New Releases for the week of January 31 - February 6
Tesla
Nikola Tesla (Hawke) is a frustrated genius, imagining a future no one seems interested in believing. Professionally and personally demeaned by his boss and intellectual rival, the high-powered Thomas Edison (MacLachlan), Tesla is ostracized by his peers and unable to find funding or support for his enormous, revolutionary ideas. From the alternating-current motor to the Tesla coil, the lonely engineer struggles to justify his very real, tangible inventions with his dismissed, unmoored day-to-day reality. However, with the help of occasional allies such as heiress Anne Morgan (Hewson), Tesla's desire to gift the unthinkable to future generations proves unwavering as he chooses to walk an uneven, devastatingly difficult road for the rest of his scientific life.
Director: Michael Almereyda. Stars: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Hannah Gross, Josh Hamilton, Lucy Walters. 2020. 102 mins. Drama.
Wild Mountain Thyme
Rosemary Muldoon (Blunt) and Anthony Reilly (Dornan) have been tending their families' farmlands together for their entire lives and have been quietly in love with each other for just as long. Despite being understood as soulmates by everyone around them, the two struggle to make their feelings known. Right as they're beginning to find a way into their star-crossed story, Anthony's father Tony (Walken) makes a revelation that derails their lives completely. Due to what he believes is his and his son's cold relationship, Tony announces that he's planning to hand over their family farm to his American nephew, Adam (Hamm). Outraged and hurt, Anthony feels far away from everyone and everything, including Rosemary — a fact made more destructive by Adam's visit to the farm and Rosemary's clear romantic feelings towards him.
Director: John Patrick Shanley. Stars: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken, Abigail Coburn, Darragh O'Kane. 2020. 102 mins. Drama.
Archenemy
A teenager named Hamster (Brooks) meets Max Fist (Manganiello) in an alleyway. Drunk and disheveled, Max tells Hamster the tale of his life: how he came from a completely different dimension and lost the incredible superpowers that world granted him when he arrived in this reality. Although unsure of his claims, Hamster ends up teaming up with the supposed hero when local crime boss "The Manager" (Howerton) and his crew set out to settle the debts he and his sister, Indigo (Griggs), owe him.
Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer. Stars: Joe Manganiello, Skylan Brooks, Glenn Howerton, Zolee Griggs, Paul Scheer, Jessica Allain, Kieran Gallagher. 2020. 90 mins. Action.
Late Laughs for the week of January 31 - February 6, 2021
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
[Trump's Georgia] call is like if Watergate and the Ukraine scandal had a baby that they made on the "Access Hollywood" bus.
The Devil moved back to Savannah so he could vote for Biden. I mean, he's the Prince of Darkness, but he's very concerned about global warming. If Earth is already on fire, Hell's not going to be that impressive.
The vice-president can't arbitrarily decide who's the next president! Otherwise, in 2001 I'm going to guess Al Gore would have picked Al Gore.
Art imitating life: 'For Life' portrays real-life search for justice
Nicholas Pinnock stars in "For Life"
Just about everyone has heard that fiction is often wrapped up with the truth. That just so happens to be the case with ABC's well-received drama "For Life," whose midseason premiere aired Wednesday, Jan. 27, and a new episode of which is set to air Wednesday, Feb. 3.
NYC state of mind: HBO Max revives 'Sex and the City'
Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall in "Sex and the City"
NYC state of mind: Fix yourself a celebratory cosmopolitan and slip on your favorite heels (Manolo Blahniks, perhaps) because "Sex and the City" is officially coming back to television.
Saturday Night Live, on NBC
Catch a new episode from Season 46 of this iconic sketch series which has featured superstar musical guests ranging from Justin Bieber to Bruce Springsteen, and guest hosts that include Adele, Dave Chappelle and former cast member Kristen Wiig.
Magnum P.I., on CBS
Jin (Bobby Lee) gets information that an innocent woman is the target of a hit in this rebroadcast. Doing everything in his power to stop the hit, Jin contacts Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) to help him save her from an untimely fate.
Q: What is Gabrielle Anwar from "Burn Notice" doing now?
In business-world lingo, I'd say she's diversifying.
She's working on an indie movie, but she's also serving as spokesperson and board member of a parenthood-training group and doing volunteer work on the side. And "Burn Notice" fans will be delighted to know she's doing it all in Miami.
1000-lb Sisters, on TLC
The reason for Amy's trip to the emergency room shocks the Slaton family in this rebroadcast. Tammy must step on the scale once again when she and Chris visit with her new doctor, but the news isn't good as Tammy hasn't been sticking to her diet lately.
A tale of pride and prejudice: 'The Long Song' explores the history of slavery in Jamaica
Tamara Lawrance and Hayley Atwell in "The Long Song"
With so many people stuck at home these days, television can be a welcome distraction, featuring shows that make us laugh or cry or both. Some TV programs go beyond mere entertainment to educate and inspire, and one such miniseries is headed to prime time thanks to PBS.
A tale of pride and prejudice: 'The Long Song' explores the history of slavery in Jamaica
Tamara Lawrance and Hayley Atwell in "The Long Song"
With so many people stuck at home these days, television can be a welcome distraction, featuring shows that make us laugh or cry or both. Some TV programs go beyond mere entertainment to educate and inspire, and one such miniseries is headed to prime time thanks to PBS.