SERIES PREMIERE: Guillermo del Toro co-wrote, and directs the pilot of, this new FX series, which treats ancient vampirism as a modern plague – and, as this show tells it, with very good reason. Corey Stoll stars. For a full review, see Bianculli’s Blog, or listen to my NPR review on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. And for an interview with del Toro and series showrunner Carlton Cuse, see Gabriela Tamariz's Streamline.

2014

Jul

MASTERS OF SEX By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: This new season begins with some shuffling of the deck, regarding both the personal and professional situations of the characters we’ve come to know and, if not love, at least love to watch. That goes for Michael Sheen as uptight sex researcher William Masters, and it certainly goes for the only two cast members nominated for Emmys this week, star Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson and recurring guest star Allison Janney as Margaret Scully.

2014

Jul

SALEM By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: WGN America’s first original scripted series ends its season tonight, but fairly valiantly. It’s already earned a renewal for Season 2, and it packs tonight’s season finale with enough cliffhangers, revelations and bloody confrontations to make it move briskly from start to teasing finish. Not every character will survive the hour – but those who do are brewing up more trouble than ever. Double, double, toil and trouble… Janet Montgomery, Shane West

2014

Jul

GUILLERMO DEL TORO WANTS HIS 'STRAIN' TO SHOW - ORGANIC HORROR By Gabriela Tamariz

The Strain is a story about scary monsters, not sexy monsters that lure you in and fall in love... Last week I participated in a conference call Q&A with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse about their new FX series...

2014

Jul

'RAY DONOVAN' RETURNS FOR ROUND TWO By Eric Gould

Last week, producer and series creator Ann Biderman was probably thinking she needed a baseball bat to get some Emmy attention for her Showtime drama Ray Donovan. And she knows one or two things about the persuasive use of that tough-guy device...

2014

Jul

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

Tonight’s World Cup game won’t have the tension of other games thus far, because the two teams participating, the Netherlands and host country Brazil, have lost already in the semifinals, and are playing for pride and a third-place finish. For Brazil, any pride the team can salvage would help, because it lost its last game by suffering Brazil’s worst defeat in World Cup history, being trounced by Germany 7-1 (pictured). The Netherlands, meanwhile, after holding Argentina to a d

2014

Jul

GRAVITY By David Bianculli

At this year's Golden Globes, co-host Tina Fey summarized the plot of this 2013 movie, which stars Sandra Bullock as an astronaut stranded in orbit, thusly: “George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” It was a perfectly written, timed and delivered joke, and even Clooney laughed about it: “That’s a good one,” he said admiringly. “It’s a well-constructed joke.” But since then, he&r

2014

Jul

BUS STOP By David Bianculli

This 1956 film was Marilyn Monroe’s first film after studying at the Actors Studio, and also was her first starring role in a dramatic film. It is, however, a film with music, and Monroe performs it – under-performs it, really – completely in character. Think of her down-and-out nightclub singer, Cherie, as the American equivalent of Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

2014

Jul

HELLBOY By David Bianculli

This 2004 movie is entertaining on its own merits, and a film that beat to the punch most of the current wave of movies based on graphic novels. There are two reasons to watch it at this moment in pop-culture time. One, to catch Ron Perlman’s starring performance, as a demon turned superhero, four years before he co-starred on FX’s Sons of Anarchy, in a role he recently, uh, relinquished. And the other is to catch an early, stylish directorial effort by Guillermo del Toro, who tomorr

2014

Jul

ALMOST ROYAL By David Bianculli

Poppy (Amy Hoggart) took in all the glamour of New York City and Fashion Week. In this week’s episode, they take in all the glamour of… Detroit. Including the ballet.

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