Author Archives: Neil Pond

Dec 19 2025
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Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Dec. 19- 25

It’s beginning to look a LOT like Christmas, plus the harrowing tale of ‘HIM’ and who’s up for some pickleball?

‘A Christmas Story’ airs Friday, Dec. 19

FRIDAY, Dec. 19
A Christmas Story
Ah, it’s that time of year again, when all a little boy (Peter Billingsley) wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun, and everyone tells him “You’ll shoot your eye out!” (4:45 p.m., TNT).

HIM
A college football player with his eyes on the pros meets his NFL idol for training but finds out something hellishly weird is going on. Starring Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers (Peacock).

SATURDAY, Dec. 20
A Pickleball Christmas
A tennis pro competes in a high-stakes Pickleball tournament (above) to save his family’s racquetball club (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Naughty or Nice Weekend
Santa’s playlist includes Elf, Scrooged, The Polar Express, Four Christmases and more, from tonight through Dec. 21 (begins 9:45 a.m., AMC).

SUNDAY, Dec. 21
Hollywood Squares
Two episodes of the popular celebrity game show, hosted by Nate Burleson, feature holiday-themed questions (8:30 p.m., CBS).

The Wonderful World of Disney Presents “The Sound of Music”
Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer star in the Oscar®-winning film, celebrating its 60th anniversary and featuring iconic songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, including “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and “The Sound of Music” (8 p.m., ABC)

MONDAY, Dec. 22
The Price is Right|
It’s time for the annual tradition of Christmas-themed episodes (11 a.m., CBS).

The Madame Blanc Mysteries
Two-night Christmas special in which the characters find themselves at Christmas Eve event, with a ticking time bomb hidden away inside a bejeweled museum treasure (Acorn TV).

TUESDAY, Dec. 23
Kennedy Center Honors
George Strait, the rock band KISS, actor Sylvester Stallone and disco pioneer Gloria Gaynor are among the evening’s honorees (8 p.m., CBS).

Die My Love
Jennifer Lawrence scorches the screen as a young wife and mother tormented by love and madness in this gripping thriller that also features Robert Pattinson, Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek and LaKeith Stanfield (Mubi).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 24
Goodbye June
Actress Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut with this Christmas tale of four adult siblings experiencing a downturn in the health of their mother—who insists on orchestrating her decline on her own terms. Cast includes Toni Collette (above), Johnny Flynn, Helen Mirren and Winslet (Netflix).

It’s a Wonderful Life
It wouldn’t be Christmas without this 1946 Christmas classic, in which an angel named Clarence helps a desperate banker and family man (James Stewart) see how “rich” his life really is (8 p.m., NBC).

THURSDAY, Dec. 25
Music Box: Happy and You Know It
Documentary explores how “children’s music” became so wildly popular—and underestimated by grownups (9 p.m., HBO).

Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade
Alfonso Ribeiro and Ginnifer Goodwin host as the all-star parade winds through the Magic Kingdom (11 a.m., ABC and Disney).

The Best You Can
Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon and Judd Hirsch (above) lead the cast of this heartwarming cross-generational holiday comedy (Netflix).

BRING IT HOME

The perfect Christmas gift for a fan of one of TV’s top series might just Law & Order: The Complete Series (AV Entertainment), a gollywhopper of a box set that “captures” every episode of seasons 1 through 20 of the iconic crime drama starring Sam Waterson, Chris Noth, Michael Moriaty, Richard Brooks, Jerry Orbach and Angie Harmon.  (Purchase at https://www.moviezyng.com/law–order-the-complete-original-series-dvd-sam-waterston/84041833653)

Groove back to the groovin’ ’70s in Boogie Nights (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), now fully restored on 4K Ultra HD. Director Paul Thomas Anderson‘s acclaimed drama, about a wide cast of characters intersecting in L.A.’s booming porn-movie industry, stars Burt Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy and Heather Gramham.

Re-live the charm and the chuckles of Ted Lasso when the acclaimed, award-winning comedy series comes to DVD for the first time. Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (AV Entertainment) contains all 34 episodes of the show starring Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein, coming out just ahead of its season-four return to Apple TV+ next year. (Purchase at https://zyng.us/DCACMO)
 

Dec 18 2025
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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Song Sung Blue”

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson shine in this true love story built on a foundation of Neil Diamond hits

Song Sung Blue
Starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
Directed by Craig Brewer
Rated PG-13

In theaters Thursday, Dec. 25

What, exactly, is a song sung blue? In Neil Diamond’s No. 1 hit single from 1972, it’s a singalong about shared sadness and turning something melancholy into a thing that makes you happy—even if you’re singing it “with a tear in your voice.”

This flick is based on the true story of a husband and wife who performed together as a tribute act, Lightning and Thunder, in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star as Mike and Claire Sardina, whose story was previously made into a 2008 documentary film with the same title.

