Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season If Breaking Bad‘s current fifth and final season goes south (not bloody likely), at least season four delivers a climax that could have serves as a satisfying serious closer, were it not renewed. But it was, and no wonder: Bryan Cranston may have the tube’s richest character arc, as […]
HBO
Posted inArts & Culture
Too Big to Fail
For this streamlined adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s nonfiction best-seller of the same name, director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) centers the story around the one man who had possibly the worst great job at the time: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson (a very good William Hurt, The Incredible Hulk). In trying to prevent […]
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Cinema Verite
How that came to be is depicted in the made-for-HBO film Cinema Verite, directed by the American Splendor team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, with Diane Lane (Secretariat) and Tim Robbins (Green Lantern) respectively starring as Pat and Bill, the heads of the Loud family. Shooting their every move — every highlight, every […]
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Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season
I saw the Thrones pilot a few weeks before it aired last April, and liked it just enough to want to see if it got any better. Not having the channel at home, I had to wait for the home-video release of the first season, which now is here in HBO’s usual top-notch packaging. The […]
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Mick ’n’ Maher
Maher, a liberal, bomb-throwing comedian, has been a whipping boy for Republican pundits who’ve tried defending Rush Limbaugh by pointing out that, hey, Maher says crappy things, too. On Maher’s program, the nattily dressed Cornett sported a dark suit and lavender tie on a panel that included talk-show host Dylan Ratigan and conservative columnist Amy […]
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Point broke
Busey has less than $50,000 to his name, but owes at least 10 times that amount (and perhaps half a million more). Since HBO’s “Entourage” is history, thus denying him any further appearances playing himself, it’s unlikely he was going to luck into a gig lucrative enough to pay all that back. Don’t feel too […]
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Mildred Pierce
In a way, Todd Haynes’ adaptation of “Mildred Pierce” for HBO is as subversive as the “Superstar” of 1988 — the difference being the manner of millions and a legal release. A more-faithful remake of the 1945 Oscar winner, “Mildred Pierce” adheres tightly to the time, place and dialogue of James M. Cain’s 1941 novel, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Mildred Pierce
In a way, Todd Haynes’ adaptation of “Mildred Pierce” for HBO is as subversive as the “Superstar” of 1988 — the difference being the manner of millions and a legal release. A more-faithful remake of the 1945 Oscar winner, “Mildred Pierce” adheres tightly to the time, place and dialogue of James M. Cain’s 1941 novel, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Cannonball Run
Now, decades later, the huge, huge box-office hit has hit Blu-ray — Blu-ray! — and although I hadn’t seen the action-comedy since junior high, it’s remarkable how much I remembered about it:• every line and note of Ray Stevens’ cornball theme song;• Burt Reynolds’ mugging at the fourth wall;• DeLuise’s Captain Chaos superhero garb; • […]
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How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season
That’s what the show’s about ostensibly, but really, it’s a look at how young New Yorkers live and love: sorta half-assed on both counts. Sad-sack Ben (Bryan Greenberg, “Friends with Benefits”) and street-smart Cam (Victor Rasuk, “Stop-Loss”) are two best buds seeking the next big thing after a venture in skateboard decks failed to take […]