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

 
 
2013
Apr
11
 
 
There's one overwhelmingly dominant story line as we begin the first round of the 2013 Masters in Augusta: Tiger Woods. For the first time in years, he's ranked No. 1 — and seems poised, the way he's been playing lately, to win his first major tournament since 2008. Will he rise to these great expectations? Or will he crumble under them, continuing his slide from golfing dominance rather than reclaiming it? The first round will give an early inclination — but amazingly, TV
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
11
 
 
Last night’s show all but buried Lazaro Arbos, the last remaining male singer in the Final 6. His performance on “Close to You,” was harsh, and the judges were harsher (even Mariah Carey nailed him for missing a key change). This season, the show’s judges have been pushing to finally anoint another female winner – and after tonight, Idol should guarantee that.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
11
 
 
Here’s a guest-star alert worth mentioning: Portraying a talent agent who sees potential greatness in Ed Helms’ Andy is Roseanne Barr.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
11
 
 
Here’s a guest-star alert worth mentioning, on a show that usually isn’t: Charlie Sheen, as a therapist, gets a new patient: Lindsay Lohan, playing an off-kilter version of herself. If that’s not redundant. When Lohan teared up the other day on Late Show with David Letterman, responding to some words of support from her host, that was a good career move. Whether this appearance, which has her hawking some product for a Japanese TV ad, continues that positive momentum, or negate
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
11
 
 
Many movies have been made of this classic Victor Hugo novel – and while this is by no means the best of them, it’s fun to watch nonetheless. Michael Rennie stars as Jean Valjean in this 1952 version, made the year after he starred as Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Robert Newton plays Inspector Javert, and the leading ladies are portrayed by Debra Paget (as Cosette) and Sylvia Sidney (as Fantine).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
 
 
This 1995 Mel Gibson movie is one of my nephew Hamilton’s favorite “spider-web” movies, and he’s far from alone – which is why Spike, aiming to please its young male demographic, is hitting the bullseye by presenting this action film in prime time. Fans of this movie can talk about it until they’re blue in the face. Which, in this particular case, is a form of tribute.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
 
 
Kenneth Branagh remade this Anthony Shaffer play as a movie in 2007, but this is the original screen adaptation, made in 1972. Shaffer himself wrote the screenplay for this one, which stars Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier in a story about marital infidelity, jealousy – and potential murder. Lots of fun, and very, very clever.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
 
 
Benjamin Bratt returns as Javier, the biological father of Rico Rodriguez’s Manny and the ex of Sofia Vergara’s Gloria – and tonight, in this new episode, he brings along a guest. It’s his new girlfriend, played by former Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
 
 
Stan (Noah Emmerich) pursues some new leads that get him closer to discovering the identity of an undercover KGB cell – and closer, therefore, to someone with whom he already shares a neighborly proximity: across-the-street neighbor Elizabeth (Keri Russell).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
 
 
Eric Gould, in a recent Cold Light Reader column, raved about Gerald McRaney’s acting on last week’s excellent episode of this series. Our own Noel Holston reacted with a comment, agreeing with Eric and wondering exactly when McRaney shifted from the tossaway comedy of Major Dad and Simon & Simon and morphed into one of TV’s best dramatic actors in Deadwood, House of Cards, Justified and elsewhere. Guest star McRaney is reason enough to watch Southland this season – b