Margo Martindale

CHICAGO – When you’re the #1 network on TV, it must be tempting to stay the course. However, CBS always shakes things up a bit and this year is no different.

CHICAGO – CBS’s new Friday night drama “A Gifted Man” has the kind of cheesy plot designed to appeal to fans who miss “Highway to Heaven,” “Touched by an Angel,” or “The Ghost Whisperer”.

CHICAGO – The best film of the first quarter of 2011 was a sublime little gem from the great Thomas McCarthy (“The Station Agent,” “The Visitor”) called “Win Win.” The clever, character-driven dramedy with Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan was recently-released on Blu-ray and DVD, and it deserves to find (and very likely will with word-of-mouth) a loyal audience on the home market. This is a great movie.

CHICAGO – We have every reason to believe that the second season of “Justified” will be even better than the first and that excellent outing landed on my top ten for 2010. In other words, one of the best shows on TV is back and looks likely that it could get even better.

CHICAGO – Stephen Belber, the acclaimed playwright behind “The Laramie Project” and “Tape,” which was adapted into a feature film by director Richard Linklater, makes his directorial debut this week with the quirky romantic comedy “Management” starring Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston. He took time out of his busy schedule to make an international call from Paris, France to discuss the film with HollywoodChicago.com.