The Sardinas were struggling singers—and divorcees with kids—before meeting each other, falling in love, joining forces and becoming a local sensation in Milwaukee, Wisc., harmonizing on Neil Diamond songs at state fairs and other events.

Diamond himself doesn’t appear anywhere, but the movie is built on his musical legacy and best-known hits, anchored by a love story about a couple who cared for each other, loved making music together and became regionally famous doing it. Jackman gets to flex the singing chops he displayed in The Greatest Showman and Les Misérables. Last year, Hudson released her own album, Glorious. Both are pitch perfect in roles that require them to sing, and sing a lot.

“You’re not a Neil Diamond impersonator,” Claire tells Mike, calming his initial intimidation about stepping into the shoes of the hitmaker who wrote The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”  “You’re a Neil Diamond interpreter.”

Music lovers will certainly love watching Jackman and Hudson interpret “Sweet Caroline,” “Cherry, Cherry,” “Play Me,” “Holly, Holy,” “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” and “Soolaimon,” a frequently mispronounced favorite of Diamond’s that he often used to open his shows. There are deeper cuts too, like “Crunchy Granola Suite.” And, of course, “Song Sung Blue.”

The movie does a great job of showing a stratum of the music biz that’s, well, a few layers below Taylor Swift…or Neil Diamond. Song Sung Blue effectively depicts the couple’s journey from casinos and barrooms to concert halls (opening for Pearl Jam!). It’s not always smooth ‘n’ easy; Mike works as a backyard mechanic to make ends meet.

And just when the showbiz future starts looking bright, wham—the real world comes crashing in.  

Michael Imperioli, Jim Belushi and Fisher Stevens all have supporting roles as Mike’s pals. And as impressive as Jackman and Hudson sound singing, she also does a great job of mastering a Midwestern accent. You’d never guess she grew up in L.A., not on the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

“I’m not a songwriter, I’m not a sex symbol,” Mike tells Claire early in the movie, as their relationship is just beginning to blossom. “I just want to entertain people.”

And Jackson and Grant certainly do that. Song Sung Blue is a Christmastime gem of a musical biopic to lift your holiday spirits, get your toes tapping, and make you smile through the melancholy…even if you don’t know your Neil Diamond from your Neil Sedaka.  

—Neil Pond

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Dec 16 2025
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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Avatar: Fire & Ash:

Third installment of the blockbuster sci-fi franchise is big and blue and in a zone all its own

Avatar: Fire & Ash
Starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldaña & Oona Chaplin
Directed by James Cameron
Rated PG-13

In theaters Friday, Dec. 19

Welcome back to the distant moon of Pandora, some 26 trillion miles from Earth—but as close as your local movie screen!

In this third installment of director James Cameron’s Avatar adventure epic, the peaceful Na’vi tribe is stirred to action by a much more aggressive clan aligned with militaristic human invaders plotting to take over Pandora and line their pockets exploiting it.

If you’re an avid Avatar-iac, a diehard fan of the billion-dollar blockbuster franchise, you’ll feel right at home. If you’re new to the wonders of Pandora, well, hold onto your pointy ears, your tail and your dreadlocked hair. You’re in for one far-out ride, one that lasts nearly three and a half hours.

Using his pioneering motion-capture technology to put digital “makeup” onto real actors, Cameron has crafted another spectacular, not-of-this-earth saga. Your eyes know what they’re seeing isn’t 100 percent “real,” but it’s not quite fake, either. It’s a whole ‘nother sprawling universe, existing in a new realm of artificially heightened movie reality with a pantheon of exotic creatures and 10-foot tall Pandorans sweeping and swooping around the sky riding dragon-like lizard birds, swimming in the sea alongside massive leviathan predators, and running like goosed gazelles through the dense jungle.

You’ll see some familiar digitized faces (some more than others) in characters carrying over from the two previous Avatars, in 2009 and 2022, including  Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldaña, Kate Winslet and Stephen Lang, while Giovanni Ribisi and Edie Falco also reprise their real-people roles as humans, no digitization required. Jack Champion, playing “Spider,” the adopted human boy raised by the Na’vi, has a critical role in the story and a much bigger part than in previous films.

But the movie’s real splash is made by Oona Chaplin as Varang, the shamanic leader of the warring Ash People, so known because they live in a volcano and can control fire. If the last name rings a bell, it’s because Chaplin is the granddaughter of silent-film pioneer Charlie Chaplin, who died, alas, more than half a century before seeing what his li’l lumpkin spawn would look like all grown up and digitally enhanced as an impossibly lanky blue humanoid wearing war paint, a flaming red headdress and a skimpy, strapless two-piece Pandora-kini. If Bob Mackie designed costumes for Cher for a ’70s TV show somewhere in a faraway galaxy, she might look something like Varang—who I kept wishing would break into a Pandoran cover of “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.” She’s one bewitchingly sexy, seriously terrifying villain, especially when she hisses and sneers.

