The 1931 René Clair French film Le Million translates, roughly, as The Million. (Always here to help.) It’s about a poor artist who wins a lottery for a million (Dutch florins, not dollars, but still…), and spends the rest of the movie trying to locate and retrieve the winning lottery ticket. What makes this movie such a landmark, cinematically, isn’t its plot, but Clair’s use of music and sound, at a time when The Jazz Singer broke the movie sound barrier only a

2014

Jun

THE GRAND MANEUVER By David Bianculli

This 1955 film is from much later in the career of director René Clair, and shows his eventual reliance upon, and comfort with, dialogue-heavy comedy. It’s about an officer who bets that he can seduce a young beauty in the local village before he’s sent away to training camp just before what would eventually become to be known as World War I. Gérard Philipe stars as the officer, and Michèle Morgan as the object of his wager – but look for another beauty, in

2014

Jun

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

After yesterday’s thrilling U.S.A. opening game against Ghana, more people than ever will be paying attention to the World Cup here in the States. (Everywhere else in the world, they already were.) Today, ESPN presents all three games being played. The first and third feature the final teams to play their first opening-round games, from Group H: at 11:30 a.m. ET, Belgium vs. Algeria, and at 5:30 p.m. ET, Russia vs. South Korea. And sandwiched in between is the day’s premium draw: the

2014

Jun

RISKY BUSINESS By David Bianculli

This movie is 31 years old, and wasn’t even Tom Cruise’s first movie. But it’s been that long since he’s been a top-tier movie star – and three decades at or near the top of Hollywood puts him right up there with the biggest of big boys, like the Jimmy Stewarts and John Waynes and Henry Fondas. Tune in again, and watch how effortlessly, and winningly, he shot to the top in the first place. Cue the Bob Seger music, kick off the shoes, and… slide. Repeated at 1

2014

Jun

PBS PREVIEWS: THE ROOSEVELTS By David Bianculli

Ken Burns’ latest documentary series is coming this fall: The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, a study of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt that covers a century of American history in a seven-part, 14-hour epic look at the lives and contributions of three members of a single family. Early buzz has it as one of the very best efforts to ever emerge from the Burns shop, which is the highest praise possible. Tonight’s 30-minute preview serves as a teaser, as an appetizer, and, in

2014

Jun

CHASING LIFE By David Bianculli

Last week’s series premiere set up this show’s unusual premise: Chasing Life stars Italia Ricci as April, a 24-year-old journalist who’s suddenly given a diagnosis of leukemia. It’s not a dark comedy, like Showtime’s The Big C, but more of a straight drama, and for a young audience more used to thinking of itself as invulnerable. Here, vulnerability is everything – and the way April handles her diagnosis is what makes Chasing Life so distinctive, and so affirm

2014

Jun

FARGO By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: What a delicious surprise this new FX series has turned out to be. And tonight’s episode, the Season 1 finale, is guaranteed to serve up plenty of surprises of its own. For an appreciation that doesn’t serve up any spoilers, see Eric Gould’s The Cold Light Reader.

2014

Jun

‘FARGO’ FINALE: NO COUNTRY FOR INNOCENCE By Eric Gould

If you liked the hubris and violence in Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film Fargo, and their chilling tale of nihilism in 2007’s No Country for Old Men, then you must be loving the mash up of both in FX’s Fargo series, which is wrapping up Tuesday night...

2014

Jun

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

Today’s the day Team USA finally steps onto the pitch, facing Ghana in its first match of the 2014 World Cup. But first, there are two other games to be played, also televised live by ESPN. Germany vs. Portugal begin play at noon ET, with ESPN beginning coverage 30 minutes earlier. Then, at 2:30 p.m. ET, Iran plays Nigeria, after which, at 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN begins coverage of the initial US match. For a story on today's match and coverage, see Monique Nazareth's MNtv.

2014

Jun

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY By David Bianculli

In the last hour of this show, President Heller (William Devane) contacted the terrorist directly, agreeing to give himself up to her. Meanwhile, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) made inroads of sorts by evacuating the terrorist’s daughter, also a terrorist, from a London hospital just before her mother blew it up with a drone strike. And the mother is doing all this to revenge the death of her husband, making this season of 24 a particularly volatile family affair.

Posts 81-90 of 182

8 9 10 11 12

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption