drink, then dispatched simultaneously to a row of randomly chosen bathroom stalls. Every contestant

2016

Apr

KEN BURNS' ENCYCLOPEDIA By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: Part 1 of 21. Ken Burns has another documentary series, Jackie Robinson, arriving later this month – but his other ongoing nonfiction series, Ken Burns’ Encyclopedia, will continue weekly for another five months. In each installment, Burns presents mini-films about his favorite entries in his family’s old 1960s print-edition reference book set of The Encyclopedia Britannica. Tonight is Part 1, focusing on Volume I, which means we can look forward to short v

2016

Apr

SHELLAC By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Martin Scorsese had such fun teaming with Mick Jagger to concoct Vinyl, HBO’s colorful dramatic time trip back to the rock scene of the early 1970s, it was natural HBO and Scorsese would embark on a spinoff series while the iron, and the series, was hot. Actually, Shellac is a prequel series, because before there were the 33 1/3 rpm 12-inch records made of vinyl, there were the 78 rpm 10-inch records made of brittle shellac. Those were the days, my friend, and Shellac star

2016

Apr

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: "THE PEOPLE V. ASHLEE SIMPSON" By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: Part 1 of 3. With the concluding episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson just days away, FX already is rolling out a follow-up of sorts. This is a three-part special telling the full behind-the-scenes story of the day in 2004 that Saturday Night Live guest Ashlee Simpson was caught trying to lip-sync her “live” vocal performance, and was instantly found guilty of her crime by a viewing public that ridiculed her mercilessly over the Internet. Spoiler Alert: The Simp

2016

Apr

GAME OF THORNS By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: As with many of the shows premiering on this particular date, HBO’s new Game of Thorns is all about cashing in on an existing success. Game of Thrones is one of the network’s biggest successes, but even doing a spinoff with supporting characters would be prohibitively expensive. So ultimately, HBO decided on this 10-part competitive reality series about amateur rose-garden gardeners from around the country – hoping, clearly, that the title might draw in a few e

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