We’ve had a lot of fun around here lately, readers included, listing “spider-web” movies – films that ensnare us every time they’re televised, no matter how many times we’ve seen them. This 1973 thriller definitely makes that list for me – and it’s even got a timely Olympics tie-in. (Stumped? The soundtrack includes some music featured briefly in the Opening Ceremony production number: Michael Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells.”)

2012

Aug

SPANGLISH By David Bianculli

Writer-director James L. Brooks took a chance and cast Adam Sandler as the lead in his story about a Mexican maid (Paz Vega) who works in Los Angeles for a well-to-do married couple (Sandler and Tea Leoni). Sandler’s less mature fans didn’t know what to make of this 2004 comedy-drama, but it’s one of Sandler’s career high marks. And Brooks also worked happily with supporting actress Cloris Leachman, whom Brooks first cast, decades ago, as Phyllis on CBS’s The Mary T

2012

Aug

SOME LIKE IT HOT By David Bianculli

Today and tonight are dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, and this 1959 classic, co-starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, is only the tip of a very hot iceberg. Also shown in this MM tribute: a ridiculously generous bounty, including 1957’s The Prince and the Showgirl (the movie re-enacted by Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn) at 2 p.m. ET; 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at 4:15 p.m. ET; 1955’s The Seven Year Itch at 6 p.m. ET; 1956’s Bus Stop at 10:15 p.m. ET; 19

2012

Aug

KEVIN NEALON: WHELMED... BUT NOT OVERLY By David Bianculli

Kevin Nealon seems almost an effortlessly funny element of Showtime’s Weeds, making the most of every scene, line and even reaction shot. But in this new standup special, taped in Denver, he’s at center stage the whole time – yet, even when alone on stage, he makes comedy look much easier than it is.

2012

Aug

MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli

On this weekend's program, Bill Moyers interviews Keesha Gaskins and Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice, who talk about recently enacted voter ID laws. It's easy, and free, to register to vote - but, thanks to new laws, it's easy to put requirements in place that discourage some people fro voting in some states. Moyers & Company airs from Friday to Sunday on local public TV stations; to find it in your local area, click HERE.

2012

Aug

2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS By David Bianculli

In live morning coverage, women’s Olympics soccer quarterfinals have the USA facing New Zealand. The Amrican team has dominated its opponents, in its first three games, by a margin of 8-2. Live coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, and it’s one of the day’s big Olympic highlights. The rest of the weekend, men’s track and field will run away with most of the attention, and justifiably so. And tonight, in NBC's prime time, watch for the final individual eve

2012

Aug

THE UNTOUCHABLES By David Bianculli

Gangster week on AMC continues with another remake, just on the heels of Scarface. This time it’s a big-screen remake of a hit TV series of the early 1960s, as reimagined by director Brian de Palma. Kevin Costner stars as Eliot Ness in this 1987 film, but this movie is stolen, in a pair of grand thefts, by two supporting actors: Robert De Niro as Al Capone, and Sean Connery as Ness’ tougher-than-nails mentor.

2012

Aug

TOY STORY 3 By David Bianculli

I read an article a few weeks ago suggesting that, in the history of film, very few third entries in a trilogy end up being satisfying and impressive. Ladies and gentlemen, a grand exception: This 2010 capper to Pixar’s Toy Story animated series is just as well-written, and magical, as the original. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen star as the voices of, respectively, Woody and Buzz.

2012

Aug

THE BARNES COLLECTION By David Bianculli

This PBS special salutes Dr. Albert Barnes and his phenomena art collection, once housed in a showcase museum in Merion, PA, and now relocated in a new Philadelphia museum. This hour details the collection, which includes works by Matisse, Renoir, Picasso and Cezanne, as well as the often complex steps involved in moving the art from one place to another. Check local listings.

2012

Aug

SPACE OLYMPICS 3022 By Eric Gould

The Olympics are going strong, and here's a throwback to the 2008 games. It's an SNL Digital Short by Andy Samberg, envisioning when the Olympics go into space – except the competition is being run by an incompetent media shill...

Posts 1071-1080 of 2351

107 108 109 110 111

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