FRIDAY
JULY 20
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Amazon Prime Video, 3:00 a.m. ET

MOVIE PREMIERE: This 2018 movie is a sedate, quiet sci-fi film with a powerful wave of emotion behind it. On its surface, it covers the same ground as AMC’s HUMANS or HBO’s Westworld: the evolution of artificial intelligence and human synthetics so convincing they can pass for the real thing. In Zoe, Ewan McGregor plays Cole, the head of a scientific division developing such creations, with the goal being to offer life partners – computer-designed and programmed soul mates of sorts – who will never leave you. In other words, ultimate compatibility… and fidelity. (How much does it cost, and where do I sign?) Theo James plays the most recent and evolved of the company-generated examples, and Lea Seydoux plays the title role, one of Cole’s fellow team leaders at the company. As with Westworld, especially, there are some twists built in, but Zoe is less about the surprises, which are easy to see coming, than about the emotions underneath. Watch for a cameo by Christina Aguilera as one of the synthetics… but mostly, watch for Zoe to ask some deep questions about some of our deepest drives and emotions. Rashida Jones co-stars.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of this bold, fascinating 1999 fantasy, directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman – both of whom established their own artistic independence with this wildly original fantasy film. John Cusack plays Craig, a puppeteer and marionette operator who stages bleak, unpopular puppet shows based on classic mythic tragedies. Until, that is, he discovers a portal that allows him to enter the brain of actor John Malkovich, and control him like… well, like a puppet. Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener co-star, in a film so good it deserves this unusual Friday night prime-time HBO showcase.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

When I interviewed Stephen Sondheim on stage at Rutgers University last month, one of the pieces of news he delivered that night was that a movie remake of West Wide Story, with lyrics by Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein, was deep into initial development, with a revised screenplay by Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner that Sondheim said updated the rival gangs story line in a way that impressed and excited him. Kushner also wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln – and the director for the new West Side Story? Spielberg himself. Meanwhile, there’s this 1961 screen version, with its marvelous opening aerial shots of New York at that era, and with Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno co-starring with future Twin Peaks stars Richard Beymer and Russ Tamblyn.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

Pudding on the Ritz: Tonight’s challenges include, well, puddings. Yorkshire? Christmas? Other? All part of the suspense… and the challenge. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.