It’s a mega-load of deep-dish sci-fi on steroids, but it also has some resonant real-world themes about spirituality, the evils of colonization, the importance of family, reverence for the mysteries of nature and creatures great and small, and the great connectedness of our world, no matter which planet—or moon—we call home. The Ash People are regarded as “savages” and “hostiles,” in much the same way indigenous Americans were considered by more “civilized” Euro-centric immigrants. It’s no wonder they shoot flaming arrows and make chilling war-whoops.

In addition to the “cowboys ‘n’ Indians” thread running throughout, there are hints of other pop-cultural touchstones, including some vine-swinging a la Tarzan, a fateful sea-battle moment that reminded me of captain Ahab and Moby Dick, and even a deadly serious climatic cliffhanger that made me think—bizarrely, I know—of the ‘80s sitcom My Two Dads. When you watch it, you’ll know what I mean. Pandora may be far, far, far away, and its air may be toxic for humans to breathe, but nothing exists in a vacuum.

It’s a golly-whopper of a thrill ride, a gob-smacking display of filmmaking tech, unbridled imagination and meticulously crafted world-building. To say “You’ve never seen anything like it” isn’t quite right, but mostly is. Cameron’s Avatar realm truly does exist in a world of its own, one that feels both futuristic and prehistoric, one he created—and one that gazillions of fans eagerly flock to visit.

And they’ll be flocking well into the future. The director has announced that the fourth and fifth Avatars are already on the launchpad. So, keep that dragon-bird saddle and stirrup handy.

—Neil Pond

Dec 15 2025
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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “The Housemaid”

Who’s the crazy one in this steamy, twisty-turny potboiler? Hint: It may not be who you think.

The Housemaid
Starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried & Brandon Sklenar
Directed by Paul Feig
Rated R

In theaters Friday, Dec. 19

When a young woman with a checkered past takes a job as a live-in maid, it pries opens a Pandora’s box of secrets in this steamy little potboiler.

Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie, who’s clearly down on her luck—living in her car, bathing in washrooms—when she she’s hired by Nina (Amanda Seyfried) to clean, cook and look after her pouty young daughter (Indiana Elle). And there’s Nina’s hunky, buff husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and a mysterious, broody groundskeeper (Michelle Morrone).

Veteran actress Elizabeth Perkins has a supporting role as Andrew’s icy, high-society mom, giving off some strong Cruella de Ville vibes.

Millie thinks she’s hit the jackpot, a job working for a perfect couple. But perfection, she learns, can be an illusion.

That everything heats up to a combustive breaking point won’t surprise anyone. But how it gets there, well, I won’t spoil it—except to say that nothing is quite as it appears to be, and first impressions can be misleading. A lot of the movie’s fine-tuned tension comes from director Paul Feig, whose resume is loaded with successful TV (Mad Men, The Office, 30 Rock) and films (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy). He knows how to unspool an engaging story—and spike it with stabs and jabs of humor, even when they draw blood.  

And he’s working with a super-juicy, torrid tale. The film’s based on Freida McFadden’s 2022 runaway bestselling novel, which lays down the movie’s guessing-game groundwork and sets up its tangled romantic triangle built on lies, schemes, sex, misdirection and manipulation.

There are signs everywhere that trouble is brewing, revelations that add new wrinkles to the plot.  Someone’s served time in prison, and you’ll find out why someone else is feigning infertility. Who’s been in and out of the psych ward? The caddish Andrew, who loves to flirt, tells Millie that his smile is a “sword.” Does he mean sword, like a weapon? When he plunks down on the sofa with her to watch a rerun of Family Feud, you know this “family” is soon going to be feuding for real.

Seyfried, soon to be seen as the founder of the Shakers in The Testament of Ann Lee, turns up the heat here in a bold performance that peels away the layers of a character who’s more complex—and more sympathetic—than she comes off. Skelener, who’ll be recognizable to Yellowstone fans as Spencer Dutton in the show’s 1923 spinoff, oozes seductive charm spiked with menace. And Sweeney, whose Hollywood star has been rising since her TV roles in The White Lotus and Euphoria, anchors it all as the domestic who finds herself with a bit more to do than dusting countertops or scrubbing toilets.

The soundtrack includes tunes from Lana Del Rey, Kelly Clarkson and Sabrina Carpenter. The opening line of Linda Ronstadt’s cover of The Rolling Stone’s “Tumbling Dice” offers a hint early about how the movie’s going to go, as she snarls about people who “always think I’m crazy…”

You too will be thinking about who’s crazy in this deliciously twisty psycho thriller that lights the fuse on a pulsating powder keg of deep, dark secrets as it barrels toward its cathartic closing explosion.

