Category Archives: Books

Feb 21 2025
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Feb. 21 – Feb. 27

A ‘Star Wars’ marathon, Tom Hanks the all-American & the king of Israel is in da ‘House’!

The ‘Saving Private Ryan’ star narrates a 10-part doc about the Americas.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Feb. 21
Surface
In season two of the psychological thriller, Gugu Mbatha-Raw returns to the starring role as a young London woman who’s lost her memory and trying to piece her life back together—and realizing she’s in the company of some very dangerous people (Apple TV+).

A Thousand Blows
The latest from the creator of Peaky Blinders, this new series (below) set in the brutal world of illegal boxing was inspired by true-life tales of survival in the criminal underbelly of 1880s Victorian London (Hulu).  

SATURDAY, Feb. 22
Abducted in the Everglades
Tori Spelling stars in this lurid TV movie as a mom searching for her daughter that goes missing on a spring break trip in Miami (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Star Wars Marathon
Strap in and make the jump to hyperspace with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (begins 1:45 p.m., TBS).

SUNDAY, Feb. 23
The Americas
Sprawling ten-part nature documentary series about our “supercontinent” of North and South America, narrated by Tom Hanks, was five years in the making—and you can see why! (NBC and BBC). 

Grosse Point Garden Society
Members of a suburban garden club find their lives interwoven by scandal, mischief and a scared secret. New series stars AnnaSopha Robb, Ben Rappapport and Nancy Travis (10 p.m., NBC).

MONDAY, Feb. 24
Beyond the Gates
New daytime drama is set in a leafy Maryland suburb, one of the most affluent Black counties in America (and just beyond the gates of the White House). Starring Michelle Visage, Clifton Davis and Daphne Duplaix (2 p.m., CBS).

Bike Vessel
After several heath crises, a 70-year-old man embarks on a transformative long-distance cycling trip with his son in this moving documentary (Independent Lens).

TUESDAY, Feb. 25
Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP
Meet the longtime leader of the NAACP and one of the most influential—but least known—figures in civil rights history (9 p.m., PBS).

Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015
Six-part anthology illuminates the bold stories of people and communities who continue to work for equality and racial justice in the decades following the American civil rights movement (HBO).

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26
Baltimore’s Bridge Collapse
Find out more about the 2024 disaster when a massive container ship plowed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six highway workers. Are other bridges at risk of the same thing? (9 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, Feb. 27
The House of David
New series based on the biblical story of David (Michael Iskander) and how he eventually became the most celebrated and storied king of Israel (Prime Video).

The Case of Iwona Wieczorek
This gripping docuseries delves into one of the best-known disappearances in recent Polish history, about a 19-year-old high school graduate who vanished on the way home from a party (Viaplay).

READ ALL ABOUT

The British ‘rock scene comes alive in Dennis Morris: Music + Life (Thames & Hudson), a handsome retrospective of the lauded rock photographer’s exploration of music, race, culture and class, and his capture-the-moment lens work with Bob Marley, Oasis, The Sex Pistols, The Pretenders, LL Cool J, Oasis, Grace Jones, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithful and other British celebs.

Baseball season only lasts about half a year, but A Baseball Book of Days (McFarland) by Phil Coffin stretches out the saga of the game through an entire year—a chronically arranged compendium of trivia, facts, record-setting achievements, firsts, onlys and what-might-have-beens made to last from January thru December. It’s a grand slam of goodies for baseball fans of any stripe.

NOW HEAR THIS

Celebrated the 40th anniversary of David Lee Roth’s post-Van Halen debut as a solo act with The Warner Recordings 1985-1994 (Rhino), a splendid five-disc set with “Just a Gigilo,” “California Girls,” “Tobacco Road,” “Just Like Paradise” and much more music from Diamond Dave’s albums and EPs, including Crazy From the Heat, Eat ‘Em and Smile and Skyscraper.

BRING IT HOME

It brought home an armload of eight Oscars, and now you can see why all over again as Amadeus celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new 4K restoration. With star turns from F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulse (fresh outta Animal House!) as the young musical genius Wolfgang Mozart, and Jeffrey Jones (the principal from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

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Feb 14 2025
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Books, DVDs, Humor, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Feb. 14 – Feb. 20

Valentine’s Day ‘toons, a Marvel marathon & the return of ‘The White Lotus’

Peter and Lois get frisky on a Valentine’s Day-themed ‘Family Guy.’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Feb. 14
Valentine’s Day Marathon
Love is in the air, and on the screen, with back-to-back romantically themed episodes of King of the Hill, The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy and Futurama (begins 9 a.m, FXX).

The Gorge
Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star in this new thriller about an unseen enemy, a cataclysmic threat against humanity, and two sentries stationed on opposite sides of a massive gorge (Apple TV+).

SATURDAY, Feb. 15
Marvel Movie Marathon
After yesterday’s lovey-dovey, bulk up with some superhero action alongside Iron Man 3, Thor: Love and Thunder, Captain America: The First Avenger, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and more (7:30 am, continuing 8 a.m tomorrow, FX).

Cats, Cows and Cryptorchids
Dr. Cori gives a cow a pregnancy test, and her colleague Dr. Allison gets a lucky break. And, p.s., cryptorchids are undescended testicles (10 p.m., National Geographic).

SUNDAY, Feb. 16
Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am 103
New four-part investigative series tracks the mysterious circumstances behind the bomb explosion of a Pan Am flight over Scotland in 1988, resulting in the deaths of 270 people, the majority of whom were Americans (9 p.m., CNN).

The White Lotus
The eight-episode third season of the twisty, Emmy-winning mystery drama from creator Mike White is this time set in an exclusive Thai resort, with a new cast that includes Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Michelle Monaghan and Parker Posey (HBO).

