Category Archives: Pop Culture

Dec 29 2023
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Books, Movies, Pop Culture, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 29 – Jan. 4

All about Burt, Rob Lowe has a new game, & Happy New Year!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Dec. 29
Prepare to Die
A young man trains in martial arts to seek vengeance on the corrupt landowner who murdered his family (Tubi).

SATURDAY, Dec. 30
Time Bomb Y2K
This darkly humorous tale, fashioned through archival footage, takes us back to the alarming days at the close of the 20th century and the widespread concerns that the world was facing the greatest technological disaster in the history of mankind (10 p.m., HBO).

I Am Burt Reynolds
Watch this acclaimed documentary about the late iconic movie Florida-born actor, who started in TV and went on to star in Smokey and the Bandit, Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Boogie Nights and Striptease (8 p.m., The CW).

The AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary
Host Ben Mankiewicz looks back at five decades of one of film’s highest honors and the cinematic achievements of a stellar list of actors and filmmakers, including Denzel Washington, Al Pacino, Warren Beatty, Meryl Streep, Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Taylor (8 p.m., TCM).

SUNDAY, Dec. 31
The Simpsons
Kick off the new year with 24 hours—and 48 episodes—of the long-running primetime series (above) about Springfield’s first family of comedy (9 p.m., FXX).

Nashville’s Big Bash
Ring in the New Year with Thomas Rhett, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lainey Wilson performing live in Music City (7:30 p.m., CBS).

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest have art: NewJeans
Ring in the new with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora live from Times Square in New York City, with superstar performers (including Post Malone and the K-pop sensation NewJeans), lots of pumped-up revelers and remotes from Hollywood with Jeannie Mae (8 p.m., ABC).

The Lasts on the Lasts
Say goodbye to 2023 with this marathon of finale “farewell” episodes from classic TV series including The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Leave It to Beaver and more (begins 12 noon, MeTV).

MONDAY, Jan. 1
America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League
New series spinoff features acts from across the global franchise competing for the $250,000 grand prize. Terry Crews hosts while Mel B., Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel return to the judges’ chairs (8 p.m., NBC).

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks
The newest chapter in the twisted true-life saga of the little girl brought to America from a Ukrainian orphanage gives Natalia herself a chance to share her story and confront her adoptive parents—who claimed she was not really a child, but a homicidal adult with intentions to harm their family (9 p.m., ID Discovery).

TUESDAY, Jan. 2
The Floor
Actor Rob Lowe hosts this new game show (below), a trivia contest in which players compete for $250,000 on a gigantic playing field resembling a board game (check local listings, Fox).

Finding Your Roots
Singers Alanis Morissette and Ciara kick off the new season of the genealogy research series as host Henry Gates Jr. helps trace their (sometimes surprising) ancestry (8 p.m., PBS). 

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3
We Are Family
Anthony Anderson and his mom, Doris, host this musical guessing-game show (below) featuring performances by celebs and their non-famous family members (9 p.m., Fox).

THURSDAY, Jan. 4
Society of the Snow
Based on a true story, this gripping movie shows what happened in 1972 after a Uruguayan Air Force Flight, which had been chartered to take a rugby team to Cuba, crashes in the heart of the Andes mountains (Netflix).

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale
Which witch? Those witches? There are certainly a bunch in this spooky new horror-drama streaming series (below), starring Elaine Cassidy and Helen Doup about a group of contemporary witches in modern-day England (Sundance Now).

General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling
Primetime special celebrates the iconic daytime soap with fan-favorite cast members sharing their favorite memories of the show and pulling back the TV curtain with bloopers and other surprises (10 p.m., ABC).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

In House Cat: Inspirational Interiors & The Elegant Felines Who Call Them Home (Thames & Hudson), with photographs by Paul Barbera, you’ll get a meow-ful look at some fancy abodes and their pampered resident top-cat felines. It’s like an Architectural Digest for kitties.

Dec 22 2023
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Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 22 – Dec. 28

‘Saltburn’ streams, Ricky Gervais spreads the bah-humbug spirit & country stars count down to Christmas

Barry Keoghan stars in ‘Saltburn,’ full of shocks and surprises.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Dec. 22
Home for the Holidays
Tonight’s 25th anniversary of this holiday tradition presents inspirational stories of adoption from foster care and features performances from an array of stars (8 p.m., CBS). 

Saltburn
If you missed it in theaters, catch one of the year’s most critically acclaimed films today as it hits the streaming service. Barry Keoghan stars in the twisty psychological drama as a misfit Oxford collegian who becomes obsessed with a fellow student (Jacob Eldori) and wrangles an invitation to summer at his wealthy family’s estate. Prepare to be shocked. With Rosamund Pike (Prime).

Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire
Comic-book superhero filmmaker Zach Synder directs this new Star-Wars-y space opera (below) about a futuristic battle (of course) for the fate of the galaxy. Starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Jenna Malone and Anthony Hopkins (Netflix).

Oh, the far-out sights you’ll see in ‘Rebel Moon.’

SATURDAY, Dec. 23
CMT Hot 20 Countdown: Christmas Special
Artists Jon Pardi and Cody Johnson share Christmas traditions, swap holiday stories and present their favorite Christmas tunes—and the legendary Brenda Lee intros her brand-new video for a timeless holiday classic (9 a.m., CMT).