—Neil Pond

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Dec 12 2025
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Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Dec. 12 – 18

The new ‘Knives Out,’ celebrating Dick Van Dyke and Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

FRIDAY, Dec. 12
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Adventure
Det. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) “goes to church” for his most baffling case yet in the third Knives Out murder mystery, with a cast that also includes Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washinton, Cailee Spaeny and Thomas Haden Church (Netflix).

Starring Dick Van Dyke
Celebrate the life and career of legendary actor—known for films like Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, TV ‘s Diagnosis Murder and his classic CBS sitcom—on his 100th birthday (9 p.m., PBS).

One More Shot
A woman (Emily Browning) finds a bottle of tequila that lets her time-travel to try to win back her old flame (Sean Keenan) in this time-loop comedy (check streaming listings).

SATURDAY, Dec. 13
The Family Film and TV Awards
Who says they’re nothing worthwhile about movies or TV? Tonight’s 28th annual ceremony, hosted by Julie Chen Moonves, will honor excellence in family-oriented programming. Jeff Probst, the host of Survivor, and magicians Penn & Teller will receive special honors (8 p.m., CBS and Paramount+). 

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Lucy recruits Charlie Brown to direct the gang’s holiday play. Can he find the perfect tree, and discover the true meaning of Christmas? (Apple TV+).

The Heisman Trophy Ceremony
Who’ll be the 2025 honoree as college football’s top player? Tune in tonight to find out in the live ceremony hosted by Sunday Night Football play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler (7 p.m., ABC).

SUNDAY, Dec. 14
Best Elf Marathon
Back-to-back showings of Elf, Fred Claus and The Polar Express (begins 4:30 p.m., AMC).

Avatar: The Way of Water
The 2022 sci-fi action epic, about human-like creatures who are quite at home on a moon called Pandora. Until, that is, they’re threatened again by humans (7 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Dec. 15
Hope of the Season: Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The world-renowned choir’s new holiday spectacular is packed with classic carols and holiday favorites for a 90-minute concert featuring songs and stories of hope for audiences of all ages (8 p.m., PBS).

The FBI
As the holidays approach, the team finds three slain sex workers inside a brownstone and uncover the murderer has a larger plan in place that they must rush to stop (8 p.m., CBS).

TUESDAY, Dec. 16
Great Performances: Nutcracker from English National Ballet
For many, it wouldn’t be Christmastime with this classic stage portrayal of Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday musical featuring some 100 dancers and musicians (8 p.m., PBS).

The Secrets We Bury
A Long Island family unearths a decades-old mystery around their father’s disappearance (9 p.m., ID).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17
IHeart Jingle Ball 2025
The season’s iconic holiday music event features the year’s top artist performances and star-studded appearances to ring in holiday cheer (8 p.m., ABC).

THURSDAY, Dec. 18
The Wolf Wars
Docuseries details Europe’s most expensive wildlife battle—the killing of wolves—and uncovers a tale of threats, harassment and secret networks where money, power and high-stake politics reign (Viaplay).

Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular
The late-night host searches for the holiday spirit in New York, corralling Meghan Trainor, Cara Delevingne, Dolly Parton, the Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake, The Roots, LL Cool J and “Weird Al” Yankovic into the holiday spirit (9 p.m., NBC).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Comic books ain’t what they used to be. Case in point: Fantastic Adventures in the Comics (McFarland), in which author William Schoell looks back (fondly) at the genre from the 1940s into the ’80s, when pulpy pioneers were venturing boldly into the unknown, particularly outer space, where all sorts of strange creatures thrived, “space babes” were welcome aboard any mission, and imaginations were free to run wild.

BRING IT HOME

Laugh again to ‘toondom’s classic cat and mouse with Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958), a roundup of more than 100 theatrical shorts starring the acclaimed, Oscar-winning Hanna-Barbera duo that became global icons for gags, chases and slapstick violence. This special edition also includes a booklet and commentary.

Dec 05 2025
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Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Week of Dec. 5 – Dec. 11

Clooney is ‘Jay Kelly,’ Melissa McCarthy stays up late & Shaq has a dunk-athon

FRIDAY, Dec. 5
Jay Kelly
George Clooney teams with Adam Sandler for this heart-tugging comedy (above) about an actor confronting his past, which also features Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Laura Dern, Isla Fisher, Greta Gerwig, Stacy Keach and Patrick Wilson among its sprawling cast (Netflix).

Spartacus: House of Ashur
The gladiator drama kicks off with two back-to-back episodes about arena fighters, nobles, villains, champions and backstabbers in ancient Rome (Starz).