MONDAY, Feb. 17
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story
Lucy Boynton (above) stars in this four-part series about the last woman hanged in England, in 1955, exposing British obsessions of class, sex and death (Britbox).

On TV: A Black History Month Special
Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner, the first Black co-hosting team for Entertainment Tonight, host this look back at trailblazing Black TV actors and others forging new paths today (8 p.m., CBS).

TUESDAY, Feb. 18
We Beat the Dream Team
The little-known story of a group of college basketball players who beat the legendary “Dream Team” (Larry Byrd, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordon) in a 1992 scrimmage (Max).

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19
Good Cop/Bad Cop
Leighton Meester, Luke Cook and Clancy Brown star in new comedic drama series about a brother/sister odd-couple detective team investigating crimes in the picturesque Pacific Northwest (9 p.m., The CW).

Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief
Discover the secret networks of curators and dealers who made fortunes from Nazi-looted art in the aftermath of WWII, perpetuating a decades-long war crime that’s never been fully revealed or resolved (10 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, Feb. 20
Memes and Nightmares
Satirical film framed as a dark “buddy comedy” dives into the culture of memes, viral moments and digital fandom that have turned college basketball into a 24/7 cultural phenomena (Hulu).

How I Escaped My Cult
New true-crime series kicks off with the tale of one young woman who recounts her horrific time as a sex slave for cult leader Tony Alamo, holding the keys to his eventual downfall (9 p.m., Freeform).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Who was Hollywood’s first stunt woman? It was Helen Gibson, the subject of Mally O’Mera’s richly detailed biography Daughter of Daring (Hanover Square), which spotlights the former rodeo rider’s rough and tumble life in the movies in the early 1900s—long before Tom Cruise began to brag about doing his own stunts!

BRING IT HOME

The age-old tale of Dracula gets a horrifying new life in Nosferatu (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), about a vampire (Bill Skarsgård) obsessed with a young maiden (Lily-Rose Depp) in a deliciously dark, goth-drenched saga of blood, lust and unholy evil. Willem Dafoe is an equally obsessed vampire hunter, and Nicholas Hoult is a swoon-worthy young swain. It’s a top-notch take that gives an iconic horror story a fresh new set of fangs.

Feb 07 2025
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Books, History, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Feb. 7 – Feb. 13

Willie’s tailgate party, puppies in a bowl & Bridget Jones is back!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Feb. 7
The Critics Choice Awards
Conclave and Wicked lead the pack at this annual evening honoring the year’s top movies, acting and other achievements, as voted by people who cover film professionally. Chelsea Handler returns as host (7 p.m., E!)

We Live in Time
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in this acclaimed movie about a couple trying to build the life they’ve always dreamed of, until a painful truth puts their love story to the test (Max).

SATURDAY, Feb. 8
I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story
Dramatized biopic (starring Joaquina Kalukango) about the rise to fame of America’s “Queen of Disco,” whose signature song “I Will Survive” became a timeless pop anthem of resilience, endurance and self-sufficiency (8 p.m., Lifetime).

65
This 2023 sci-fi adventure stars Adam Driver as an astronaut who finds—after a catastrophic crash—he’s actually stranded on Earth….65 million years ago! With Ariana Greenblatt (8 p.m., FX).

SUNDAY, Feb. 9
Puppy Bowl XXI
Are you Team Ruff or Team Fluff? Pick your side for this annual clash of cuddly cuties featuring rescue pups from around the world and spotlighting the good work of shelters that help animals find forever homes (2 p.m., Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+).

Concerts ‘Till Kickoff
Get ready for tonight’s “big game” with this daylong tailgate party, a marathon of live performances from Willie Nelson, Blackberry Smoke, ZZ Top, Toby Keith, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Zac Brown Band (9 a.m., AXS).

MONDAY, Feb. 10
Extracted
No, it’s not about a dental procedure, but rather a new competition in which  a dozen “untrained” contestants try to survive grueling and perilous conditions while their families keep watch…and refrain from hitting the “extract” button to have their loved one removed from their dire circumstances (8 p.m., Fox).

This Time Next Year
Adapted from a best-selling novel by Sophie Cousens, this romcom stars the author and Lucien Laviscount (from Emily in Paris) as two people born on the same day, in the same hospital, just one minute apart. What happens when they grow up? You’ll find out (Hulu).

TUESDAY, Feb. 11
Match Point
Mockumentary series stars former NFL players Vernon Davis and Omar Bolden as one-time Olympic tennis gold medalists who’re now hapless sports podcasters (Apple TV+ and Prime).  

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12
Eric Clapton Unplugged…Over 30 Years Later
Ninety-minute special is an extended and remastered edition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s live performance of “Layla,” “Tears in Heaven” and other hits originally recorded in 1992 for the MTV franchise (Paramount+).

THURSDAY, Feb. 13
Sly Lives!
Documentary about ‘70s supergroup Sly and the Family Stone features commentary by Chaka Kahn, Clive Davis, Nile Rogers, Andre 3000 and others (Hulu).

Mad About the Boy
Renee Zellweger returns in this new streamer to the role from Bridget Jones’ Diary that made her a movie romcom heroine, as Bridget is now alone once again (this time with two young children) and reenters the world of moms, kids and dating apps. Memorable movie costars Hugh Grant and Colin Firth also make appearances (Peacock).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Think there are too many rules, too much regulation, too much bureaucracy? Author Barry Lam, a professor of philosophy at the University of California, argues in the eye-opening Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion (W.W. Norton) that a society awash in requirements and mandates makes us dumber, not smarter. Discretion and ethics play important roles in many of our everyday decisions and actions. Find out more about what can be good about that, and what the author says is not.

What’s that shiny surface? It might be a piece of art! In MirrorMirror: The Reflective Surface in Contemporary Art (Thames & Hudson), author Michael Petry shows how reflective surfaces—glass, shiny steel, vinyl, obsidian—are used all over the world in artworks that appeal to our senses, reflect our vanities and take us to places of joy, marvel and inspiration.