SUNDAY, Dec. 24
A Christmas Carol
Catch this marathon of Christmases past with back-to-back repeats of A Christmas Carol (1951) and FX’s own later version, from 1999, starring Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge (2:30 p.m. thru Christmas Day, FXM)

Home Alone
Settle in for this modern Christmas classic (below), about a little boy accidentally left behind when the rest of his family flies away for an overseas holiday. Oops! But Kevin McCallister gets some unexpected Christmas company, and it’s not Santa! (8 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Dec. 25
Ricky Gervais: Armageddon
For all you Christmas bah-humbug-ers out there, the outspoken atheist presents another—caustically funny—viewpoint on the season (and other things) in this comedy special recorded on his standup comedy tour (Netflix).

Call the Midwife Holiday Special
Delicate situations make for uncertainty at the hospital in this Christmas-timed special set in 1968, in which the upcoming Apollo 8 launch, preparations for the holidays and a treacherous snowstorm all play a part (8 p.m., PBS).

Those midwives have their hands full this Christmas!

TUESDAY, Dec. 26
Superchef Grudge Match
It’s a food fight! In this new season of the all-star smackdown, hosted by Darnell Ferguson, top competing foodies from the culinary world face off in a series of matchups to air out their beefs, bury the hatchet and hopefully emerge with bragging rights…and a $10,000 cash prize (9 p.m., Food Network).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 27
The Kennedy Center Honors
Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick are this year’s honorees in recognition of their lifetime achievements, in tonight’s 46th annual event hosted by Gloria Estefan (9 p.m., CBS).   

THURSDAY, Dec. 28
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever
The latest animated movie based on the wildly successful young-reader book series will again follow everyone’s disaster-prone middle-school student as he moves from one Christmas catastrophe after another (Disney+).

Seal Team
After an assignment lands the whole team in the hospital, Bravo creates a little chaos and Clay (Max Theierlot, above) tries to piece together what went wrong (10 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

It was a big year in baseball, with integration, the expansion of the major leagues, the rise of game’s first dynasty (the New York Yankees) and labor issues. Author Phil Coffin‘s When Baseball Was Still Topps (McFarland) chronicles the players of 1959—all 572 of them featured on Topps’ collectible cards. It’s a gold mine for baseball fans who got to know the heavy hitters, the star fielders and the hotshot hurlers through the iconic cards—like Mickey Mantle’s “rookie” card, in 1952, which fetched more than $12 million when it sold in 2022!

Dec 19 2023
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Movie Reviews, Movies, Music, Pop Culture

Purple Haze

New adaptation of the Southern coming-of-age tale adds musical Broadway pizazz

The Color Purple
Starring Fantasia Berrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks & Colman Domingo
Directed by Blitz Bazawule
Rated PG-13

In theaters Dec. 25, 2023

A pull-out-the-stops reworking of the classic 1985 Steven Spielberg adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the new Color Purple is an extravagant, hybridized remake of the heart-wrenching coming-of-age drama with showtunes from the story’s later incarnation as a Tony-nominated musical, which ran on Broadway from 2005 to 2008 before touring internationally.

Stretching across nearly three decades, it follows Celie, a young Black woman growing up in Georgia in the early 1900s as her many hardships—poverty, rape, incest, and emotional and physical abuse—ultimately blossom into freedom, independence and a soaring reaffirmation of love and acceptance. And, oh yeah, a big slice of comeuppance. Color this karma purple, baby.

Meet the silver screen’s newest singing star: Fantasia Berrino, who won the 2004 season of American Idol, makes her movie debut as Celie, and, holy moly, what a knockout performance, and what a voice. But she’s hardly alone: She’s surrounded by an ensemble of other terrific talent and standout performances, including Taraji P. Henson, who oozes sensuality and sophistication as the feisty cabaret singer Shug Avery; Orange is the New Black’s Danielle Brooks is a mountain of sass, fire and fight as Sophia, a force-of-nature female who won’t bow to any man. Colman Domingo—who’s also making Oscar waves with his starring role in the Civil Rights biopic Rustin—is devilishly good at playing despicably bad as “Mister,” the hot-tempered, banjo-strumming farmer who begrudgingly takes Celie to become his wife—and his property.

There’s Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, also making her impressive movie debut young(er) Celie, and Haille Bailey (the singing star of The Little Mermaid) as the younger version of her sister, Nettie. Corey Hawkins, whose hit movies include Straight Outta Compton and BlacKkKlansman, is Mister’s son, the juke-joint entrepreneur Harpo. Veteran actor Louis Gossett Jr. plays “Old Mister,” Mister’s cantankerous father, and David Allan Grier is the local reverend, Shug’s long-estranged father.

Watch closely and you’ll see the cameo by Whoopi Goldberg, who marked her breakthrough in the original film. And behind the scenes, there’s the benevolent hand of Oprah Winfrey (who made her acting debut as Sophia in the 1985 movie) and Spielberg, now teaming together as CP ’23 producers, along with iconic music man Quincy Jones, who wrote the score for the first film.

The songs are essential parts of the reimagined story, expressing a gamut of feelings from woeful sadness and heartfelt yearning to soaring, rousing joy and buoyant jubilation. Trust me, you won’t be able to get “Hell No!,” “Push Da Button,” “Miss Celie’s Pants” or “I’m Here” out of your head. The expertly crafted musical numbers, from solo spotlights to streets full of singers and prancing dancers, sometimes make wildly colorful leaps of imagination, like the resplendent “What About Love,” which takes place on a massive retro movie-musical stage, and “Dear God/Shug,” which unfolds atop a gigantic spinning phonograph record.

