Category Archives: Sports

Jun 14 2024
Leave a comment
Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

June 14 – June 20

Get to know Poison’s Bret Michaels, go house-hunting with Reese Witherspoon, & hold on to your car when you visit Las Vegas!

Find all about Bret Michaels of the band Poison in this week’s episode of ‘Biography.’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, June 14
The Boys
The “boys” are back for season four of the satirical superhero series, dishing out more wallops of vigilante justice to so-called do-gooders doing bad things (Prime Video).

Mama June: Family Crisis
Who would have thought Honey Boo Boo would have such a lasting cultural impact? New episodes of the spinoff, about Boo Boo’s mother, spin around issues of declining health, college and legal woes, below (9 p.m., WE tv).

SATURDAY, June 15
Find My Country House
Leave the city life behind in this new series from Reese Witherspoon’s production company, in which couples search for their dreams of rural paradise, from high-tech farmhouses to seclued ranches and cute hideaway cottages (12 p.m., A&E).

Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong Story
A love triangle turns deadly and leads to a manhunt in this real-life drama starring Caity Lotz, Kyle Schmid and Larissa Dias (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, June 16
Biography
Get a backstage pass into the lives and music of some of rock’s biggest superstars in this new series of specials kicked off tonight by Bret Michaels, and followed in coming weeks by Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar and more (9 p.m., A&E).

House of the Dragon
Season two begins of the Game of Thrones spinoff series (below), a prequel taking place 200 years earlier, starring Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy and Rhys Ifans (9 p.m., HBO).

Sin City Tow
If you park your car while you party in Las Vegas but lose track of time, Sin City Tow may take it away. This new reality series looks at the often hot-tempered towing scene in a city where people go to win big, but usually end up losing their shirts…or their cars! (9 p.m., Discovery).

MONDAY, June 17
My Life is Murder
Lucy Lawless returns for season four as the fearless Aussie investigator Alexa Crowe as she digs into eight new mysteries and a fresh batch of diabolical killers (Acorn TV).

The Great American Recipe
Home cooks from across the country showcase their culinary talents as they compete in this taste-tempting celebration of multiculturism (9 p.m., PBS).

Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown
How did the idealistic religious organization led by the infamous Jim Jones go horribly wrong, leaving almost a thousand followers dead in Guyana? This new doc looks at the story behind some of the most horrendous headlines of the 1970s (Hulu).

TUESDAY, June 18
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
Three-part docuseries puts the spotlight on disco music, its groovy beginnings and its top artists and icons—like Donna Summer, below— and how it became a major musical liberation movement in the 1970s representing female empowerment and LGBTQ+ identity (9 p.m., PBS).

Here to Climb
Follow pro climber Sasha DiGiulian (below) on her rise from child prodigy to champion sport climber, scaling the biggest, scariest walls on the planet—charting her own vertical course where pathways don’t exist (9 p.m., HBO).

Hope in the Water
Travel the globe in this documentary featuring Shailene Woodley and Martha Stewart as they explore creative solutions and breakthroughs that might be our future of sustainable “blue food” from the oceans (9 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, June 19
Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics
Two-hour documentary showcases Owens’ historic triumph over Nazi Germany during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. LeBron James is one of the producers (8 p.m., History).

Dynamic Planet
Four-part series filmed over three years explores the effects of climate change on all seven continents and their inhabitants, and how science, nature, and Indigenous knowledge can prepare us for the future (8 p.m., PBS)

THURSDAY, June 20
Rear Window
Director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic—about an apartment resident with a broken leg who helplessly witnesses what he thinks is a murder out his window—stars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly…and Raymond Burr as a very bad guy (9 p.m., TCM).

Slave Play. Not a Movie
Provocative documentary takes viewers inside the buzzy Broadway play about race, sex and interracial relationships (9 p.m., HBO).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with volcanos—mountains that spewed rocks and fire. My interest was generated primarily by seeing them in the background of illustrations of dinosaurs. Adventures in Volcanoland (Hanover Square Press) is a deeper, far much more fascinating and fact-filled look at these monstrously magnificent mountains, with acclaimed geochemist Dr. Tasmin Mather as your guide to volcanos in history, the science of eruptions, and how volcanos drive our planet’s “constant cycles of ebb and flow, destruction and renewal.”

So you think you know Paris? Not the international Euro destination city, but the Hilton Hotel heiress who became a pop-culture marquee name? Find out all about the life and times of Paris Hilton in Paris: The Memoir (William Morrow), her autobio now in paperback. From rebellious teen to wilderness camps and sexual abuse, and becoming a queen of celebrity culture, I’m betting there’s a lot you didn’t know about Paris.

Sci-fi lovers will love The First Geeks (McFarland) and its spotlight on the lives and careers of writer Ray Bradbury, monster-mag man Forrest J. Ackerman and effects genius Ray Harryhausen, back from when they were comic-book nerds and buddies in the 1930s…and long before they were household names in filmdom. Ackerman became the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland; Bradbury was an author highly sought by Hollywood for his novels and screenplays; and Harryhausen went on to become a pioneer of stop-motion animation.

BRING IT HOME

Jeffrey Wright was nominated for multiple awards, including an Oscar, for his starring role in American Fiction as an erudite Black man who confronts racist stereotypes head-on, with a pen instead of a sword. With Tracee Ellis Ross, Leslie Uggams, Issa Rae and Sterling K. Brown. Highly recommended!

Up your nose with a rubber hose! Relive all the heartwarming humor and hijinks of the beloved 1970s sitcom series Welcome Back, Kotter, starring Gabe Kaplan as a grownup graduate of a tough Brooklyn high school now returning to teach there and tame an unruly class of troublemakers, including a young John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino. The handsome boxed set of DVDs includes all 95 episodes.

May 24 2024
Leave a comment
Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

May 24 – May 30

Lainey Wilson’s ‘Bell Bottom Country,’ JoLo hunts a robot & cowboy stars saddle up

All times Eastern.