Jan 24 2025
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Books, Humor, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Jan. 24 – Jan. 30

Disney duds, 50 years of SNL musical highlights, and Reese and Will Farrell team up

All times Eastern.

Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell star in the wedding comedy “You’re Cordially Invited.”

FRIDAY, Jan. 24
Star Trek: Section 31
The most prolific sci-fi space franchise of all time spins off another flick, this one a streamer starring Michelle Yeoh (above) reprising her previous TV role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Paramount+).

Harpoon Hunters
Come aboard with a group of elite New England fisherman as they spear-hunt for one of the fastest fish in the sea, the Atlantic bluefin tuna (9 p.m., Discovery).

SATURDAY, Jan. 25
Asia
Explore the wildlife and natural wonders of planet’s largest continent in this seven-episode nature series narrated by (who else?) Sir David Attenborough (8 p.m., BBC America).

Kobe: The Making of a Legend
Three-part series chronicles the journey and sometimes complicated legacy of one of the greatest basketball players of all time, from his childhood in Italy to NBA superstardom—and his tragic death in a helicopter crash with his daughter (9 p.m., CNN).

SUNDAY, Jan. 26
Watson
New medical mystery series (above)—a detective drama with MD elements—centered around Sherlock Holmes’ partner, Dr. Watson stars, Morris Chesnutt (10 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Jan. 27
Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music
New special, hosted by Questlove, with highlights of five decades of all-star performances on Saturday Night Live, plus interviews with artists including Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Deborah Harry, Justin Timberlake, Paul Simon and Jack White (8 p.m, NBC).

Resistance: They Fought Back
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, so there’s no better time for this documentary about Jewish resistance against the Nazis during World War II, as told by survivors, their children and expert witnesses (10 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Jan. 28
Paradise
Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden and Julianne Nicholson lead the cast of this soapy new series about a shocking murder and a high-stakes investigation in an ultra-exclusive community (Hulu).

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 29
Mythic Quest
Season four launches tonight, continuing the comedic exploits of workers at a videogame studio, and with another lineup of all-star guests popping in (Apple TV+).

THURSDAY, Jan. 30
You’re Cordially Invited
When two weddings are booked on the same day at the same venue, it’s a battle between one father of one bride (Will Ferrell) and a sister of the other (Reese Witherspoon) about who’ll come out on top for the most memorable—and comically outrageous—event, above (Apple TV+).

Bullshit
Rowdy import miniseries from Denmark about Copenhagen bikers in the ‘70s and ‘80s, based on a book about real events of that era. Vrooooom! (Viaplay).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Fans of classic TV will love 1950s Television Advertising (McFarland), TV researcher Vincent Terrace’s colorful, richly detailed encyclopedia of commercials—the lifeblood of television programming—for household products, breakfast cereal, jewelry, cigarettes, housekeeping items and other products, with wide-ranging gimmicks and all-star pitch people, including Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Eden and Peter Lorre. Full of trivia, jingle lyrics and other goodies, it’s a TV-dinner feast for anyone whose retro taste buds perk up when you hear “and now, a word from our sponsors.”

When you think of Walt Disney movies, you might think of Cinderella, Pinocchio or Peter Pan. But Disney hasn’t always been as successful, especially when getting outside its animation box. Disney’s Live-Action Movie Bombs 1979-2019 (McFarland) shows how, and why, in a 40-year span, Uncle Walt’s House of Mouse movie magic wore thin with commercial misfires like The Lone Ranger, John Carter, Inspector Gadget, The Alamo, The BFG, and even fan-favorite cult classics like Tron and Hocus-Pocus.

BRING IT HOME

It brought home an armload of eight Oscars, and now you can see why all over again as Amadeus celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new 4K restoration. With star turns from F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulse (fresh outta Animal House!) as the young musical genius Wolfgang Mozart, and Jeffrey Jones (the principal from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

Jan 10 2025
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Books, Movies, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Jan. 10 – Jan. 16

A ‘Star Wars’ marathon, the worm turns for P. Diddy & bugs come to ‘Life’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Jan. 10
Goosebumps: The Vanishing
New season begins tonight of the scarifying anthology series based on books by R.L. Stein and starring David Schwimmer, Ana Ortiz and more (Hulu).

SATURDAY, Jan. 11
Terror Comes Knocking: The Marcela Borges Story
Knock knock! Who’s there? Terror, you dope! Dascha Polanco from Orange is the New Black stars in this true-story thriller about a woman who makes a life-or-death decision to protect her family when robbers break into the home (Lifetime).

Star Wars Movie Marathon
Spend a day with Star Wars and Rouge One: A Star Wars Story, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (starts 11:30 a.m., TBS).

SUNDAY, Jan. 12
Rogue Heroes
Season two takes wing of this military drama about the British Army’s Special Air Forces in World War II. Starring Connor Swindells, Jack O’Connell and Gwilyn Lee (MGM+).

MONDAY, Jan. 13
Without Arrows
Follow the journey of a traditional “grass dancer” from Philadelphia who embraces his cultural roots as a Lakota and returns to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota (10 p.m., PBS).

Death By Fame
New season of the series probing the dark undersides of Hollywood murder and celebrity misfortune (9 p.m., ID).

TUESDAY, Jan. 14
Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy
What did Diddy do? Find out the dark forces, detours and influences that shaped the once-successful rapper and music mogul (above) into the jailed man now charged with underage sex trafficking and racketeering in this 90-minute documentary with interviews from people who know him, knew him and now reveal his troubling past (Peacock).

Journey to America
Newt and Callista Gingrich narrate this documentary about individuals who’ve pursued the American dream and contributed to the fabric of its society (10 p.m., PBS).