The movie’s musical groove is dug deep, spread wide and held steady by director Blitz Bazawule, a Ghanaian filmmaker who’s also a rapper, singer-songwriter, poet and record producer. You probably haven’t heard of his previous film, The Burial of Kojo (nominated for a pair of Golden Globes). But he makes a strong impression here, with a firm grasp on the subject matter and the source material and the large cast.

The title comes from Shug pointing out to Celie that God is everywhere—in sunshine, songs, hearts, nature. And all that bountiful beauty, she says as she picks up a purple bellflower, was put there for us to appreciate. “I think it pisses God off,” Shug notes, “if you walk past the color purple and don’t recognize it.”

Because music is such a key ingredient here, you’ll see some recognizable music people in supporting roles, like singer-actress Ciara (as the grownup Nettie), Grammy-winning composer and bandleader John Baptiste (playing Shug’s musician husband), and rapper-actor H.E.R. (as Harpo’s daughter, “Squeak”). They all add to the film’s rich tapestry of characters, and its resonant strum of the heartstrings.

As Celie finds herself, she also finds love in a harsh world that seems to have none. And you’ll find yourself swept up in a flood of emotion with this vibrantly revived, majestically moving tale that will have you seeing—and appreciating—purple in a spectacular new light.

—Neil Pond

Dec 15 2023
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Books, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 15 – Dec. 21

Mark Wahlberg in a killer role, Willie Nelson’s birthday bash & celebrating Dick Van Dyke

FRIDAY, Dec. 15

The Family Plan
Mark Wahlberg stars in this new action comedy (above) as a car salesman dad confronting his past—as an elite government assassin—without revealing his long-hidden identity. With Michelle Monaghan (Apple TV+)

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
New stop-motion animated comedy, a spinoff of the original 2000 tale of “fowl play,” features more tales from the coop with voices of Imelda Staunton, Thandie Newton, Zachary Levi and Miranda Richardson (Netflix).

The National Christmas Tree Lighting
Light up your holiday mood with this annual TV special with an all-star lineup of performers at President’s Park in Washington, D.C. (8 p.m., CBS).

SATURDAY, Dec. 16
Small Town Christmas
Inside Edition’s Megan Alexander hosts season three of this spotlight on the expressions of fun, decorations, entertainment and faith of community Christmas celebrations across America (2 p.m., Fox Business News).

Luminaire Christmas
John Blasucci, formerly of Mannheim Steamroller, leads a rocking evening of reimagined hits and new seasonal songs with performances by artists from American Idol, The Voice, Blue Man Group and more (7:30 p.m., AXS TV).

SUNDAY, Dec. 17
The Sound of Music
The hills are alive, again, this holiday season for the annual TV airing of the feel-good 1965 classic (above), based on the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer (7 p.m., ABC).

Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration
A host of stars come out to fete the iconic singer songwriter in this musical event, including The Chicks, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Keith Richards, George Strait and Chris Stapleton. Hosted by Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson (8:30 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Dec. 18
Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas
Join the Scottish cook (above) in her homeland as she prepares iconic holiday dishes with her celebrity foodie friends (9 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Dec. 19
The Price is Right: Holiday Heroes
Military heroes compete for cash and prizes in this special edition of the game show (8 p.m., CBS).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
New series, based on the best-selling books by Rick Riordan, launches tonight with a two-episode premier about a 12-year-old kid (Walker Scobell) who’s actually a demigod accused by Zeus of stealing a lightning bolt, causing chaos and disorder in Olympus. With Lin-Manuel Miranda, Megan Mullaly and Jay Duplass (Disney+)

Maestro
Bradley Cooper (above) gives an Oscar-worthy performance (and directs!) as iconic classical-music composer Leonard Bernstein in this tale of his lifelong love to his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan). If you missed it in theaters, you can see it now streaming (Netflix).

BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star
Eight-part docuseries the roots, rise and phenomenal success of the South Korean boy band that’s been capturing young hearts and amassing worldwide fans since 1983 (Disney+).

THURSDAY, Dec. 21
iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capitol One
It’s a cumbersome title (duh, wonder who the sponsor is?) but this holiday musical special tight with with performances by Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, One Republic, Jelly Role and more (8 p.m., ABC).

Dr Death
Mandy Moore and Edgar Ramirez star in season two of this new series, based on the hit podcast about a charming young surgeon with deep secrets (Peacock).

Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic
This all-star tribute celebrates the acting icon’s milestone birthday as it time-travels back to the set of Van Dyke’s groundbreaking TV series of the 1960 with songs, special guests and lots of holiday magic and memories of his roles in Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and more (9 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT


How did a raucous song from a festival all about drinking, gambling, fighting and sex become a cherished holiday classic? Pour yourself a cup of good cheer and find out in The 12 Days of Christmas: The Outlaw Carol That Wouldn’t Die (McFarland) by Harry Rand, a former Harvard prof who now works as a senior curator for the Smithsonian Institution.

BRING IT HOME


He was TV’s top cop a few decades ago, and now you own Columbo: The 1970s (KL Studio Classics), starring Peter Falk as the rumpled LA detective who made primetime a lot safer (and much more entertaining). This five-disc set includes seven full seasons of the show, with guest stars including Dick Van Dyke, William Shatner, Johnny Cash, Janet Leigh and Leonard Nimoy, and some episodes directed by Steven Spielberg!

Dec 01 2023
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Books, DVDs, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 1 – Dec. 7

Eddie Murphy gets the Christmas spirit, Archie and Jughead go to India & Geddy Lee is all about that bass

Eddie Murphy stars this week in the Netflix Christmas comedy ‘Candy Cane Lane.’