ABC’s Robin Roberts spotlights Lainey Wilson in a new documentary special.

FRIDAY, May 24
Atlas
Jennifer Lopez goes on the hunt for a renegade robot in this futuristic sci-fi thriller with a timely theme about artificial intelligence (Netflix). 

Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter
Series features ensembles of actors from TV shows and films (including Abbott Elementary, Fargo, Saturday Night Live, Frasier) delving into issues affecting the entertainment industry and their livelihoods, filmed on location in Hollywood’s Georgian Hotel (AMC+).

SATURDAY, May 25
Gaga Chromatica Ball
Concert special features the 13-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter and Oscar winner Lady Gaga performing at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium during her 2022 tour (8 p.m., HBO).

SUNDAY, May 26
The Dirty Dozen
Your afternoon matinee movie can be this 1967 all-star combat classic, with Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, former NFL great Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas as a motley crew of military misfits trained as commandos for a suicide mission ahead of the Allied landing at Normandy (2:15 p.m., TCM).

MONDAY, May 27
Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter
On the heels of Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV comes this new docuseries diving into the accusations of rape and sexual assault, and other controversies swirling around the ill-fated brothers after falling from the spotlight as pop stars (9 p.m., ID).

The Truth
Israeli courtroom drama opens the day after a controversial murder case is about to reach its final verdict…and an identical murder takes place (Acorn TV).

Memorial Day Western Marathon
Saddle up for a full day of Wild Western action with Hollywood honchos including John Wayne (Stagecoach), Burt Lancaster (The Rainmaker), Willie Nelson (Red Headed Stranger), Robert Mitchum (El Dorado), Kenny Rogers (The Gambler) and Gary Cooper (High Noon). Begins 8 a.m., HDNet). 

John Wayne and Robert Mitchum share the stage(coach) in ‘El Dorado.’

TUESDAY, May 28
Fiennes Return to the Wild
Dubbed the world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Randolph Fiennes and his cousin (actor Joseph Fiennes) embark on a colorful journey through Canada’s British Columbia, sharing adventure and strengthening their family bond (10 p.m. National Geographic).

WEDNESDAY, May 29
Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country
How did a young woman from a rural farming town become one of the hottest singers in country music, a three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and a Grammy winner? Find out in this primetime special produced by GMA’s Robin Roberts (Hulu).

THURSDAY, May 30
We Are Lady Parts
The season two adventures (above) of a Muslim female punk band in the UK, created, written and directed by Nida Manzoor and inspired by her own musical childhood (Peacock).

Die Hart II
Comedian Kevin Hart returns in this sequel, playing a fictional version of himself as he tries to firm up his legacy as the greatest action star of all time with a revolutionary new movie (Prime Video).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

In Life’s Too Short (Harper Collins), singer/songwriter Darius Rucker tells his life story through more than 20 songs (by artists as varied as Frank Sinatra and KISS) that made him and shaped his as he became the front man of Hootie the Blowfish and later, a hitmaking country music performer—and the first Black country artist to crack into the business in decades.

Get high with The Art of Climbing (WWNorton), a dazzling photographic collection of photographs by Simon Carter of the world’s greatest rock- and mountain-climbing spots, and the world-class climbers who risk life and limb to conquer them. You can see what’s it like to be a fearless daredevil from the comfort (and relative safety) of your armchair!

BRING IT HOME

Johnny Depp leads the cast of director John Waters’ Cry Baby (Kino Lorber), the 1990 cult classic now getting its first release as a newly restored 4K version. It’s a rockin’ tale about a rich beautiful “square (Amy Locane) who falls for an irresistible juvenile delinquent (Depp) in the 1950s. With new bonus features, like commentary and behind the scenes featurettes—including Traci Lords, who was then making her transition from porn to mainstream cinema.

May 10 2024
Leave a comment
Books, DVDs, Movies, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

May 10 – May 16

A ‘Partridge Family’ marathon, worlds collide for ‘Young Sheldon’ & Peyton Manning spotlights female hoopsters

Watch a marathon of ‘The Partridge Family’…and one of TV’s coolest moms!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, May 10
The Chi
The sixth season’s second half of the hit series begins tonight unfolds tonight, with the continuing saga about life in a dangerous neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side (Paramount+ with Showtime).

The Iron Claw
Acclaimed feature film about pro wrestling’s famous (and famously ill-fated) Von Erich family stars a beefed-up Zach Efron (below), plus Jeremy Allen White (from The Bear), Maura Tierney and Lily James, who swaps her British accent for a Texas twang (Max).

SATURDAY, May 11
The Partridge Family Mother’s Day Marathon
C’mon, get happy! And celebrate TV’s greatest pop-star mom (Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge) with 16 classic episodes of the iconic musical sitcom of yesteryear, with guest appearances by Johnny Cash, Farrah Fawcett, Dick Clark, Mark Hamill and Jacyln Smith! (1 p.m., AXS).

Full Court Press
College-bound basketball queen Caitlin Clark (below) is among the hot hoopsters featured in this series produced by Peyton Manning and profiling women’s b-ball superstars (1 p.m., ABC).

Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die
The comedian/actress fearlessly digs into a wide range of topics in this special recorded in Seattle, Wash., including why she doesn’t want kids, the realities of getting older and her plans for her death (10 p.m., HBO). 

SUNDAY, May 12
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
It doesn’t have Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks (who starred in the 1994 movie version), but season two of the fan-favorite hit streaming series (about an ancient vampire recounting his life story to a journalist) begins tonight, with Jacob Anderson and Delainey Hayles (AMC+).

Time100: The World’s Most Interesting People
Coverage of last month’s live gala honoring Dua Lipa, Taraji P. Henson, NFL QB Patrick Mahomes, Kylie Minougue, Michael J. Fox and more industry-spanning individuals honored by the venerable weekly publication (10 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, May 13
Summer Baking Championship
Jesse Palmer hosts as bakers from around the world heat up the kitchen to prove their talents in summer-travel themed challenges, from tropical fruit to beach vacations (8 p.m., Food).

