This 2012 Woody Allen movie may not have captured attention like its immediate predecessor, Midnight in Paris, but as a cleverly written and performed love letter to another global city, it’s nearly as endearing. Among the standout plots and performances, watch for Roberto Benigni as an ordinary Italian citizen who suddenly is celebrated and hounded by the media and surrounded by all the trappings of stardom, for no discernible reason. It’s Allen’s most overt take on celebrity

2013

Jul

GASLAND PART II By David Bianculli

Just another urging to watch Josh Fox’s follow-up to his 2010 documentary about the history and impact of the natural-gas mining technique known as fracking. The conclusion asserts strongly that we’re all about to become victims of an international, multi-generational scam, committing nationally to the procedure of allowing companies to pursue fracking to generate natural gas as a domestic alternative to buying foreign oil – then turning around and selling that natural gas, at

2013

Jul

FUTURAMA By David Bianculli

Imagine the SPF sunblock number Fry and company have to use here: In order to take a job involving miners on the inside of the sun, our animated heroes have to spray themselves with a protective coating. Considering that this is one of two Matt Groening TV cartoons, it’s worth noting that the spray-on color employed here is somewhat… Simpsons-esque. I’m just saying.

2013

Jul

THE BRIDGE By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir star in this new murder mystery series, adapted from a Scandinavian series and transplanted to the U.S.-Mexico border. Imagine The Killing with sunny skies instead of rain, and with occasional subtitles, and you’ve got some idea of what to expect. But expect more than just that, because in terms of both performance and plot, The Bridge is well above average. For full reviews, see Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader, and read or hear my own r

2013

Jul

CAMP By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: This summer TV series about summer camp probably won’t be viewed by its perfect target audience, because summer campers will be… away at camp. But even the promos for this new comedy-drama feature a few laughs, which are a few laughs more than many NBC comedies these days. And the leading character, a woman who inherited the camp and continues to run it after her husband suddenly walks out, is played by Rachel Griffiths, who won so many fans in both Six Feet Under a

2013

Jul

LEWIS & CLARK: JOURNEY OF THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY By David Bianculli

This 1997 Ken Burns documentary – directed by Burns and co-written by Burns and Dayton Duncan – takes a story most people think they know, and tells it anew, in the type of depth that makes it seem like a new story indeed. And, as with so many Burns documentaries, it begins its story at a point in history long before you might have expected. Hal Holbrook narrates. Check local listings.

2013

Jul

NOW, VOYAGER By David Bianculli

Both Bette Davis and Paul Henreid star in tonight’s prime-time TCM double feature. First up in this 1942 drama, featuring Davis in one of her best roles, as a woman who finds happiness later in life. Then, at 10 p.m. ET, comes 1946’s Deception, in which the two stars reteamed four years later, in a story that involved murder as well as passion.

2013

Jul

BETTY WHITE'S OFF THEIR ROCKERS By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: This series has been harmless enough, in a Candid Camera type of way, and, a as a geriatric version of Punk’d, slightly less mean-spirited. But tonight, there’s a more persuasive reason to tune in: For this final show of the season, the scheduled guest prankster is Ed Asner, who first co-starred opposite Betty White when she played Happy Homemaker Sue Ann Nivens to his Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (pictured).

2013

Jul

FRONTLINE: "TWO AMERICAN FAMILIES" By David Bianculli

Much like the series of Up documentaries by Michael Apted, visiting the same small group of people over every seven years of their life, Bill Moyers and Frontline have produced a series of intimate, involving studies checking in with the same two Milwaukee families – the Stanleys (top) and the Newmanns (bottom) – over a period of several decades. The last time was before 9/11, and this time, like the last time, these formerly upwardly mobile families are finding it very difficult jus

2013

Jul

DRUNK HISTORY By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: This new Comedy Central series, based on the long-running web series, is a more polished version, but maintains its oddball mixture of historical facts and frat-boy misbehavior. People are filmed explaining various events from history – in tonight’s premiere, that includes Watergate (with Fred Willard guest starring as Deep Throat). The disclaimer tells the story: “Every storyteller you are about to see is completely drunk.” And the actors act out this ra

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