FRIDAY, Dec. 1
Candy Candy Lane
Eddie Murphy has made just about every kind of movie, except a Christmas holiday comedy. And now he’s done that too! In this bright blast of yule-y fun, he plays a man determined to win his neighborhood’s annual house-decoration contest, making a deal with a pesky elf (Jillian Belle) for some Christmas magic that takes a manic turn. With Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman and Ken Marino (Netflix).

The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd
The movie funnyman and SNL comedy pioneer (below) hosts this new docuseries, probing into some of history’s most unusual and bizarro mysteries—like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, or a plague of killer dancing (10 p.m., History).

SATURDAY, Dec. 2
A Christmas Story Christmas
The recent movie sequel to the 1983 holiday classic comes now to TV, starring several of the original cast members in a modern-day update to the tale of a little boy who just wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas (10 p.m., TBS).

Thriller 40
Has it really been four decades since Michael Jackson “thrilled” us with his 1983 hit single and album of the same name? This new documentary takes you behind the scenes of how a recording became a musical milestone for the ages (8 p.m., Showtime).

May December
Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton star in this new movie (above)—loosely based on the real-world tabloid scandal of convicted sex offender Mary Kay Letourneau—about a woman who committed a similar crime and the TV actress preparing to play her in a new movie (Netflix).

NOW HEAR THIS

The Queen of Soul reigns supreme in Aretha Franklin: A Portrait of the Queen 1970-1974, a lavish new box set of five of her classic albums from that era, plus session outtakes, B-sides and demos. Relive the funk and firepower of Aretha’s classic hits like “Son of a Preacherman,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I need to Get By,” plus deep cuts including the Queen’s takes on “Spanish Harlem,” “At Last,” “The Long and Winding Road” and The Band’s “The Weight.” 

SUNDAY, Dec. 3
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen
British historian Lucy Worsley (below) travels the world in this new limited series that follows the footsteps and the secret life of the enigmatic writer who revolutionized the genre of detective fiction (8 p.m., PBS).

Chowchilla
Documentary about the chilling true story of one of the strangest kidnappings of all time, when three masked men boarded a school bus in 1976, taking 26 children and their driver—and burying them all in a remote underground chamber. Find out how they escaped, and how the event continues to haunt them (9 p.m., CNN). 

MONDAY, Dec. 4
The Big Bake
Contestant cooks capture the cuteness of the North Pole with goodies adorned with seasonal, winter-wonderland decorations (11 p.m., Food Network).

TUESDAY, Dec. 5
Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?
In this new musical docuseries, the Rush band member (and bass player!) powwows at home with some of musicdom’s most famous fellow bassists and digs into their groovy stories (Paramount+)

The Canterville Ghost
Huge Laurie, Freddie Highmore and Toby Jones are among the voices you’ll hear in this animated, family-friendly reimagining of the Oscar Wilde classic about a family who moves into a haunted house in England (VOD).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 6
Hollywood Houselift With Jeff Lewis
Lewis, who formerly hosted Bravo’s Flipping Out, returns for another season of this celebrity-digs redo series, with clients including Christina Ricci, Josh Duhamel and Regina Hall (Freevee).

THURSDAY, Dec. 7
We Live Here: The Midwest
Documentary spotlights families from America’s heartland who would love to stay but face challenges because of who they are, in the face of a rising tide of discrimination and hate in their churches, schools and neighborhoods (Hulu).

My Life with the Walter Boys
Heartwarming coming-of-age series (above, from the producers of The Kissing Booth) follows a teenage girl (Nikki Rodriguez) who relocates after a tragic accident from New York City to rural Colorado, where she develops feelings for two very different brothers (Netflix). 

Christmas at the Opry
Wynonna Judd hosts this festive, two-hour celebration of Christmas classics, holiday favorites and some of today’s biggest hits, from Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry House (8 p.m., NBC).

The Archies
The retro comic book characters (Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, et al) get reimagined in this new live-action series (above) as 1960s teens in India in the fictional town of Riverdale—at least that hasn’t changed! (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Sure, you know Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Batman and Tarzan. But what about Waku, Prince of the Bantu… Jann of the Jungle… or Mars, the God of War? They’re all here, along with hundreds of others in Lou Mougin’s excellent Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics (McFarland), a thorough (and thoroughly entertaining) scholarly rundown of lesser-known do-gooders from the 1930s through the ‘50s.

Hey, ol’ Scratch is is good company in the Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures (McFarland) by Theresa Bane. The author, a professional vampirologist, catalogues nearly 3,000 unholy terrors from the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and religion. A few of my personal faves: Abaddown, the demonic angel from the bottomless pit of Sheol; the Daitya-Yuga, with a track record for trouble stretching across more than 1.5 billion years; and Paymon, the host and emcee of hell. It’s a busy underworld out there! 

He was the Beatles’ loyal friend, longtime roadie and personal friend. Find all about Mal Evans and his world in the inner circle of the legendary British band in Kevin Womack’s Living with the Beatles (Dey Street), which sometimes included jumping into recording session and even helping the Fab Four write songs. It’s a fascinating glimpse behind the Beatles’ curtain.

BRING IT HOME

Ahead of the Christmas Day theatrical release of the new remake, now you can own director Steven Spielberg’s 1995 original. The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), was nominated for 11 Oscars and marked the acting debut of Oprah Winfrey and the movie breakthrough of Whoopi Goldberg. The new 4K HD set includes several special features, including a making-of doc.