After the Flood
British thriller series set in a small town hit by a devastating deluge, exposing secrets and putting fortunes and reputations at stake. Starring Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Russell (below, on BritBox).

TUESDAY, May 13
Pillowcase Murders
Three-night series sheds new light on the serial killer who preyed upon one of America’s most vulnerable populations—senior citizens in retirement communities (Paramount+).

WEDNESDAY, May 15
In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin
Joined by his trained-chef niece Renee Guilbault, the actor welcomes celebrity guests (Ted Danson! Mary Steenburgen! Bobby Miynihan! Ed Begley Jr.!) to share favorite recipes, offer kitchen tips and set the table for some elegant Hollywood-worthy dinners (11 p.m., AMC+ and IFC).

Secrets in Your Data
Are you worried about how much info about you—name, address, phone number, workplace, family—is available online? This eye-opening doc reveals how easily our privacy is compromised and how we can better maintain it (9 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, May 16
Bridgerton
Season three of the hit Shondaland period drama dresses up new plotlines for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and other characters with complicated lives in London’s high society (Netflix).

Young Sheldon
Worlds collide! Jim Parsons and Mayam Bialik reprise their roles from The Big Bang Theory on tonight’s finale about the young(er) life of brainiac Sheldon Cooper (above, 8 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Ol’ Scratch has been around for centuries, but now journalist Randall Sullivan takes a new look at the figure of the Devil, and how humankind has “used” the satanic figure to help embody crime, violence and otherwise inexplicable unpleasantries. Engrossing, fascinating and full of detail, The Devil’s Best Trick (Grove Atlantic) is an eye-opening descent in the historical, religious and cultural concepts that have been funneled into our dark fascination with the Big D.

Tom Selleck tells all in You Never Know (Dey Street), in which the iconic TV and movie star relates his entertaining, engaging story of growing up, coming to Hollywood, finding superstar success and making friends with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Carol Burnett. How did he put his career on the line for Magnum P.I.? Or walk away from a show that could have easily continued for years to come? It’s all here, and more!

The movie industry has often portrayed motherhood as scary, and sometimes crazy, from Mommy Dearest and Carrie to Rosemary’s Baby and Hereditary, and beyond. In Hollywood’s Monstrous Moms (McFarland), author Kassia Krone turns a keen academic eye to a wide range of real-world mental illness, their depiction in the movies across time, how serious psychological disorders and disabilities often became horrifying film stereotypes.

BRING IT HOME


The gigantic sandworms are back in Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), director Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular looking follow-up to his epic sci-fi 2021 film, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Rebecca Ferguson. And it’s loaded with bonus features, including how the cast learned to ride those massive sandworms!

Apr 05 2024
Leave a comment
Books, DVDs, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

April 5 – April 11

Kelsea gives trophies, Julianne Moore schemes & darkness creeps across America

All times Eastern.

Kelsea Ballerini hosts the CMT Music Awards.

FRIDAY, April 5
Scoop
Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell lead the cast of the dramatized inside story of the explosive BBC television interview with Britain’s Prince Andrew, in which he disastrously tried to defend and distance himself from the Jeffery Epstein sex-trafficking scandal (Netflix).

Mary & George
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine star in this new psychodrama limited series (below) based on the scandalous true story of a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the 17th century Court of England…and the bed of King James I (9 p.m., Starz).

On the Case with Paula Zahn
New season, new cases, including murder mysteries two teen girls in Alabama, a popular DJ’s wife in Atlanta and a U.S. Navy recruit in Florida, plus a love triangle gone very bad (10 p.m., ID).

SATURDAY, April 6
Two For One
New series features 12 nights of double features curated by celebrated Hollywood filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Olivia Wilde and Paul Thomas Anderson, and hosted by TCM’s own Ben Mankiewicz (8 p.m., TCM).

CMT Music Awards
Kelsea Ballerini hosts the ceremony—and is among the top nominees—live from Austin, Texas, with accolades for the top-voted videos and artists in country music (8 p.m., CBS)

SUNDAY, April 7
Collector’s Call
Host Lisa Whelchel returns for season two, spotlighting collectors and their collections celebrating “Weird Al” Yankovic, Star Wars, Pearl Jam, Bozo the Clown, and more pop-culture icons (6:30 p.m., MeTV).

MONDAY, April 8
My Parkinsons
Three individuals navigate their lives with the neurodegenerative disease (10 p.m., PBS).

The First 1,000
Primetime special takes a look inside the TV-verse of NCIS, celebrating the milestone of 1,000 episodes of the wide-ranging worldwide hit franchise (9 p.m., CBS). 

Eclipse Across America
In ancient times, people thought the daytime darkening of a total solar eclipse meant the world was ending. But they didn’t have TV platforms to team up and tell them what was going on, like in this live telecast of the event hosted by David Muir with coverage spanning 10 cities across North America (2 p.m., ABC, National Graphic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Disney+ and Hulu).

26.2 to Life
Documentary about incarcerated men at San Quentin Prison training for a 26.2 marathon. Ready to run, indeed! (9 p.m., ESPN).

TUESDAY, April 9
Brandy Heville & The Cult of Fast Fashion
Documentary uncovers the toxic culture of the clothing brand popular with young girls, and the global ramifications of mass-produced, Instagram-fueled clothing known as “fast fashion” (9 p.m., HBO).

Mud Madness
Get down and dirty with this series (above) that follows the off-road subculture of extreme Big-Tire mud racing and its passionate fans (9 p.m., Discovery).

WEDNESDAY, April 10
The Challenge: All Stars
Former contestants and winners reunite in South Africa for the latest installment of the reality-show competition spinoff of The Real World and Road Rules (Paramount +).

Tryouts
Seven-episode series looks at intense competitions for spots as lifeguards, cheerleading, Monster Truck drivers, women’s fast-pitch softball and dancers (ESPN+).

