This 1961 movie musical is one of the best film versions ever made of a Broadway show: the opening scene alone, in which co-directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins establish the New York City setting, and the warring street gangs of Jets and Sharks, through aerial photography and fluid choreography, is vibrant and bold. So is everything else here, especally the music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Natalie Wood stars as Maria, the young Puerto Rican girl whose love for city

2015

Jul

2015 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP By David Bianculli

Tonight’s World Cup Championship women’s final features the USA vs. Japan – the same two teams that have faced each other in the two previous major soccer finals, the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics. Japan won that most recent World Cup on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in regulation and overtime, and the USA beat Japan 2-1 in the Olympics final a year later. Despite settling for silver at the Olympics, the Japanese squad is the defending champion for today’s match,

2015

Jul

HUMANS By David Bianculli

It hadn’t sunk in to me, until I rewatched Steven Spielberg’s 2001 A.I.: Artificial Intelligence yesterday, that William Hurt essentially played the same role in that movie that he’s playing in this series, 14 years later: an inventor of synthetic humans who cares deeply for his creations. Humans is a smart, captivating addition to the genre, and tonight, Hurt’s character gets a more prominent showcase – as he’s forced to accept an “upgrade” of his

2015

Jul

TRUE DETECTIVE By David Bianculli

Okay, so if you watched last week’s episode, I hope you realize why I was asking you to stick with this new show through its second episode. Dispatching of a major character that early in the series was a Psycho move – totally unexpected, and completely unsettling. So what happens now? Will the remaining investigators band together, or continue to fight over jurisdiction and direction? And is all what it seems – is that character even dead at all, or was it a cliffhanger intend

2015

Jul

PENNY DREADFUL By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: This has been such a strong season for this show, and tonight’s season finale begins with our heroes trapped inside the lion’s den – or, at least, the witch’s gothic mansion. They’re fighting off demons, madness, spells, prophesies and transformational curses, in various combinations – and leading the charge is Eva Green as Vanessa Ives, whose own witchly powers are at the center of an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. This series has an

2015

Jul

THE BRINK By David Bianculli

In last week’s episode, one character was grounded after piloting a messed-up, drug-fueled bombing mission over Pakistan, another was waterboarded by Pakistani military insurgents, and a third, apparently, was executed as a political prisoner. Tough day – and here comes another one. I really enjoy this new dark comedy, especially the performances by Tim Robbins, Jack Black, Aasif Mandvi, Maribeth Monroe (as Robbins’ assistant, pictured with him) and, introduced last week, Carla

2015

Jul

2015 WIMBLEDON TENNIS By David Bianculli

To those who watched yesterday, the Serena Williams-Heather Watson match was one to remember for a long, long time. These early rounds have proven, as usual, to include some exciting displays of tense, impressive tennis. And that excitement should continue today, starting early with Roger Federer vs. Sam Groth.

2015

Jul

THE TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHON By David Bianculli

A holiday marathon of Twilight Zone episodes always is a great way to spend the day, and today is loaded with a ridiculously generous sampling of classics. Start with The After Hours (8:30 a.m. ET, pictured), with Anne Francis in a department store. Before long, there’s Number 12 Looks Just Like You (1 p.m. ET), with Suzy Parker and Pam Austin. At 7 p.m. ET, it’s The Eye of the Beholder. At 8 p.m. ET, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, which I show to students in my TV Histo

2015

Jul

1776 By David Bianculli

TCM is scheduling a bunch of patriotic movies today – not war films, just films that celebrate or typify America. One of the best of them, and the most unusual, is the 1972 movie musical 1776, about the sweltering summer in which the founding fathers crafted the Declaration of Independence. Howard Da Silva stars as Benjamin Franklin, and Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, but the real star of this movie is someone who was lionized subsequently in an HBO miniseries: John Adams, played here wit

2015

Jul

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY By David Bianculli

This musical biography of George M. Cohan – songwriter, singer, dancer – was produced during wartime, in 1942, and its jingoistic patriotic fervor is both pervasive and apologetic. Even more infectious, though, is the exuberance, as actor, singer and especially as dancer, of James Cagney, the quintessential movie tough guy, who shows many different sets of talents here. Yankee Doodle Dandy was directed by Michael Curtiz, who went straight from this film to another gem filmed in warti

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