Nov 24 2023
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Books, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 24 – Nov. 30

Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman reprise their 2008 roles in ‘Faraway Downs.’

FRIDAY, Nov. 24
The Greatest @HomeVideos
Laugh until…well, until you need to get another piece of pumpkin pie! Funnyman Cedric the Entertainer hosts this collection of holiday-themed mishaps and merriment, culled from around the globe (8 p.m., CBS).

Mickey’s Christmas Tales
Series of new stop-motion holiday shorts features beloved Disney characters (above) including Goofy, Donald and Daffy, Pluto…and, of course, Mickey House (Disney+).  

Elf
Jump in anywhere within a 24-hour period today and you’ll catch some of the marathon of the classic holiday comedy starring Will Ferrell as North Pole transplant Buddy the Elf (8 p.m., TBS).

SATURDAY, Nov. 25
Byron Allen Presents the Grio Awards
Sheryl Underwood from The Talk and comedian Roy Wood Jr. host this star-studded celebration of African American excellence in film, music, comedy, TV, sports, business, education and more, taped live at the Beverly Hilton in Hollywood (8 p.m., CBS).

SUNDAY, Nov. 26
Faraway Downs
Acclaimed Aussie director Baz Lehrmann’s six-part “reimagining” of his 2008 film Australia, this limited series reunites the stars (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman) in a tale of a British aristocrat who travels halfway across the world to confront her wayward husband and unload a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback (Hulu).

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration
The network holiday season staple returns for year eight with a spectacle of musical performances from Walt Disney World in Florida and Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii (8 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, Nov. 27
Steeltown Murders
New drama series follows the hunt for a killer in a working-class community of Wales, and how the mystery was solved nearly 30 years after the crime (Acorn TV).

Holiday: Santa in Space
Blast off for this cooking-competition special, in which bakers vie to make over-the-top cake creations around the theme of Old Saint Nick going intergalactic (11 p.m., Food Network).

TUESDAY, Nov. 28
Verified Stand-Up
If you can’t find anything to laugh about in this cavalcade of comedy from a host of stand-up pros (including Asif Ali, Nimesh Patel, Robby Hoffman and Sabrina Wu), well, you’re a true sourpuss (Netflix).

South to Black Power
New streaming documentary is based on Charles Blow’s provocative book, which calls for a “reverse migration” of African America from the North back to the South to reclaim the land, political representation and the culture they left behind (10 p.m., HBO).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

So-called “cancel culture” is nothing new, as author Kliph Nesteroff posits in Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars (Abrams), which examines pushbacks through censorship, protests and advocacy across the years on the ongoing battlefield of popular culture. Turns out, somebody has been objecting to something in entertainment for almost two hundred years!

One of the Big Apple’s most acclaimed photogs gets a spotlight in Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective (Thames & Hudson), an oversized look-book of his lifelong work as a photographer and painter known for his “street scenes” of life in New York City, his 1960s fashion work for Harper’s Bazaar, and (ahem) his “intimate” portraits of people at home, in various states of undress.

Why do we like listening to music, and how do we do it? Learn all about the fascinating world of sound and our relationship to the world through music in Michael Faber’s insightful and engaging Listen: On Music, Sound and Us (Harper Collins).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 29

The Artful Dodger
Find out about the “double life” of one of Charles Dickens’ famous prince-of-thieves pickpocket in this new series (above) from Australia starring David Thewlis, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Mia Mitchell (Hulu).

Pretty Hard Cases
Tune in tonight for the third and final season of the drama series about a pair of female detectives (Meredith MacNeill and Kelly Duff) return for even more investigations the test both their professional relationship and their personal lives (Amazon Freevee).

Sex Sells
It’s a new season of AI sex toys, smutty costumes, surrogate partners, intimacy coaches, celebrity sex tapes and more in this series in which “sex positivity advocate” Weezy explores sex-related businesses and their impacts on people’s lives (10 p.m, Fuse).

THURSDAY, Nov. 30
Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays
Selena Gomez, the Only Murders in the Building star, joins culinary pros including Alex Guarnaschelli and Claudette Zepeda to whip up holiday dishes in her home kitchen (8 p.m., Food Network).

Family Switch
Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms and Rita Morena star in this new comedy (above) about a family mixup—when a rare astrological event causes a “body switch” between the parents and their kids. Wild, way out, 13-Going-on-30 fun, compounded into more than one body! (Netflix).

Nov 22 2023
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Movie Reviews, Pop Culture

Wishful Thinking

Disney’s latest misses the mark for good ol’ House of Mouse magic

Wish
With voices by Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine and Alan Tudyk
Directed by Chris Buck & Fawn Veerashuthorn
Rated PG-13

In theaters Wednesday, Nov. 22

In this fairytale fable timed to Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration, a plucky teenager wishes upon a star and starts a revolution in a magical kingdom ruled by a duplicitous sorcerer. Disney has turned wishing on stars into a corporate mantra; the company’s theme song—from 1931’s Pinocchio—is, as you know, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Wish is cute and sometimes even clever, but it feels more like a feature-length piece of Disney marketing than a standalone new cinematic chapter, with plentiful wink-wink callbacks to House of Mouse classics (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and greatest-hit ingredients copped from the tried-and-true Disney-flick playbook.