THURSDAY, April 11
Patti Stanger: The Matchmaker
The relationship guru (the CEO of Millionaire’s Club International) helps looking-for-love people find romance, with the help of The Bachelor’s Nick Vaill (8 p.m., The CW).

Lovers & Liars
New dating competition is built around 24 women and three men on a tropical island and a chance to win $100,000—if the guys can tell the 12 “real” contestant lovers from the “liars” who’ve been “planted” there to deceive them and bring home the big bucks (9 p.m., The CW).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Meet some eye-popping “body artists” and marvel at photos of their masterpieces in Tattoo You (Phaedon), a highly visual collection of contemporary groundbreaking tattoo lovers and doers. With almost 700 photos, it’s an ink-tastitic journey into how an ancient artform continues to evolve at the intersection of art, culture, fashion and self-expression. 

Do you take pics of your cute kitties and adorable doggies? Well, why? In Why We Photograph Animals (Thames & Hudson), naturalist author Huw Lewis-Jones digs into the reasons that our “wildlife” friends are favorite camera fodder…and what our animal pics say about us. Highly recommended for pet lovers of all kinds.

BRING IT HOME

Kathryn Newston and Cole Sprouse star in the wickedly dark comedy Lisa Frankenstein (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), about a misunderstood high school girl and her crush…who happens to be a handsome corpse. It’s a wink-wink tribute to the teen-slasher movies of the ‘80s with a Gothic movie-monster twist.

Mar 29 2024
Leave a comment
Books, History, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

March 29 – April 4

All about a “wild and crazy guy,” Ewan McGregor holes up in a hotel & how Julius Caesar became a legendary tyrant

Find out about the wide-ranging career of Steve Martin in the documentary two-parter ‘Steve!’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, March 29
Spermworld
Go into the unregulated realm of baby making with this investigative documentary about sperm donors and hopeful parents (10 p.m., FX).

The Beautiful Game
Inspiring tale of a homeless football team advances to compete at the global street soccer championship games in Rome (below). With Bill Nighy and Michael Ward (Netflix).

Steve!
Two-part documentary about comedian actor Steve Martin, chronicling his upbringing, his years of “wild and crazy guy” standup and the esteemed acting icon he’s become today (Apple TV+). 

SATURDAY, March 30
Beyond the Aggressives
New documentary series catches up with the subjects of the original late-90s, early 2000 series about “Aggressives” or “AGs,” a term for Black queer, sexually dominant women (Paramount+)

SUNDAY, March 31

A Gentleman in Moscow
Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (above) star in this eight-episode drama about a Russian count in the aftermath of his country’s revolution who finds himself exiled to a room in an opulent hotel and threatened with death if he ever steps foot outside again (9 p.m., Paramount+).

Parish
Crime thriller stars The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito as a New Orleans businessman drawn back into his former life in organized crime after the murder of his son. With Skeet Ulrich and Bradley Whitford (below left), who digs into his role as a covert crime lord (10 p.m., AMC).

MONDAY, April 1
Vanderpump Villa
Docudrama series follows Lisa Vanderpump and her staff as they live, work and play on an exclusive French estate (Hulu).

IHeart Radio Awards
Justin Timberlake, Green Day, TLC, Jelly Roll, Laney Wilson and many more will perform at this live event honoring the year’s top music-makers—plus a special tribute performance to this year’s Icon Award recipient, Cher (8 p.m., Fox).

TUESDAY, April 2
The Weakest Link
New season of the competition series hosted by Jane Lynch starts tonight, in which contestants must work together to build a “chain” by answering trivia questions (9 p.m., NBC).

Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator
Hail, Caesar! That’s the title of one of my favorite Coen Brothers films, but this new documentary series explores how the nearly-five-centuries old Roman democracy was destroyed and dismantled in less than two decades and turned into a dictatorship—and how Caesar became one of history’s most notorious tyrants (9 p.m., PBS).

Underdog
Documentary about Doug Butler, an aging Vermont dairy farmer with an offbeat passion: dog mushing (Amazon, Apple TV and other streaming platforms).

WEDNESDAY, April 3
A Brief History of the Future
What will tomorrow and beyond look like? This optimistic documentary hosted by “futurist” Ari Wallach offers a fresh, hopeful projection of what we might expect in the decades to come if we can overcome the existential threats we see today (9 p.m., PBS).

Loot
SNL veteran Maya Rudolph (below) stars in (and produces) this snappy workplace comedy about a recent divorcee recovering from her former marriage to a tech billionaire (Apple TV+).

Star Trek: Discovery
Blast off for the final season of the hit series iconic sci-fi spinoff starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp and Mary Wiseman, as the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery once again heads across the universe for one more intergalactic adventure (Paramount+).

THURSDAY, April 4
Ripley
Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley, based on the bestselling novel series by Patricia Highsmith, about a grifter who finds himself in an international swirl of deceit, fraud and murder (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Tired of staying in the same ol’ hotels? Secret Stays (Aussouline) by former Conde Nast Traveler editor Melinda Stevens, transports armchair adventurers to some of the most unique, mostly unknown hotels around the world, from secluded abbeys to ancient manors and larger-than-life mansions. Lavishly illustrated. 

What did people do before written history? Stefanos Geroulanos’ The Invention of Prehistory (WW Norton) shows how the endless quest to know our humanity was shaped—and often misshaped—by all sorts of theories and notions of barbarians, Neanderthals, Amazon women and utopian paradises…and often became the ideological foundations for repressive regimes that considered people as less than human.

 

Sep 15 2023
Leave a comment
Books, Movies, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Friday, Sept. 15 – Thursday, Sept. 21

Married life takes a murderous turn, Batman wings it all day, and Kim Kardashian’s ‘Horror Story’

Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jenna Coleman in ‘Wilderness’

FRIDAY, Sept. 15
El Conde
Well, here’s something you don’t see every day: A dark comedy set in Chile about a fascist ruler who happens to be vampire and decides the undead life isn’t for him. Think What We Do in the Shadows with a South American twist (Netflix).

