By Doug Strassler

I really didn’t think there was any reason to remake the Prime Suspect series, that near-perfect septet of episodes in which Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren, giving an ongoing performance that was an embarrassment of nuanced riches) fought criminals and colleagues alike.

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By Doug Strassler

This past July, I fully anticipated writing a laundry list of personally beloved – and meritorious – shows and performers that went without Emmy recognition. But when this year’s slate of nominees were announced, in addition the expected war horses (Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Mildred Pierce, Modern Family, Game of Thrones), I found a sizable number of my own favorites in the mix as well. Less sure things like Episodes, Friday Night Lights, Jusitified and Louie all saw some well-deserved love.

Which leaves me with only one omission to carp about, a performances so wonderful, so haunting, that it will still make this Sunday’s Emmys telecast feel slightly lacking: Irrfan Khan of HBO’s late In Treatment.

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By Doug Strassler

What with all the attention to recent earthquakes and hurricanes, I’d forgotten to pay attention to the coming of the fall movie season. Now, all of a sudden, it’s upon us, having crawled in like a little lamb. Today sees one of the season’s big entrants with the star-studded disease flick, Contagion.

I mean, looks at the who’s who of a cast: four Oscar-winning actors (Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet), and two additional nominees (Laurence Fishburne and Jude Law). Plus Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is at the helm. It may just be a pulp popcorn flick about fast-moving germs, but it’s unquestionably a prettily dressed one.

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By Doug Strassler

Ever the masochist, I made it my mission to take in as much summer TV as I could over the last four months. Though I didn’t see all of the potential offerings, I did manage to keep up with more than two dozen shows, both new and returning, featuring new episodes during what used to be the airwave doldrums. Holy DVR implosion! That’s enough shows to fill a classroom. So I’ve graded them. Herewith, my television summer report card below:

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By Doug Strassler

Just like Mark did yesterday in his smart analysis of Tate Taylor’s film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, I too have been thinking about many elements of this summer smash. And though some people may have found various aesthetic flaws with the movie, it seems to be pretty universally liked.

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By Doug Strassler

Welcome to my second look at which overlooked film actors I believe to be overdue for a lifetime achievement Academy Award. For a look at the first entries on my list – and my very limited criteria – go here. And for a look at who has already won an honorary award, go here.

In truth, there are no rules. I’ve listed five performers with five fairly disparate styles and careers below. The one thing they have in common? They’re all singular talents who’ve in some way left an indelible mark on Hollywood.

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By Doug Strassler

This week, the Academy announced the recipients of its annual honorary awards, and none other than Darth Vadar himself, James Earl Jones, is this year’s winner. (The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will be bestowed upon Oprah Winfrey as well.) The honorary Oscar is a safe way to honor stars that were never able to win in a competitive category (though sometimes previous winners have been awarded these as well); it’s how actors like Barbara Stanwyck, Deborah Kerr, Kirk Douglas, and Lauren Bacall (just last year) finally earned the moniker “Oscar winner.”

And while the Oscar ceremonies no longer televise the honorary awards portion (opting instead to show short clips from a “previously held ceremony”), somethin’ is better than nothin’. And I started thinking about some of my favorite performers, major Hollywood players, who’ve never yet taken an Oscar home, though some have at least been invited to the ball. (A complete list of honorary Academy Award winners can be found here.)

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By Doug Strassler

I thought it was high time we take a trip down my musical memory lane and re-visit one of my all-time favorite songs. Do any of you out there remember the song “Joey,” from early alt band Concrete Blonde?

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By Doug Strassler

It’s been said (mostly by me) that the current crop of ensemble romantic comedies, fueled in large part by Love Actually early last decade, are this generation’s version of disaster movies. Except back then, Oscar winners like Charlton Heston, Shelley Winters and Jennifer Jones put in lots of time and were even required to participate in some stunt work (in favorites like Earthquake, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno, respectively).

More recent flicks like He’s Just Not That Into You and Valentine’s Day have simplified the recipe for the stars du jour: they simply have to come on set for a couple of days, act out a sitcom-lite thread, and if the movie opens big, they can all lay claim to a hit!

New Year’s Eve, which arrives on December 9, is the latest entry in this canon. Though it’s not a literal sequel to Valentine’s Day, both movies were written by Katherine Fugate and directed by Garry Marshall, and there are a few cast crossovers, as you’ll in the following trailer.

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By Doug Strassler

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but comedienne extraordinaire Roseanne has been doing a media gauntlet to promote her new reality – er, “unscripted” – show on Lifetime called “Roseanne’s Nuts,” about her life on a macadamia nut farm in Hawaii with her boyfriend, Johnny. (Get it?! The title’s a twofer!) And…all the promotion worked, because as a huge fan of her sitcom, I’ll watch her in pretty much anything.

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