Ariana DeBose does a capable job as the voice of Asha, a 17-year-old girl whose brownish Mediterranean skin and cornrowed hair signal Disney’s continuing movie march toward more inclusiveness in its anything-but-white female “princess” characters. She belts out several showtunes with the same gusto she brought to Hamilton on Broadway and 2010’s West Side Story (which won her a Supporting Actress Oscar). But none of the mostly meh musical numbers in Wish seem destined for Disney greatness, much less Academy Awards (like Frozen’s “Let It Go,” The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” or Aladdin’s “Whole New World”).

Chris Pine, best known for his roles as Capt. Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek movie franchise and Gal Godot’s cohort in a pair of Wonder Woman movies, appears to relish his chance to be a preening bad guy as Magnifico (below), who hoards the heartfelt “wishes” of his people in his castle like a collection of blue bubbles, effectively robbing the citizenry of their hopes and dreams.

There’s a talking goat (Alan Tudyk) and a voiceless little fallen star that looks like a cross between a Pokemon and the Pillsbury doughboy. They may become plush toys in Disney’s ever-growing arsenal of movie merchandise, but they don’t make near enough impression to become part of the sidekick hall of fame alongside Flounder, Olaf, Jiminy Cricket and Tinker Bell.  

The animation combines an old-school technique (watercolors, especially in backgrounds) with modern computer wizardry, but the result sometimes looks curiously odd and out of place, neither here nor there—and comes across more as cost-cutting than innovation. It’s a peculiar choice for a company that became known as a pioneer of cartoon animation.

The movie’s message also gets lost in the muddle of a plot that mostly tells us, instead of showing us, how important wishes really are. In one of the songs, a woodland creature notes that we’re all “shareholders” in the stars, interconnected parts of—and partners in—an ongoing cosmic mystery. For a century now, Disney has made its multi-generational audience feel like partners in the mysteries of movie magic. I just wish Wish had a bit more of it.

—Neil Pond

Nov 20 2023
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Movie Reviews, Music, Pop Culture

Take a Bow

Bradley Cooper channels superstar conductor Leonard Bernstein in splendid new biopic

Maestro
Starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan
Directed by Bradley Cooper
Rated R

In limited theatrical release Wednesday, Nov. 22; on Netflix Dec.

You don’t have to know much, or anything really, about Leonard Bernstein (who died in 1990) to fall under the spell of Maestro, the majestic musical biopic about the superstar composer and conductor who won seven Emmys, two Tonys and 16 Grammys, wrote the Broadway musical West Side Story, composed symphonies, operas, chamber music and choral masses, and became the first American conductor to lead a major orchestra. He was also the first conductor to take classical music to the general public via television, and he led, at one time or another, almost all the world’s most prestigious symphony orchestras.

He was the famous “face” of classical music for decades.

The film shows Bernstein’s vibrant, exuberant life through the complicated, clouded prism of his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre (a splendid Carey Mulligan).

Bradley Cooper, who both directs and stars, is nothing short of amazing, morphing (with the help of a prosthetic nose) into the demanding role as the charming, chain-smoking Bernstein, a live-wire, wild-haired musical genius with a voracious, nearly insatiable appetite for life and love. “I want a lot of things,” he says; he wants to write, to conduct, play piano and make a musical bridge for his creativity to become manna for the masses.

He also wants to love both men and women. Which is ok, to some extent, with his wife…until it isn’t. Mulligan gives a searing, carefully nuanced performance as the Chilean-born TV and Broadway actress who sacrificed much of her own career to support her husband’s rising star and become his muse, rearing their family while dealing with his ongoing attraction to other men.

Cooper was previously lauded for his directorial debut, A Star is Born, which received multiple Oscar noms and a pair of Grammys. But Maestro is his magnum opus, a superbly crafted demonstration of his full confidence on both sides of the camera as it sprawls across the decades, from the black and white New York City of the ‘40s through the colorfully swingin’ ’60s, into the go-go haze of the ‘70s and the cocaine-fueled ‘80s. There’s already Oscar buzz for both Bradley and Mulligan (who was herself also previously Oscar nominated, for the stinging #metoo slap of Promising Young Woman.)

You know it’s the holidays when Snoopy placidly floats by a window in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade—just after Lenny and Felicia’s scathing domestic disagreement in the family’s Park Avenue penthouse apartment. I loved the scene where an elderly Bernstein grooves in a nightclub, drunk or coked up or maybe just high on life, to Tears for Fears’ “Shout.” To cop a line from that song, Cooper “let it all out” to become Bernstein so completely and convincingly, I did a double take when images of the “real” Bernstein came onscreen during the credits.

The clothing, the hairdos, the rapid-fire, rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, the changing look of the changing times—all spot-on. And the orchestral concert-hall performances, with Cooper approaching something that looks like ecstasy as he “feels” the notes and slices through the air with his baton, the sound coursing through him—well, it will course through you as well, sweeping you up and away in the grandiose, transcendent power of music. Bravo!, maestro!

—Neil Pond

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Nov 17 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 17 – Nov. 23

John Hamm is a bad hombre lawman in the new season of Fargo.

FRIDAY, Nov. 17
Please Don’t Destroy: The Legend of Foggy Mountain
Conan O’Brien and Bowen Yang make supporting appearances in this new Judd (Superbad) Apatow comedy romp about a trio of childhood friends fending off bears, a crazy cult leader and park rangers as they head into the wilderness in search of a fabled treasure (Peacock).

Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story
Documentary follows the actor/director (above) and movie mogul as it recounts the mother’s enduring love at the roots of his climb to the top of an industry that didn’t always want to include him (Prime).

