Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/374314
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2014 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Good for What Ails You In Breathless, the sexual revolution comes to a 1960s London hospital by DEAN ROBBINS Critics have dutifully fallen in line for The Knick, an arty period hospital drama that makes its points with buckets of blood (see below). I recommend a more enjoyable period hospital drama: Breathless on Masterpiece Mystery! (Sunday, 9 p.m., PBS). It's set in early 1960s London and, like Mad Men, explores the era's social codes. In this week's episode, a surgeon harboring a dangerous secret ( Jack Davenport) woos a virtuous nurse (Catherine Steadman), while his wife (Natasha Little) comports with a sinister inspector (Iain Glen) who threatens to destroy her family. Other characters struggle with life and love in a time when abortion is illegal but the sexual revolution is revving up. Where The Knick is intentionally ugly, Breathless is elegant. The stylists have fun with the lacquered hairdos, and the costume department goes nuts with the pearls and white gloves. The British actors do what they do best: imply tumultuous emotion with little more than a raised eyebrow. It's amazing how much more some filmmakers can communicate with a raised eyebrow than others can with buckets of blood. The Knick Friday, 10 pm (Cinemax) I recoiled from Steven Soderbergh's new series about the nastiness of a turn-of-the-century hospital. To me, the storytelling isn't strong enough to redeem the vile protagonist (Clive Owen as drug-addicted Dr. Thackery), the monstrous surgeries or the relentless racism — the kind of racism that Soderbergh is officially "against" but that he happily wallows in to get a reaction. In fact, last month's pilot was so sickening that I had to close my eyes and repeat the words "fluffy bunnies" to get it out of my mind. But other critics have loved The Knick, so I thought I'd give it another try. This week's episode begins with a stringy-haired miscreant emptying a bag of rats for other miscreants to stomp to death. Then comes another botched operation, rendered in gory detail. Then comes Thackery's racist taunting of an African-American colleague. FLUFFY BUNNIES! The Chair Saturday, 11 pm (Starz) From the executive producer of Project Greenlight, this reality series offers a glimpse at the working methods of two young first-time film directors. Shane is an Internet star who cavorts on YouTube in a blond wig; Anna is a graduate of NYU's screenwriting program with roots in the indie- film scene. Both are at once confident they can make a great movie and plagued by insecurities. In other words, the classic personality type for a film director. "It feels like such a cruel joke when all your dreams come true and you feel like you're going to puke the entire time," says Anna, nicely encapsulating an artist's deep-seated fear of success. The Chair presents both Anna and Shane with the same script and chronicles what each one does with it; actor Zachary Quinto serves as mentor to both. The director who makes the best film (as determined by viewer votes) gets $250,000 and a leg up in the industry. One can only imagine the puking that will entail. Your Home, Your Style, Your Budget! u NEW LOCATION! u on Sycamore Dairy Road (Behind Pricilla's) You set the budget – We'll stick to it! FREE in-home consultation on kitchen & bathroom remodels. BEFORE AFTER In-stock carpet starting at 69¢ sq. ft. • In-stock vinyl starting at 69¢ sq. ft. Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. • Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 3760 Sycamore Dairy Road • (910) 779-0107 www.HomeEssentialsNC.com IN THE MORNING Weekdays 5:30AM to 10:00AM