The Family McMullen
Connie Britton, Tracee Ellis Ross and Edward Burns (who also directed) star in this followup to Burns’ acclaimed ‘90s indee The Brothers McMullen (HBO Max).

SATURDAY, Dec. 6
Reindeer in Here
Based on the award-winning Christmas book, you’ll be charmed by the heartwarming story of how a young reindeer and his friends band together to save the future of Christmas (8 p.m., CBS).

Dinner & a Movie
Tonight hosts Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen swoon over Reese Witherspoon’s 2002 romcom movie Sweet Home Alabama (8 p.m., PBS).

Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy returns tonight to host the iconic late-night show for the sixth time (11:30 p.m., NBC).

SUNDAY, Dec. 7
The Wonderful World of Disney: The Santa Claus
Tim Allen takes over for Santa in this 1994 Christmas comedy featuring Judge Reinhold (9 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Dec. 8
Predators
Dive deep into an unnerving investigation of Dateline’s to Catch a Predator, pulling back the curtain on the show’s complicated legacy (Paramount+).

Password Holiday Special
Keke Palmer host a special holiday-themed episode of the classic game show, with Jimmy Fallon and Jonathan Groff as celebrity guests (8 p.m., NBC).

TUESDAY, Dec. 9
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House
Three-part series finds Chip and Joanna Gaines remodeling a 1960s mountain property into a family retreat nestled in the Rockies (9 p.m., Magnolia).

A Motown Christmas
Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey host this two-hour special of music from Motown legends and today’s hottest stars celebrating iconic Hitsville USA classics and holiday favorites (9 p.m., NBC).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Season two begins in the YA fantasy series (above) based on The Sea of Monsters, the second book in the best-selling series by Rick Riordan (Disney+).

Merv
When their beloved dog Merv loses his spark after their split, Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and Russ (Charlie Cox) are forced into an awkward co-parenting arrangement (Amazon Prime).

THURSDAY, Dec. 11
Little Disasters
Four new moms (Diane Kruger, Jo Joyner, Shelly Conn and Emily Taafe) become entangled in a web of circumstances that threatens to destroy their friendship and their families, above (Paramount+).

Dunkman
Shaquille O’Neal rounds up 40 of the world’s greatest dunkers to compete for the coveted title of Dunkman (7 p.m., TNT).

NOW HEAR THIS

You can rock and roll all night, and long after that, with the new remastered 50th anniversary set of the landmark KISS album Alive! Released in both CD and LP formats, it’s a deluxe box set loaded with 120 tracks, 88 of them previously unreleased, and including rehearsals. Re-live the sonic boom of  “Strutter,” “Deuce,” a Peter Criss drum solo…and, of course, “Rock And Roll All Night.” Plus a reprint of a 1975 press kit, pics, a T-shirt iron-on and much more!
























Nov 28 2025
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Movies, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Nov. 28 – Dec. 4

A ‘Christmas Vacation’ marathon, Hallmark goes country & the Grinch steals Christmas…again!

Beverly D’Angelo & Chevy Chase in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’

FRIDAY, Nov. 28
Left-Handed Girl
A conservative Taiwanese grandfather forbids his young left-handed granddaughter from using her “devil hand,” unraveling generations of family secrets (Netflix).

The Baltimorons
Director Jay Duplass’s tale of a couple (Michael Strassner and Liz Larson) on a wild Christmastime adventure through Baltimore (Sundance Now and AMC+)

SATURDAY, Nov. 29
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Marathon
It wouldn’t be Christmas season without this 1989 Chevy Chase comedy, and you can watch a full 24 hours of it. Didya know this is the only film in the Vacation franchise to NOT feature the Lindsey Buckingham song “Holiday Road”? ( 8 p.m., TNT).

A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
TV movie about a young woman confronting her past when Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry invites her to honor her late country star dad at their Christmas celebration. Watch for real-world Opry stars Pam Tillis, Bill Anderson, Riders in the Sky and Brad Paisley (Hallmark).

SUNDAY, Nov. 30
Words + Music
New musical performance spotlight series (above) kicks off tonight with John Legend, with following episodes to feature fellow Grammy winners Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette (MGM+).

Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell
Glee’s Amber Riley stars in this tale (adapted from a Harlequin novel) about a woman who loves to cook…and a kitchen re-modeler who may become the missing ingredient needed to heat up her love life (8 p.m., The CW). 

MONDAY, Dec. 1
Troll 2
When a dangerous new troll is awakened, unleashing devastation across Norway, adventurers Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann), Andreas (Kim Falck) and Captain Kris (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen) are thrust into their most perilous mission yet (Netflix).

The Merchants of Joy
Heartwarming doc (above) about Christmas tree merchants in New York City who turn local streets into jolly holiday outposts every year (Prime).

