SATURDAY
JULY 14
2012

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC Family, 7:30 p.m. ET

Two fanciful movies from different portions of Johnny Depp’s career can be enjoyed tonight, in an unintentional but illuminating look at two of his signature roles, filmed more than 20 years apart. First, from 1990, comes this visually imaginative Tim Burton fable, in which plays a misfit with razor-sharp appendages at the end of his fingers. Then, on Starz at 9 p.m. ET, comes Depp in his latest Pirates of the Caribbean film, last year’s On Stranger Tides.

 
  
 
 

E!, 8:00 p.m. ET

Tom Hanks plays a widower with a supportive kid who phones in a radio call-in show, and attracts the interest of a sweet woman, played by Meg Ryan. This 1993 movie was directed by Nora Ephron (who also wrote the screenplay), who died last month. It’s a lovely movie – but I’ve been talking on the radio for more than 25 years, and no one approaching Meg Ryan has contacted me yet. I’m just saying. Signed, Sleepy in Cherry Hill.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

On a slow Saturday night, it’s worth pointing out a cable movie premiere, even for a movie that came and went in theaters so quickly, and with so little impact, as this 2011 futuristic fantasy. Justin Timberlake stars as a young man who finds the secret of staying that way – a key to immortality – and Amanda Seyfried plays a young woman who goes on the run with him, though not necessarily willingly.

 
  
 
 

Starz!, 9:00 p.m. ET

What does this 2011 installment of Pirates have that previous installments do not? Penelope Cruz, playing a very effective siren – who gives a whole new meaning to the term “pirate booty.” Johnny Depp stars.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

This is the second time this particular installment has been repeated, but it’s worth it: Melissa McCarthy is the guest host, and throws herself into each sketch with an abandon not seen since the days and antics of Chris Farley. The musical guest is Lady Antebellum, but it’s Lady McCarthy that makes this worth seeing – more than once.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.