Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing July 3-9. All times ET.

July 3
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Curl up with the kids and watch the classic that has it all — timeless songs, a darling dog, an evil witch, Judy Garland and flying monkeys. There are few other films as deserving of the word “masterpiece” as this one. TCM, 6pm

July 4
Casino Royale (2006)
With this film, Daniel Craig overcame the doubt and skepticism of many to become arguably the most thrilling new James Bond since Sean Connery. Playing a more human version of the quintessential superspy, Craig brings a depth and vulnerability absent from previous incarnations. Easily one of the best in the series, and full of explosive moments appropriate for the July 4 holiday. USA, 8pm [Read more →]

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George Clooney stars as Michael Clayton

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 26-July 2. All times ET.

June 25
Michael Clayton (2007)
George Clooney stars in this underrated thriller about a corporate legal “fixer” whose job it is to clean up in the wake of his firm’s dirtiest work. Discontent and disgusted at what the years have done to his life, Michael Clayton (Clooney) is fed up. But when his firm’s representative has a breakdown in the middle of a deposition in a multibillion-dollar class action suit, he goes to work and ultimately faces the biggest challenge of his life. HBO Signature, 10pm

June 26
Ladyhawke (1985)
Matthew Broderick plays a wisecracking thief who helps a knight (Rutger Hauer) and his lady fair (Michelle Pfeiffer) break a terrible curse. This beautiful fantasy was directed by Richard Donner. Retro, 11:35pm [Read more →]

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By Jeff Pfeiffer

In an announcement today, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis stated that the 82nd Academy Awards, which will be held March 7 of next year (and broadcast on ABC once again), will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category — twice the usual five we have been accustomed to for over half a century.

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by Karl J. Paloucek

Do you remember that episode of The Flintstones when Stony Curtis came to Bedrock, and at every mention of his name, Wilma’s hair would go bananas, then she would follow suit, running helter-skelter through their granite ranch-style abode? It’s been a while since I’ve seen that episode, and despite having been in entertainment journalism for a number of years, it’s been quite a while since I witnessed a mass of people — full-grown adult humans, children, teens — go into a full-on celebrity frenzy.

It happened that right around the corner from our offices here in Chicago, the premiere of Public Enemies was set to take place at our local multiplex, and — I hate to use this line — the stars were coming out for it. Among them, Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale and … well, yeah, Johnny Depp.
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Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 19-25. All times ET.

June 19
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are a pair of scoundrels who prey upon the emotionally heightened women at weddings. Of course, they eventually overplay their hand and find themselves in the vice of a relationship based on duplicity, but that’s what makes it fun! Jane Seymour startles as the cougar in the mix. Loaded with plenty of goofball moments, this is one of those that you’ll turn to again and again. TNT (HD), 8pm

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By Stacey Harrison

As The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 bogarts its way onto screens this weekend — probably sullying the good name of the excellent 1974 original, trading lean, gritty storytelling for bloated excess — it seems as good a time as any to talk about remakes.

We all like to roll our eyes and moan, “Has Hollywood run out of ideas?” every time we see a trailer for the latest remake, reboot, relaunch, revamp or reimagining of a movie aimed at “bringing the story to a new generation.” (Seriously, does every generation need a version of the same story? This is how Kidz Bop happened, folks.) So why do they keep coming? With slasher films, it’s pretty obvious. You can hire some music video director on the cheap to resurrect Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and (coming in 2010) Nightmare on Elm Street franchises and pretty much print your money on opening weekend. [Read more →]

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by Karl J. Paloucek

Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 12-18. All times ET.

June 12
Tropic Thunder (2008)
This one’s up in the air — depending on your sense of humor, it’s either the funniest movie of 2008 or it’s an OK comedy with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Regardless, it still yields an Academy Award-nominated performance from Robert Downey Jr. in his controversial role as African-American action-film star Kirk Lazarus, and enough audacity to make it a pop-culture staple. Cinemax (HD), 8pm ET

June 13
The Dark Knight (2008)
Why so serious? Probably because the centerpiece of this most-unusual of Batman films, of course, is the posthumously won Academy Award-winning turn as the Joker by the late Heath Ledger. Definitely not your father’s Batman, or even the Batman of the last decade, things take a decidedly blacker turn here, as the name clearly states. Probably not for the younger Batfans. HBO (HD), 8pm ET
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Tags: Comedy, Drama, Movies by kpaloucek
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by Karl J. Paloucek

Last weekend, one of our dinner guests hinted at the power of branding on the American psyche. The topic at hand was a famous German chain of grocery stores that had to concede to carrying brands it had never previously considered so as to guarantee success in the U.S. market. The story underscored the brand loyalties that are so much a part of the American-consumer mentality. We’ve all heard that studies show that those loyalties start early and can last a lifetime, but why make a study when you can make a movie to prove your point?

Toy manufacturers Hasbro got into the game a while ago, coupling with Paramount to create film franchises based on its Transformers products and the imminent G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (debuting Aug. 7), starring Dennis Quaid. Last year, they announced a six-year partnership to bring several of their properties to the big screen, including Stretch Armstrong, Candyland, Ouija, Battleship, Monopoly and a new movie based on the game Clue.
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Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing June 5-11. All times ET

June 5
Casino Royale (2006)
With this film, Daniel Craig overcame the doubt and skepticism of many to become arguably the most thrilling new James Bond since Sean Connery. Playing a more human version of the quintessential superspy, Craig brings a depth and vulnerability absent from previous incarnations. Based on the original Ian Fleming story, this is an appropriate rebirth for the franchise and easily one of the best in the series. USA, 8pm ET

June 6
16 Blocks (2006)
In 1994 Bruce Willis played washed-up boxer Butch Coolidge, who wouldn’t throw a match, in Pulp Fiction. Here, he plays alcoholic cop Jack Mosley, who is chosen to escort a star witness the 16 blocks from [Read more →]

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Start the weekend — and next week — right with these films airing May 29-June 4. All times ET.

May 29
Cold Mountain (2003)
Keep a hankie handy for this romantic tearjerker set in the waning days of the U.S. Civil War. Based on the bestseller by Charles Frazier and starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renée Zellweger (with an appearance by Zellweger’s then-beau Jack White), Cold Mountain is one story of heartbreak and longing in a war that was much less forgiving for many others grieving on either side of the conflict. More folksy and romantic than historically accurate. Oxygen, 9pm

May 31
Night at the Museum (2006)
Ben Stiller stars as a guy new to his gig as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History — where, when the halls close and the doors lock, history really does come alive. Expect a lot of surprising turns, not least of which are Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney in their roles as dastardly villains. Don’t believe the hype — it’s really much better than you might have heard. FX, 6:30pm

June 1
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder shine in their most collaborative effort, a twisted, Borscht-Belt retooling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. (Yes, we all know — “That’s Fronkenshteen!”) Sure, you’ve probably seen it many times before, but can you ever get sick of Peter Boyle as the Monster singing “Puttin’ on the Ritz”? FMC, 9:30pm [Read more →]

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