Wilderness
A cross-country dream trip turns into a domestic dilemma in this British TV-series thriller as a young wife (Jenna Coleman) stews over the infidelity of her unfaithful husband (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) as marital bliss turns into fury and revenge, with an opening song by Taylor Swift (Prime).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Game geeks, get ready! The first videogame was created about 70 years ago, but now that “novelty” has become a worldwide phenomenon. Game Changers (Phaidon) is the definitive illustrated compendium of some 300 of pop culture’s most influential and iconic games, consoles and more.

Screen Style (Lawrence King) by film fashionista media consultant Marnie Fogg lets you eyeball some of the most colorful, iconic and wowza wardrobe items from iconic TV shows and movies, including Bridgerton, Empire, Downtown Abbey, The Deuce, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Euphoria, Schitt’s Creek, The Crown and much more. And it’s packed with hundreds of full-color pics, helping exoplain how clothes “make” the man (and the woman!) by establishing time and place and character traits, and setting the tone in subtle, distinctive and absolutely integral ways.

Lovers of language (and how it sometimes gets mauled) will love Damp Squids and Card Sharks (Hardie Grant) by Robert Anwood. This lively little volume is a treat for anyone who appreciates mangled phrases, mixed metaphors, mispelling mishaps and other interesting mis-uses and outright abuses of English. 

SATURDAY, Sept. 16
WOW-Women of Wresting
Pull up your ringside seat for season two of this series about the fabulous female grapplers who it duke it out on the mat…if that’s your jam (syndicated).

Batman
Take wing with the Cape Crusader (above) and a full day of movies, include director Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed trilogy with Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises), plus Justice League and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (begins 10 a.m., TNT).

SUNDAY, Sept. 17
Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein
True-crime fans will flip over this new docuseries, about the serial killer and grave robber whose twisted mind and heinous acts of real-life horror inspired the movies Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (MGM+).

The Gold
Hugh Bonneville and Dominic Cooper lead the cast of this new drama (below), based on a true 1983 story about how a group of men inadvertently stumbled across some $34 million in gold bullion during a London robbery (Paramount+).

MONDAY, Sept. 18
Neighbors
New season of the Australian drama series begins tonight, following the lives, loves and challenges of residents on the fictional Ramsay Street in a suburb of Melbourne (Freevee).

The Academy of Country Music Honors
This annual all-star fete, which was held in August at Nashville’s historic auditorium, will salute country hitmakers including Chris Stapleton, Clint Black, K.T. Oslin, Tim McGraw and Mary Chapin Carpenter (8 p.m., Fox).

Superpowers
Sean Penn directed this documentary about Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and the country’s ongoing fight for its freedom against Russia (Paramount+).

NOW HEAR THIS

Ready for some hard-charging, guitar-slinging retro rockbilly? Brian Setzer’s new The Devil Always Collects (Surfgod Records) is a hip-cat trip to rockville with a new collection of tunes from the former Stray Cats frontman—including a blisteringly groovy take on the old Del Reeves country truckin’ anthem, “Girl on the Billboard.”

TUESDAY, Sept. 19
Celebrity Name That Tune
How well do the stars know music? Find out as more famous folks come aboard for season three and try to win big bugs for their charities. Randy Fox and Jane Krakowski return as hosts (8 p.m., Fox).

The Mask
See the 1994 superhero comedy which began Jim Carrey’s trajectory as a gonzo breakout star, established Cameron Diaz as a leading lady, and made swing music hip again. And oh, yeah, it made more moolah (at the time) than any other film ever based on a comic book (10 p.m., TruTV).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20

American Horror Story: Delicate
Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and Cara Delevingne are among the cast for the latest installment of the award-winning anthology horror series, which will feature episodes about witches, a traveling freak show, a haunted hotel and the apocalypse itself. It’s scary good! (10 p.m., FX).

The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
On March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. The world watched with bated breath as a verdict was announced. The people of South Carolina’s Lowcountry had been waiting the better part of two years to understand what happened the night of June 7, 2021. Now you can find out more in season two of the documentary delving into that fateful night (Netflix).  

THURSDAY, Sept. 21
Bill Murray Moviefest
He’s done some semi-serious stuff, but Murray will always be known for making us laugh. Settle in tonight for a back-to-back mini-fest of his funniest films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Meatballs and Stripes (5 p.m., Pluto).

The Prank Panel In the season finale, the practical-joker pranksters (Johnny Knoxville, Eric Andre and Gabourey Sidibe) help pull off an elaborate practical joke involving a new bride and an allergic reaction (9 p.m., ABC).

Sep 01 2023
Leave a comment
Books, DVDs, Movies, Pop Culture, Sports, Television, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Friday, Sept. 1 – Thursday, Sept. 7

‘The Little Mermaid,’ love in the Smoky Mountains & a sordid scouting scandal

Disney’s live-action ‘Little Mermaid’ comes ashore for streaming this week.

FRIDAY, Sept. 1
The Wheel of Time
Season two begins tonight, about a farm boy who may destroy the world and a group of sorceresses fighting his power and madness (below). With Rosamund Pike (Prime Video).

Power Book IV: Force
The hit franchise returns tonight, as Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) charts new territory, capitalizes on his competitors’ weaknesses and makes a play at becoming Chicago’s top drug dealer (8 p.m., Starz).

SATURDAY, Sept. 2
Unforgotten
No, it’s not the Clint Eastwood Western, which was Unforgiven—but rather season five of the British crime series in which London detectives solve a new variety of cold-case disappearances and murder (9 p.m., PBS)

SUNDAY, Sept. 3
Love in the Great Smoky Mountains
Arielle Kebbell and Zach Roerig (above) star as a pair of former sweethearts who rediscover romance while working together on a project in the nation’s most-visited national park (8 p.m., Hallmark).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

You’ll get the “feels” with Motherhood (Tate Publishing), a heartwarming collection of visual representations of motherhood as depicted by artists over the centuries.

