Web site TV for Feb. 28 – Mar 6, 2010

TV film fare -- week of Feb. 28

The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Feb. 28. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence, and sexual situations.

Monday, March 1, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. EST (TCM) "Quo Vadis" (1951). After a Roman general (Robert Taylor) falls in love with a Christian maid (Deborah Kerr), the situation is complicated by the loony emperor deciding to burn Rome and blame the Christians. In director Mervyn LeRoy's version of the Henryk Sienkiewicz novel, the epic production overpowers the pallid love story and is less interested in the conflict between Christianity and paganism than that between the mad Nero (Peter Ustinov) and his rationalist advisor (Leo Genn). A mixed bag of religious fervor and pagan frolics, there's a lengthy suicide scene, some sexual innuendo and stylized violence. 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.

Tuesday, March 2, 8-11 p.m. EST (AMC) "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962). When a Southern lawyer (Gregory Peck) undertakes the defense of a black man (Brock Peters) accused of rape, he has to help his young children cope with the town's racial hostilities and their own fears of a mentally disabled neighbor (Robert Duvall). In this fine adaptation of the Harper Lee novel, director Robert Mulligan evokes a nostalgic picture of small-town life as seen mostly through the eyes of a youngster whose father is a reassuring figure of integrity in the confusing world of adults. Excellent for discussions of racial prejudice. 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.

Tuesday, March 2, 8-11 p.m. EST (TCM) "West Side Story" (1961). Rousing Broadway musical, with choreography by Jerome Robbins and music by Leonard Bernstein, is a contemporary, inner-city adaptation of the classic Romeo and Juliet theme, with Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood playing the star-crossed lovers set apart ethnically and by their opposing street-gang backgrounds. Directed by Robert Wise, the picture captures the grit of life in the city's lower depths, with glimmers of hope and elements of tragedy in a delicate balance, carried along by song and the dance numbers that pulsate with energy and verve. Some of the social issues, relationships and street language, however, require a mature perspective. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Wednesday, March 3, 6-8 p.m. EST (TCM) "I'll Cry Tomorrow" (1955). Strong fact-based story of singer Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward), a child vaudeville star pushed by her mother (Jo Van Fleet) to Hollywood and Broadway fame in the 1930s but, after romantic disappointments and a disastrous marriage (to Richard Conte), winds up an alcoholic on Skid Row from which she emerges with the help of an Alcoholic Anonymous worker (Eddie Albert). Director Daniel Mann depicts with harrowing realism the effects of compulsive drinking as well as the courage needed for rehabilitation, but much of the credit for the movie's emotional impact belongs to the performances. Effective cautionary tale with discreet treatment of sordid details, including suicidal despair. 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.

Friday, March 5, 8-9:45 p.m. EST (Showtime) "Soul Men" (2008). Good-hearted but frequently crude comedy about two retired soul-music backup singers (Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac) who uneasily reunite and drive across the country to appear in a tribute to their recently deceased front man (singer-songwriter John Legend), joined along the way by the daughter (Sharon Leal) of the woman they both loved and a bumbling record company intern (Adam Herschman). Though director Malcolm D. Lee's buddy movie -- which also features the late rhythm-and-blues star Isaac Hayes as himself -- affirms friendship, reconciliation and family responsibility, the strong collaboration of its leads fails to compensate for a formulaic plot and an excess of raunchy humor. Strong sexual content, including graphic nonmarital sexual activity, adultery, upper female and rear nudity, much sexual humor, pervasive rough and crude language, brief irreverence and a comic suicide attempt. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Saturday, March 6, 9 a.m.-noon EST (AMC) "Letters From Iwo Jima" (2006). Director Clint Eastwood's emotionally compelling companion to "Flags of Our Fathers," which dealt with the Battle of Iwo Jima through the eyes of American GIs, now from the Japanese perspective, illustrating our shared humanity and showing ignorance as a root of international conflict. The drama focuses on Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island including a young baker (Kazunari Ninomiya) who wants to see his new baby, a newcomer (Ryo Kase) who is looked upon with suspicion, and a former Olympic medalist (Tsuyoshi Ihara), all under the command of an honorable and patriotic lieutenant general (Ken Watanabe) as they prepare for the U.S. invasion and capture of Mount Suribachi. Several characters take their own lives, acts which though morally untenable by Christian standards must be taken in the context of traditional Japanese culture. Japanese with subtitles. Intense and graphic battlefield violence, several gruesome suicides and some crude expressions. 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.