The Curious Case of…
Real-life scandals suggest that truth is far more chilling than fiction (Max).

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 15
A Real Bug’s Life
Meet more tiny heroes with huge dramas in season two about the weird, wild and wonderful world of insects, narrated by Awkwafina (Disney+),

An Update on Our Family
Explore the symbiotic world of vlogging where families share a steady stream of lifestyle videos on their social media channels and subscribers give them money to continue. Are they making themselves too public? (Max).

THURSDAY, Jan. 16
Long Bright River
Amanda Seyfried stars in new suspense series as a Philly cop investigating a series of murders—and discovering that her own past may become part of a case (Peacock).

Harley Quinn
Kaley Cuoco returns the voice of the female superhero in this new season of this adult-oriented animated series (above) based on DC Comics characters (Max).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Acclaimed for his gritty, sometimes unflinching black-and-white pictures of New York street life in the 1930s and ‘40s, from slums to cops and crime victims, the photographer known as Weegee gets a thorough examination in Weegee: Society of the Spectacle (Thames & Hudson). Later, in Hollywood, he became a photo “trickster” and a chronicler of the high life. Find out the two sides of this fascinating man who saw the world—the highs and the lows, the bad and the good—through his camera.

Monkey see, monkey do—and monkey make monkeyshines, as you’ll find out in Monkey Tales from Around the World (McFarland), a simian-centric compendium of all the ways apes, chimps and others from our closet genetic kin have enriched our folklore and pop culture as jesters, troublemakers or even heroes…and what they teach us about being human.

Jan 03 2025
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Books, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Jan. 3 – Jan. 9

A ‘Nashville’ binge, movie awards season begins & Tim Allen returns to sitcom-ville

Tim Allen & Kat Dennings star in ‘Shifting Gears.’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Jan. 3
Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments
Highlights from music’s biggest night over the years, featuring Dua Lipa, Luke Combs, LL Cool J, Jennifer Hudson, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Ricky Martin and many more (9 p.m., CBS).

Ru-Paul’s Drag Race
Season 17 of the award-winning reality series begins tonight with 14 new queens competing for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a cash prize of $200,000. Guest judges include Sandra Bernard, Adam Lambert, Whitney Cummings and Tracee Ellis Ross (8 p.m,, MTV).

SATURDAY, Jan. 4
Extraordinary World with Jeff Corwin
New Saturday-morning series spotlights everyday people making extraordinary impact on the world through animal advocacy, wildlife conservation, youth empowerment and helping fight food insecurity (9 a.m., CBS).

Vanished Out of Sight
No, it’s not about Medicare or Social Security or your 401-K savings. This lurid made-for-Lifetime drama is about a blind woman (Annalise Basso) searching for his missing six-year- old daughter. It’s like she just vanished, out of sight! (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Jan. 5
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches
Season two begins tonight of the modern-day vampire saga starring Alexandra Daddario (above), Jack Huston, Harry Hamlin and Tongayii Chirisa (AMC+ and AMC).

The Golden Globes
Emilia Perez and The Bear lead the nominees for tonight’s 82nd annual presentation, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, awarding the best in TV and movies, and kicking off movies-awards season ahead of the Oscars (8 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Jan. 6
Kids Baking Championship
Most moms don’t really want their kids getting the way in the kitchen, but these tater tots are no strangers to pots ‘n’ pans. The new season features a field of new kid chefs taking on creative food challenges, this time with “animal” themes (8 p.m., Food Network).

Minted
If you don’t know your NFT (non-fungible tokens) from your NDAs, check out this inside look at how tech transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse (10 p.m., PBS)

TUESDAY, Jan. 7
A Nashville Marathon
Watch every episode of the hit 2012-2019 music drama (above) starring Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Charles Eston and Clare Bowen in a country music-centric primetime soap drama (10 a.m., AXS TV).

Black Box Diaries
Exposing the desperately outdated judicial system in Japan, this riveting documentary follows the director, as the victim of a sexual assault, and her attempts to prosecute her high-profile offender. It became a landmark court case and a book (Paramount+).

Wildcard Kitchen
All-star chefs play late-night poker, where the luck of the draw determines what dishes they’ll cook, and how much time they’ll have to do it (9 p.m., Food Network).  

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 8
Shifting Gears
Tim Allen returns to primetime with this new network comedy series as the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, and Kat Dennings as his estranged daughter (8 p.m., ABC).

Murder Under the Friday Night Lights
Go deep, as they say in football, for the previously untold story of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and his connection to a pair of high school teammates who became murderers (9 p.m., ID).

THURSDAY, Jan. 9
On Call
New police drama about a rookie (Brandon Larracuente) and a veteran officer (Troian Bellisario) protecting their community in California (Prime).

Hollywood Squares
Drew Barrymore takes the iconic center square in the new season of the re-invented classic game show, hosted by Nate Burleson of CBS Mornings (8 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

During the 1960s, comics evolved from pulpy pastimes to more refined, sophisticated art, not just in America but all over the world. Comics: 1964-2024 (Thames & Hudson) is a vibrantly illustrated look at the growth and creative development of the illustrated artform across the previous six decades, after Blondie, Dick Tracy or Beetle Bailey had become yesterday’s news and other bolder, more adventurous comics entered the pop-culture mainstream.

What does one of the most world-famous palaces of all time look like, up close? Well, you can find out in Versailles From the Sky (Thames & Hudson), a collection of 200 color pics with rarely seen views (including some striking aerials by drone cameras) at the sumptuous  French home and the surrounding grounds commissioned in the early 1600s by King Louis XIV. It’s an international architectural tour at your fingertips!