TUESDAY, Dec. 2
CMA Country Christmas
Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis host this musical holiday spectacular, with performances by Riley Green, Lady A, Little Big Town, Parker McCollom and  many others (9:01 p.m., ABC).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3
My Secret Santa
A vivacious single mom (Alexandra Brekenridge) in need of a job decides to disguise herself as a man to get get a gig as the seasonal Santa at a luxury ski resort. With Ryan Eggold and Tia Mowery (Netflix).

Oh. What. Fun
A star-studded cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Denis Leary, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria) play members of a loving but dysfunctional family in this heartwarming comedy about the unsung heroes of any holiday season: the moms! (Prime Video).

Christmas at Rockefeller Center
Reba McEntire hosts the holiday celebration from the iconic plaza in Midtown Manhattan, with performances by Halle Bailey, New Edition, Gwen Stefani and more  (8 p.m., NBC and Peacock).

THURSDAY, Dec. 4
Next Level Baker
Carla Hall and Candice Nelson join Gordon Ramsey as mentors in this all-new three-week event challenging top-tier bakers to create eye-popping holiday delights as the triple-decker set is transformed into a winter wonderland (9 p.m., Fox).

Do You Fear What I Fear
It’s no friendly game of “Secret Santa” when a young woman discovers Christmas decorations disappearing in her home, accompanied by anonymous notes. Starring Cianna Hanna and Josh Henderson (8 p.m., LMN).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas / Frosty the Snowman
Tune for these two back-to-back, half-hour animated classics, friendly TV “ghosts” of  Christmas past (8 p.m., NBC).

BRING IT HOME

Saddle up for Yellowstone: The Complete Series, the new DVD set of the modern-day western that launched five TV spinoffs. All five seasons (with a sprawling cast including Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and many others) are here, plus a wagon-load of special features and behind-the-scenes moments.

June Squibb stars in the acclaimed Eleanor The Great (AV Entertainment) as a retired woman who tells a tale that takes on a life of its own—and makes a new friend, a young college student (Erin Kellyman) working to become a journalist. It’s a cross-generational delight. (Purchase at https://www.moviezyng.com/eleanor-the-great-dvd-june-squibb/043396646841)

NOW HEAR THIS

The music of so many movies is so important to how we absorb what we’re seeing. Case in point: The new Jaws soundtrack (Universal), newly released with scene-setting “mood music” from Oscar-winning John Williams, all newly remastered for the movie’s recent 50th anniversary.  You may not be able to hum them, but you’ll certainly recognized the movie moments that go with “Chrissie’s Death,” “The Indianapolis Story,” “Preparing the Cage” and—of course—the “Main Title/Theme.” Duh-dum, duh-dum, duh-dum, duh-dum…

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Nov 25 2025
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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Hamnet”

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal spin a tragic tale behind Shakespeare’s greatest play

Hamnet
Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal
Directed by Chloé Zhao
Rated PG-13

In select theaters Friday, Nov. 26 / Opening wide Friday, Dec. 5

This meticulously melancholic movie drama probes the origins of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, widely regarded as one of the greatest plays of all time. It dramatically—and inventively—fills in gaps from the scant historical record about the life of the so-called Bard of Avon, his work, his wife Agnes and their three children, including a son who died when he was only 11.

The son’s name was Hamnet.

Based on a bestselling and award-winning 2020 novel of historical fiction by Maggie O’Farrell, it’s a story of love, anguish, grief and guilt, all ultimately channeled—plausibly—into a towering work of art, a tragedy that becomes a triumph.

Jessie Buckley has more than 40 acting credits, including acclaimed roles in movies including I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Men, Women Talking and Wild Rose, and TV’s Fargo and Chernobyl. But playing Agnes/Anne Shakespeare in Hamnet may very well bring her an Oscar. Agnes is a child of nature, a healer and a mystic (local townsfolk claim she’s “the child of a forest witch”) who tames wild birds, grows flowers, makes potions and poultices, and wails like a banshee during childbirth—or cradling her son as he breathes his last.

She also charms—or perhaps bewitches—the young “pasty faced scholar” of her village who’ll become her husband, and England’s most famous poet and playwright. William (an excellent Paul Mescal, from Gladiator II, All of Us Strangers and Aftersun) charms Agnes as well, captivating her with the Greek myth of the doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.

Director Chloé Zhao, who already has a pair of Oscars (for 2020’s Nomadland) might want to be making a spot on her mantle for a third. She confidently steers Hamnet through an emotional, intensely intimate journey of highs and lows, and a time when life was hard, dirt and grime and disease were everywhere, and nature rich with signs and portents. Up there, in the sky—that’s not just a bird on the wing, it’s a spirit, a soul, a memory borne aloft.