A host of vocalist all-stars tell what it’s like to do what they do in The Singers Talk (Permuted Press), featuring more than 70 revealing, wide-ranging interviews, including Tony Bennett, Emmylou Harris, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Ozzie Osborne and many more!

Fans of everything royal will delight at Queen Elizabeth II: A Photographic Portrait (Thames & Hudson), a splendid collection (and reflection) on the royal highness and her 70 years on the throne, from her first official baby portrait to her Platinum Jubilee last year. More than 200 images, from acclaimed photographers, trace her life and reign, with essays by bestselling historian and author Philip Ziegler.

MONDAY, Sept. 4
Secrets of Penthouse
Four-episode series tells the true story of the rise and fall of Bob Guccione, who made millions as the founder of Penthouse magazine, which challenged Playboy for the girlie-mag market—and pushed the envelope of adult publishing further than it had ever been before (9 p.m., A&E)

Ancient Empires
Three-night event explores the legacies of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra (8 p.m., History).

While We Watched
Strong-stuff documentary offers an unfiltered looks at NDTV, once the bastion of information within India’s TV networks, now spiraling downward in waves of fake news, financial setbacks, creeping nationalism and extremist attacks on truth. It’s a snapshot of a world in crisis, told through the microcosm of one television network that stands as a representative of modern journalism (10 p.m., PBS). 

TUESDAY, Sept. 5

BRING IT HOME

Worlds collide in the acclaimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), in which multiple versions of the character intersect in a dazzling spectacle of animated adventure. With Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali and Oscar Isaac.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
The reality series returns for a new season (below) with frigid family dynamics, red hot international travel and a shocking betrayal that none of the women saw coming (9 p.m., Bravo).

One Shot: Overtime Elite
Six-part sports documentary series follows the new generation of NBA top draft-pick rookies, led by Amen and Ausar Thompson, Jakhi Howard, Rob Dillingham and Eli Ellis (Prime).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 6
Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America
How did the Scouts try to cover up one of history’s most horrific sexual abuse scandals? Find out in this documentary, which talks to whistleblowers, survivors and former BSA employees (Netflix).

The Little Mermaid
Disney’s recent live-action re-imagining of its “under the sea” music-filled classic comes today to streaming, with Halle Bailey as Ariel, Javier Bardem as King Triton and Melissa McCarthy as the evil Ursula (Disney+).

THURSDAY, Sept. 7
The Dead Files
Season three of the spooky reality series finds psychic medium Cindy Kaza and homicide detective Steve DiSchiavia teaming up again for more investigations of the paranormal (10 p.m., Travel).

Virgin River
Alexandra Breckinridge (above) returns as midwife “Mel” Monroe for season five of the romantic drama series as the characters face a shocking breakup, a wrenching court trial and a wildfire that threatens their northern California town (Netflix). 

Aug 24 2023
1 Comment
Movie Reviews, Movies, Sports

Balls ‘n’ Bibles

Dennis Quaid goes gonzo for God in heavy-handed baseball biopic

The Hill
Starring Dennis Quaid, Colin Ford, Jonelle Carter, Bonnie Bedelia & Randy Houser
Directed by Jeff Celentano
PG

In theaters Friday, Aug. 25

Baseball and the Bible round the bases in this sermonizing biopic based on the real-life story of a young Texan with a degenerative spine disorder who dreams of becoming a Major League baseball player.

If you happen to already know about Rickey Hill, this story won’t yield any big grand-slam surprises. But for most mainstream viewers, not steeped in the obscure stats and historic miscellany of America’s pastime, you’ll be learning about him for the first time—how he grew up with stiff braces on both legs, how his rural-preacher daddy forbade him to play ball, how little Rickey did anyway. And how the underdog Rickey, ultimately, lived his dream.

Rickey is played as a child by newcomer Jesse Berry, making his acting debut, and he’s good—one of the best things about the movie, in fact. He’s certainly much more of a “screen presence” than Rickey as a high schooler, played by Colin Ford, a Nashville native who appeared in TV’s Under the Dome and several other series (including as a victim of Jeffrey Dahmer in last year’s Dahmer: Monster). He’s kind of a victim in The Hill, too, confined in a movie that seems unable to give him more than one dimension to maneuver.

Dennis Quaid plays Rickey’s father, dishing out fire and brimstone from the pulpit while his young son blasts rocks with sticks in the backyard, sending them sailing into the sky and over the trees—and sometimes through windshields. More than once we hear other people marvel that his talent is “phenomenal,” his batting skills a “miracle” given his condition.

Director Jeff Celentano is a former actor (whose movies you’ve likely never heard of) turned B-movie filmmaker (whose films, well, ditto). He’s playing in the big leagues now, sort of, with a handful of brand-name actors (Quaid, Bonnie Bedelia, Scott Glenn, Joelle Carter from TV’s Justified and Chicago Hope) and a movie releasing nationwide. Rickey Hill’s story is, for sure, an inspirational one—how a kid never let go of his dream, despite the odds that he’d never make it. It’s a feel-good movie for people who want a movie that wants to make them feel good, scratch their “films about faith” itch and likes their sports with a great deal of Bible thumping. It means well, but its real-life drama of the diamond, under the halos of the ballpark lights, gets lost in tedious, telegraphed tent-revival messaging.

And The Hill is Hallmark Channel quality up on the big screen, with ooey-gooey sentimentality, cringey performances, and a heavy, holy-hokum dose of Sunday School threaded by stories of David and Goliath, the strength of Solomon, sermons about water and rocks, God’s “calling” and being “tested,” admonitions about respecting “the Lord’s house,” and so many quoted Bible verses, I lost count. The dialog is laughably clunky and scripted with such a heavy hand, prone to speech-ifying and often putting words into character’s mouths that, I’m certain, they wouldn’t say. (“Hardscrapple,” for instance, wasn’t a word you would hear a lot in the rural South of the early 1960s. I was there, and I know.) And it just seems odd to hear a little girl—Ricky’s childhood sweetie—chide him about his batting and limited “body rotation.”)