Dashing Through the Snow
Rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Madison Skye Validum and Lil Rey Howery star in this holiday family comedy about an Atlanta social worker and his Christmas Eve journey with his estranged daughter that helps him find the joy and magic of the holidays (Disney+).

Monarch: A Legacy of Monsters
Kurt Russell and his actor son, Wyatt, star in this generation-spanning series (with both Russells playing the same character, decades apart) based on the movie’s “Monsterverse,” where creatures like Godzilla and King Kong roar and rule (above) (Apple TV+).

SATURDAY, Nov. 18
Christmas Plus One
Emily Alatalo and Corey Seiver star in this holiday flick about an unmarried sister looking for her soulmate and the magazine writer who helps her Christmas wish come true (9 p.m., Lifetime).

Kennedy
Peter Coyote narrates this eight-part documentary about our 35th U.S. president, timed to the 60th anniversary of his assassination and featuring more than 70 new interviews with people who knew him, worked with him and admired him (8 p.m., History).  

SUNDAY, Nov. 19
The Elf on the Shelf: Sweet Showdown
New competition series finds Santa and his Scout Elves joining cake master Duff Goldman to challenge teams of sweet-centric bakers to make edible showpieces that capture the season (8 p.m., Food Network).

The Cunninghams wish you a Merry Christmas!

A Very Merry MeTV
Beginning tonight and continuing (off and on) until Christmas, watch holiday-themed episodes of your favorite retro TV shows, including The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Twilight Zone, Gilligan’s Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Happy Days (above) and more (begins 12 noon, MeTV). 

MONDAY, Nov. 20
Spellbound
New teen fantasy series follows a vivacious 15 year old girl (Hailey Melody Romain) who relocates from America to study at the Paris Opera School in France, where she discovers a book of spells that changes her life and illuminates her surprising true identity (Hulu).

Wisdom Gone Wild
A filmmaker collaborates with her elderly mother as they confront the “wisdom” gleaned from the creeping shadows of dementia, in this moving documentary (check listings, PBS).

TUESDAY, Nov. 21
Fargo
Jon Hamm, Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh are among the cast for the fifth installment of the juicy, award-winning progressive crime drama, this time set almost-contemporary Minnesota and the Dakotas. And tonight’s episode—and the whole new series, actually—has some cool “callbacks” to events in the iconic 1996 Coen Brothers movie that started it all (10 p.m., FX).

Leo
Adam Sandler, Jason Alexander, Cecily Strong, Bill Burr and other funny folks provide voices in this cute animated coming-of-age age tale (above) centered on a classroom pet, a 74-year-old lizard (Netflix).

Groundbreakers
Learn how Title IX—the game-changing legislation that guaranteed all people, regardless of gender, equal access to federally funded sports programs—shaped the lives of eight young woman who went on to excel in the fields of tennis, basketball, soccer, gymnastics and flag football (check local listings, PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 22
Good Burger 2
New sequel to the ‘90s hit (based on a Nickelodeon comedy series) stars Kenan Thompson, Jillian Bell, Lil Rel Howery and Kel Mitchell as employees at a fast-food chain (Paramount+).

Squid Game: The Challenge
New spinoff of the streaming hit series as new challengers enter the competition in hopes of a nearly $5 million reward that would change their lives—if the “Challenge” doesn’t end them (Netflix).

Genie
Melissa McCarthy stars in this holiday fantasy (above) about an ancient genie summoned for an unlikely mission—to help a man (Paapa Essiedu) who’s lost sight of his marriage and his family (Peacock).

THURSDAY, Nov. 23
The Naughty Nine
Danny Glover stars as Santa in this movie comedy about a group of youngsters planning a heist of Santa’s North Pole village to get the presents they think they deserve (Disney+).

The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS
Kick off the holiday with this annual network coverage of one of New York City’s iconic celebrations, a festive process down Sixth Avenue with jolly old St. Nick himself bringing up the rear (9 p.m., CBS).

NOW HEAR THIS

Is there anything she can’t do? Dolly Parton tears it up with some of rock ‘n’ roll’s legendary artists for her latest album, Rockstar, including Sting (on “Every Breath You Take”), Ann Wilson of Heart (“Magic Man”), Peter Frampton (“Baby I Love Your Way”), Deborah Harry of Blondie (“Heart of Glass”), Paul McCartney (“Let It Be”), Pat Benetar (“Heartbreaker”), members of Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Free Bird”) and more on this 30-song collection, that proves why, Dolly, we will always love you.

BRING IT HOME

Now you soar with season one of the Apple TV+ sci-fi drama series For All Mankind (Sony Home Entertainment)—with Joel Kinnaman, Casey Johnson and Shantel VanStanten among the big ensemble cast—as rocket scientists and astronauts push the boundaries of space exploration.

The highly acclaimed movie about the man who invented the atomic bomb and unleashed it into the world comes to Blu-ray and DVD with Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), with more than three hours of special features.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

If you love Hollywood history, you’ll flip for George Hurrell’s Hollywood (Running Press), the newly updated edition of vintage Tinseltown portraits taken by the great Hollywood “glamour” photographer of the 1920s and ’30. Hurrell, who worked for many of the major studios, photo’d just about everyone across multiple decades, including icons like Bogart, Garbo, Rita Hayworth and Joan Crawford. Author Mark Viera ties some 400 eye-catching images together with words about Hurrell’s long-lasting influence and how his images shaped Hollywood’s visual history.

