Hanks Helps Mars in ‘SNL’ Duties
Bruno Mars was so busy hosting and playing musical guest on the same episode of “Saturday Night Live,” Tom Hanks was enlisted to introduce his performance at one point. The…
Saturday TV: Hitchcock as Predator in ‘The Girl’
Maintaining a thoroughly creepy demeanor was part of Alfred Hitchcock’s image. It sent the tone for unease and tension whether he was giving a cameo in his own films or…
Here Comes Bootsy
I appear to have underestimated, after all these years, the power of William “Bootsy” Collins in the realm of funk. Though I’m not sure he’s quite the title holder of…
The Grind of Homecoming
Got this email note for parents from school regarding this weekend’s homecoming dance. One might think the homework requirements are a grind for high schoolers, but not as much, apparently,…
Obama Joking and Not in New York
Barack Obama was on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” Thursday, but he wasn’t too funny. Actually, the appearance of world leaders on late night talk shows hardly ever produces…
Bruce Back on the Campaign Trail
Bruce Springsteen changed his mind about sitting out the current political season, sending a letter to fans explaining it, and taking to the stage in Parma, Ohio and Ames, Iowa…
Friday TV: New ‘Hunted,’ Return of ‘Nikita’
As if to reassure viewers it really is late night on Cinemax, its new action series “Hunted” (Cinemax, 10 p.m.) begins with a sex scene. Immediately after, we have to…
Rory Kennedy’s Film on Her Mother, ‘Ethel’
Rory Kennedy was born to tell her mother’s tale, though she resisted doing for many years. And while she’s directed or produced more than 35 documentaries, she’s never told one…
Thursday TV: Navajo Disease to Cinerama
Out on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Dorey and Yolanda Nez were mourning the death of a son to XP, a rare and fatal skin disease that causes skin…
Wednesday TV: Stinky ‘Horror Story’
The first season of “American Horror Story” began with twisted energy and some promise, but quickly devolved into impenetrable mess that was eventually defined, for Emmy purposes, as a mini-series.…