William Shatner in 1960’s Nick of Time (3:30 p.m. ET), Burgess Meredith in 1959’s Time Enough at Last (7:30 p.m. ET), 1960’s classic The Monsters are Due on Maple Street (8:30 p.m. ET), another 1960 classic, The Eye of the Beholder (10 p.m. ET, pictured), and Agnes Moorehead in the mostly silent 1961 classic, The Invaders (10:30 p.m. ET). And the fun continues into the wee hours of the New Year, so enjoy.

2013

Dec

THE WALKING DEAD MARATHON By David Bianculli

AMC has been rocking it for days with its complete, sequential repeat of Breaking Bad. (I couldn’t believe how many hours I lost to that marathon, even though I own the stunningly good, just-released boxed set on DVD.) Well, just in time for the New Year, AMC rolls out a complete sequential marathon of another excellent series, The Walking Dead – well, complete to date, since this series isn’t over yet. But just as with Breaking Bad, if you watch the opening scene of the

2013

Dec

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: “NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC GALA WITH YO-YO MA” By David Bianculli

Alan Gilbert leads the New York Philharmonic on the traditional New Year’s Eve concert from New York’s Lincoln Center, broadcast live by PBS – an impeccable use of public television. Tonight’s special guest artist is cellist Yo-Yo Ma, with the emphasis on music inspired by Latin dances. One selection is the cello concerto Azul, written expressly for Yo-Yo Ma by modern composer Osvaldo Golijov. Another is that classic of the modern canon, Ravel’s Bolero. Check local

2013

Dec

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT TRILOGY By David Bianculli

If you want some background entertainment for your New Year’s Eve party, or just some foreground entertainment to slip nicely from one year to the next, here’s a strong option. TCM is presenting a triple feature of all three editions of That’s Entertainment, which are nothing-but-highlights compilations from the history of MGM musicals. The first one came out in 1974, and gathered as co-hosts an absurdly talented group of entertainers – all of whom are represented in the

2013

Dec

DICK CLARK’S NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2014 By David Bianculli

This is the second annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve since the death of Dick Clark, who launched the franchise in 1972. ABC, out of respect, retains Clark’s name in the title, but the host these days (and these midnights) remains Ryan Seacrest, with help – if you can call it that – from Jenny McCarthy.

2013

Dec

ENTER THE DRAGON By David Bianculli

This 1973 martial arts action film, now 40 years old, belongs on a serious film network such as Sundance because it’s a) such an early example of international movie marketing, which is all but mandatory these days, and b) perhaps the most famous and impressive screen appearance by Bruce Lee. And yes, it’s worth watching for all that, but I’d also humbly suggest c) Ahna Capri, who plays the mysterious and beautiful Tania. Forty years later, I remember being stunned by Lee&rsquo

2013

Dec

ZERO DARK THIRTY By David Bianculli

A new reason to revisit this intense 2012 war film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Mark Boal? Not that you should need one, but here’s one anyway: Watch for the small but crucial appearance by the late James Gandolfini, who plays a powerful politician critical to the continuation of the plan to find and target Osama bin Laden. He plays the part perfectly, with strength, compassion and not a little humor – which, come to think of it, were three of his strongest attributes as a

2013

Dec

THE MASTER By David Bianculli

At the moment, Joaquin Phoenix is getting raves for his starring role as the man obsessed with his computer’s operating system in Her. Last year, he got raves for his role in this movie, playing an aimless war veteran who falls under the wing of a charismatic religious leader, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Or, what I said about Phoenix goes for Amy Adams as well: She got raves for her role in The Master (playing Hoffman’s wife) a year ago, and right now she’s getting rave r

2013

Dec

INDEPENDENT LENS: “HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE” By David Bianculli

This Oscar-nominated documentary traces the origins of activist groups, such as TAG and ACT UP, in the early days of AIDS, when fear was much more plentiful than knowledge and reason. Check local listings.

2013

Dec

DO THE RIGHT THING By David Bianculli

Spike Lee wrote and directed this smart, intense 1989 movie about racial unrest and uneasy neighbors in Brooklyn. And there are plenty of strong performers and performances here, including Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro and Lee himself – but if you’re a Breaking Bad fan, you’ll want to pay particular attention to Giancarlo Esposito as Buggin’ Out, decades before he played the ultimate bad guy on Bad as Gus Fring.

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