The legendary Dick Van Dkye, now 99, has his own Little Golden Book! Re-live his life and career highlights (from childhood, thru his years serving in the military, to Mary Poppins! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! and The Dick Van Dyke Show!), all warmly illustrated in Dick Van Dyke: A Little Golden Book Biography (Penguin/Random House) by Christy Webster.

Dec 06 2024
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 6 – Dec. 12

Classic Christmas flicks, Simpsons football & Paris & Nicole go to the opera!

Reality TV stars Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie are back in a TV special.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Dec. 6
The Sticky
Inspired by real events, this six-part heist comedy series stars Margo Martindale as a maple syrup farmer who turns to crime when the going gets…well, gummy. With Chris Diamantopoulos and Jamie Lee Curtis (Prime Video).

Paris Has Fallen
When a terrorist group attacks a high-profile Paris event in this eight-episode series, investigators discover someone hellbent on widespread vengeance (Hulu).

SATURDAY, Dec. 7
Home Alone
Would Christmas be as Christmas-sy without this 1990 classic, which made little McCauley Caulkin into everyone’s favorite pint-sized holiday prankster? Methinks not. And stick around: It’s followed by its sequel, Home Alone 2 (3:25 p.m., Freeform).

Merry ‘80s Marathon
Time travel back to a decade of yore with this slate of classics, including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (above), Ghostbusters and The Great Outdoors (AMC).

SUNDAY, Dec. 8
Miss Scarlet
Victorian England’s first female detective (Kate Phillips from Peaky Blinders) gets a new start for the show’s fifth season with a new “boss” in Scotland Yard (PBS Masterpiece Prime).

The Equalizer
In tonight’s holiday-themed episode, “Slay Ride” (above), McCall, Dante and Miles find themselves held hostage in a hospital that’s been taken over by a cartel (8:30 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Dec. 9
The Simpsons Funday Football
Monday Night Football transforms in this TV special—using state-of-the-art 3D animation—into the world of TV’s most successful primetime family as the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Dallas Cowboys (8 p.m., ESPN, Disney+ and ABC).

The Real Full Monty
Anthony Anderson rallies his male celebrity friends in this TV event to drop trou, “bare it all” and raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer (8 p.m., Fox).

TUESDAY, Dec. 10
Dr. Suess How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Another modern-day Christmas classic, this 2000 remake of the animated 1960s classic was directed by Ron Howard (yes, that Ron Howard) and featured Jim Carrey as the Grinch. Watch for Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, Molly Shannon…and Howard’s younger brother, Clint (8.30 p.m., Freeform).

Nature of the Crime
Get an inside look at the working of the criminal justice system in this documentary, which follows two men convicted of murder when they were teens, their attorneys and their family members as they prepare for upcoming parole interviews and reflect on their crimes and rehabilitation (HBO).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11
A Motown Christmas
Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey (above) host this all-star musical event with Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Andra Day, Pentatonix, Jamie Foxx, the cast of MJ the Musical and more, singing holiday favorites. Dig it! (9 p.m., NBC).12.12

Too Many Christmases
How can a couple spend Christmas with both their families in an attempt to please everyone? You’ll find out in this merry holiday dramady starring Denzel Whitaker and Porscha Coleman (Bet+).

Paris & Nicole: The Encore
Two decades after making the scene with their reality-TV series, heiresses Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie return with a new TV special, this time trying to produce an operetta. Yes, you read that correctly (Peacock).

NOW HEAR THIS

Get in the happy holiday mood with Hartfelt Family Christmas, the new CD from the country trio Chapel Hart (and also available on vinyl). The Mississippi-based vocal group—sisters Danica and Devynn Hart, plus cousin Trea Swindle—certainly know about family, and their first Christmas CD stirs up sweet and soulful memories with Yule classics (including “Silver Bells,” “Blue Christmas,” “O Holy Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”), well-chosen covers (Alabama’s “Christmas in Dixie,” Ray Charles’ “Spirit of Christmas”) and all-star guests including Vince Gill, Darius Rucker, Gretchen Wilson and T. Graham Brown. It’s an all-star Christmas get-together with “hart” and harmony. https://www.chapelhart.com/shop

BRING IT HOME

If you grew up in the early ‘80s, you no doubt remember Rock ‘N’ Roll High School, a rip-roaring B-movie about a rockin’ revolt at a high school, starring P.J. Soles (the “bad girl” from Halloween) and Clint Howard (Ron’s little brother) and featuring the music of The Ramones, who sing the theme song. The 1979 flick has been newly remastered for is 45th anniversary with a locker full of special content, including commentary, interviews and making-of features (shoutfactory.com).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Paul McCartney has never rested on his Beatles laurels, as The McCartney Legacy Vol. 2 1974-1980 (Dey Street) shows how his post-Beatles adventures included the release of four solo albums, dabbling in music publishing, experimenting as a science fiction writer and filmmaker, recording in Nashville and smuggling cannabis past authority figures…with mixed success. This well-researched exploration of Mac’s exceptionally creative period is a snapshot of a rollicking life after being in the world’s most famous band—and some scars from the group’s breakup that would never be completely healed.

How did live music ever make it onto wax records, then magnetic tape and plastic, and finally into microscopic digital “codes”? It’s all spelled out in Into the Into the Groove: The Story of Sound From Tin Foil to Vinyl (Bloomsbury). Author and avid vinyl collector Jonathan Scott traces the history of recorded sound…including how, for many music lovers, it all came back around to vinyl! And believe it or not, it all started on paper!

Nov 29 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 29 – Dec. 5

Yacht rock, Jimmy Fallon’s all-star Christmas special & a ‘Brewster’s Millions’ remake

Jimmy Fallon celebrates the holiday with a festive, all-star Christmas special.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Nov. 29
The Agency
Michael Fassbender is an undercover CIA agent forced to abandon his covert persona and resume his real identity for a mission in this new political thriller series. Also starring Richard Gere (Paramount+).

Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Documentary
Find out how this breezy subgenre of soft rock became cool again decades later with artists including Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan and Toto (9 p.m., HBO).

SATURDAY, Nov. 30
Reindeer in Here
Animated special based on an award-winning book about a tiny young reindeer and his friends who band together to save Christmas (8 p.m., CBS).

Holiday Touchdown: A Chief Love Story
A young woman vies for the Kansas City Chief’s “Fan of the Year” title in this holiday romance with a little Hail Mary magic  (8 p.m., Hallmark). 

SATURDAY, Dec. 1
Earth Abides
When a monstrous plague sweeps most humans from the face of the Earth, a small band of shattered survivors remain to struggle against the slide into extinction. First of the new series launches tonight, starring Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes, above  (MGM+).

A Creature Was Stirring
Chrissy Metz from This is Us stars in this creepy tale about a mom, her teenage daughter and some very dangerous pills (Shudder).

SUNDAY, Dec. 2
All I Want for Christmas is You
Maria Carey’s Yuletime megahit was refashioned into this 2017 animated movie in which she voices a little girl who wishes for a Christmas puppy. Henry Winkler is her grandpa (7 a.m., Freeform).

Dalgliesh
Bertie Carvel returns for a new season to his role in the title detective crime drama based on a trio of popular murder mysteries by P.D. James (Acorn TV).

MONDAY, Dec. 3
As1One: The Israeli-Palestinian Pop Music Journey
Four-part docuseries spanning five years shows how music brought together members from the two nations into a pop group (Paramount+).

TUESDAY, Dec. 4
Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular
The late-night host spotlights his new festive holiday album with fanciful guest appearances by Meghan Trainer, Dolly Parton, the Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake, “Weird” Al Yankovic and more—including a spectacular finish by the Radio City Rockettes (10 p.m., NBC).

Lighttunes
New series adopts a “webtoon” about six strangers all drawn to a mysterious light shop at the end of an alleyway, where they find the key to their past, present and future (Hulu).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5
Brewster’s Millions: Christmas
China Anne McClain and Romeo Miller (above) star in this “reimagining” of the 1985 Richard Pryor comedy, about a whopping inheritance that becomes a Christmas blessing…and Pryor’s son, Richard Jr., is in it too! (BET+).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Annual airing of the classic animated tale of a curmudgeonly Grinch scheming to remove all the joy from Christmas…with a theme song performed by Thurl Ravencroft, who was also the voice in commercials of Tony the Tiger! (8 p.m., NBC).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Go inside the world of one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers in The Magic Hours (University of Kentucky Press), author John Beasdale’s inside look at Terrence Malick, the enigmatic visionary director of Days of Heaven, Thin Red Line and Badlands. If you’re a movie wonk, you’ll dig reading about the acclaimed lensman whose heralded films are often cited for their use of soft natural lighting shortly after sunrise or before sunset, the so-called “magic hour,” a term that his work ushered into filmmaking lingo.

How’s your rouge and lipstick holding up today? Probably not anywhere near what top-tier fashion models are showing off in Chanel: The Allure of Makeup (Thames & Hudson), a hefty coffee-table celebration of the iconic makeup company’s 100th anniversary, with 400 pages of photos from early product shots to cinematic campaigns starring legendary women. In a rainbow of the company’s quintessential colors—black, white, beige, red, pink,  gold and blue—it’s a feast for your eyes…and eyeliner!

BRING IT HOME

Long before there was the remake starring John Travolta as a subway hijacker and Denzel Washington as the lowly dispatcher trying to thwart him, there was this 1974 version of The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 with Robert (Jaws) Shaw and Walter (The Odd Couple) Matthau in the same roles. A time-capsule classic, it’s been newly re-released with loads of bonus content, including interviews, TV and radio spots, a making-of, commentary and more. (Available at kinolarber.com).

Nov 22 2024
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Books, DVDs, Humor, Movies, Music, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 22 – Nov. 28

A Patsy Cline re-do, classic Beatles reissues, and a Jack Black Christmas flick!

The music of Patsy Cline gets funneled through a new generation of performers.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Nov. 22
Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight
Wynonna, Kristin Chenoweth, Kellie Pickler, Mickey Guyton, Grace Potter, Pat Benatar, actress Beverly D’Angelo and more pay homage to the late country music trailblazer (above) and her songs, including “Sweet Dreams,” “She’s Got You” and “Crazy” (9 p.m., PBS).

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny
The Grammy-nominated comedian gives “the skinny” on appetite suppressants, raising teens and more in his first comedy special for the streaming platform (Hulu).

The Witches
What did early American women accused of witchcraft have to do with postpartum mental health? This new documentary films explores the connection with interviews from medical professionals, historians and contemporary females (Mubi).

SATURDAY, Nov. 23
Three Wiser Men and a Boy
Christmastime tale of brotherhood, a high school musical and a mom with a new boyfriend (8 p.m, Hallmark)

Die Hard
Is this 1998 Bruce Willis action flick (above) a “Christmas movie” or not? You’ve got another chance to see for yourself tonight, yippie kia yi yay! With Alan Rickman as a deliciously bad bad guy (8 p.m., TNT).

SUNDAY, Nov. 24
Expedition Files
Host Josh Gates travels through history searching for new evidence and answers to unexplained mysteries (9 p.m., Discovery).

Dear Santa: The Series
Meet the real-life “Santas” in the five episodes of this new holiday series about the people who actually answer kids’ letters to Santa Claus (ABC).

A Very Merry MeTV
Get in the Thanksgiving mood with a day of Turkey Day-themed episodes of Happy Days, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island (below), The Love Boat and more (starts 11 a.m., MeTV).

MONDAY, Nov. 25
Get Millie Black
A Jamaica-born Scotland Yard detective (Tamara Lawrence) digs into missing-person cases in this new series from the UK (9 p.m., HBO).

