Series premiere of The Big C (Mon.)
Linney breaks bad-ishThe fantastic Laura Linney (John Adams, The Savages) stars as an uptight Minneapolis schoolteacher who decides to change her predictable life after she is diagnosed with terminal malignant melanoma, much to the consternation of her clueless husband and son. Showtime's latest original dramedy (which starts Monday at 10:30p) also features Precious’ Gabourey Sidibe as sassy student Andrea. Preceding The Big C, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) and her wacked family return with more criminal shenanigans in the season six (!) premiere of Weeds (10p).
For cast and show info, check out the official sites for The Big C or Weeds at Showtime.
Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days (Tue.)
The dog days of summerThe ultra-violent shooter sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men arrives Tuesday just as a movie adaptation (Kane & Lynch) is about to start shooting with director F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen), starring Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx as the title characters. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days takes place in Shanghai and quickly has the title miscreants wanted dead by nearly all of the underground killers who inhabit those streets. Supposedly, the repetitive gameplay and wonky camera issues from the original have been improved. The Michael Mann-indebted cinematic style looks even better in the sequel, with great handheld camerawork and gritty surroundings. The game comes out Tuesday on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
Download a fan kit and view concept art and blogs at the game’s official website.
Series premiere of The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town (Fri.)
Kids will be kids Canadian comic geniuses The Kids in the Hall play almost all of the parts in this 8-part miniseries, the cross-dressing troupe’s first scripted outing after the underappreciated 1996 cult movie Brain Candy. In this black comedy murder mystery, which originally aired on CBC Television, the fictional small town of Shuckton, Ontario receives an unexpected guest (Death, played by Mark McKinney) whose visit coincides with the murder of the town mayor. The first two episodes of this Twin Peaks-meets-well, The Kids in the Hall series air this Friday on IFC beginning at 10p. Perhaps Denise Bryson will turn up in a sequel?
Learn more about the Kids and find listings and episode descriptions at the IFC show site.
Piranha 3D (Fri.)
Never swim within 30 minutes of being eatenIn Piranha 3D, an underwater earthquake releases a swarm of prehistoric piranha into a lake that’s about to be populated with 50,000 hot spring breakers. The improbable cast for this bloody Friday horror release includes the likes of Adam Scott (Party Down), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) and Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl) and may share a passing resemblance to the 1978 John Sayles-penned and Joe Dante-directed original.
Find showtimes, play a game, or download the “Shredder App” on the official website.
Series premiere of Big Lake (Tue.)
The Lake showFresh-faced UCB vet Chris Gethard stars as Josh Franklin, a disgraced former Wall Street whiz who ends up living with his resentful father, ditzy mother and teenage brother back in Big Lake, PA after he loses his parents’ retirement fund -- and more. Executive produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (The Other Guys), the sitcom also features SNL alumni Horatio Sanz and Chris Parnell as Franklin’s ex-con best friend and creepy high school teacher, respectively. Big Lake premieres Tuesday at 10p on Comedy Central for those who are ready to laugh about the current economic crisis.
Cancelled your cable to save money? You can still catch clips on the Comedy Central website.
The Tillman Story (Fri.)
A cover-up uncoveredAfter September 11, NFL star Pat Tillman gave up a multi-million-dollar professional football contract to enlist in the U.S. Army as a Ranger. His 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan was used as propaganda by the Bush administration and U.S. military, who initially attributed their unwitting poster boy’s death to enemy forces. Amir Bar-Lev (My Kid Could Paint That) directs this gripping, infuriating documentary about Tillman, his life, and the cover-up that his family struggled to get unveiled. The Tillman Story opens in limited release on Friday.
Learn more about this extraordinary story at the documentary’s official site.
Closing the book on last week
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Weekend Box Office Champion (Estimated, U.S. only; source: Boxofficemojo.com) | |
|---|---|---|
| The Expendables 45 | $35.0 million; 1st week at #1 | |
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#1 Album on Billboard 200 (Source: Billboard.com/Nielsen SoundScan) | |
| Arcade Fire: The Suburbs 86 | 1st week at #1 | |
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Top-Rated Primetime Broadcast Show (Source: Nielsen) | |
| The Bachelorette (ABC) | 11.7 million viewers; week of 8/2-8/8 | |
