Web site TV for Jan. 17 – Jan 23, 2010

TV film fare -- week of Jan. 17

The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Jan. 17. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations.

Monday, Jan. 18, 8-11:30 p.m. EST (AMC) "Superman Returns" (2006). The Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) returns to earth after a five-year absence to find that while some things haven't changed -- arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is still plotting mass destruction -- but Metropolis has moved on without him; this includes reporter Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), who is now engaged and raising a young son. More than a special-effects extravaganza, director Bryan Singer's visually elegant film heavily lays on Christian symbolism, while balancing comic-book spectacle with emotional drama and tender romance. Some stylized action violence, including intense scenes of peril, a vicious beating, an implied past premarital encounter, and a few mildly crude expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Monday, Jan. 18, 8:30-10:30 a.m. EST (TCM) "Cabin in the Sky" (1943). Director Vincente Minnelli's now-classic adaptation of Vernon Duke's Broadway hit about Little Joe (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson), an inveterate gambler, torn between the emissaries of God and the devil, while good wife Petunia (Ethel Waters) tries to keep him from the snares of bad girl Georgia Brown (Lena Horne). Despite some period stereotyping, the musical is an incomparable compendium of the top black talent of the period (including Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, the Hall Johnson Choir), great songs ("Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe," "Taking a Chance on Love"), with a solid, if simplistic, moral underpinning and redemptive ending. Some suggestive elements, gambling, adultery and murder. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Thursday, Jan. 21, 5:45-8 p.m. EST (TCM) "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936). Loosely drawn from Tennyson's poem on an incident in the Crimean War, the Hollywood version saves it for the finale in the story of brothers (Errol Flynn and Patric Knowles) who have a falling out over a woman (Olivia de Havilland) while soldiering in imperial India, then meet again in 1856 when the nobler of the two leads 600 lancers against an artillery emplacement at Balaclava. Director Michael Curtiz downplays the sudsy romance in favor of military action, with the Indian massacre of a British outpost as motivation for the famous charge, vividly re-created here in a sweeping set piece of men and horses dashing across a landscape riddled with shot and shell. The result is stirring entertainment with some noble sentiments but little regard for history. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 3-5:30 p.m. EST (A&E) "Shanghai Noon" (2000). Delightful action-comedy set around 1881 about an imperial Chinese guard (Jackie Chan) who travels to America to save the kidnapped princess (Lucy Liu) he loves and is unexpectedly aided by an easygoing outlaw (Owen Wilson) in learning the ways of the Wild West. Although the film takes a while to get rolling, director Tom Dey packs plenty of kicky kung-fu action and East-meets-West antics into the funny film, while the lighthearted treatment of force and innuendo suggests it's not to be taken literally. Intermittent stylized action violence, implied sexual encounters, fleeting drug use and brief crass language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 8-10:05 p.m. EST (Showtime) "Twilight" (2008). Gothic romance about a self-possessed high school student (Kristen Stewart) who moves to Washington state to live with her divorced father (Billy Burke) and falls for a mysterious classmate (Robert Pattinson) who turns out to be a vampire. Though set against a lush, misty background, director Catherine Hardwicke's stylish screen version of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling 2005 novel for young adults never takes itself too seriously, as the conflicted central relationship -- restrained by the gentlemanly bloodsucker's scruples -- parodies both adolescent awkwardness and teenage yearning. Brief but intense action violence, a scene of mild sensuality and a few sexual references; acceptable for older teens. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Saturday, Jan. 23, 8-11:30 p.m. EST (A&E) "The Green Mile" (1999). Prison drama set in 1935 Louisiana where a death-row head guard (Tom Hanks) comes to believe in the innocence of a huge, gentle black man (Michael Clarke Duncan) whose miraculous healing powers affect those around him in startling ways. As adapted by director Frank Darabont from the serialized 1996 Stephen King novel, the movie is unduly long but presents affecting character studies of good and evil men with spiritual undertones and a sobering depiction of capital punishment. Some violence including a horrific electrocution, occasional profanity and intermittent rough language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

TV program notes -- week of Jan. 17

Here are some television program notes for the week of Jan. 17 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not all been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.

