August 05, 2011|Michael Phillips | Movie critic
"Minority Report"
4:30 p.m. Friday, HBO
One of Steven Spielberg's underrated popcorn masterworks, a vision of a near future (part "Metropolis," mostly ice-cold technology, plus jet-packs) built on "pre-crime" prevention but saddled by institutional corruption. Tom Cruise stars. Even when the plotting gets knotty near the end, "Minority Report" remains a tonally complex and beautifully paced entertainment.
"Zodiac"
7 p.m. Saturday, IFC
When David Fincher finished this daringly open-ended (and, in terms of digital filmmaking, subtly revolutionary) true-crime procedural about the Bay Area's infamous Zodiac killer, the director told the press that he needn't ever make another serial killer movie — that no one had to. Fincher blew that promise when he signed on to do the American remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." But "Zodiac" is a key film of the early 21st century. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and, memorably, Robert Downey Jr. co-star.
"Spartacus"
3:30 p.m. Sunday, TCM
No, seriously: I'm Spartacus. The 1960 Anthony Mann epic became a Stanley Kubrick epic once Mann left the project, and the stylistic tensions within the film lend the story both gravity and irony. Exciting, witty, wonderfully acted, featuring Kirk Douglas in one of his most satisfying showcase roles. Plus a brilliant Alex North score promising both victory and defeat, often in the same measure.