David Bianculli

Bradley Whitford, as the new first gentleman, isn't around much.

He vanishes after the first episode, but comes back strong, very strong, for the final ones.

When he and Janney share scenes, they're lovely, even when the characters are fighting.

Meanwhile, Kate's husband Hal is this season's secret weapon.

Rufus Sewell from The Man in the High Castle makes him likable even when he's being extremely difficult, which is often.

I adore this series for its intelligence, its wit, and its confrontations.

But most of all, I love its unpredictability.

All eight episodes of Season 3 are available now, and there are unexpected developments the entire way.

All I'll tell you is, the cliffhanger this season is one I never saw coming.

When you get there, I hope you'll be as knocked out by it as I was.

If the thought of a five-part, five-hour study of Martin Scorsese might sound excessive, then maybe you haven't seen enough of his movies.

Or, for that matter, feasted on any of his multi-part documentaries on the history of film, both domestic and international.

They're treasures, loaded with insights, passion, and hints about which films to seek out next for even more riches.

In Rebecca Miller's new Mr. Scorsese, he turns that focus and knowledge on his own work, with Miller providing visual aids to underscore his points.

Take, for example, one of Scorsese's most famous films, Taxi Driver.

Robert De Niro plays New York City cab driver Travis Bickle, who is rejected by some elements of the city and repulsed by others.

Scorsese explains to Miller how he set out to emphasize Travis's sense of alienation visually by subtly but intentionally selecting how he presented De Niro's character on screen.

We're given lots of other insights about Taxi Driver, and not just from Scorsese.

Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster talk about how their improv sessions during rehearsals defined their characters and led to some of the movie's most indelible scenes.

The film's screenwriter, Paul Schrader, talks about how both the director and the actors elevated what was written on the pages of his script.