In some instances, you can tell that characters mouths move to salty words that we spoken in a scene but later overdubbed into substitutions—“darn” for “dam,” “stuff” for, well, another word that stars with an “s.” This is a movie that doesn’t have the conviction it’s so preachy about—to let people talk the way they would naturally talk.

Quaid has a deep acting resume that has swung wide, as they say, over the decades, with some bona fide classics (Breaking Away, The Rookie, The Right Stuff) and some real dogs (Jaws 3, A Dog’s Purpose, I Can Only Imagine). This one leans into foul territory, as he gets all grim and clammy—and hammy—digging deep into fever-pitch fervor, insisting that his son follow his zealous path into pastorhood. It’s over the top, even for an actor who played Jerry Lee Lewis, Ronald Reagan, and Lindsay Lohan’s dad in The Parent Trip.

Bonnie Bedelia, who plays his mouthy mother-in-law, is bedecked in a wad of ghostly white granny hair and makeup to make her appear even older than her 75 years. The former soap star who made a splash alongside Bruce Willis in Die Hard looks like she entered every scene from the set of a small-town community playhouse. Oh, and she gets a deathbed scene so full of corn, it’s a real bumper crop. There should be a trail of it following her into the cemetery.

There are several moments that mimic other, better movies—a “railroad tracks” scene set to a retro tune that recalls Stand By Me, slo-mo slugfest batting a la The Natural. Church-going folks may flock to The Hill, but more discriminating movie fans can find a (sand)lot of better baseball movies to love.

—Neil Pond

Jun 02 2023
Leave a comment
Books, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Friday, June 2 – Thursday, June 9

Ah-nold gets real, Shatner returns to space & dark Duggar Family secrets

The ‘Terminator’ star gets real in his new Netflix series.

FRIDAY, June 2
Searching for Soul Food
The term “soul food” means different things to different people in different places. Celebrity chef Alisha Reynolds travels the world to experience this time-honored ethnic cuisine and its various regional and international incarnations (Apple TV+)

Shooting Stars
Hoops fans will want to watch this original film, a dramatization of how LeBron James grew up to become a peerless basketball superstar (Peacock).

Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets
Limited docuseries (below) exposes the dark secrets of abuse behind America’s infamous TV family (remember their reality show, 19 Kids and Counting?) and the radical, cult-like church in the background (Prime Video).

NOW HEAR THIS

Air is this year’s movie for people who say they don’t like sports movies, a feel-good flick that feels like a mashup of vibes from Jerry McGuire and Moneyball. The soundtrack is etched with deep-dish ‘80s grooves from Dire Straits, Violent Femmes, Mike & The Mechanics, Bruce Springsteen, Run-D.M.C, Squeeze and more, all woven into director-actor Ben Affleck’s true-story tale of how a third-tier shoe company launched the business of superstar sports marketing by lacing up a deal with basketball phenom Michael Jordan.

SATURDAY, June 3
TLC Forever
Don’t go chasin’ waterfalls…. Instead, watch this two-hour documentary about the Atlanta-based female group (below) that led the way with their music, message and style in the 1990s, going on to sell more 85 million records (8 p.m., Lifetime and A&E).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Jessica Lange: An Adventurer’s Heart (University Press of Kentucky) is author Anthony Uzarowski’s new deep-dive biography of the award-winning actress, covering her early years in Minnesota, her carefully guarded private life, and her fruitful partnership with playwright/actor Sam Shepard, which became one of Hollywood’s most tumultuous secretive relationships.

Ever since Moneyball, we’ve been much more savvy about how much the information age has shaped pro sports. In Game of Edges (W.W. Norton), author Bruce Schoenfeld goes even deeper for a fascinating inside look at how data analysis, tech and commercial considerations continue to reform the landscape of baseball, soccer, football, basketball and even gaming. 

You know that filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have made some classic films, including Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski. Find out in The Coen Brothers and American Roots Music (McFarland) just how important the musical soundtracks have always been to their cinematic work.

SUNDAY, June 3
The Lazarus Project
New drama series follows a recruit (Paapa Essiedu) in an organization that has harnessed the ability to turn back time whenever the world is on the precipice of extinction (9 p.m., TNT).

MONDAY, June 4
The Eric Andre Show
Season six of the cult-fave grownup sketch series begins, and its slate of upcoming guest stars is pretty impressive—Natasha Lyonne, Jon Hamm, Raven-Symone, Cypress Hill, Lil Yachty and many more (midnight, Adult Swim).

TUESDAY, June 5
Stars on Mars
Star Trek icon William Shatner hosts this space-y reality competition (below) in which “celebronauts”—including Lance Armstrong, Natasha Leggero, Marshawn Lynch and Rhonda Rousey—don spacesuits and embark on a mission to see who’s got the right stuff to colonize the Red Planet (8 p.m., Fox).

Cruel Summer
Season two of the hit anthology series follows intense teenage friendships in an idyllic Pacific Northwest waterfront community (9 p.m., Freeform).

WEDNESDAY, June 6
The Luckiest Guy in the World
New two-part “30 For 30” sports doc covers the life and times of basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, known as “The Big Redhead” (8 p.m., ESPN).

Destination: European Nights
Five-part docuseries follows CBS sports analyst Gillem Balague through months of travel across Europe covering the UEFA Champions League and catching the continent-wide buzz of the world’s most prestigious annual soccer tournament (Paramount+).

THURSDAY, June 8
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’ll be sunny tonight for fans of this acclaimed comedy series, which has become the longest-running live-action sitcom in TV history as it begins its landmark 16th season with stars Danny Devito, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney (10 p.m., FX).

