New Releases for the week of Aug. 26 - September 1
Battleship
Alex Hopper, a gifted but impetuous young man, is cornered into following in his older brother's footsteps and joining the United States Navy. Years later, Alex, now a lieutenant, is as wild as ever and continues to cause problems for his straight-laced but loving older brother. When alien beings suddenly attack Earth during naval exercises in Hawaii, Alex must become the man his brother always hoped he'd be in order to save the world.
Director: Peter Berg. Stars: Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna. 2012. 131 min. Action.
The Lucky One
Serving his third tour in Iraq, Logan Thibault credits his survival to a photo he found of a mysterious woman. Upon returning to civilian life, Logan sets out to find the woman who he feels kept him safe, and finds himself along the way.
Director: Scott Hicks. Stars: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart. 2012. 101 minutes. Drama.
Pirates! Band of Misfits
A pirate captain and his misfit crew set out to win the Pirate of the Year Award. The tide turns against them when everyone from Charles Darwin to Queen Victoria tries to foil their plans, but the pirates persevere and give their rivals a run for their money.
Directors: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt. Stars: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Salma Hayek. 2012. 88 min. Animated.
Think Like a Man
When four friends discover that the women in their lives have been using a relationship advice book by Steve Harvey to get them to fall in line, the men decide to fight back. It soon becomes apparent that relationship games are more difficult to play than the men initially thought.
Director: Tim Story. Stars: Michael Ealy, Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson. 2012. 122 min. Comedy/Romance.
Headhunter
Seasoned headhunter Roger Brown leads a secret life as an art thief to fund his lavish lifestyle. When he meets a former mercenary, Clas Greve, he learns that Clas is in possession of an expensive artifact that could set up Roger and his wife for life. He soon realizes that Clas is more than he appears to be, and Roger must go on the run.
Director: Morten Tyldum. Stars: Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Julie Olgaard. 2012. 100 min. Thriller.
Leverage, on TNT
When Nate learns of a dying FBI agent's greatest failure, he is compelled to look back to the 1970s to find out how the agent allowed skyjacker D.B. Cooper to escape justice.
Late Laughs for the week of August 26 - 31, 2012
The Late Show: David Letterman
Because of the drought, vendors are selling New York City tap water for $2.50. Have you seen New York City tap water? It’s cloudier than Mitt Romney’s finances!
Conan: Conan O'Brien
Swedish intrigue: Branagh's back in new 'Wallander' series
Kenneth Branagh reprises his Emmy-nominated role as Kurt Wallander
SWEDISH INTRIGUE: Like many stars these days who aren't finding satisfaction or stability through film work, actor Kenneth Branagh is giving television another go.
To the extreme: Chefs face unusual scenarios in Season 2 of 'Extreme Chef'
Marsh Mokhtari returns to host "Extreme Chef"
They’ve survived the apocalypse and elimination (so far).
The Food Network’s “Extreme Chef” premiered its second season back on Aug. 16 and the competition is in full swing. The initial group of seven contestants are slowly being whittled down each Thursday, but the challenges remain as diverse and creative as ever.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, on NBC
When a Romani child disappears on the way home from school, Stabler and Benson face resistance from a community that doesn't trust the police. This rebroadcast features special guest appearances from Gilbert Gottfried, Ron Rifkin and Gavin Lee.
Recaps for the week of August 20 - 24
Genie Francis stars as Genevieve in "The Young and the Restless"
The Bold and the Beautiful
Hope is enraged when she finds out Liam was with Steffy the night before their do-over wedding and takes off while Liam chases her. Bill looks on in disgust as his son begs and pleads for Hope to forgive him in front of all their family and friends, and Bill reprimands him for it. Meanwhile, Steffy tells Taylor she just wanted Liam to see what an exciting life he could lead and they compare notes on their romantic histories. Hope visits Steffy and demands to know if anything happened between her and Liam. Rick confronts Liam and threatens him for hurting his sister. He comforts Hope and devises a plan to keep her away from Liam for good by driving her into the arms of Thomas. Steffy comforts Liam after another round with Hope and becomes convinced that he's not over her.
Days of Our Lives
Melanie and Gabi are shocked to find Andrew alive and well at the hospital. Melanie flees but Andrew grabs Gabi and threatens to expose her, which Chad overhears. Chad says he will keep quiet but only for Melanie's sake, and he kicks Gabi out of the apartment. Meanwhile, Sonny finds Will devastated by an angry confrontation with T and they kiss. Will denies any interest and runs off, but things spiral downward after he sees Sonny with Brian. Will and Gabi turn to each other for comfort after hitting rock-bottom and they make love. Sonny is beaten by T but refuses to identify his attacker when Justin finds him, stating that he will handle it himself. Fresh out of her ordeal with Andrew, Melanie is horrified when she hears from Julie that her former stalker, Nick Fallon, is up for parole and may return to Salem.
General Hospital
Jason implores Spinelli to investigate Ewen some more. Ewen does everything he can to try and protect Elizabeth. Still basking in the afterglow of Sonny's proposal, Kate shares a romantic encounter with him and later experiences a memory flash about Connie. After dealing with an unexpected visitor, Trey confesses everything to Starr. Excited about their impending parenthood, Lulu and Dante meet with a doctor. Carly is surprised when Todd offers her his support and Josslyn is shocked by a visitor. Luke and Todd finally come to face to face while Anna desperately tries to track down Robin. Joe Jr. puts the moves on Tracy and Kristina makes an important decision. Johnny learns that someone is returning to Port Charles.
The Young and the Restless
Phyllis convinces Kevin to help her move Tim's body back to his apartment so that it will seem like he died at home. While Kevin distracts Beth, Phyllis pilfers the tape of her confession and Tim's laptop. But Ronan and Michael aren't fooled: they figure out that Tim was moved after his death and they suspect that Phyllis is involved. Sharon takes control of Newman Enterprises as CEO and gets into a fight with Adam after he demands to know who is helping her. Sharon kicks Kyle out of the house, but Eden asks him to come live with her. Attempting to take over the company, Tucker enlists Genevieve to help him find Victor. Meanwhile, Nikki searches in vain for Victor in Kansas. At the waterfront bar, Victor is approached by a nun who runs a homeless shelter and she offers to help him make some friends.
America's Next Top Model, on CW
Aspiring models compete for a lucrative prize package as host Tyra Banks returns with a special college edition in the season premiere. New talents include stylist Johnny Wujek, social media correspondent Bryanboy and movement mentor Jonté.
Q: Who plays Anson, the bad guy in the last two seasons of "Burn Notice"? I know I've seen him somewhere before.
The odds are pretty good that most TV viewers have seen Jere Burns before. The longtime supporting actor has been a small-screen staple for close to three decades.
The laughter project: Mindy Kaling headlines Fox's new comedy night
Mindy Kaling, creator and star of "The Mindy Project"
As the dog days of summer slouch along into their dying weeks, the networks are gearing themselves up for the fall premiere season that attacks the airwaves every September.