David Bianculli
Stories
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'The Sticky' is a delicious take on one of the biggest crimes in Canadian history
Inspired by the real-life theft of $18 million worth of government-stored maple syrup, Amazon Prime's six-episode series is loaded with wonderful characters, performances, music and surprises.
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'Beatles '64' revisits an intense two-week period in musical and cultural history
A new Disney+ documentary chronicles the Beatles' first trip to America. By combining footage, stories and songs, Beatles '64 makes it clear why the group, and its music, continue to be revered.
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'A Man on the Inside' is one of the sweetest TV series since 'Ted Lasso'
Ted Danson stars as a retired professor who goes undercover at a retirement community in a charming new Netflix series that's both entertaining and surprisingly philosophical.
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Remembering actor Teri Garr, of 'Young Frankenstein' and 'Tootsie' fame
Garr, who died Oct. 29, started out as a dancer in Elvis films, and was later nominated for an Oscar for Tootsie. David Bianculli offers an appreciation, and we listen back to a 2005 interview.
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What's new this season on network TV? Not much
So many of the network's new prime-time series are like cafeteria casseroles: aggressively and intentionally bland. But late-night shows continue to offer spice in the form of biting humor.
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'Saturday Night' feeds on the energy, and insanity, of the first ever 'SNL' broadcast
This expertly cast film captures the rehearsals and the logistics that lead up to opening night. Saturday Night is a nonstop joy ride — and a testament to the adage that the show must go on.
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Sweet but sharp, 'Nobody Wants This' could set the rom-com standard for a new age
Netflix's 10-part series features Adam Brody and Kristen Bell as 30-something singles who meet and are attracted to one another, despite the fact that he's a rabbi and she's not Jewish.
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'SNL' opens its 50th season with Jean Smart, Jelly Roll and a heap of politics
It’ll be tricky for the writers to hit the right comic and satirical tones for the remainder of this election, but SNL has a good cast this year, with some promising new additions.
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'WandaVision' spinoff is just as creative and magical as its predecessor
Kathryn Hahn stars as a witch who's lost her powers in Agatha All Along. To regain them, she has to assemble a witches’ coven and lead them on a journey down a magical, threatening witches’ road.
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'The Penguin' is a darkly engrossing entry into the Batman cannon
With no costumes, no superpowers and no Batman, HBO's The Penguin is less like a comic book series than a crime drama — closer to The Sopranos than to the Batman movie from which it came.