And that clump of buzzing bees on a tree limb, well, they spell trouble, something bad, perhaps a plague or a pestilence. To quote one of Shakespeare’s other works, “Something wicked this way comes.” Indeed, it does. And it hits hard.

Appropriately enough, the movie begins with a shot of the massive roots of a tree. Listen and watch, and you’ll catch glimpses of the roots of Shakespeare’s success, laboring by candlelight over what will become Romeo and Juliet or laughing with Agnes as their children playfully recreate a scene with three witches from Macbeth.

The scene when little Hamnet dies, crosses to the other side, is devastating. But it’s virtuoso filmmaking as we watch him entering the afterlife, then disappearing into a stage setting—the very stage setting from which we’ll eventually see him “re-emerge.” The movie’s real emotional wallop—and its ultimately uplift—comes at the end, when Agnes attends a cathartic performance of her husband’s play about a son, a ghost and death.

This isn’t a story you’ll read in a history book, at least not quite. But it’s one rooted in real people, a real place and time, and a real tragedy—and the play that’s speculated to be rooted in it all. “Get thee to a nunnery,” we hear as actors rehearse for Hamlet. Forget the nunnery. Get thee to a theater to see Hamnet and find out what the Oscar buzz is all about.

—Neil Pond

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Nov 24 2025
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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Eternity”

Perky romcom asks how do you want to spend your (after)life, and with whom?

Eternity
Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller & Callum Turner
Directed by David Freyne
Rated PG-13

In theaters Wednesday, Nov. 26

Where do we go when we die? That question has fueled speculation since the beginning of time, and now we know: We take a train to an afterlife hub, a midpoint waystation where we then choose where we want to spend the rest of our forever.

That’s likely a bit different from what you might have learned in church, but in this clever new comedy, you just go with it.

Things generally run smoothly in Eternity’s afterlife. Until, that is, the recently deceased Joan (Elizabeth Olson, known as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel movie universe) arrives, just on the heels of her late husband, Larry (Miles Teller, from Whiplash). And guess who else is there, working as the hub’s bartender? It’s Luke (Callum Turner), the Korean War vet to whom Joan was married decades before Larry.

The hereafter romantic triangle plays out against a backdrop of afterlife rules and regulations. For instance, once you choose an afterlife, that’s it, the door closes. If you decide your afterlife destination isn’t really for you, well, too bad. We learn that you arrive in the afterlife at whatever “age” you were the happiest, regardless of how old you were when you expired. And it’s for everyone; there’s no heaven or hell, as such. “Everybody gets an eternity,” says Anna, Larry’s saucy A.C., or Afterlife Coordinator (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who almost steals the show.) “The good, the bad and the ugly.”

The afterlife in Eternity is a bustling place. It has entertainment by celebrity impersonators, upscale hotel rooms, and halls of memories where you can revisit everything that happened in your life. Exhibits and hawkers promote different forever destinations, like an endless travel convention. Almost anywhere you want to go, whatever your interest, you can spend eternity doing it in various recreated realms, or “worlds,” including ones that cater to whatever religious beliefs you hold dear. There are brochures and TV spots to help you choose between the nearly limitless options, like Smoking World (“Because cancer can’t kill you twice”) or 1930s Germany World (“Now with 100% less Nazis”).

Eternity is a mix of zippy metaphysical satire and humor that’s a bit less sublime (like the joshes about Larry’s renewed manhood, or another character’s experiments in bisexuality). It even gets a chuckle from a quick bit about a 9-year-old boy killed in a hit-and-run. You almost expect Ted Danson to stroll in from The Good Place. But it’s rooted in a predicament of the heart, one quite common in the realm of the living: Choosing a mate, a lover, the person you want to share your life…or your eternity. Love can be complicated, with the laws of attraction matted and messy and confusing. Can you love more than one person, for different reasons, at the same time? Will Joan choose to rekindle the youthful passions cut short by the premature death of Luke, almost 70 years ago, or continue in the afterlife with Larry, the grandfather their grandkids?

It’s no surprise the closing credits scroll to Dean Martin crooning “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.”

It won’t win any Oscars, but it could be a sweet little side dish to your Thanksgiving. If you’ve been yearning for a zesty afterlife romcom that makes you laugh, makes you think, tugs at your heartstrings and sends you home with a satisfied smile, well, here’s an answer to your prayers.

—Neil Pond   

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Nov 21 2025
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DVDs, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Nov. 21 – 27

A ‘Raymond’ reunion, a great escape & Chris Hemsworth’s memorable ‘Road Trip’

Former castmates remember “Everybody Loves Raymond” Monday night.

FRIDAY, Nov. 21
Train Dreams
Drama about Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of surprising depth and beauty in the rapidly changing America of the early 20th century (Netflix).

