FRIDAY

JUNE 13

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

2014 U.S. OPEN GOLF

ESPN, 9:00 a.m. ET

The dreaded Pinehurst 2 course turned out to be a lot softer, and easier, than anticipated yesterday, because of all the rain, and is expected to play a bit softer today as well. That means more below pars than expected, and Martin Kaymer leading the field by being almost unshakeable with both his putter and his tee shots. Coverage moves to NBC at 3 p.m. ET, then returns to ESPN at 5 p.m. ET.

2014 WORLD CUP

ESPN 2, 11:30 a.m. ET

One day into the World Cup, and only one game, and already we have an egregious error, a controversial call, a star performance and a dramatic victory, as host country Brazil bounced back from an own-goal deficit to beat Croatia 3-1. Today there are three games in as many cities. In Natal, Mexico faces Cameroon, televised at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. At 3 p.m. ET, ESPN switches from golf to soccer and presents Spain vs. Netherlands, live from Salvador. And the day’s final game, presented on ESPN2 beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET, is from Cuiaba, featuring Chile against Australia.

THE STING

Flix, 8:00 p.m. ET

This 1973 caper movie is what I consider a perfect film in its genre: charming, surprising, inventive and stylish. It’s got great heroes (Paul Newman and Robert Redford, after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), a magnificent villain (Robert Shaw, before Jaws), and enough con-men card tricks, and other kinds of tricks, to fill an inside straight. If you’ve never seen it, you must. If you have, it’s always worth revisiting. All that, and all those fabulous Scott Joplin rags, too.

THE GREAT GATSBY

Cinemax, 9:35 p.m. ET

Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic is flashy (big surprise there, from the director of Moulin Rouge) and anachronistic (ditto), but a few scenes are calibrated just right. And regardless, Leonardo DiCaprio projects the proper mystery as the title role – especially when he empties his soul, and his closet, during one visually stunning scene. Carey Mulligan co-stars.

VICE

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: This season finale hits close to home – my home, anyway. I live in Cherry Hill, NJ, just a few miles from Camden, the city across the Ben Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia. In this week’s episode, Vice looks at the way authorities in Camden have begun policing their crime-ridden city, using technology that is very advanced, very pervasive, and arguably very intrusive.

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

New From TVWW

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

ESPN, 9:00 a.m. ET

ESPN 2, 11:30 a.m. ET

Flix, 8:00 p.m. ET

Cinemax, 9:35 p.m. ET

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

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