Best-bets for Aug. 27: classical, Cruella, more

1) “Great Performances: Vienna Philharmonic,” 9-10:30 p.m, PBS. The opening Verdi overture is slow and mournful … then turns vibrant. That fits the night: Duringthe pandemic, the orchestra skipped last summer’s PBS concert and trimmed its audiences this season. But it invited 3,000 teachers and medical people for this beautifully filmed event (shown here in a previous year). Pianist Igor Levit does a dazzling Rachmaninoff piece, plus Beethoven’s sweet “Fur Elise”; there’s more, from a “West Side Story” medley to a Strauss waltz. Read more…

1) “Great Performances: Vienna Philharmonic,” 9-10:30 p.m, PBS. The opening Verdi overture is slow and mournful … then turns vibrant. That fits the night: Duringthe pandemic, the orchestra skipped last summer’s PBS concert and trimmed its audiences this season. But it invited 3,000 teachers and medical people for this beautifully filmed event (shown here in a previous year). Pianist Igor Levit does a dazzling Rachmaninoff piece, plus Beethoven’s sweet “Fur Elise”; there’s more, from a “West Side Story” medley to a Strauss waltz.

2) “Cruella,” any time, Disney+. Three months ago, this dazzling film reached theaters and those subscribers who paid extra. Now patient people get their turn. Yes, there are flaws: This is too long, too prone to create impossible situations, defying credibility when Cruella somehow prevails. But director Craig Gillespie has created a gorgeous film, giving it the same sort of wry fun he showed with “I, Tonya.” Two Emmas (Stone and Thompson) are excellent as Cruella and her nemesis.

3) More streaming. Here’s the biggest mismatch since Dwayne Johnson teamed with Kevin Hart: “Vacation Friends,” today on Hulu, has Lil Rel Howry startled when his vacation pal (John Cena) crashes a wedding. Another new comedy today is Netflix’’s “He’s All That,” flipping the 1999 “She’s All That” around; now the idea is to turn an unpopular guy into prom king. Other recent arrivals: “Clickbait,” a thriller, on Netflix; the second season of the clever “The Other Two” on HBO Max.

4) “Secret Celebrity Renovation,” 8 p.m., CBS. Emmitt Smith, the retired football great, returns to Pensacola, Fla., helping fix up his boyhood home, where his dad still lives. That leads into another feel-good hour at 9 p.m., the season’s second “Greatest #Athome Videos.”

5) “Dynasty,” 9 p.m., CW. “You cannot possibly fathom how complicated this family is,” the ultra-complicated Alexis tell a newcomer … whose arrival expands those tangles greatly. That comes during other moves, which have Blake announcing his candidacy for office, just as Fallon and Dominique are dueling over fashion brands. The result is sort of fun, if you can get past the fact that it ignores all the realities of politics, signature-gathering, fashion and … well, logic.

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