June 28 - July 4
TV film fare -- week of June 28
The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of June 28. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence, and sexual situations.
Sunday, June 28, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) "The Philadelphia Story (1940). Romantic comedy from the Philip Barry play in which a divorced socialite (Katharine Hepburn) is disconcerted when, on the eve of her remarriage, she's wooed by an infatuated cub reporter (James Stewart) as well as her suave ex-husband (Cary Grant). Director George Cukor uses comic complications to heighten interest in the character's romantic inclinations, with highly entertaining results. Marital muddlements and comic inebriation. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Monday, June 29, 8-10 p.m. EDT (AMC) "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000). A dark comedy set in Montreal about a mob hit man (Bruce Willis) hiding from a dangerous Chicago crime family who moves next door to a likable but dopey dentist (Matthew Perry) who is unaware that his conniving wife (Rosanna Arquette) wants him dead to collect on his life insurance. Director Jonathan Lynn's often funny, cleverly plotted comedy shows off Perry's talent for physical comedy but is somewhat off-putting in its light take on killers and killing. Brief nudity, some stylized violence, a few sexual encounters, and some 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.
Thursday, July 2, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Dorothy rides her tornado to the magic land over the rainbow in director Victor Fleming's classic that skyrocketed Judy Garland's career and has given generations of families prime entertainment again and again. The 50th anniversary edition has 17 minutes of material not included in the original release. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was G -- general audiences. All ages admitted.
Friday, July 3, 7-9 p.m. EDT (Showtime) "Beowulf" (2007). Generally impressive 3-D animated reworking of the Beowulf legend, dramatizing the warrior's (Ray Winstone) vanquishing of the tortured Grendel (Crispin Glover), his encounter with the demon's mother (Angelina Jolie), and his later troubled kingship. Director Robert Zemeckis has taken some dramatic license with the venerable but sketchy original narrative, but writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery's intelligent screenplay has remained faithful to the essentials, including its mix of Christian and pagan elements, while several of the action sequences, including the climactic battle with a flying dragon, are excitingly done. Nearly full male and female nudity, sexual references and innuendo, period bawdiness, adultery, implied nonmarital encounters, intense violence with gore and a suicide. Possibly acceptable for older teens. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Saturday, July 4, 9-11:15 p.m. EDT (Showtime) "The Kite Runner" (2007). Superb adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-seller about an Afghan writer (Khalid Abdalla) now living in the U.S. who recalls how as a boy (played by Zekiria Ebrahimi) in his native homeland, he failed to help and subsequently betrayed his best friend (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada), and now finds he has a chance to atone for that misdeed. Under Marc Forster's sensitive direction, the beautifully acted film provides a fascinating portrait of pre- and post-Taliban Afghanistan; its fine human values, strong affirmation of friendship and family, and redemptive ending should move even the most stone-hearted. In Dari and English. Partially subtitled. A single profanity and use of the F-word, a brief rape scene with no nudity involving a small boy and a bully, two discreetly worded sexual references, illegitimacy theme, a violent beating and a woman's stoning. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Saturday, July 4, 10:15 p.m.-1:15 a.m. EDT (TCM) "1776" (1972). Entertaining screen version of the popular Broadway musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone about the travails of the Continental Congress in forging the Declaration of Independence utilizes most of the original cast from William Daniels' John Adams to Howard Da Silva's Benjamin Franklin. Director Peter Hunt, who also directed the stage musical, relies on the original staging rather than trying for any big screen effects and it works well in mixing some light, diverting entertainment with some serious asides, such as slavery and marital loneliness. 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 G -- general audiences. All ages admitted.
TV program notes -- week of June 28
Here are some television program notes for the week of June 28 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not all been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.
Monday, June 29, 3:30-5 a.m. EDT (EWTN) "Solemnity of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (Live)." Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to celebrate the feast-day Mass for Sts. Peter and Paul, live from Rome. An encore presentation airs 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT.
Monday, June 29, 10:30-11 p.m. EDT (Showtime) "Nurse Jackie." Hard-edged new comedy series about tough but dedicated nurse Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) who deals compassionately -- most of the time -- with patients at a Catholic hospital in New York City, but whose routine also includes self-medicating with prescription pills and an adulterous affair with the colleague who supplies them, pharmacist Eddie Walzer (Paul Schulze). Other co-workers include worldly British doctor Eleanor O'Hara (Eve Best), preppy Dr. Fitch Cooper (Peter Facinelli) and tentative fledgling nurse Zoey Barkow (Merritt Wever). In this episode, directed by actor Steve Buscemi, Jackie and her husband, bar owner Kevin (Dominic Fumusa), are called to a meeting at their daughter Grace's (Ruby Jerins) school, and Jackie helps O'Hara treat a boy with a collapsed lung. Falco's intensity as the beleaguered, working-class heroine -- fragile, harried and distinctly flawed -- heightens the appeal of the otherwise routine proceedings. Language and sexual elements, though, together with the implication that drug use and marital cheating are mere foibles, suggest caution even among adult viewers.
Tuesday, June 30, 9-10 p.m. EDT (PBS) "Nova scienceNow." The season premiere of this science magazine series looks at breakthroughs in the engineering of artificial diamonds; the science that went into solving the deadly anthrax attacks that occurred after Sept. 11, 2001.; "AutoTune," the controversial computer pitch-correction software; and also profiles computer scientist Luis von Ahn. Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).
Wednesday, July 1, 8-9:30 p.m. EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes." This "American Masters" presentation follows raconteur Garrison Keillor -- host, since 1974, of radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" -- and his crew of actors, musicians and technical staff over the course of a year as he crisscrosses the country, broadcasting, recording and opening up about himself (TV-PG - parental guidance suggested).
Wednesday, July 1, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Saint Oliver Plunkett: A Journey to Sainthood." This documentary explores the life of St. Oliver Plunkett, a Catholic archbishop and former primate of Ireland who was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in London on July 1, 1681, the last Catholic martyr to die in England.
Wednesday, July 1, 10-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) "Crossing Heaven's Border." In this "Wide Angle" presentation -- hosted by Aaron Brown -- South Korean journalists use hidden cameras to follow the desperate journeys of three North Korean defectors as they risk their lives to settle in the South (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).