I’m starting the New Year with a roundup of some of what I call “spider-web movies” – films that ensnare me into watching them when they turn up on TV, no matter how many times I’ve seen them. The evening’s web cast, dedicated to Charlotte, begins with this 1998 movie, which gave us very early looks at the cinematic potential of Jennifer Lopez and, especially, George Clooney. She plays a federal marshal on the trail of a bank robber, he plays the robber, and t

2014

Jan

THE BIG LEBOWSKI By David Bianculli

Almost every film the Coen brothers make qualifies, for me, as a spider-web movie. And this 1994 one, which has achieved a cult status of amazing proportions, certainly is no exception. I once saw a Museum of Moving Image exhibit in which someone had collected all the different times the word “dude” is uttered in this film. I’m not sure that’s art, but it was funny to watch. This film is even funnier: Jeff Bridges’ laid-back performance as The Dude is one of his car

2014

Jan

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION By David Bianculli

With a story by Stephen King, adapted for the screen and directed by Frank Darabont, this 1994 prison drama is another film that has achieved cult status, and emerged as one of the most important movies of its era. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, as prisoners who develop a slow but steady alliance, are two major reasons for it. A third: the music over the loudspeaker scene. Classic, brilliant cinema.

2014

Jan

SCOOP By David Bianculli

In the last 20 years – the most recent chunk of a film career almost 30 years longer than that – Woody Allen, as writer and director, has enjoyed a late-career surge that has upped his already considerable batting average of entertaining films. Start with Mighty Aphrodite in 1995 as one obvious high point, and look what he’s done since: just a partial list of smart, impressive movies includes Deconstructing Harry, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnig

2014

Jan

INTOLERABLE CRUELTY By David Bianculli

Another Coen brothers film – and another film starring George Clooney. This one, from 2003, has Clooney going out on a limb to play an ultra-vain divorce attorney with more confidence than scruples – and Catherine Zeta-Jones as an adversary, in and out of court, who may well be his match. Even more than The Hudsucker Proxy, this is a movie that successfully emulates the fast-talking romantic comedies of the Thirties and Forties. Clooney and Zeta-Jones are a fine pair, whether sparrin

2014

Jan

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR TV? I SUSPECT SO... By David Bianculli

Happy New Year. The first day of 2014, basically, is a day of rest for television. But after that, almost instantly, TV’s winter dormancy is over. Prepare to strap on and dive in…

2014

Jan

KIMMEL’S CLIP OF THE YEAR By Eric Gould

It was time again, recently, for Jimmy Kimmel Live's "Clip of the Year” award with Kimmel presenting six funny clips selected from TV and the internet as the top finalists. We were as surprised as the subject of the winning clip who made the trip to the show to accept the award from Kimmel in person...

2013

Dec

THE TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHON By David Bianculli

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

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