Saturday, March 6, 6-8 p.m. EST (HBO) "Inkheart" (2009). Lavish, though sometimes awkward, fantasy adventure about a bookbinder (Brendan Fraser) who accidentally brings a fictional juggler (Paul Bettany) and a villain (Andy Serkis) to life by reading aloud to his daughter (Eliza Hope Bennett) the novel in which they are characters and who teams with the author (Jim Broadbent) to return them and retrieve his wife (Sienna Guillory), who disappeared into the story. Director Iain Softley's adaptation of Cornelia Funke's 2004 best-seller, which also features Helen Mirren as the girl's aunt, is a paean to fiction and family relationships and, though there is some moderate action violence that might frighten the very youngest viewers, is otherwise acceptable for all. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

TV program notes -- week of Feb. 28

Here are some television program notes for the week of Feb. 28 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.

Sunday, Feb. 28, 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Motets of the Bach Family." The Choir of Clare College in Cambridge, England, performs motets composed by several generations of the Bach family, including Johann Ludwig Bach, Johann Christoph Bach and others.

Sunday, Feb. 28, 9-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "The 39 Steps." Rupert Penry-Jones stars as Richard Hannay, a mining engineer caught up in a conspiracy following the death of a British spy in this "Masterpiece Classic" adaptation of the popular John Buchan adventure novel, set on the eve of World War I. Laura Linney hosts (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Tuesday, March 2, 9-10 p.m. EST (History) "America's Gold." A look at the geologic processes involved in the creation of gold and its concentration in various spots around the globe, a phenomenon that has exerted a profound effect on American history. Part of the series "How the Earth Was Made."

Tuesday, March 2, 10-11 p.m. EST (History) "Sky's the Limit." This season premiere of the series "Life After People" looks at the effects the disappearance of the human race would have on such well-known aircraft as Air Force One and the Cassini satellite.

Tuesday, March 2, 10-11 p.m. EST (PBS) "The Eyes of Me." Filmmaker Keith Maitland's documentary profiles four teens who have lost their sight, charting their struggles to fit in, prepare for college and live independently. Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts this episode of the series "Independent Lens" (TV-PG/L -- parental guidance suggested; infrequent coarse language).

Saturday, March 6, 2-3 p.m. EST (EWTN) "The Nun." This documentary follows the real-life story of a woman named Marta, her desire to be a nun, and the fervent Catholic family that nurtured her vocation.

NEW YORK (CNS) -- As the television networks continue to move away from a traditional fall season, instead debuting new programs throughout the year, here's a look at two forthcoming series premieres on NBC and at an episode of the PBS series "American Experience" slated to air for the first time the same week.

The documentary series "Who Do You Think You Are?" (NBC) follows seven celebrities as they explore their ancestry and discover various secrets hidden amid the foliage of the family tree. In the pilot episode, airing Friday, March 5, 8-9 p.m. EST, actress Sarah Jessica Parker learns that her forebears were involved in two of the most significant incidents in America's past: the 1849 California gold rush and the Salem witch trials that convulsed colonial Massachusetts in the 1690s.

It's an intriguing -- and unobjectionable -- introduction to the fascination of genealogy as well as a painless history lesson for younger viewers.

The sprawling family drama "Parenthood" (NBC) chronicles the frequently chaotic lives of four Berkelely, Calif.,-based siblings: Sarah (Lauren Graham), Julia (Erika Christensen), Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Adam (Peter Krause) Braverman. Premiering Tuesday, March 2, 10-11 p.m. EST, the series -- which also features Craig T. Nelson as the clan's patriarch Zeek and Bonnie Bedelia as his wife Camille -- presents a mixed bag of plot elements ranging from Adam's moving efforts to cope with his young son Max's (Max Burkholder) Asperger's syndrome to Sarah's reunion with an old boyfriend that ends up as a sexual encounter.

Along with a couple of instances of crass language, the show's freewheeling treatment of condom use, sperm donation and teen sexuality make it completely unsuitable for family viewing, while also overwhelming its limited potential appeal to adults.
 
"Dolley Madison" (PBS) presents an engaging portrait of the Southern belle (1768-1849) who, as a young widow in 1794, married the nation's future fourth president and who is credited by many with inventing the unofficial office of first lady during her husband's eight-year tenure in the White House.

Using dramatic re-creations based on letters and other surviving documents of the period, and featuring Eve Best as Dolley and Jefferson Mays as James Madison, the program -- which premieres Monday, March 1, 9-10:30 p.m. EST -- charts, among other aspects of her tumultuous life, Dolley's unsettled relationship with the Quaker faith in which she was raised, her skill at using social events to soothe bitter political rivalries and her courageous reaction to the British invasion of Washington during the War of 1812.

Though generally free of problematic content, and a valuable survey of a vital period, references to the perceived lack of modesty in Dolley's choice of dress and the charges of "whore-mongering" that were a staple of the era's fevered journalism may make this best suited for teens or above.