Web site TV for Nov. 8 – Nov. 14, 2009
TV film fare -- week of Nov. 8
The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Nov. 8. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations.
Sunday, Nov. 8, 6-10 p.m. EST (AMC) "The Green Mile" (1999). Prison drama set in 1935 Louisiana where a death-row head guard (Tom Hanks) comes to believe in the innocence of a huge, gentle black man (Michael Clarke Duncan) whose miraculous healing powers affect those around him in startling ways. As adapted by director Frank Darabont from the serialized 1996 Stephen King novel, the movie is unduly long but presents affecting character studies of good and evil men with spiritual undertones and a sobering depiction of capital punishment. Some violence including a horrific electrocution, occasional profanity and intermittent rough language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Monday, Nov. 9, 7:15-9 p.m. EST (Showtime) "Lake City" (2008). Atmospheric family drama in which a young man (Troy Garity) targeted by a criminal (Dave Matthews) escapes to his rural childhood home with his girlfriend's son (Colin Ford) and reconnects with his estranged mother (Sissy Spacek). Though their script contains considerable salty dialogue and deals with some gritty subjects, co-writers and directors Hunter Hill and Perry Moore craft a hopeful tale of reconciliation and rediscovered values further enhanced by skillful performances. Beatings, moderate gun violence, drug theme, implied cohabitation, a character born out of wedlock, much rough and crude language, and a few uses of profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 4:45-7:30 a.m. EST (AMC) "There's No Business Like Show Business" (1954). Overblown musical spanning the life of a vaudevillian couple (Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey) from 1919 to World War II during which their three offspring become, variously, a musical star (Mitzi Gaynor), a talented hoofer (Donald O'Connor) on the skids because of a woman (Marilyn Monroe) and a smiling, singing priest (Johnnie Ray). Directed by Walter Lang, the episodic family saga consists of little more than show-biz stereotypes linking a medley of Irving Berlin songs and big production numbers which are the movie's primary purpose. Some sexual innunedo and romantic complications. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 8-10:15 p.m. EST (TCM) "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967). Sparkling but noisy adaptation of the Shakespeare play with bravura performances by Elizabeth Taylor as the comely shrew and Richard Burton as the rowdy tamer. Director Franco Zeffirelli's inventive staging preserves the flavor of the original but never seems firmly in control of the action or the actors. Mature treatment. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 12:30-3:15 a.m. EST (TCM) "Becket" (1964). Superb adaptation of Jean Anouilh's classic play about the deep friendship and later conflict between England's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his friend, Sir Thomas a Becket (Richard Burton), later a saint, and how their days of drinking and womanizing came to an end when the monarch appointed Becket archbishop of Canterbury, leading to Becket's spiritual transformation and ultimate martyrdom. Director Peter Glenville's film is rather stagy and leisurely paced, but the Oscar-winning dialogue is uncommonly literate, and the performances are brilliant. Some crass expressions and (by today's standards) tame sexuality. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Saturday, Nov. 14, 8-9:30 p.m. EST (HBO) "Bride Wars" (2009). Amiable if predictable romantic bauble about longtime devoted pals (Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, both in good comic form), who have dreamt since childhood of June weddings at New York's Plaza Hotel, but then, as adults, have a falling-out just before their much-anticipated nuptials there, after which each sets out to sabotage the other. With the significant moral reservation that both gals are shown to be cohabiting with their fiances, director Gary Winick's fitfully amusing "chick flick" otherwise has no significant sex or language issues, and there are at least some worthy if pat messages of lasting friendship and sensible priorities. Premarital situations and some mildly suggestive dancing. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Saturday, Nov. 14, 10-11:45 p.m. EST (Cinemax) "Yes Man" (2008). Fitfully funny comedy in which a bored bank employee (Jim Carrey) attends a seminar run by a self-help guru (a comically intimidating Terence Stamp) and vows to say yes to every invitation or suggestion, leading to romance with a quirky singer (Zooey Deschanel), a renewed relationship with his best friend (Bradley Cooper) and greater respect from his nerdy boss (Rhys Darby, spot-on). Principally a vehicle for Carrey's facial and physical antics, director Peyton Reed's adaptation of Danny Wallace's best-selling memoir salutes openness to life and adventure and satirizes superstition, but also features considerable sexual humor, including a distasteful subplot involving Carrey's elderly but randy neighbor (Fionnula Flanagan). Nongrapic, nonmarital sexual activity, brief rear nudity, some sexual humor, one use of the F-word, much crude language, and a few profanities. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
TV program notes -- week of Nov. 8
Here are some television program notes for the week of Nov. 8 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.
Sunday, Nov. 8, 10-11 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Dawn of America." A docudrama looking at Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10-11:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "D Tour." Filmmaker Jim Granato chronicles aspiring indie rock musician Pat Spurgeon's search for an organ donor after one of his kidneys begins to fail. Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts this "Independent Lens" presentation (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 8-9 p.m. EST (PBS) "Airmen and the Headhunters." This documentary, part of the series "Secrets of the Dead," investigates the extraordinary survival story of a crew of U.S. airmen shot down over the jungles of Japanese-occupied Borneo during World War II (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 8-11 p.m. EST (ABC) "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards." As they did last year, country singers and songwriters Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood host this live broadcast from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 9-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "The Way We Get By." This Veterans Day episode of "P.O.V." profiles three members of a group of senior citizens who, by remaining on call 24 hours a day for the past five years, have greeted nearly 800,000 American troops at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine, as the soldiers departed for, or returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
Saturday, Nov. 14, 8-9:30 p.m. EST (EWTN) "St. Giuseppe Moscati: Doctor of the Poor." The first half of an Italian film about the life of St. Giuseppe Moscati, who dedicated himself tirelessly to caring for the sick and forsaken in and around the city of Naples in the early 20th century, ultimately relinquishing all of his possessions and sacrificing his life in their service. Concludes Saturday, Nov. 21, 8-9:30 p.m. EST.
Saturday, Nov. 14, 10-11 p.m. EST (History) "Apocalypse." This special brings together the stories of a California preacher who eagerly awaits the apocalyptic end of the world, two British researchers who believe they have uncovered evidence that the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by the fallout from an asteroid impact, and a former Soviet nuclear defense specialist who tells of the day he saved humanity from World War III. Part of the series "Strange Rituals."