Movies

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing July 17-23. All times ET. July 17 Saving Private Ryan (1998) Steven Spielberg’s second great film about World War II chronicles the horrors experienced by an entire generation of young men. Tom Hanks stars as Capt. John Miller, whose mission is to locate and bring home safely a lonely private whose three brothers have been claimed by the war. TNT HD, 9pm

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing July 10-16. All times ET. July 11 Napoleon Dynamite (2004) Certainly not for everybody, this irony-saturated film did more for so-called geek chic than anything else. Starring Jon Heder and Efrem Ramirez (as the ubiquitously referenced Pedro), Napoleon Dynamite is definitely one to put in a time capsule for a future generation to contemplate. Comedy Central, 7pm July 12 A Fish Called Wanda (1988) John Cleese is brilliant as an uptight British barrister who falls hard for a con artist (Jamie Lee Curtis) on the trail of […]

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing July 3-9. All times ET. July 3 The Wizard of Oz (1939) Curl up with the kids and watch the classic that has it all — timeless songs, a darling dog, an evil witch, Judy Garland and flying monkeys. There are few other films as deserving of the word “masterpiece” as this one. TCM, 6pm July 4 Casino Royale (2006) With this film, Daniel Craig overcame the doubt and skepticism of many to become arguably the most thrilling new James Bond since Sean Connery. Playing a more […]

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 26-July 2. All times ET. June 25 Michael Clayton (2007) George Clooney stars in this underrated thriller about a corporate legal “fixer” whose job it is to clean up in the wake of his firm’s dirtiest work. Discontent and disgusted at what the years have done to his life, Michael Clayton (Clooney) is fed up. But when his firm’s representative has a breakdown in the middle of a deposition in a multibillion-dollar class action suit, he goes to work and ultimately faces the biggest challenge of […]

by Karl J. Paloucek Do you remember that episode of The Flintstones when Stony Curtis came to Bedrock, and at every mention of his name, Wilma’s hair would go bananas, then she would follow suit, running helter-skelter through their granite ranch-style abode? It’s been a while since I’ve seen that episode, and despite having been in entertainment journalism for a number of years, it’s been quite a while since I witnessed a mass of people — full-grown adult humans, children, teens — go into a full-on celebrity frenzy. It happened that right around the corner from our offices here in […]

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 19-25. All times ET. June 19 Wedding Crashers (2005) Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are a pair of scoundrels who prey upon the emotionally heightened women at weddings. Of course, they eventually overplay their hand and find themselves in the vice of a relationship based on duplicity, but that’s what makes it fun! Jane Seymour startles as the cougar in the mix. Loaded with plenty of goofball moments, this is one of those that you’ll turn to again and again. TNT (HD), 8pm

By Stacey Harrison As The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 bogarts its way onto screens this weekend — probably sullying the good name of the excellent 1974 original, trading lean, gritty storytelling for bloated excess — it seems as good a time as any to talk about remakes. We all like to roll our eyes and moan, “Has Hollywood run out of ideas?” every time we see a trailer for the latest remake, reboot, relaunch, revamp or reimagining of a movie aimed at “bringing the story to a new generation.” (Seriously, does every generation need a version of the […]