SEASON PREMIERE: Now that Breaking Bad is gone, this is the cable drama series I’m most looking forward to each week. And while tonight’s season opener spends a lot of time introducing and mobilizing the new cadre of bad guys, it still takes the time to give Timothy Olyphant, as Raylan, a typically funny and visually unforgettable example of the unorthodox lawman’s style – and temper.

2014

Jan

THE STORY OF POISON, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT By Eric Gould

With police lab forensics as one of the pillars of nightly scripted TV, it’s hard to imagine a time when medical examiners didn’t rule the day...

2014

Jan

THE PRINCESS BRIDE By David Bianculli

William Goldman’s screenplay is as brilliantly clever as his book, and Rob Reiner’s direction makes sure to serve the actors and the story with equal reverence. Mandy Patinkin’s swashbuckling Inigo Montoya is a particular favorite, but there are more than a handful of flawless performances in this 1987 family film – including Wallace Shawn’s scheming Vizzini, Cary Elwes’ noble Westley, Billy Crystal’s blustery Miracle Max, and Andre the Giant’s gen

2014

Jan

QUIZ SHOW By David Bianculli

It’s now been 20 years since Robert Redford directed this 1994 examination of the quiz show scandals of the Fifties. I show portions of this movie in my TV History class at Rowan University, not only to bring that era and topic to life, but to point out that Redford, in this retelling, manipulated things for the sake of entertainment just as the producers and sponsors of the tainted games shows did. That does not, however, detract from the film’s overall effect, or from the fine perf

2014

Jan

PRIVATE SCREENINGS: ROBERT OSBORNE By David Bianculli

It’s been 20 years now since Turner Classic Movies was launched in 1994, and the primary host of that network, then and now, is the same person: Robert Osborne. Tonight, instead of interviewing some film figure for a Private Screenings special, Osborne himself is the interview subject, with former The Essentials co-host Alec Baldwin asking the questions. And after the 90-minute profile of Osborne’s career before and on TCM, the rest of the evening is devoted to some of the TCM host&r

2014

Jan

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN TIGERS VS. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES By David Bianculli

A year ago, when the first odds for the 2014 BCS title game were posted, Florida State was given 14-1 odds of making it that far, and Auburn was given odds of 200-1. Yet here they are: the Seminoles with a 13-0 record, and the Tigers with a record of 12-1. And while the pro playoff games this past weekend were exciting, there’s something about the pace and stature of this game that makes it something extraordinarily captivating, no matter the closeness of the contest.

2014

Jan

THE THIRD MAN By David Bianculli

Great script (by Graham Greene), brilliant direction (by Carol Reed), and superb performances (from Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton). Tonight, TCM host Robert Osborne, with his network’s entire inventory at his disposal, selects this 1949 film noir classic as the film he’d most like to show as a personal favorite. Watch it for the first time, and you’ll learn why.

2014

Jan

NFL PLAYOFFS: CINCINNATI BENGALS VS. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS By David Bianculli

Forecasts call for this to be a cool contest – but I’m talking about meteorologists, not sportscasters. The low for the day is predicted to be minus-6 degrees, which may be a stiff breeze indeed for the warm-weather Chargers. (The predicted high, though, is almost above freezing.) But Chargers QB Philip Rivers is enjoying his best season ever, and leads the league in completions. And even if he can’t throw, running back Ryan Mathews sure can run.

2014

Jan

NFL PLAYOFFS: GREEN BAY PACKERS VS. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS By David Bianculli

The first postseason game played today may be a cold one, but this second game will be. At kickoff, the expected temperature – the temperature, not the wind chill – is minus-2 degrees, making it potentially one of the coldest games in NFL history. The Packers’ Lambeau Field already was the site of the infamous Ice Bowl in 1967, in which the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys played in temperatures dipping as low as minus-13 degrees, with a wind chill of minus-46. And while watching

2014

Jan

THE MUPPETS By David Bianculli

Considering how Amy Adams is decked out (and popping out) in the current movie American Hustle, this 2011 family comedy gives ample evidence of her range. Here, she plays Mary, the ultra-sweet companion of Jason Segel’s Gary, as the two of them try to save the old Muppets theater. It’s a fun little movie musical, with cameos from such fun folks as Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, Emily Blunt, James Carville, Jim Parsons and Alan Arkin.

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