Arnold
Yes, that Arnold—the Terminator, the former gov of California, the muscle man who became a movie icon. New docuseries pulls back the curtain on the fascinating story of Arnold Schwarzenegger (Netflix).

Based on a True Story
Inspired by a real event, this dark-comedy thriller (above) set in L.A. follows a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide in a true-crime caper. Starring Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina and Tom Bateman (Peacock).

Hailey’s On It!
Auli’I Cravalho stars in this animated comedy-adventure about a teenager on a mission to complete her ambitious list of tasks to save with world. With supporting voices by Julie Bowen, Jo Koy and Al Yankovic (8 p.m., Disney Channel).

Apr 05 2023
Leave a comment
Movie Reviews, Music, Pop Culture, Sports

If the Shoe Fits

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck score big in their modern Cinderella story about one of the greatest underdog victories in sports marketing history

Matt Damon stars as a Nike marketing exec in ‘Air.’

Air
Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis & Jason Bateman
Directed by Ben Affleck
Rated PG-13

In theaters Wednesday, March 5

Move over, Cinderella, and make way for another shoe story. And this one’s no far-off fairy fable.  

Director Ben Affleck’s earnestly crowd-pleasing Air tells the true tale of how a third-rate sneaker company signed a teenage college basketball phenom, Michael Jordan, and revolutionized everything that followed. One of the most groundbreaking deals in the annals of sports marketing, Nike’s affiliation with Jordan sparked quantum changes in pro sports as well as the realms of fashion, celebrity endorsements and lifestyle.  

It catapulted Nike to the top of the sports-shoe pyramid and eventually made Jordan—today widely recognized as pro basketball’s GOAT, its greatest player of all time—an ever-growing multi-million mountain of moola, dwarfing what he ever earned in his entire NBA career as a superstar for the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards.

Air is a rah-rah, rousing feel-good story about taking risks, following gut instincts, sweating bullets and scoring big. It’s like sports in that regard, but it’s not really a “sports drama.” It spends very little time courtside. Most of the plays we see are as business execs watch grainy scouting tapes. The central figure of the story, Jordan, appears only briefly, a silent sentinental seen almost always from behind. We never get a good look at his face, and we hear him speak only one word, “Hello,” over a telephone.

He’s a looming presence without really being present. It’s a bold, completely effective choice from director Affleck, who knows that dwelling too much on Jordan as a character would take us away from the “sole” of the story and the people who made it happen.

So Jordan, and the game of basketball itself, are sidelined as movie focuses, instead, on the human drama—fathers, sons, workaholic businessmen and one super-savvy mom who connected all the dots, against all the odds. It’s like Moneyball crossed with Jerry Maguire and a dash of David and Goliath.

Ben Affleck is Nike’s philosophical founder, Phil Knight.

It opens in the heart of the go-go, greed-is-good 1980s as we learn how Nike is on the financial ropes, floundering far behind its competitors, Adidas and Converse. The board of directors is pressuring CEO and founder Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to cut corners and slash budgets. Advertising honcho Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) bemoans that “George Orwell was right: 1984 is a terrible year—sales are down, growth is down.”

And Nike is down. But Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), in the company’s basketball scouting division, has a bold brainstorm to turn things around…maybe. He wants to use the company’s entire marketing budget to lure Michael Jordan, then only 18, into an endorsement deal, custom designing a shoe that “fits” him in more ways than one, footwear that will become his emblem, his lifestyle, his legacy.

Sonny knows that if his gamble doesn’t roll out a winner, he’ll be out of a job. But he’s all-in. “We build a shoe line just around him. He doesn’t wear the shoe, he is the shoe,” he says. “I’m willing to bet my career on one guy.”

The shoe, of course, would be the Air Jordan, so named for Jordan’s jaw-dropping leaping abilities as a prolific scorer.

Viola Davis plays the mother of teenage basketball phenom Michael Jordan.

Viola Davis plays Jordan’s mother, a shrewd negotiator who innately understands the longterm value her supremely gifted son brings to the table. Marlon Wayans is George Raveling, a superstar basketball coach who only appears briefly but offers some enduring words of inspiration from his past. Comedian Chris Tucker steals his scenes as a Nike marketer with some valuable insights for Vaccaro, especially in dealing with Black athletes. “Always go the mamas,” he tells him. “The mamas run stuff.”

Chris Messina has some spicy comedic bite as a Jordan’s hard-driving agent, David Falk. Matthew Maher is the shoe designer who comes up with the iconic, inspired design for a product that would ultimately travel far, far above and beyond the basketball court.

It’s a juicy, Oscar-bait ensemble, but Damon’s Vaccaro is the heart and soul of the story, the bedraggled underdog who rallies his Nike cohorts—his teammates—behind his big, high-stakes push to land a legend…and help create another one in the process.

Air is Affleck’s fifth project as a director, and it brims with the confidence and slam-dunk sure-footedness he’s developed in The Town, the Oscar-nominated Argo, Gone Baby Gone and Live by Night. The film is rich with ‘80s period-piece touches (handheld video games, Trivial Pursuit, VCRs, running suits) and a soundtrack of expertly curated MTV-era hits (“Blister in the Sun,” “Money for Nothing,” “Born in the USA,” “Time After Time”). It marks the first project of the production company, Artists Infinity, Affleck formed with Damon, his childhood bestie from the ‘hood in Massachusetts.

This is the ninth film in which Damon and Affleck have appeared together, beginning with uncredited appearances as Fenway Park extras in another sports-related human drama, Field of Dreams. They have a natural, unforced ease onscreen together, a natural stride that feels like, well, two old friends who’ve marched along the same path together for years, often as collaborators, doing what they always dreamed of doing, now getting to do it in Hollywood’s big leagues.

And in Air, they’ve found a shoe—and a shoe story—that feels like it fits them perfectly, a cinematic Cinderella’s slipper accented with the Nike swoosh.

—Neil Pond

← Older posts
Newer posts →