New Releases for the week of April 23 - 29
La La Land
Winner of six Academy Awards, this musical drama follows an aspiring actress (Stone) and unsuccessful jazz musician (Gosling) who, over the course of several months, keep bumping into each other as they go about their day-to-day lives around Los Angeles. As their affection and attraction for each other builds, each inspires the other to reach for new heights in their creative careers, even as they fall ever more deeply in love. Both the film and music industries are tough to break into, though, and both struggle to find recognition despite the support that they provide one another.
Director: Damien Chazelle. Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Finn Wittrock, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons. 2016. 128 min. Drama.
Underworld: Blood Wars
The next phase in the war between the vampires and Lycans unfolds in this new chapter of the Underworld franchise. With both species hunting Selene (Beckinsale) for their own purposes, vampire Semira (Pulver) lures her in under false pretenses, betraying her with the intention of stealing Selene's powers. After a daring rescue led by David (James), Selene is pursued by the villainous Marius (Menzies) and his Lycan allies. With both traitorous vampires and blood-thirsty Lycans after them, Selene and David prepare for war.
Director: Anna Foerster. Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies, Lara Pulver, Charles Dance, James Faulkner. 2016. 91 min. Action.
Catfight
Many years since they last saw each other, former college frenemies Veronica (Oh) and Ashley (Heche) run into each other unexpectedly at a glitzy party. With Veronica now the trophy wife of a wealthy industrialist who profits from an ongoing war and Ashley an unsuccessful artist who is against said conflict, their lives couldn't be more different, and when they lay eyes on each other after so long apart, all of their old animosities come bubbling back up to the surface. As the party goes on, the two women's cutting words soon give way to physical blows.
Director: Onur Tukel. Stars: Sandra Oh, Anne Heche, Alicia Silverstone, Amy Hill, Damian Young. 2016. 96 min. Comedy.
Late Laughs for the week of April 23 - 29, 2017
Conan
President Trump turned down a chance to throw out the Opening Day pitch for the Washington Nationals. For some reason, Trump doesn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of large Hispanic men holding baseball bats.
It's come out that several of Donald Trump's businesses have ties to the Russian Mafia. So, if you're keeping track, we're officially up to season 3 of "The Sopranos."
Grim in 'Gotham': New villain joins rogue's gallery as Batman prequel returns
Ben McKenzie stars in "Gotham"
Grim in 'Gotham': Just when it was starting to feel safe enough to go out after dark again, Gotham City's cast of villainous rogues is set to stage a comeback.
"Gotham," Fox's dark drama about the shadowy origins of Batman's greatest enemies, returns from its midseason break Monday, April 24, at a pivotal time for a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz, "Touch").
Guerrilla, on Showtime
Marcus (Babou Ceesay), Jas (Freida Pinto) and Dhari (Nathaniel Martello-White) are on the run in this new episode. Meanwhile, Pence (Abraham Lewis) and Cullen (Daniel Mays) harass the black community as they search for the gang.
Viva Italia: 'Bizarre Foods' heads back to northern Italy
Andrew Zimmern hosts "Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations"
In the 'News': New comedy from '30 Rock' alum premieres
Adam Campbell, Horatio Sanz, Briga Heelan, Andrea Martin, Nicole Richie and John Michael Higgins star in "Great News"
In the 'News': New comedy from '30 Rock' alum premieres
Adam Campbell, Horatio Sanz, Briga Heelan, Andrea Martin, Nicole Richie and John Michael Higgins star in "Great News"
Recaps for the week of April 17 - 21
Sharon Case as seen in "The Young and the Restless"
The Bold and the Beautiful
After the finale of the Spectra fashion show, Thomas is left feeling heartbroken and betrayed. Coco finally finds out that she was used in her family's plan to steal success for their company. It isn't long before the Forresters call an emergency meeting to deal with the consequences of the Spectra fashion show. Despite the success of her show, Sally feels deep regret after a run-in with Thomas. An angry Coco confronts Sally for using her to steal Forrester designs. Steffy tells Thomas and RJ that they must not have any more contact with the Spectras. Brooke gives Bill back something he's been missing for a while. Katie unexpectedly pays Quinn a visit to collect on a promise made previously. Brooke surprises Bill with some of his favorite things to show her appreciation for his consistent loyalty to her. Ridge becomes wise to Katie's plan to get revenge on Quinn for her actions.
Days of Our Lives
Abigail makes a life-altering decision. Tensions rise between Kate, Jennifer and Andre. Eric tries to convince Chloe to make peace with Nicole. Brady finds out Nicole might be in trouble. Chad fills Gabi in on what happened at the vow renewal ceremony. Dario provides some needed comfort to Abigail. Nicole confesses something to Brady. Steve requests that Tripp not take any money from the Vitali family. Kayla reveals Jade's scheming. Marlena and John are reunited. Paul provides Sonny with new information about Deimos. Kayla helps Tripp out of a tough situation and their bond grows. Steve tells Adrienne about his son. Gabi and Julie have a confrontation which leads one of them to end up in the hospital. Abigail asserts her independence. Eric assures Jennifer that her daughter is much stronger than she knows. Chad does everything he can to get Abigail back. Kate witnesses Abigail and Dario together. Eli is upset with Gabi for what happened with Julie.
General Hospital
Tracy tries to one up Olivia. Sonny and Jax have a confrontation. Alexis sees things clearly, and later finds some closure. Dante fears the worst, while Sam chases down a lead. Tracy disappoints the family. Ned speaks his mind to an uninvited guest. While Liz feels distraught, Jake confides in Franco. Nelle tries to take a high road. Finn isn't pleased with Griffin's offer. Brad's anger gets much worse. Hayden isn't sure about her future. Carly promises to punish Nelle. Finn has questions for Tracy about her motives. Jason has some good news to share with Sonny. Ava and Scott visit the PCPD.
The Young and the Restless
Nick pays Victor a visit to let him know that Faith is moving back in with him. Then, Victor and Faith share a tearful goodbye. Victor appoints Abby as acting CEO of Newman Enterprises while he is out of town. While in New York, Ashley meets Traci for breakfast. After Traci meets Ravi, she grills Ashley about their relationship. Meanwhile, Cane reminds Juliet how important it is that they keep their secret. Juliet tells Cane to forget about their night together and get his head on right. Later, Cane becomes nervous when Juliet goes out with Victoria for drinks after work. Scott insists Sharon needs to treat herself better and invites her out on a date. Nikki meets with Scott in secret, and asks him to stop writing Victor's biography. Jack tries to form an alliance with Phyllis to take down Victor. Jack explains that he feels something is off with the Newmans so it's the right time to take aim.
Movie: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, on HBO
Deborah Lacks (Oprah Winfrey) and journalist Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne) learn how Henrietta Lacks’s cells were harvested to create the first immortal human cell line. The film is based on the non-fiction bestseller of the same name.
Q: Any idea when "The American Bible Challenge" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" are coming back on?
Sadly, it looks like never for both shows. But I can only say "looks like" because you can never count Jeff Foxworthy out.
Foxworthy, who hosted both shows, has already given us an unlikely revival of "5th Grader" in 2015 (not to mention a number of "revivals" of his Blue Collar Comedy franchise). However, neither "5th Grader" nor "Bible Challenge" has produced a new episode in years, which is generally a bad sign.