Tsunami: Race Against Time
Four-part series uses first-person testimony and never-seen-before footage to re-examine the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean event that took over a quarter-million lives (9 p.m., NatGeo).

Dear Santa
Jack Black stars in this new Christmas comedy (above) as “Satan,” a trickster who shows up to create holiday havoc when a young boy (Robert Timothy Smith) sends his wish list to the North Pole…but with a crucial spelling error. The movie’s from the Farrelly Brothers, of Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and Shallow Hal, so get ready for some major yuks (Paramount+).

TUESDAY, Nov. 26
It’s in the Game: Madden NFL
New series tells the story of one of the most popular and successful videogames of all time, its rise to greatness and its enduring pace in pop culture (Prime).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27
Countdown to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Wendi McLeodon-Covey hosts this sneak peek at the floats, balloons and bands that will be on display tomorrow in downtown New York City (8 p.m., NBC).

The Untold Story of Mary Poppins
This special edition of 20/20 comes at the 60th anniversary of the Disney classic starring Julie Andrews as England’s most famous magical nanny and Dick Van Dyke as a merry-chap chimneysweep (9 p.m., ABC).

THURSDAY, Nov. 28
Sweethearts
Two college freshmen (Nico Hiraga and Kiernan Shipka) make a pact to break up with their high school sweethearts over the Thanksgiving break…but things take more crazy turns that a wild turkey (Max).

The Day Before Christmas
When two parents accidentally swap their kids’ backpacks and their phones, it leads to a chaotic, heartwarming holiday mix-up…and some unexpected romance (BET+).

Blue Bloods: Celebrating a Family Legacy
ET’s Nischelle Turner hosts this hour-long special includes series highlights and interviews with the stars and guests on the popular series, including a rare look inside the show’s recurring dinner scene, above (9 p.m., CBS).

NOW HEAR THIS

Christmas comes early for Beatles fans with this gollywhopper of a boxed set—all seven of the band’s albums compiled for U.S. release during the early days of Beatlemania, remastered anew into new analog mono, just as the originals. (As fans know, the U.S. albums were slightly different from the original British releases, sometimes with different artwork and tracks not always on their U.K. predecessors.) With The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono (Capitol), you’ll get Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Something New, The Beatles’ Story, Beatles ’65 and The Early Beatles, plus new artwork inserts, sleeve graphics and essays by Beatles historian Brian Spizer.

And if your tastes are for something a little more Southern, check out the groovy gravy of the Allman Brothers’ Final Concert 10-28-14 (Peach Records), the iconic Southern Rock ensemble’s “end of the road” concert event, staged at New York City’s Beacon Theater in 2014. It’s 30 songs drawn from six Allman Brothers albums, orchestrated by the band’s most recent lineup led by Warren Haynes.

11.20

BRING IT HOME

If you missed it back in 2016 at the theatres, now can snag this collector’s re-release edition of Hush (Shout! Factory) starring scream queen Kate Siegel as a deaf-mute writer fighting a serial killer who invades her solitary life in the woods. It’s a fan-favorite slasher flick that was remade—twice—in India!

Movie fans will freak out with Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), a superb remastered 4K collection of six of the acclaimed director’s groundbreaking classics, including Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo and The Birds. Plus, a cool collectible book!

DC Comics’ fan-favorite vigilante crime-fighting group returns in Watchmen Chapter II (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the latest movie installment of their animated adventures, featuring a cast of voices led by Matthew Rhys, Titus Weliver and Katee Sackhoff.

Once upon a time, back in the early ‘70s, John Lennon and Yoko Ono “took over” America’s most popular daytime talk show. Find out all about it Daytime Revolution (Kino Larber), the new documentary about the superstar Beatle and his wife “hosted” The Mike Douglas Show for a full week, filling the studio (and the airwaves) with controversial guests (Black Panther Bobby Seale, political activist Ralph Nader, edgy comedian George Carlin) and rockiin’ the house with some not-ready-for-daytime music.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Calling the Shots: A Queer History of Photography (Thames & Hudson) is an eye-opening look at nearly two centuries of LGBTQ+ imagery and subjects illustrating homosexual and pansexual representation in the arts, on the streets and in the world at large. Hey! There’s Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, David Bowie, activist Angela Davis, rocker Patti Smith, Judy Garland, singer Dusty Springfield, Queen’s Freddie Mercury, Billie Holiday and Truman Capote! 

Are you “addicted” to shopping? Author Emily Mester takes on consumerism in American Bulk (W.W. Norton), a series of thought-provoking essays about excess and how it shapes our character, our sense of self and our connections to others. It’s a first-person narrative about our endless cycle of wanting, buying, consuming—and often discarding—all sorts of things and how it can still somehow leave us feeling empty inside. 

Find out about the making of the fan-favorite sitcom Parks & Recreation by Jim O’Heir (who played Jerry Gergich), who gives a firsthand account of working alongside the top-notch cast in Welcome to Pawnee (William Morrow) and how it became a beloved pop-cultural fan favorite. Includes 60 color pics, plus interviews with Chris Pratt, Rob Lowe, Retta and the show’s co-creators.

It’s almost like being there in Midnight Moment (Phaedon), a unique photographic chronicle of watching artwork unfold in Times Square up on the gigantic electronic billboards. Learn how it’s done and see the work of more than a hundred artists who’ve been featured on one of New York City’s most iconic displays.

Magic, sleight of hand and carefully crafted and controlled illusions have been around since almost the beginning of time, so they’ve certainly made many appearances (and disappearances!) on film. In Magic and Illusion in the Movies (McFarland), author George Higham provides a thorough history of the technology, special effects, diversion and trickery (in projects as wide as early horror flicks, The Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo cartoons, The Sting and Spider-Man) that have been created to fool our eyes.

