The midway point of the pro baseball season arrives tonight, with a few elements that make it seem like a contest from long ago. For one thing, the National League is defending a winning streak. And for another, one of the pitchers on the roster tonight is a knuckleballer – but New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey won’t be starting for the NL, because of fears that catchers may have problms fielding his knuckleballs.

2012

Jul

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE By David Bianculli

This isn’t a good James Bond movie, but it is a rarely televised one. Released in 1969, it’s the one and only film in which the role of 007 went to George Lazenby – and the only one in which Bond gets married, with his bride played by the always unforgettable Diana Rigg. In fact, Rigg has a connection to an earlier Bond girl, Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. In the early Sixties, Blackman starred opposite Patrick Macnee in The Avengers – before the s

2012

Jul

THE PETRIFIED FOREST By David Bianculli

Bette Davis stars in this 1936 drama, playing a waitress at a small-town diner who finds herself waiting on some unusually complicated and volatile customers. One, played by Leslie Howard, is suicidal. Another, played by Humphrey Bogart, is homicidal – and ends up taking the diner exployees and patrons hostage. A solid drama, with some very intense performances and, for Bogart, a chance to play the bad guy.

2012

Jul

PARENTHOOD By David Bianculli

The current NBC series is a very good version of this 1989 movie, but this original film, directed by Ron Howard, has plenty of charm to spare of its own. Steve Martin stars as a concerned father who agonizes a bit too much – but in ways that are both humorously and uncomfortably empathic. The cast is as deep as it is strong, and so is the script. Co-stars include Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards and Rick Moranis.

2012

Jul

NY MED By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Here it is, the first fresh offering from a commercial broadcast network that’s worth watching this summer. From executive producer Terence Wrong, it’s his latest documentary fly-on-the-wall look at hospital staffers and patients, this time in some well-chosen, well-staffed New York hospitals. Wrong may be slipping (I didn’t shed tears, this time, until episode two), but I don’t think so. Once again, it’s a summer series that plays to, rather than i

2012

Jul

UNDER THE COVERS OF DESIRE: INSIDE THE ROMANCE NOVEL By Eric Gould

According to the PBS POV documentary Guilty Pleasures, a romance novel is sold somewhere in the world every four seconds. For some, they can’t come off the press fast enough...

2012

Jul

RELIGULOUS By David Bianculli

Bill Maher is on a summer break from HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, so if you want more Maher, this is the place to go: an IFC showing of his 2008 nonfiction film about religious beliefs, with Maher’s atheistic viewpoint present throughout. Some of his targets are way too easy, but the film, by Borat director Larry Charles, features some even-handed and intriguing sequences as well.

2012

Jul

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD By David Bianculli

It’s Classic Adventure night on TCM, and the night begins with a classic of classics: 1938’s Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn as Robin, Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian, Basil Rathbone as Sir Guy and Claude Rains as Prince John. Oh, and Little John is played by Alan Hale, whose son, Alan Hale Jr., co-starred as the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island. (That piece of info provided to TVWW readers at no extra charge.)

2012

Jul

THE CLOSER By David Bianculli

SERIES RETURN: Kyra Sedgwick is back as Brenda, but not for long. These are the series’ final six episodes, bringing closure to the seven-season journey taken by Sedgwick the actress and Brenda the character. In this first episode of the final batch, Brenda prepares, once again, to face her nemesis Philip Stroh (recurring guest star Billy Burke) — but this time in court.

2012

Jul

MY COUSIN VINNY By David Bianculli

“You blend!” Much of this 1992 comedy feels like an enjoyable little B movie, a broad farce of the type that Hollywood cranks out seemingly every month. Yet Joe Pesci as a Brooklyn “attorney,” and Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei as his tough girlfriend, imbue this light comedy with way too much heart and energy to dismiss, or forget. Twenty years later, it’s still a hoot – and still memorable.

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