Christmas comes early for movie fans with Jeremy Arnold’s Christmas in the Movies (Running Press), a lavishly illustrated, freshly expanded examination of some of the most beloved holiday flicks of all time, including what makes them bona fide “Christmas movies.” You’ll love revisiting The Shop Around the Corner, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Home Alone and—yes—Die Hard, among the 35 featured films.  

Nov 10 2023
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 10 – Nov. 16

Emma Stone is cursed, NCIS goes Down Under & Blake ‘s ‘Barmageddon’ is back

THURSDAY, Nov. 10
The Curse
Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder (above) star in this new series with Rosemary’s Baby vibes about a newly married couple trying trying to conceive a child—and disturbed by something that sure feels like a curse (10 p.m., Paramount+ with Showtime).

For All Mankind
The acclaimed space-race drama blasts off tonight for season four, as a NASA flight director (Wrenn Schmidt, above) and other Mars colonists work on an asteroid mining operation that could change the future of everything on Earth (Apple TV+).

Salute to Service: A Veterans Day Celebration
Host Jon Stewart and the United States Army Field Band honor service members past and present alongside a star-studded lineup of musical guests, including country entertainer Mickey Guyton, singer/songwriter Amanda Shires and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez (9 p.m., PBS).

SATURDAY, Nov. 11
Legends of the Fork
Celebrity baker, chef and entrepreneur Buddy Valestro (below) visits restaurants across America to find the secrets of their success (9 p.m., A&E).

Devil on My Doorstep
Jenna Dewan—one of Lifetime’s “stock players”—and Steve Kazee star in this thriller about a delivery dispatcher obsessed with a homeowner, who becomes obsessed too. Enough obsession for a new Lifetime movie (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Nov. 12
Beacon 23
Sci-fi thriller love story set in the far reaches of the Milky Way involves a government agent (Lena Hedley, below) and an ex-military man (Stephan James) trapped together in a Beacon, a lighthouse for far-flung interplanetary travelers, with an AI whose motives aren’t initially clear (MGM+).

Good Cop, Bad Cop
New series recounts detectives pursing complicated murder cases with startling twists: The perps are fellow member of law enforcement (10 p.m., Investigation Discovery).

MONDAY, Nov. 13
NCIS: Sydney
Sit back and set sail for the first international edition of the hugely popular TV franchise, filmed on location Down Under and elsewhere as a new team of special agents is tasked with keeping criminal waves at low tide in one of the most contested region of ocean in the world. Starring Olivia Swann and Todd Lasance (10 p.m., CBS).

The Ladybird Diaries
New series tells the inside story of one of the most influential and least understood First Ladies in history, featuring audio from some 123 hours of personal and revealing diaries Lady Bird Johnson began recording after the assassination of JFK in 1963 and continuing through her husband’s turbulent administration (Hulu).

Barmageddon
Hosts Blake Shelton, Carson Daly and Nikki Garcia return for season two of the “bar games” fun (below) as celebrity guest compete in drunken axe throwing, air cannon cornhole, keg curling and more (11 p.m., USA Network).

TUESDAY, Nov. 14
A Murder at the End of the World
Murder series about a tech-savvy, Gen Z amateur sleuth (Emma Corwin) who becomes part of something deadly and sinister as a part of a group invited to a remote retreat by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) (Hulu).

Chopped: Julia Child’s Kitchen
Chef competitors put their expertise to the test in this five-part TV tournament with the grand prize of a Julia Child-themed trip to France (8 p.m., Food Network).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15
CMT Smashing Glass
New musical special spotlights trailblazing and groundbreaking artists, including honorees Tanya Tucker and Patti LaBelle, with performances and tributes from many others (8 p.m., CMT).

The Battle to Beat Malaria
Oh, great: Something else to worry about—the return of this mosquito-borne mega-threat that continues to plague the globe (9 p.m., PBS). 

THURSDAY, Nov. 16
Best. Christmas. Ever!
Heather Graham, Brandy Norwood and Jason Biggs star in this new holiday movie (above) about a couple of old friends brought together again by fate in the Christmas season (Netflix).

Terror Lake Drive
The anthology series returns for season three as a new South Georgia family mysteriously inherits a luxury vacation home that lures them into the troubled lakeside grounds that so horrified other characters previously (ALLBLK). 

Julia
Eight-episode second season of the original dramatic series about the iconic food star as Julia Child grapples with her rising celebrity, host her own TV cooking show and returns home to France, to find that her success has changed everything (Max).

BRING IT HOME

Get some post-Halloween terror tingles early with The Nun II (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the sequel to the 2018 horror hit in the Conjuring universe, as a demon nun wrecks more horrifying havoc in 1956 France. Starring Taissa Farmiga.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Dogs bark, birds chirp and cows moo. But only humans “talk,” and sometimes, well, we say a real mouthful!  Jason Travis Ott’s Grandiloquent Words (Countryman Press) presents a marvelous look at unusual verbiage, antiquated phrases and fancy-schmantzy, high-falootin’ argot that have festooned our language for centuries.

Find out all about one of the world’s most famous fashionistas in The World According to Yves Saint Laurent (Thames and Hudson), which corrals the visionary couture icon’s maxims and musings on style, elegance, women, models, color, accessories and much more. A fascinating first-person look into the French-born designer who ultimately launched an eponymous fashion empire.

NOW HEAR THIS!

Beatles fans will flip their wigs over the fantastic new reissue of the career-spanning “Red” and “Blue” anthhology albums, available in both CD and vinyl, with all the band’s singles and B-sides from 1962 to 1970, plus new tracks—and the supergroup’s “last” song, “Now and Then,” a John Lennon original given finishing touches by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

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