Sunday, Jan. 17, 8-9 p.m. EST (Fox) "Human Target." Pilot episode of a new action series based on a DC Comics graphic novel and chronicling the exploits of Christopher Chance (Mark Valley), a bodyguard and private investigator hired to shield high-profile clients while uncovering the source of the threat against them. (A 1992 ABC adaptation of the same material, starring pop singer Rick Springfield, was short-lived.) In this program, Chance -- assisted by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride) and shady behind-the-scenes dirt digger Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) -- works to protect Stephanie Dobbs (Tricia Helfer), the project manager of a new high-speed rail link between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The stylish proceedings, mostly set aboard the breakthrough train on its maiden passage, are enhanced by Chance's occasional wit and steady resourcefulness, though considerable gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, together with references to adultery and a single profanity, suggest an adult audience. Following the series premiere Wednesday, Jan. 20, 9-10 p.m. EST, the series will air regularly Wednesdays 8-9 p.m. EST, beginning Jan. 27.

Monday, Jan. 18, 9-10 p.m. EST (CW) "Life Unexpected." Premiere of a new drama series, set in Portland, Ore., in which bartender Nate "Baze" Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha) and morning radio show personality Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby) unexpectedly reconnect with Lux (Britt Robertson), the now 15-year-old daughter they conceived during a one-night stand in high school, and whom Cate gave up for adoption soon after birth. In this episode, Lux -- who was never permanently taken in, and has instead lived with a succession of dysfunctional foster families -- seeks out her parents to gain their signatures on paperwork necessary for her to become emancipated on her 16th birthday, sparking a quarrelsome reunion for the pair, and raising complications for slacker Baze's relationship with his live-in girlfriend and commitment-shy Cate's recent engagement to co-host, and on-air sparring partner, Ryan (Kerr Smith). Positive tendencies toward parental responsibility and an implicit -- though hardly straightforward -- pro-life subtext are consistently undercut by the characters' taken-for-granted adherence to contemporary sexual mores, as typified by contraceptive references, Cate's observation that she and Ryan are unprepared for marriage since they haven't lived together yet and, most significantly, a reckless physical encounter followed up by emotional hypocrisy.

Monday, Jan. 18, 10-11 p.m. EST (PBS) "Benjamin Latrobe: America's First Architect." Architecture critic Paul Goldberger hosts this documentary biography of Benjamin Latrobe -- the creator of the first uniquely "American" architecture -- whose tumultuous life was a series of creative triumphs, personal tragedies and constant reinvention. The film uses computer-generated animation, interviews with architects and historians and location shooting to explore Latrobe's career, from his early years in England to his immigration to the young republic and his work on such iconic buildings as the U.S. Capitol, the White House and Baltimore's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first Catholic cathedral in the United States (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 8-9 p.m. EST (PBS) "Riddles of the Sphinx." This episode of the series "Nova" follows an international team of archeologists, architects and engineers as they race against time to save Egypt's ancient, famed and mysterious landmark the Sphinx from eroding away beyond recognition (TV-G -- general audience).

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 9-10 p.m. EST (History) "Everest." A look at the Earth's tallest mountain which, despite being as far removed from sea level as it's possible to be, nonetheless has sedimentary layers containing fossils of creatures that once lived on the ocean seabed. Part of the series "How the Earth Was Made."

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 9-11 p.m. EST (PBS) "The Audition." Filmmaker Susan Froemke's documentary -- presented as part of the series "Great Performances at the Met" -- goes behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, where hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Thursday, Jan. 21, 6:30-9 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Solemn Vigil Mass for Life (Live)." From Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Mass will be celebrated on the eve of the March for Life. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, is scheduled to serve as celebrant and homilist.

Friday, Jan. 22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. EST (EWTN) "March for Life (Live)." Complete coverage of the 2010 March for Life in Washington, starting with the Rally for Life and continuing with the annual march up Constitution Avenue. This special will include interviews, panel discussions and speeches from pro-life activists around the country. The program will be rebroadcast 10 p.m.-2 a.m. EST.