FRIDAY’S BEST PICKS
8PM (MAX) MOVIE The Mule
Clint Eastwood produced, directed and stars in this 2018 crime drama, which screenwriter Nick Schenk adapted from a New York Times article. Eastwood cast himself as Earl Stone, an 80-something Korean War veteran in dire financial straits, so he accepts an offer from an acquaintance to become a cocaine courier — the “mule” of the title — for a Mexican drug cartel. Earl’s advanced age, race and spotless criminal history make him perfect for the gig. Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne and Dianne Wiest also star. 8PM (TCM) MOVIE A Soldier’s Story Adapted from Charles Fuller’s play, director Norman Jewison’s engrossing 1984 drama stars Howard E. Rollins Jr. (“Ragtime”) as a World
War II military captain assigned to investigate the killing of a tough master sergeant (Adolph Caesar, in a sizzling performance) at an all-Black Louisiana military outpost. The captain grills each possible suspect about encounters with the murder victim. Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend and David Alan Grier co-star.
8:30 PM (SHO) MOVIE 13 Minutes Writer-director Lindsay Gossling’s 2021 thriller set in a small Oklahoma town directly in the path of an oncoming monster tornado is a low-budget affair, which may help explain why the killer storm itself gets short shrift (the film’s title refers to the desperately short time the characters have to make it to safety in a local shelter). Instead, the first hour of the story deals with a laundry list of social issues in the doomed town. Trace Adkins, Amy Smart, Anne Heche, Yancey Arias and Thora Birch star. 9PM (FOOD) Guy’s Hometown Guy returns to Ferndale, Calif. — the small town where he grew up — for food, fun and a trip down memory lane. At the Humboldt County Fair, teams go head-to-head in a chili cook-off; there’s unexpected eats like deep fried burgers and monster pulled-pork; and Guy gives back to first responders and veterans with a big-time barbecue.
Plus, a tour of the town includes a trip to Guy’s childhood home and a firedup lesson in blacksmithing in the new episode “From Ferndale to Flavortown.”