SEASON PREMIERE: The opening episode of this new season makes great use of Jon Voight as Ray’s loose-cannon father, but also establishes two new characters with brief but attention-getting performances, and great new foils against which Liev Schreiber, as Ray, can play. One is former Deadwood villain (or anti-hero) Ian McShane, as a multi-millionaire seeking Ray’s services – and the other is Katie Holmes, as the businessman’s flinty daughter. Neither McShane nor Holmes ge

2015

Jul

THE STRAIN By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: The rules have changed a bit this season, because the presence of the vampiric creatures has been covered by the media. New York and its various boroughs are dangerous stomping grounds, with hidden headquarters for both the creatures and their determined hunters. The bad guys are hiding behind corporate walls, literally, making this new season of The Strain a companion of sorts to the evil vampire corporate executives of Angel. But here, there’s also a little heartbreak, a

2015

Jul

MASTERS OF SEX By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: There’s a big time shift as this series begins its new season, pushing us all the way to mid-decade, when William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Kaplan) are wading their way through 1966. That’s the year that groundbreaking study on sexual relations was published – and, on the home front, it’s also a time when Masters and his wife Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald) have made room not only for the divorced Virginia, but her children as well as

2015

Jul

THE BRINK By David Bianculli

The global military duel continues – with leaders on both sides of the conflict acting irrationally. And that’s on a good day… which these aren’t. Tim Robbins stars.

2015

Jul

THE MILLERS By David Bianculli

Not a recommendation. You want to encourage the networks to program original shows, rather than reruns, during the summer months – especially scripted shows, rather than cheapo reality-TV tossaways. But when the lineup consists, as it does tonight on CBS, of two “fresh” episodes of The Millers left over after that show was deservedly canceled, followed at 9 p.m. ET by two “fresh” episodes of The McCarthys (ditto), it’s time to start rooting for reruns again.

2015

Jul

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER By David Bianculli

This 1940 romantic comedy, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, is the film on which director and co-screenwriter Nora Ephron based her 1998 comedy You’ve Got Mail, in which Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks play bookstore rivals who detest one another at work, but unknowingly correspond anonymously and flirtatiously via email at night. In this 1940 movie, their correspondence took place through the U.S. mail, and took a lot longer – but the influence of that film is obvious when looki

2015

Jul

7 DAYS IN HELL By David Bianculli

This could be the title of any random week from my life – but in this case, it’s the title of a faux sports documentary telemovie, celebrating a powerful tennis rivalry of two champions engaged in an epic (and vintage) match at Wimbledon. Obviously, it plays off the legendary Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe on-court duel – and just as obviously, is scheduled to fall halfway between today’s Wimbledon women’s championship and tomorrow’s men’s championship. The ath

2015

Jul

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli

This is a compilation show featuring some of the funniest moments from the current season– and any time The Graham Norton Show presents a “best-of” show, it’s guaranteed that you’ll be laughing out loud. Hasn’t failed me yet.

2015

Jul

‘THE STRAIN’ SEASON 2: MORE THAN A MOUTHFUL OF FRIGHT By Eric Gould

Maybe with the economy up the last five years, we’re doing better, more secure — and more inclined to get the bejesus scared out of us as a form of entertainment...

2015

Jul

2015 WIMBLEDON TENNIS WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL By David Bianculli

Serena Williams is chasing history. Her opponent, Garbine Maguruza, is chasing Serena. And today is the women’s championship, which, as I type this, just started.

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