DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2014
Jun
17
 
 
After yesterday’s thrilling U.S.A. opening game against Ghana, more people than ever will be paying attention to the World Cup here in the States. (Everywhere else in the world, they already were.) Today, ESPN presents all three games being played. The first and third feature the final teams to play their first opening-round games, from Group H: at 11:30 a.m. ET, Belgium vs. Algeria, and at 5:30 p.m. ET, Russia vs. South Korea. And sandwiched in between is the day’s premium draw: the
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
17
 
 
This movie is 31 years old, and wasn’t even Tom Cruise’s first movie. But it’s been that long since he’s been a top-tier movie star – and three decades at or near the top of Hollywood puts him right up there with the biggest of big boys, like the Jimmy Stewarts and John Waynes and Henry Fondas. Tune in again, and watch how effortlessly, and winningly, he shot to the top in the first place. Cue the Bob Seger music, kick off the shoes, and… slide. Repeated at 1
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
17
 
 
Ken Burns’ latest documentary series is coming this fall: The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, a study of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt that covers a century of American history in a seven-part, 14-hour epic look at the lives and contributions of three members of a single family. Early buzz has it as one of the very best efforts to ever emerge from the Burns shop, which is the highest praise possible. Tonight’s 30-minute preview serves as a teaser, as an appetizer, and, in
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
17
 
 
Last week’s series premiere set up this show’s unusual premise: Chasing Life stars Italia Ricci as April, a 24-year-old journalist who’s suddenly given a diagnosis of leukemia. It’s not a dark comedy, like Showtime’s The Big C, but more of a straight drama, and for a young audience more used to thinking of itself as invulnerable. Here, vulnerability is everything – and the way April handles her diagnosis is what makes Chasing Life so distinctive, and so affirm
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
17
 
 
SEASON FINALE: What a delicious surprise this new FX series has turned out to be. And tonight’s episode, the Season 1 finale, is guaranteed to serve up plenty of surprises of its own. For an appreciation that doesn’t serve up any spoilers, see Eric Gould’s The Cold Light Reader.  
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
16
 
 
If you liked the hubris and violence in Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film Fargo, and their chilling tale of nihilism in 2007’s No Country for Old Men, then you must be loving the mash up of both in FX’s Fargo series, which is wrapping up Tuesday night...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
16
 
 
Today’s the day Team USA finally steps onto the pitch, facing Ghana in its first match of the 2014 World Cup. But first, there are two other games to be played, also televised live by ESPN. Germany vs. Portugal begin play at noon ET, with ESPN beginning coverage 30 minutes earlier. Then, at 2:30 p.m. ET, Iran plays Nigeria, after which, at 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN begins coverage of the initial US match. For a story on today's match and coverage, see Monique Nazareth's MNtv.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
16
 
 
In the last hour of this show, President Heller (William Devane) contacted the terrorist directly, agreeing to give himself up to her. Meanwhile, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) made inroads of sorts by evacuating the terrorist’s daughter, also a terrorist, from a London hospital just before her mother blew it up with a drone strike. And the mother is doing all this to revenge the death of her husband, making this season of 24 a particularly volatile family affair.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
16
 
 
Last night, because of the expanded Game of Thrones season finale, the latest installment of John Oliver’s weekly news comedy review was delayed until even later than usual. If you don’t know what you missed, and most viewers don’t, here’s a much more convenient prime-time next-day rerun. And one thing to catch, for sure: Oliver interviewing Stephen Hawking, for real.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jun
16
 
 
SEASON FINALE: If this season of Louie seems to have gone surprisingly quickly, that’s because FX has doubled up on weekly episodes since the season began – and, tonight, concludes the season with its final two episodes, wrapping up the “Pamela” story featuring Louis C.K. collaborator Pamela Adlon. By coincidence, Adlon is also finishing up a run on another series, as Marcy Runkle on Showtime’s Californication.