Relaxing at home on Memorial Day? Two of our top three picks this week are television offerings that air on the holiday, and the third is a much-anticipated movie blockbuster. Here's our list.
MONDAY: 'Hatfields and McCoys'
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys, two real American families who once were friends, then turned to bitter enemies, is dramatized in the History Channel's first-ever scripted miniseries. Many of us only know the families' names as shorthand for "feuding neighbors," so it'll be interesting to learn some of the real reasons the two groups hated each other so much. Of course, there are romances interweaving the two clans, which only makes things more complicated. Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton lead the families, and the six-hour series spreads across three nights, beginning on Memorial Day. (Begins May 28, 9 p.m., History Channel.)
MONDAY: 'Hell and Back Again'
On Memorial Day, take time to remember those who have served and are serving our country overseas. "Hell and Back Again" tells the story of one man, Sgt. Nathan Harris, who was seriously wounded during a battle with the Taliban and came home to find that adjusting to the life he left behind may be just as difficult as anything that was asked of him in Afghanistan. Writes Roger Ebert, "(the film) builds to an emotional and stylistic power that we didn't see coming." (May 28, 10 p.m., PBS)
FRIDAY: "Snow White and the Huntsman"
This is not the "Snow White" you read as a child, or saw in the Disney film. "Snow White and the Huntsman" is a more violent, adult-aimed version of the fairy tale, and the trailer makes it look a little bit like HBO's bloody "Game of Thrones." Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame plays Snow White in battle armor and with sword in hand, with Charlize Theron a scarily murderous queen, and Chris Hemsworth of "Thor" fame as the Huntsman the queen forces to hunt Snow White down. "Mirror Mirror," which opened earlier this year, was the comic version of the Snow White tale, and this looks to be nothing like that.
(Opens June 1.)
Related content:
