As director Alexander Payne’s movies have migrated westward geographically—from the Nebraska of Citizen Ruth, Election, and About Schmidt to California’s Central Coast for Sideways, to Hawaii for The Descendants—his edge has considerably softened.
As director Alexander Payne’s movies have migrated westward geographically—from the Nebraska of Citizen Ruth, Election, and About Schmidt to California’s Central Coast for Sideways, to Hawaii for The Descendants—his edge has considerably softened.
“Dance Moms” Tuesday 9pm, Lifetime The surprise hit from last summer returns for Season 2, and it will be interesting to see what has changed now that some of these women have seen their deplorable actions broadcast via reality TV editors. “Dance Moms” follows Abby Lee Miller, a purportedly world-renowned dance instructor and coach to […]
Art sounds a lot like remodeling. Hammers clunk. Power tools grind. People duck into the next room to help lift things.
“Project Runway: All Stars” Thursday 9pm, Lifetime The good news: 13 of the most beloved and/or memorable contestants from “Project Runway” seasons past are back for a second chance. We’re talking Season 1’s Austin Scarlett (now with an unfortunate pornstache), Season 4’s Sweet P, Season 8’s Michael Costello, and Season 5’s Kenley Collins, for my […]
Where biography is concerned, movies are eminently unreliable. Portraiture is another matter—more beholden to personal expression than to fact, and maybe also more movie-conducive. My Week with Marilyn is not the place to go for a credible biography of Marilyn Monroe, but didn’t we already know that, and wouldn’t something else be nicer anyway? The […]
New Year’s Eve specials There are so many NYE specials, and honestly, they’re all pretty similar: annoying host, fame-whore cameos, ball countdown, and some questionable live music performances. Here’s a rundown of the major entries: the venerable “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” will air on ABC starting at 10pm, preceded by a two-hour special […]
The main draw of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher Edition, is that we want to see what this director will do with it, although we can sort of guess that the crucial thing he’ll do is make a ton of money. Brutal and mesmerizing, David Finsher’s adaptation of The Girl with the […]
It’s been a big year for The Infamous Stringdusters. The dynamic five-man string band picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental, started an independent record label, High Country Recordings, and kicked off a sold-out bill in front of 10,000 people at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre this past summer. But as far as […]
“Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” Friday 8pm, BBC America You read C-VILLE Weekly, so obviously you are intelligent, witty, and urbane. So I’m sure you already know all about “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”; National Public Radio has been broadcasting the news-panel game show for more than a decade. Host Peter Sagal corrals a group […]
Have you heard about those MIT researchers who invented a camera that records a trillion frames per second, literally reducing the speed of light to mind-boggling slow motion? More importantly, has Guy Ritchie heard? Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprise the roles of Holmes and Watson in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, director […]