Day: September 29, 2022

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 3: Swank leads surge of debuts

1) “Alaska Daily” debut, 10 p.m. Thursday, ABC. Two Academy Award-winners link for a promising drama. Hilary Swank (shown here) won Oscars for “Girls Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby”; Tom McCarthy won for his “Spotlight” script. Now he’s writer-producer and she plays a newspaper reporter, moving to Anchorage to repair her tarnished career. That gets ABC’s best timeslot, behind the season-openers of “Station 19” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 29, 2022
News and Quick Comments

“Blonde” stirs anger and agony

I don’t believe I’ve ever hated a movie – or anything else – quite as much as I hate “Blonde.”
This isn’t your ordinary kind of hatred, something I might direct toward, say, assembly instructions or “Care Bear Movie II.” It’s a deep hatred, the kind that should be reserved for Vladimir Putin or the neighbor lady who – when my softball landed in her yard – picked it up and walked away.
It reflects a sort of abject agony. “Blonde” (shown here) has cruelly taken things from me – my time (two hours and 46 minutes, although it seemed like 46 hours and two minutes) and, temporarily, my joy. It would have been worse if it had also taken my money, at a movie theater. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 29, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 1: Star-shorn “SNL” starts season

1) “Saturday Night Live” season-opener, 11:29 p.m., NBC. “SNL” has seen big transitions, but this is a dilly. Gone are its biggest star (Kate McKinnon) and its pop-culture phenom (Pete Davidson), plus Aidy Bryant, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villasenor, Christopher Redd, Kyle Mooney and Aristotle Athari. Returning are the “Update” duo, Kenan Thompson and more, joined by four newcomers. Miles Teller (shown here in “Top Gun: Maverick”) hosts, with Kendrick Lamar as music guest. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 29, 2022