> Reviews of some of the more prominent movies in theatres right now: X-MEN:  FIRST CLASS MIDNIGHT IN PARIS THE HANGOVER PART II KUNG FU PANDA 2 THE TREE OF LIFE

> See A Word About Busted Pilots  The double meaning of “little” in the title of Fox’s busted sitcom pilot LITTLE IN COMMON is that the 3 couples at its center are brought together only because their respective kids all play on the same little league team.  That’s about it for cleverness, though, in this […]

> See A Word About Busted Pilots The word was that Stephen Gaghan’s pilot METRO was in serious consideration for NBC’s schedule until the very end (conventional wisdom has it that the final choice came down to Metro vs. Awake, and the latter made the cut).  That’s too bad:  the pilot is an impressive piece […]

>Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of the new […]

> AMERICAN HORROR STORY – Wednesdays 10PM on FX – Potential DVR Alert The first inkling of just how deranged AMERICAN HORROR STORY is going to be comes with one of the early “normal” scenes.  The location isn’t the haunted house, so we’re away from the girl with Down’s Syndrome who tells people they’re going […]

> Last night ABC’s REVENGE became the first of the network serialized dramas to return from its long midseson hiatus.  Let’s see how the show managed its 2012 arrival. WHERE WE LEFT OFF:  Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), who’s really Amanda Clarks, continued her plot to bring down the super-rich Grayson family, headed by matriarch Victoria […]

> There’s a principled discussion to be had about whether the Sundance Film Festival should be featuring movies that are essentially low-budget Hollywood entertainments made outside the studio system. But that discussion fades into irrelevance when the result is as hilarious and accomplished as FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL…, which premiered tonight. Directed by first-time […]

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have had their own turnover in the off-season) give plenty of notes, both helpful and otherwise, and […]