Friendsgiving Marathon
What are Friends fans thankful for? That today, they can watch episode after episode of their favorite ‘90s sitcom (11 a.m., TBS).

SATURDAY, Nov. 22
Toronto Airport Uncovered
Documentary goes for the first time behind the scenes at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport, revealing how they keep millions of passengers and thousands of planes moving, even in record-breaking snowstorms (8 p.m., National Geographic).

SUNDAY, Nov. 23
The Great Escaper
Michael Caine stars as real-life Bernard Jordan, who made global headlines in 2014 by staging a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy to commemorate their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary (9 p.m., PBS).

A Road Trip to Remember
Actor Chris Hemsworth turns the spotlight on his father, Craig, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as they embark on a road trip to revisit places from their past and explore the powers of social connections (8 p.m., National Geographic).

MONDAY, Nov. 24
Bel-Air
Tonight begins the fourth and final season of the reimagined high-school sitcom based on Will Smith’s hit ‘90s TV series, starring Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes and Cassandra Freeman—and guest starring Tyra Banks (Peacock).

Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion
Ray Romano hosts this celebration of the popular sitcom, which ran for nine seasons, with cast members including Brad Garrett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan and Sullivan Sweeten, with tributes to departed Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle (8 p.m., CBS)

TUESDAY, Nov. 25
The Ugly Stepsister
Darker version of the Cinderella story about a young girl (Lea Myren) who battles her gorgeous stepsister, resorting to extreme measures to captivate the prince (Isac Calmoth) in a ruthless competition for physical perfection (Hulu).

Sidelined 2: Intercepted
Noah Beck and Siena Agudong star in this YA drama about a freshman star QB suffering a setback and a dancer who begins to question the future she thought she wanted (Tubi).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
The award-winning natural history series (above) turns back the cosmic clock millions of years, to the dramatic emergence of new prehistoric life after dinosaurs became extinct. Tonight it begins with the playful sloths of the Pleistocene. Actor Tom Hiddleston narrates the five-part series (Apple TV+).

Stranger Things
Fifth and final season (at least that’s what they say) of the smash sci-fi series stars Millie Bobby Brown, Wynona Ryder, Maya Hawke, Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp, leading to a grand finale on New Year’s Eve (Netflix).

Louvre Heist: Minute by Minute
How did those thieves brazenly rob more than $100 million of the world’s greatest treasures—and get away with it, at least for a while? Find out in this hour-long special (10 p.m., Discovery).

THURSDAY, Nov. 27
The Artist
An eccentric and failing tycoon (Mandy Patinkin) hosts celebrities of the Gilded Age (including Thomas Edison and Edgar Degas) in this two-part drama series…and the truth about a shocking murder comes out. With Janet McTear, Danny Houston and Hank Azara (The Network).

Classic TV Thanksgiving
Settle in before getting a bellyful of turkey with T’giving-themed episodes of The Waltons and Everybody Loves Raymond, plus some classic toons (starts 7 a.m., MeTV).

BRING IT HOME

A family fights for survival in the Hollywood Hills, caught between a raging wildfire and a pack of savage coyotes. Justin Long and Kate Bosworth star in the horror flick Coyotes. As if raging California wildfires aren’t scary enough, right?

Good evening, as the legendary “Master of Suspense” would say in the intro to his groundbreaking ‘50s and ‘60s series. Now you can own all 263 episodes with Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection (AV Entertainment), featuring some of the most recognizable actors of the era, including Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Walter Matthau, Peter Falk, Teresa Wright and Leslie Nielsen. (Available for purchase at https://zyng.us/UFFI4P

A beloved franchise gets a fond farewell in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), ending 15 years of TV and big-screen drama about Britain’s Crawley family and their staffers as they enter the 1930s in financial trouble and dealing with a scandal. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Paul Giamatti.

Disney’s Freakier Friday updates the original 2003 body-swap comedy with this new romp, reuniting original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in a new family misadventure. Bonus features reveal the fun and laughs that went on behind the camera, and the connections between the two tales. 

NOW HEAR THIS

If you’re a Beatles fan, you’ll flip your wig over The Beatles’ Anthology Collection, a massive 12 LP set newly restored and expanded. It includes the three groundbreaking Anthology double albums from the mid-1990s, plus a new compilation, Anthology 4. With 191 tracks (including 26 never before released on vinyl), studio outtakes, live performances, broadcasts and demos that reveal the musical development of The Beatles from 1958 to the band’s final single, “Now And Then,” released in 2023.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Music lovers will love Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story 1951-1985, author Rob Bowman’s insightful, encyclopedic 750-page account of how a teeny Alabama hamlet became a top recording hot spot beginning in the 1950s, eventually attracting superstars like Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, The Osmonds, Willie Nelson and hundreds more.

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