David Bianculli

Douglas, Damon Illuminate HBO's 'Candelabra'

David Bianculli — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Before you see any of Behind the Candelabra -- when you just consider the concept of the TV movie and its casting — this new HBO Films production raises all sorts of questions: How much will be based on verifiable fact, and how much will be fictionalized? On an anything-goes premium-cable network such as HBO, how graphic will the sex scenes be?

And the most important questions involve the drama's two leading men, playing an ultra-flamboyant piano player and the wide-eyed young man who becomes his behind-the-scenes companion for five years. Michael Douglas?

In A Cluster Of New Sitcoms, 'Family Tree' Stands Tall

David Bianculli — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:29:00 +0000

Christopher Guest, co-creator with Jim Piddock of the new HBO comedy series Family Tree, obviously is having a good time making this show — and it's contagious. It's several shows in one, and every element is a self-assured little delight.

Christopher Guest, of course, has made a career — quite an impressive one — out of marching to his own comedy drummer.

'Rectify': An Ex-Con Navigates The World Outside

David Bianculli — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:02:00 +0000

Rectify, a new drama series from the Sundance Channel, wants to stand out from the pack — and it certainly succeeds at that. It's a six-hour limited series, more along the British model of TV than ours here in the States. If these first six installments catch on enough, the story will continue. If not, that's it.

And Rectify is so unusual a show, with its own deliberate pace and premise and approach, that it may not build enough viewership to keep going.

'Central Park Five': Rape, Race And Blame Explored

David Bianculli — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Ken Burns has said that no matter what subjects he tackles in his documentaries — baseball or jazz, Mark Twain or the Civil War — they always seem to boil down to two things: "race and place."

That's certainly true with his latest film, The Central Park Five, which tells of the violent assault and rape of a female jogger in 1989.

This Spring, Rejoice At Rebirth Of 'Mad Men'

David Bianculli — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:04:00 +0000

For decades, when broadcast television called the shots and dominated the TV landscape, the biggest event of the year was "the fall season," when networks would unveil their new shows and return with fresh episodes of old favorites. But now, because of cable and satellite TV, the fall season isn't the only game in town.

There's the summer season, which used to be nothing but reruns; now it's the time when HBO brings back True Blood, and when AMC, in just a few months, is going to present the final episodes of Breaking Bad.