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

 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
In just a few weeks, this Steven Spielberg movie will be 20 – count ’em, 20 – years old. Hard to imagine, but that’s how long it’s been since those who saw it then marveled at what digital special effects could bring to a movie, by bringing dinosaurs to life. I was at the midnight showing the first night Jurassic Park was released in 1993 – and along with me was my son, Mark, who was only eight years old at the time. Does that make me a good dad… or a b
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
Maybe it’s not quite so classic as another insider Hollywood satire, Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain, but this 1953 Fred Astaire musical comes awfully close. He plays a fading film star who tries to recapture fame on Broadway in a musical – but it’s overrun, and rewritten, by its director into an absurd updating of Faust. Cyd Charisse plays the ballerina hired to star opposite Astaire – and she’s not only all woman, she’s all leg. Both Band Wagon
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
There’s something awfully right about the Disney Channel presenting Cinderella on television, even if it’s a bit too early for the holidays. Made in 1950, it still enchants – and, most certainly, it still informs and inspires popular culture, including, of course, the current fantasy series from Disney-owned ABC, Once Upon a Time.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
A delightful USA Today factoid earlier this week pointed out that the average age of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, at this point in 2012, is younger than the average age of the members of the Rolling Stones.  But it’s hard to imagine Judge Scalia, or anyone else, rocking his chambers like Mick Jagger rocks the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.  That’s the source of this live pay-per-view telecast, the last stop on the Stones’ current concert run. It’s availabl
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
What an amazing few days for Sir Paul McCartney. On Thursday morning, shortly after midnight, he closed the “12-12-12” benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy at Madison Square Garden.  Last night, he was seen in a double feature on PBS, in a documentary about 1967’s Magical Mystery Tour, and in a restored version of the program itself. Now, tonight, he’s the musical guest on Saturday Night Live – on a show hosted by Martin Short, former alumnus of both SNL and SCT
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
This isn't video worth watching, or one that you'd ever want to see. But it is video that is now, regrettably, part of the national record. President Obama became emotional yesterday as he addressed the nation after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
15
 
 
College football reached the tipping point on bowls a few years ago. It’s now ridiculous, and it’s not just the funny names. It’s the numbing number of bowls...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
14
 
 
Sure, Homeland has had a couple of wheels actually lift off the train tracks this season. But the show hasn’t gone completely off the rails yet. It's delivered some top-notch television from the beginning -- and I mean from the very beginning...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
14
 
 
This day in 1976 marked the first broadcast of an occasional special ABC presentation, The Barbara Walters Special...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Dec
14
 
 
AMC continues its multiple showings of classic Christmas movies, by scheduling this 1954 Bing Crosby film in prime time both tonight and tomorrow night. The film is loaded with Irving Berlin songs, including the already famous title tune – and also is loaded with top-notch musical stars, including not only Crosby, but Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen.