Movies/TV category, Page 184
‘Big Bang Theory’ gets honor as series nears its end
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Champagne briefly replaced scripts Thursday for a ceremony renaming the nondescript Stage 25 on the sprawling Warner Bros. production lot after the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” Still television’s most popular comedy, the show will exit the airwaves and the studio it has called home for...
Pittsburgh jazz documentary ‘We Knew What We Had’ returning to WQEDVideo
A locally produced documentary on Pittsburgh’s rich jazz music history is airing again nationally, with a special airing scheduled at 8 p.m. Feb. 28 on WQED, Pittsburgh’s PBS member station. Produced by MCG Jazz, the 60-minute documentary, “We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told,” explores social...
British actor Albert Finney dies at 82
LONDON — British actor Albert Finney, the Academy Award-nominated star of films from “Tom Jones” to “Skyfall,” has died at the age of 82. Finney’s family said Friday that he “passed away peacefully after a short illness with those closest to him by his side.” Finney was a rare star...
‘Pet Sematary’ remake updates Stephen King’s classic horror novel
“Sometimes dead is better.” That’s the tagline for the remake of Stephen King’s seminal 1983 horror novel “Pet Sematary.” After Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his family relocate from Boston to rural Maine, the doctor discovers a strange burial ground hidden deep in the woods. When tragedy strikes the...
Review: ‘The Prodigy’ is a creepy-kid horror movie done rightVideo
Creepy children are a mainstay of the horror genre. Going back to “The Bad Seed” and beyond, children have proved capable of unnerving audiences with a combination of precocious dialogue and psychopathic behavior. The chilling new horror film “The Prodigy” continues that fine tradition, with one intriguing complication: in the...
Review: ‘The Lego Movie 2’ is too meta for its own goodVideo
Like a well-engineered tower of brightly colored building blocks, the Lego movie franchise, now four films strong, achieved its zenith with “The Lego Batman Movie.” The 2017 stand-alone spin-off of the excellent 2014 original that appealed to both young fans of the construction toys and grown-up aficionados of the brooding...
Review: Taraji P. Henson is the best thing about ‘What Men Want’Video
In “What Men Want,” Taraji P. Henson gains the ability to hear men’s unspoken thoughts after she (1) accidentally drinks drug-laced tea; (2) dances to 2 Live Crew’s “Hoochie Mama” during a friend’s bachelorette party; (3) is knocked over by an inflatable penis; and (4) is slammed into a nightclub...
Richard Roundtree, Samuel L. Jackson reprise iconic roles in new ‘Shaft’ film
Who is the man who would risk his neck for brother man? In June, there will be three answers to that iconic question, originally posed in the 1970s by soul singer Isaac Hayes. Both Richard Roundtree and Samuel L. Jackson — the original Detective John Shaft as well as the...
Mayim Bialik visit to offer sympathy, support to Pittsburgh’s Jewish community
Actor Mayim Bialik’s fans know her best from her current role as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS’s hit comedy series, “The Big Bang Theory,” or her past roles in “Blossom” (1990) and the 1988 movie, “Beaches,” with Bette Midler. Many people may not be aware of her strong commitment to...
Let’s engage in wild speculation over these brand-new ‘Game of Thrones’ photos from the final season
HBO released a brand-new batch of promotional photos for the final season of their flagship show, fantasy drama “Game of Thrones.” And as faithful throne-watchers, it’s our solemn duty to engage in wild speculation about what every possible detail in every photo might portend! **WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD THROUGH SEASON 7...
Super Bowl ad winners: Bud Light, Amazon
NEW YORK — This year some of the Super Bowl ads that grabbed the greatest buzz were surprises, like Bud Light’s “Game of Thrones” teaser. Other crowd-pleasers focused on humor, like Amazon’s take on celebrity product testers. While the New England Patriots bested the L.A. Rams on Sunday in Atlanta...
‘Glass’ stays at No. 1, while ‘Miss Bala’ opens in third
LOS ANGELES — With the distraction of the Super Bowl, freezing temperatures affecting large portions of North America and only one big new release in theaters in “Miss Bala,” movie going audiences largely took the weekend off from the theaters in what is estimated to be the lowest-earning Super Bowl...
Jackie Evancho performs ‘Phantom’ song for ‘AGT: Champions’ show
Singer Jackie Evancho to set to return to NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” on Monday night. “AGT” posted a 3:37 minute clip of the singer performing “Music of the Night” from the musical “Phantom of the Opera” to YouTube and social media on Sunday morning. Evancho is competing in “America’s Got...
Come together: Super Bowl Sunday, the last stand of live TV
ATLANTA — Oh sure, there’s plenty of evidence to support the soothsayers who are predicting the slow, inevitable death of live television. And there’s plenty of proof to bolster theories about the NFL’s slipping popularity. But when it comes to clicking away from Super Bowl Sunday — forget about it....
Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Roma’ win top film honors at Directors Guild of America awards
LOS ANGELES — Cementing his status as an Oscar front-runner, “Roma” director Alfonso Cuaron took home the top honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards, held Saturday night in Los Angeles. At the end of his bilingual acceptance speech at the Hollywood & Highland Center’s Ray Dolby Ballroom, Cuaron...
Black History Month brings ‘Black Panther’ back to theaters for free
In celebration of Black History Month, the Walt Disney Company will bring Oscar- and Screen Actors Guild-nominated film “Black Panther” back to theaters through Feb. 7 at 250 screens across the U.S. In the Pittsburgh area, it will be shown at the AMC Waterfront theater in West Homestead. The movie...
Review: Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ is even weirder than the comic, and it’s an absolute must seeVideo
Those wondering what Netflix’s post-Marvel superhero future will be need look no further than the refreshingly weird “Umbrella Academy,” which begins streaming Feb. 15. This unlikely team of heroes, based on the Eisner Award-winning Dark Horse Comics series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, provides a strikingly different streaming experience...
‘Jane the Virgin’ creator says finale should bring closure and other TV scoops
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A roundup of news from the Television Critics Association winter meeting, at which TV networks and streaming services are presenting details on upcoming programs. Tissues, please The upcoming final season of “Jane the Virgin” is already drawing tears. The CW show’s creator, Jennie Snyder Urman, said...
Review: Bland ‘Miss Bala’ remake misses the original pointVideo
Mexico’s 2011 Oscar entry, “Miss Bala,” was a searing slice of social commentary about the raging narco wars wrapped up in a sexy, action-packed thriller. Directed by Gerardo Naranjo, the script was ripped from the headlines, basing its beauty queen-meets-drug lord story on a stranger-than-fiction 2008 scandal, when Miss Sinaloa...
‘The Batman’ set for 2021 release, star to be determined
LOS ANGELES — Who will be inside the suit remains unknown but “The Batman” has a release date. Warner Bros. on Wednesday announced that Matt Reeves’ stand-alone Batman film will hit theaters in June 2021. Ben Affleck was previously set to star in the film following his performances in “Justice...
Peter Jackson making new documentary of Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’
NEW YORK — The Beatles’ farewell documentary “Let It Be” is getting an encore, and a reinvention. “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson announced Wednesday that he is making a new film out of some 55 hours of footage — shot in January 1969 — that has never been...
Super Bowl ads offer simple escapism with star power
NEW YORK — Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a horror movie parody for Olay. Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker tout Stella Artois. Steve Carell hawks Pepsi. Star power abounds in this year’s Super Bowl ads. Advertisers are hoping to provide some welcome distraction and entertainment as economic fears persist and...
‘Project Runway’ returns with twists, more cash to winner
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — “Project Runway” is going home, back to its original network with several new twists. The biggest change is new host and executive producer Karlie Kloss, who takes over from the departed duo of Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn when the show debuts March 14 on Bravo....
Fred Rogers biopic release date moved back 5 weeks
It’ll be “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” a little later than originally planned, now that Sony Pictures has moved back the release date of the Fred Rogers biopic to Nov. 22. The much-anticipated movie, which stars Tom Hanks as Rogers, originally was scheduled for release on Oct. 18, but...
‘The Dude’ was only teasing a new beer commercial, not a ‘Lebowski’ sequel
We knew it was almost too good to be true. When Jeff Bridges posted a Twitter video where he walked into a dimly-lit room dressed as “The Dude” from the Coen Brothers’ 1998 cult classic “The Big Lebowski,” he lit the Internet up with speculation that he might be teasing...