Nov 15 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 15 – Nov. 21

Country stars, swords ‘n’ sandals, big-screen witches & Billy Bob Thornton’s a ‘Landman’

Hey Luke! Country hitmakers Luke Combs and Luke Bryant tell the stories behind their songs in ‘It’s All Country.’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Nov. 15
Silo
Rebecca Ferguson returns for season two, about the last handful of people on Earth living deep underground in, yes, a massive silo to protect them from the toxic world above. With Tim Robbins (Apple TV+).

It’s All Country
Country star Luke Bryan explores the inspirations, personal moments and secrets that help shape the sounds fans love, with input from Sheryl Crow, Kane Brown, Wynonna Judd and others (Hulu).

SATURDAY, Nov. 16
Saturday Night Live
Charli xcx pulls double duty tonight, making her first appearance as host and her third as a musical guest, performing songs from her new remixed album “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat.” Huh? (11:30, NBC).

The Polar Express
The first big-screen “motion capture” digital animation film (it’s in Guinness World Records as such), this 2004 fantasy “stars” Tom Hanks as a train conductor who shows a young boy what Christmas is all about. It’s based on a book by the author who also wrote Jumanji (4:27 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., TBS)

SUNDAY, Nov. 17
LandMan
Yellowstone creator Ty Sheridan’s new series stars Billy Bob Thornton (above), Ali Larter, Mark Collie and Demi Moore in a modern-day tale of oil-rigging drama (Paramount+).

Dune: Prophesy
The futuristic sci-fi movie franchise now gets a small(er) screen extension with this dramatic series about two sisters fighting forces that threaten all mankind. Cause, of course, it’s the future. Starring Emily Watson, Olivia Williams and Mark Strong (9 p.m., HBO).

MONDAY, Nov. 18
Leonardo da Vinci
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns turns his lens to his first “non-American” subject, the 15th century Italian innovator and how he influenced and inspired future generations to this day (8 p.m., PBS).

The Making of Gladiator II
Go behind the scenes of director Ridley Scott’s new mega-movie (above), an epic extension (starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and more) of the 2000 original. Learn about new characters, the spectacle and the scale, training the cast in gladiatorial combat, costumes, props and the movie’s historical accuracy (10:30 p.m., CBS).

TUESDAY, Nov. 19
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (below) host this TV event taking viewers inside their new movie based on the hit Broadway musical (10 p.m., NBC).

Interior Chinatown
A small-part actor (Jimmy O. Yang) in a TV police procedural set in Chinatown inadvertently become a witness to a real crime, leading him to unravel a hidden criminal web in San Francisco (Hulu).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20
The CMA Awards
Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson host tonight’s 58th annual awarding of trophies bestowed by the Country Music Association, live from Nashville (8 p.m., ABC).

THURSDAY, Nov. 21
Based on a True Story
Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina star in season two as a couple capitalizing on America’s true-crime obsession by starting a podcast…partnering with the serial killer terrorizing Los Angeles (Peacock).

Nugget is Dead? A Christmas Story
When her beloved family dog falls sick over Christmas, a young woman (Vic Zerbst) has to make new plans with her family in Australia (8 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Remember the ‘80s? In The 1980s: Image of a Decade (Thames & Hudson), author Henry Carroll looks at the eventful decade through images of its design, art, fashion, technology, games, sports and global events. From the rise of hip hop to the fall of the Berlin Wall, it’s all here, in a kaleidoscope of culture from all corners—a world big enough to contain Pee-Wee Herman, Dirty Dancing, the Berlin Wall, the Challenger disaster and Live Aid at the same time!

The iconic singer and actress tells her own story in Cher: The Memoir, Part One (Harper Collins), from being a dyslexic child who dreamed of being famous to becoming the only woman to top the Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades, an Oscar winner and an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

How much do you know about the forces that shape our world, sometimes cause chaos and destruction, and have inspired poets, scientists and philosophers for eons? Elements (Thames & Hudson) takes a close and evocative look, with accompanying photography and insightful texts, on the five natural elements (wood, fire, earth, water and metal) essential to life on planet Earth, how they’ve been represented, interpreted, revered and feared across the centuries.

In American Artifacts (Thames & Hudson), award-winning photographer Matt Black presents a diverse collection of flotsam and jetsam he’s come across in his 100,000-mile, six-year, cross-country odyssey. A continuation of his 2021 photobook American Geography, it’s spectrum of discarded objects, from scribbled notes to cigarette boxes, shoes, bottles, cans, yard signs and busted locks. It’s a strikingly unique portrait of America, revealed and symbolized by the things we throw away, lose or leave behind. And you may not think your old dirty glove or broken hairbrush is “art,” but he might.

BRING IT HOME

The new deluxe steelbook reissue of the epic 1984 fantasy movie Labyrinth is a true collectors’ set with a 4k restoration of the film directed by Jim Henson, and featuring his fanciful non-Muppet “puppet” creatures alongside the actors, which included rock star David Bowie and Demi Moore. (Shout! Factory).

Happy anniversary to three classic movies, all now available remastered on 4K! The West was never wilder—or as wildy funny—as it was Blazing Saddles (1974), director Mel Brooks’ spectacularly hilarious spoof of the cowboy genre. (And Richard Pryor helped write the screenplay!). Ah-nold is the iconic cyborg assassin from the future in The Terminator (1984). Didja know his costar, Linda Hamiliton, would go on to marry the director, James Cameron? And Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) was one of his greatest thrillers, with Cary Grant chased across the country in a case of mistaken identity.

The ghost with the most is back in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), with Michael Keaton reprising his 1980s role as the devious netherworld demon, with former castmates Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, plus newcomer Jenna Ortega. Extras include commentary by director Tim Burton, a feature on the movie’s stop-motion artistry, and other insider stuff!

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