Your Weekend: A Selective Guide
Movies: “Fifty Shades of Black“: Why? “Fifty Shades of Grey” was already its own best parody. “Jane Got A Gun” stars the oh-so-classy Natalie Portman. Television: On Friday, “American Masters” gives us an hour about Mike Nichols. (HBO will air a separate Nichols documentary on February 22nd.) PBS’s Sunday-night original drama, “Mercy Street,” has been produced with care: I wish I found it more compelling. Sunday also brings the new live version of the musical “Grease.” Music: Poulenc’s favorite soprano, Denise Duval, just died: time to listen to “Dialogues of the Carmelites” again. Kanye’s new album was called “Swish,” but somebody told him that it sounded gay (duh!), so it’s now “Waves.” Books: I’m plowing through William Manchester’s fascinating three-part biography of Winston Churchill, who was a great man, but my God what a racist! Sports: Every other NFL player has made it into the Pro Bowl — a logical extension of a culture in which every kid gets a trophy for simply showing up. Finally: Enough of all those election polls: now for some voting.
