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

 
 
2015
Jun
28
 
 
Of the three new Sunday HBO series – True Detective Season 2, Ballers and The Brink – this is the one that impresses me the most. This second episode deepens our knowledge and understanding of all the primary characters – Tim Robbins’ Secretary of State, Pablo Schreiber’s fighter pilot, and Aasif Mandvi and Jack Black’s guys on the ground in Pakistan. But it also heats up the plot from simmer to boil, with enough surprises and confrontations that behind the cl
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
27
 
 
The final two quarterfinal games of this year’s Women’s World Cup Soccer tournament are played today. Both are shown live on Fox Sports, beginning at 4 p.m. ET with Japan vs. Australia. The Aussies defeated Brazil in the knockout stage to get here, so they’re the ones to watch. Oy! Oy! Oy! And at 7:30 p.m. ET, it’s Canada vs. England – and it’s held in Vancouver, so Canadians will have the home-crowd fervor in its favor.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
27
 
 
Hurd Hatfield stars as Dorian Gray in this 1945 film version of the famous Oscar Wilde story, about the guy who stays youthful as his hidden portrait ages – and if you’ve been watching Dorian as a character in Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, this character is much less adventurous, but no less vain or charismatic. Watch for the female leads in this version, though: co-stars include Donna Reed and Angela Lansbury.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
27
 
 
Written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland, this 2014 movie stars Anne Hathaway as a woman who explores the passion of her ailing brother for his favorite musician – and ends up being passionate about him in more ways than one. Johnny Flynn co-stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
27
 
 
Not a recommendation: In this episode, medium Kim Russo takes Anthony Michael Hall on a tour of whatever’s haunting him. I’m guessing it has something to do that he once starred opposite Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science (pictured), and now is stuck voluntarily appearing on The Haunting Of…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
27
 
 
Tonight’s guests include former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke – both of whom are on Norton’s couch to promote the new movie they’ve made together, Terminator Genisys. Also on hand: Jake Gyllenhaal of Southpaw, British actress and former model Cara Delevingne and British rapper Tinie Tempah.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
26
 
 
Patrick Macnee, star of the 1960s British import spy series, The Avengers, died Thursday, June 25 in California. Macnee starred as the dapper John Steed, always arriving in his signature bowler hat...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
26
 
 
If space permitted, I would have titled this column A Fond Farewell to Dick Van Patten (And a Great Big Thank You for the Memories), because thinking about the man has brought back so much of the joy that I had watching broadcast TV in the late Seventies...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
26
 
 
The United States faces China in today’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinal. If they were allowed to field teams based on their representative populations, China would have about four times as many players on the field. But both teams start with the same amount of players – though the U.S., on this occasion, has to sit two previously starting midfielders, Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday, for accumulated yellow-card violations. The U.S. women’s team has yet to lose at this st
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Jun
26
 
 
All you have to know about this year’s In Performance at the White House, devoted to soul music, is that its performers, with Barack and Michelle Obama watching appreciatively, include Aretha Franklin. Being singled out and invited to perform at the White House? Now that’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Check local listings.