Movies/TV category, Page 141
Comics keep laughs coming even with clubs closed by covid-19
Whenever she’s down, Tiffany Haddish says she finds a good joke can bring her right back up. That’s why the popular star of TV, film and stand-up decided to crack wise about ways to survive in the year of coronavirus in a nearly empty room recently while dressed in a...
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ to hit Disney Plus on May 4
NEW YORK — “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will begin streaming on Disney Plus on May 4, about two months earlier than scheduled. The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that “The Rise of Skywalker” will land on the streaming service timed to what’s referred to as “Star Wars Day”...
Brad Pitt portrays Dr. Fauci in SNL’s 2nd at-home editionVideo
NEW YORK — Brad Pitt portrayed Dr. Anthony Fauci in the second at-home episode of “Saturday Night Live,” that featured musical guest Miley Cyrus, an Adam Sandler cameo and plenty of disinfectant jokes. A bespectacled Pitt, speaking in Fauci’s raspy voice, tried to recast false assurances and misstatements pitched by...
‘Parks and Recreation’ cast reunites for coronavirus-related fundraiserVideo
The original cast members of “Parks and Recreation” are getting back to work for a coronavirus-related fundraising special. Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman and Adam Scott are among the sitcom’s stars to be featured in the half-hour special airing 8:30 p.m. April 30 on NBC. The story...
Jane Goodall talks coronavirus impact, Nat Geo documentaryVideo
Even though the planet has reaped the benefits of a cleaner environment from society shutting down during the coronavirus outbreak, Jane Goodall worries about human behavior reverting to a “business as usual” mindset after the pandemic is over. The famed primatologist wants people to grow wiser and live an enjoyable...
Debuting on Netflix, it’s a teeming, violent pre-pandemic world in ‘Extraction’Video
The big-budget action thriller “Extraction” belongs, in many ways, to another world. It’s set in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It’s in this urban sea of people and traffic that Chris Hemsworth’s battle-scarred mercenary engages in a torrent of gun...
HBO Max releases trailers for original content premieresVideo
Elmo, Bugs Bunny and Anna Kendrick lead the way as HBO Max officially enters the streaming content wars May 27. The new streamer dropped trailers Tuesday for its original content. Highlights include a talk show hosted by Elmo from “Sesame Street,” a new “Looney Tunes” animated show and a comedy-drama...
‘Hunger Games’ prequel in the works
It appears “Hunger Games” fans eager for more Panem action have the odds in their favor. A prequel to the franchise that took in almost $3 billion at the box office is officially in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Author Suzanne Collins’ new book “The Ballad of Songbirds...
Virus delays launch of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new network
Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network will be blooming late because of the coronavirus crisis. The network’s planned October launch is being pushed back because of production delays related to the covid-19 disease, it was announced Tuesday. A new debut date wasn’t immediately announced. The pandemic has brought most TV...
World’s last Blockbuster weathering covid-19 pandemicVideo
If the streaming revolution couldn’t kill the world’s last remaining Blockbuster store, what hope does the new coronavirus have? The store, located in Bend, Ore., has made adjustments — like curbside pickup and extra cleaning measures — to deal with the covid-19 pandemic, KTVC in Oregon reports. “We’re trying to...
Warner Bros. delays many releases including ‘The Batman’
Warner Bros. is delaying a batch of theatrical releases including “The Batman” and “The Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark.” The studio says Monday that “The Sopranos” film will be pushed from September 2020 to a March 2021 release, while “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson will be delayed four...
Pandemic couldn’t derail new ‘Talking Sopranos’ podcast
NEW YORK — The coronavirus pandemic almost upended a new podcast about the hit TV series “The Sopranos” before it even started. But hosts and series actors Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa said fans pleaded with them to find a way to do it. They did and watchers of the...
Unity opera prodigy to enjoy national spotlight on ‘Little Big Shots’Video
Victory Brinker has appeared at Carnegie Hall and has hit her mark before the camera for three yet-to-be-released films. On Sunday evening, the 8-year-old soprano will display her talents for her largest audience yet, singing a German-language aria from the opera “The Magic Flute” for millions viewing NBC’s “Little Big...
