Renée Zellweger plays Judy Garland in this 2019 biographical study, and plays her at a particular time in the singer’s life: the late 1960s, when Garland was filming a series of London stage shows as a late-career comeback. Probably to avoid either rights fees or lawsuits, or both, there’s little in this film about Liza Minnelli (though her siblings are included) – but Zellweger’s central performance, in the title role, is indeed something to see. And hear, because

2020

Jun

DOCTOR SLEEP By David Bianculli

Remember Danny, the little boy in Stanley Kubrick’s film version of Stephen King’s The Shining, who said “Redrum” in a scratchy voice and had a sensory gift known as “the shining”? Well, in this 2019 film adaptation written and directed by Mike Flanagan, based on the King sequel, Danny’s back – as an adult, only slightly less troubled than his possessed dad in the original film. Danny, this time, is played by Ewan McGregor, whose extensiv

2020

Jun

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT By David Bianculli

I have a lot to say about the groundbreaking 1964 Beatles movie musical – but I’ll save it for the book I’m about to dive into. (Writing, not reading.) Let’s just say that tonight, TCM has served up a perfect double feature of movies about the most influential and interesting musical artists of the 1960s: The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night, directed by Richard Lester, and Bob Dylan in Don’t Look Back, a 1967 documentary by D.A. Pennebaker.

2020

Jun

DON'T LOOK BACK By David Bianculli

Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England is chronicled in this 1967 D.A. Pennebaker documentary, which captures all the insanity, and heightened reactions, as Dylan injected electric guitars and a propulsive into his former acoustic folk act. Backed by the musicians who would later call themselves The Band, Dylan is fearless and gleefully confrontational, upping the intensity and volume as some members of his audience boo – with one famously screaming “Judas!” at the former folk

2020

Jun

INTO THE UNKNOWN: MAKING "FROZEN 2" By David Bianculli

DOCUMENTARY SERIES PREMIERE: This six-episode documentary series chronicles the final year of production of Frozen 2. (Why not earlier? As, say, when the Disney brain trust had all those meetings to decide upon the perfect title for the sequel to its mega-popular animated musical, Frozen? I don’t think Disney had conceived yet of filming everything it was doing to generate more programming, and promotion, for its planned Disney+ streaming service.) But here’s the

2020

Jun

IRRESISTIBLE By David Bianculli

MOVIE PREMIERE: Here comes Jon Stewart’s latest movie – and this time it’s a comedy. He’s written and directed this story of a Wisconsin mayoral race, which stars fellow Daily Show alumnus Steve Carell as a Democratic political strategist, and Rose Byrne as his primary rival. Co-stars include Chris Cooper, and a small herd of cows.

2020

Jun

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA By David Bianculli

MOVIE PREMIERE: On Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell concocted and starred in more than one recurring sketch in which he played the keyboard half of a singing duo, performing with a a female, equally game SNL player. This new Netflix movie is an extension of sorts of that idea, with Rachel McAdams playing opposite Ferrell in what feels like an expanded, bloated movie version of an SNL skit. Eurovision Song Contest is an affectionate parody of, and salute t

2020

Jun

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli

Maybe Bill Maher should retain the socially distant format no matter what happens, because his guest lineups – with him able to pre-tape a day in advance and talk to interviewees without them leaving their homes – keep getting better. Tonight, for example, Real Time is scheduled to land one of the week’s hottest interview “gets”: former National Security Advisor John Bolton (pictured). Also scheduled: James Carville, Kara Swisher, and Wes Moore.

2020

Jun

UNPLUGGED By David Bianculli

MTV is conducting a “Flashback Friday” all day today, and it’s flashing back to a time when MTV presented videos, and programs that were worth watching. The videos are shown early in the day – but at 11 p.m. ET, MTV presents two vintage installments of its stripped-down acoustic concert series, Unplugged. First up: From 1993, the neo-acoustic Unplugged edition with Nirvana, in which Kurt Cobain (pictured) delivers a wholly commanding, emotionally intim

2020

Jun

'GREAT PERFORMANCES' PRESENTS THE COMPELLING 'GLORIA: A LIFE' WITH CHRISTINE LAHTI By Mike Hughes

In some ways, a show about Gloria Steinem's life seems easy and obvious. It's been a big, bold life, one that helped transform society...

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