Month: July 2024

Best-bets for July 5: from comedy to piercing drama

1) “Snowpiercer” marathon, noon to 9:15 p.m. AMC. A train keeps circling the frozen Earth. Inside (shown here) are survivors – the only ones, perhaps – of the eco-disaster; also inside are class-struggles and a murder probe. That’s the set-up for a richly crafted series that TNT ran for three seasons, then abandoned. AMC which starts the fourth and final one July 21, shows us the start. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for July 8: ABC starts its summer spurt

1) “The Bachelorette” opener, 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. A big, busy week for ABC starts with the first Asian-American as a “Bachelor” show’s star. Jenn Tran (shown here) is the daughter of Vietnam immigrants, she’s 26 and near her Master’s Degree in clinical medical studies. She’ll meet 25 men, ranging from a med student to guys who focus on wine and pet portraits. Read more…

Best-bets for July 4: a flashy, fun Fourth

1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS; repeats, 9:30-11. Each year, this offers a zesty blend of music, followed by fireworks (shown here). This time, the music is from Motown great Smokey Robinson and Broadway’s Fantasi aand, Darren Criss, p;lus Loren Allred, Chloe Flower, Sheila E, Sister Sledge and Fitz & Noelle fom Fitz and the Tantrums. Read more…

Best-bets for July 3: “Hope,” heat and Eddie Murphy

1) “Hope in the Water,” 9 p.m., PBS. At an Asian market, we’re told, you might find 35 kinds of fish. Most Americans, however, focus on three – tuna, salmon and shrimp; others are caught here and exported. This hour views ways to stir interest in the others. Shailene Woodley (shown here), the “Divergent” star, sees people turn sea urchins into a delicacy. Read more…

He was a micro-budget movie master

Hollywood has people who think big, talk big, spend big. Budgets soar.
But then there was Roger Corman, who died last month at 98. He made kinda-good movies on really awful budgets. Now they’re featured in three Wednesday marathons on Turner Classic Movies.
Wedged into 28 hours on July 3, 10 and 17 will be 18 movies – some of them scary (including “Masque of the Red Death,” shown here) some of them frantic, none of them expensive. Read more…