Comic-Con canceled over coronavirus, plans 2021 return
LOS ANGELES — This year’s San Diego Comic-Con has been canceled due to coronavirus-related restrictions around large gatherings. Organizers say they are planning for the festival to return in July 2021. The annual confab was scheduled to take place July 23-26 in and around the San Diego Convention Center. California...
At Criterion Channel, programming a movable movie feastVideo
Arthouses are closed. Film festivals are canceled. But double features, matinees and film series continue to run unabated in one vital, virtual corner of moviedom. The Criterion Channel, the year-old streaming service, is a hotbed of cinephilia in the best of times. Right now, it’s about as close as you...
Brian Dennehy, Tony-winning stage, screen actor, dies at 81
NEW YORK— Brian Dennehy, the burly actor who started in films as a macho heavy and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, has died. He was 81. Dennehy died Wednesday night of natural causes...
Comcast launches preview of new streaming service
Comcast began offering a preview of the premium tier of NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock to some customers on Wednesday. With most people under stay-at-home restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic, Comcast said it has seen a 50% increase in on-demand consumption year-over-year. Voice remote searches for free content are...
Pittsburgh muralist Kyle Holbrook dips into film with ‘Art of Life’ on Amazon
Pittsburghers might remember Kyle Holbrook as the artist who, in 2019, created a mural of Pirates great Roberto Clemente on the side of the Clemente Museum in Lawrenceville and another of the late rapper Mac Miller in East Liberty. Holbrook, a Wilkinsburg native who splits his time between Pittsburgh and...
WWE releases Kurt Angle, others in response to coronavirus impact
WWE is slashing costs during the coronavirus pandemic by cutting ties with an Olympic gold medalist and other performers. In a release issued Wednesday afternoon, the company announced measures it was taking “in response to the current impact of covid-19 on the organization,” which included “headcount reductions” and furloughing “a...
Tired of ‘Frozen’? Stream these less obvious kids moviesVideo
Weeks of quarantine with kids have a way of burning through a movie collection. Even with the libraries of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus and others, there are plenty of households that have already had their fill of “Frozen” and overdosed on “Onward.” In the best of times,...
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo says he’s frustrated at his TV role
NEW YORK — CNN anchor Chris Cuomo revealed on his SiriusXM show that he’s feeling frustration in his job, saying he doesn’t “value indulging irrationality, hyper-partisanship.” Cuomo said Monday on “Let’s Get After It” that he’s tired of some things that go along with being a TV host. That includes...
George Stephanopoulos of ‘Good Morning America’ tests positive for coronavirus
NEW YORK — “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos revealed Monday that he’s tested positive for the coronavirus, but has been relatively symptom-free. The ABC newsman revealed his diagnosis on the show, telling co-host Robin Roberts that, “I feel fine.” Stephanopoulos’ wife, Ali Wentworth, had come down with covid-19 and...
‘SNL’ returns for work-at-home version with host Tom HanksVideo
NEW YORK — “Saturday Night Live” tried its first “quarantine version” of the comedy show, with coronavirus pioneer Tom Hanks, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and the comedy show’s entire cast phoning in with jokes from home. After being gone for more than a month, the NBC comedy institution returned to...
Review: Watching ‘Trolls World Tour’? Bring ear plugs
Music snobbery is making a comeback. On the heels of the excellent serial remake of “High Fidelity,” about a tasteful Brooklyn record store owner, comes “Trolls World Tour,” in which different pixie clans each representing a music genre vie for sonic domination. Both are quaint in their own way, pretending...
From ‘Ten Commandments’ to ‘Uncut Gems,’ here are 12 great movies for Passover and EasterVideo
It’s not uncommon for some of us to describe a great, genuinely transcendent movie as a religious experience. We like to exalt the sublimity of the moving image, sacralizing what is too often regarded as a godless, sometimes profane medium. We make our dutiful pilgrimages to this Robert Bresson retrospective...
