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TV picks for July 1: 'King Kong,' 'Thelma & Louise,' 'Siberia'

By Jon Bream

June 30, 2013 at 7:12PM

Susan Sarandon, left, and Geena Davis were partners in crime in the 1991 movie “Thelma & Louise.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Watts up

This isn't the Fay Wray version. Or even the Jessica Lange remake. This is Naomi Watts' "King Kong" (7 p.m., AMC), directed by Peter "Lord of the Rings" Jackson, with Adrien Brody and Jack Black as co-stars. The film captured three Oscars — for sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects. Two of those three prizes won't matter much on a TV broadcast.

The heat is on

If you think Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock make a good team of gal pals in their new movie "The Heat," then check out the pioneering 1991 female buddy flick "Thelma and Louise" (6:45 p.m., Sundance). An Arkansas waitress (Susan Sarandon) and a housewife (Geena Davis) shoot a rapist and then flee in a vintage Thunderbird convertible.

Brrrrrr

Need a break from the heat and humidity? Then check out the pilot of "Siberia" (9 p.m., KARE, Ch. 11), on which 16 contestants are deposited in the Siberian wilderness wearing only the clothes on their back. It's Survivor, Russian style.

about the writer

Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.