Godzilla, 1954
Every Monday, for your planning purposes, we will lay out the week ahead in entertainment. (All times refer to EST.)
1. Oscar Nominations Announced
Tuesday morning at 8:30 am, Winter’s Bone and Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence will help announced the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards. You should be able to watch it live here. Look for silent film The Artist to pick up several nods.
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2. Jack Bauer Returns to Fox
Wednesday at 9 pm, Kiefer Sutherland is back on his old 24 network in Touch, a one-hour drama written by Heroes creator Tim Kring about a father and his mute young boy who has the ability to predict the future. This week’s episode is a preview — the show will actually premiere in March.
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3. The State of the Union
Tuesday at 9 pm. All the networks and cable news channels will be airing it, so you’ll probably come across it and watch a little and then change the channel and then maybe feel a little guilty for not caring more.
4. The Monster is Attacking! In Blu-Ray
Criterion is releasing a packed disc of the original Japanese version of Godzilla as well as Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the bastardized American version in which Raymond Burr was squeezed into the film to increase its appeal to a U.S. audience. With liner notes by former Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman, you won’t ever look at this monster movie the same way again.
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5. The Screen Actors Guild Awards
The long road to the Oscars continues, Sunday Jan. 29 on TNT at 8 pm.
6. HBO Gets on Track
Dustin Hoffman stars in Luck, the latest high-profile HBO drama. This one, by Deadwood creator David Milch (with a premiere episode. Sunday Jan. 29 at 9pm, directed by Heat‘s Michael Mann), is about the goings on — gambling, jockeys, etc. — at the Santa Anita racetrack.
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7. Read Some Boz With Us
In time for Charles Dickens’ bicentennial on Feb. 7, Radhika Jones will blog his ten best books starting this Friday, Jan. 27. She’ll introduce the whole project on Thursday, Jan. 26. Pick up a book and follow along.
8. Liam Neeson Crashes in the Arctic, Fights Some Wolves
In The Grey, out Friday, Neeson gets all action-like yet again in this Arctic plane crash film by Joe Carnahan, director of Narc and the Neeson-starring The A-Team.
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9. The Drunk-Sounding Guy From The Hold Steady Goes Solo
Craig Finn, the dissolute lead singer of bar band extraordinaire The Hold Steady, will release Clear Heart Full Eyes on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
10. Downton Abbey
We might have to include this on the list every week until Season Two ends. Read our weekly recaps here.