There are more than a few parodies out there of True Detective and Matthew McConaughey's portrayal of detective and entranced atheist Rust Cohle. But this one, done by comic Jon Ruditz before this year's Oscars and amped up in a bad wig and mustache, takes a page out of the series plot...

2014

Jul

THE BATTERED BASTARDS OF BASEBALL By David Bianculli

This new Netflix documentary – another move forward into HBO-type programming territory, with its first nonfiction effort – is a family affair all the way but a good one. The subject of The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a 1970s Class A baseball club called the Portland Mavericks – at the time they played, the only independent minor-league outfit not affiliated with a major league team. Instead of a farm team for the bigs, the Mavericks were an unruly bunch of mostly overage

2014

Jul

MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli

The session of the U.S. Supreme Court that just ended wrapped up its latest round of rulings by making some important rulings on telecommunications, campaign finance reform, birth control and other hugely significant topics. Two-thirds of the Court’s rulings were unanimous, the first time that’s happened since the 1950s. What’s going on, and why? On this weekend’s new edition, Bill Moyers interviews two veteran Supreme Court watchers: Linda Greenhouse of The New York Time

2014

Jul

FROZEN By David Bianculli

This 2013 Disney film now ranks as the world’s top-grossing animated movie of all time, and its soundtrack is, by far, the biggest-selling U.S. album of 2014. “Let It Go,” the anthemic power ballad driving much of this success, won the Oscar for Best Original Song – and tonight, Frozen premieres on Starz. Kristen Bell provides the speaking and singing voice of Anna, and Anna’s older sister, Elsa, the one who gets to sing “Let It Go,” is played by the wic

2014

Jul

PATHS OF GLORY By David Bianculli

Stanley Kubrick directed and co-wrote this intense, disturbing 1957 movie about soldiers who defy what seem to be recklessly risky orders in World War I, and are targeted for their actions. Kirk Douglas stars, and the actor was so impressed with Kubrick’s handling of this film that Douglas called in Kubrick to direct Spartacus three years later. This is less of a war film than an early anti-war film, and is all the stronger for it. And it’s followed, at 9:45 p.m. ET, by one of the ea

2014

Jul

CASTLE By David Bianculli

Orange Is the New Black fans, take note: This 2011 outing of Castle features a very smart, pre-Orange turn by Laura Prepon, who guest stars as an actress named Natalie Rhodes. She shows up at the precinct to research a movie role – just as author Rick Castle (series star Nathan Fillion) did when he first met up with Det. Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) in the series pilot. But now, Natalie is there to research the role of Nikki Heat, the heroine of Castle's successful cop novel – and a ch

2014

Jul

GOOD, SCARY TV: FX’S ‘THE STRAIN’ COULD CATCH ON, LIKE A VIRUS By David Bianculli

TV’s newest supernatural genre series, FX’s The Strain, takes on the familiar topic of vampires – but in a way that’s inventive and dazzling, as well as, yes, biting…

2014

Jul

WELCOME TO SWEDEN By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: This new NBC series, starring Greg Poehler (Amy’s brother) as an American who experiences culture clash after moving impulsively to Sweden, may sound like the sitcom equivalent of Netflix’s Lillyhammer, which starred Steven Van Zandt as a New York mobster who accepted a witness protection program relocation to Norway, in Lillehammer. But Poehler’s character here, Bruce, is moving not out of fear, but out of love: He’s moved to live with his Swedish girlfr

2014

Jul

THE SIXTIES: "THE BRITISH INVASION" By David Bianculli

Tonight’s installment of The Sixties is one that CNN sneak previewed back in February, to coincide with the golden anniversary of the beginning of the British Invasion in 1964. And if you don’t know the particular event that sparked that event, your cultural ignorance in this respect doesn’t exactly please, please me.

2014

Jul

RECTIFY By David Bianculli

First poor Daniel (Aden Young) spent 19 years imprisoned for murder before being released after new evidence exonerated him. Then he was beaten nearly to death, and fell into a coma. Now that he’s out of his coma, as well as out of jail, Daniel is taking his first post-prison trip to a big city – in his case, Atlanta. If you don’t like Atlanta, insert your own joke here.

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