Last week on this series, we went through a time jump of another few months, and one of the subplots has Sloan (Olivia Munn) first in denial, then in depression and rage, after an ex-boyfriend embarrasses her by circulating an intimate video of her as an act of breakup revenge. And other stories in the newsroom, professional as well as personal, are just as fraught with emotion and peril these days. And, one presumes, this week.

2013

Aug

THERE WILL BE BLOOD By David Bianculli

Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his steamroller of a performance in this 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson drama. He plays a ruthless man who rises from wildcat loner to oil baron, ripping up lost of land, and relationships, in his wake.

2013

Aug

MAMMA MIA! By David Bianculli

Meryl Streep fans have quite a choice tonight. On broadcast TV, for starters, ABC presents a telecast of this 2008 movie version of the Broadway musical, inspired by and showcasing the 70s music of ABBA. The thin plot has something to do with the daughter of Streep’s character, who is about to be married, and invites three men she suspects might be her father. The would-be dads are played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Forth and Stellan Skarsgård, and the daughter, who has a much higher pr

2013

Aug

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA By David Bianculli

More Meryl Streep fun tonight. In addition to ABC’s telecast of 2008’s Mamma Mia!, which begins at 8:30 pm. ET, Oxygen has its own prime-time Streep feature. In this 2006 romantic comedy, Streep plays a fashion editor who makes work for her new assistant (played by Anne Hathaway) a living hell – but a well-dressed one.

2013

Aug

THE WHITE QUEEN By David Bianculli

In this second episode, it’s already time for a coronation. I’d say whether the lucky lady is Elizabeth (played by Rebecca Ferguson), but that would require a Spoiler Alert – at least for the history-impaired.

2013

Aug

DINNER AT EIGHT By David Bianculli

George Cukor directed this 1933 comedy, which I first saw in my college film class – back when I was taking the course, not teaching it. The movie still holds up, in no small part because of its truly all-star cast. This particular cinematic dinner party includes Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow, Billie Burke, and two members of the Barrymore acting family dynasty, John and Lionel.

2013

Aug

MILDRED PIERCE By David Bianculli

HBO made a solid 2011 miniseries, starring Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood as mother and daughter, based on the same James M. Cain story that inspired this 1945 movie. In this film, Joan Crawford plays the maternal title role, and won an Oscar for her efforts. Ann Blyth plays the ungrateful daughter, and while this movie takes liberties with the structure and end of Cain’s story, it’s nonetheless very effective. And Blyth, with her young ferocity, matches Crawford note for note &nd

2013

Aug

FRANKENWEENIE By David Bianculli

Tim Burton made his original Frankenweenie film, a short subject, in 1984, when he was working in the animation department at Disney. The studio was displaeased by its dark tone, Burton left, and became a famous filmmaker – whereupon Disney, being a corporation, proudly released the short on home video in 1992. This full-length movie is a vastly expanded remake, with a much bigger story, amuch bigger budget, and much bigger cast providing the voices, including Catherine O’Hara, Marti

2013

Aug

COMPLIANCE By David Bianculli

Dreama Walker, who starred as June in the sitcom Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, stars in this intimate, fact-based drama about a fast-food employee who is victimized by a prank caller, and, in turn, by her fellow employees, who are told by the “cop” on the line to detain her, frisk and strip her, and more. What makes this 2011 film so creepy is knowing that it’s based on an actual case. That makes it only slightly less unbelievable, but it also makes it a lot more

2013

Aug

THE BIG CHILL By David Bianculli

Lawrence Kasdan directed and co-wrote this influential comedy-drama about college friends who reunite after the funeral of one of their own. It’s kind of a shocker that this movie is now 30 years old – and just as shocking, in a way, that the movie was so perfectly cast. Stars include Glenn Close, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum and others, and the soundtrack is impeccable and evocative.

Posts 81-90 of 179

8 9 10 11 12

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption