TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, December 4 through Monday, December 10, 2007
By John Seal
December 3, 2007
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 12/04/07
1:40 AM Starz In Black
Something to Cheer About (2002 USA): If you enjoy basketball documentaries like Hoop Dreams and The Heart of the Game, or sports docs in general, you'll definitely want to take a look at this film about the first African-American high school hoops team to win a state championship. The team in question were the Crispus Attucks Tigers, who represented a segregated Indianapolis school and took home the big prize in 1955. The film features plenty of interviews, of course, as well as a lump-in-throat inducing coda as the now well into retirement former players are introduced courtside during half-time at an NBA game. It's hard to imagine a time when African-Americans were considered incapable of playing competitive sports at the highest levels, but Something to Cheer About provides a clear-eyed if sentimental reminder that such was once the case.
9:30 AM IFC
...so goes the Nation (2006 USA): Ohio was ground zero during the 2004 presidential election, providing Dear Leader with the margin he needed to reclaim the White House for another agonizing four year term. This cool-headed documentary takes a look at the machinations and gamesmanship of both campaigns, and though it doesn't descend into all out Bush or Blackwell bashing, still manages to reveal a plethora of sleaze. The film does ignore the elephant in the room - the disenfranchisement of African-American voters and the shortage of polling booths in heavily Democratic precincts - but ...so goes the Nation's primary focus is the campaigning BEFORE the election, and not the ugly aftermath. Good stuff for political junkies who are already bored with the endless 2008 electoral cycle.
4:00 PM Sundance
Mutual Appreciation (2005 USA): A lovely little indie character study, Mutual Appreciation stars Justin Rice as Alan, an aspiring musician whose band has just broken up in acrimonious fashion. Alan travels to Manhattan to coast on whatever good vibes his previous group have left behind, tries to awkwardly balance his relationships with radio DJ Sara (Seung-Ming Lee) and best-pal's girlfriend Ellie (Rachel Clift), and attempts to make a name for himself on the hyper-competitive alterna-rock scene. Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski (who also stars as aforementioned best-pal Lawrence), Mutual Appreciation wears its independent filmmaking ethos on its sleeve with some appropriately edgy 16mm black and white cinematography. Also airs 12/58 at 9:00 AM.
7:00 PM Showtime
Fall from Grace (2007 USA): Originally slated to air two weeks ago, this Fred Phelps doc actually makes its debut this evening. As I wrote earlier, I've yet to see it, but the subject matter renders it irresistible. Focussing on the bizarre antics of Pastor Fred Phelps and his Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church (where they hate the sin, hate the sinner, and pretty much hate every one else, too), Fall From Grace certainly won't be boring. Also airs at 10:00 PM and throughout the month.
9:00 PM More Max
Notes on a Scandal (2006 GB): I missed the American television premiere of this outstanding British drama late last week, but if you also happened to overlook it, it's popping in for a cuppa again tonight. The film stars Judi Dench as Barbara, a lonely school teacher who imagines she's become best friends with newbie instructor Sheba (Cate Blanchett) at a raucous north London comprehensive. The two bond immediately: Barbara with Sheba because she needs companionship (and possibly more); Sheba with Barbara because she finds herself completely at sea and needs the support of a more experienced mentor. Both of them proceed to cross the lines of propriety, and it's to the great credit of Patrick Marber's screenplay that the film doesn't descend into overwrought melodrama. Truly one of the best pictures of 2006, Notes on a Scandal features tour-de-force performances from both leads and fine support from the ubiquitous Bill Nighy as Sheba's estranged and crotchety older husband. Also airs at 10:00 PM.
Thursday 12/06/07
12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Heroes for Sale (1933 USA): Commie agit-prop from Warner Bros! This is a terrific pre-code drama with a surprisingly radical bent, even considering the standards of the time (and certainly the rock-ribbed conservative standards of the studio). See the capitalist bosses exploit the workers! See the workers march against the bosses! See the cops smash their heads! It's all here, brilliantly helmed by William Wellman with great performances by Richard Barthelmess and Aline MacMahon plus a hefty dollop of morphine addiction, and is a must see for fans of 30s neo-realism.
1:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
A Bullet is Waiting (1954 USA): The legendary Rory Calhoun, mooted in some quarters to be a baby polar bear, stars in this excellent Columbia crime drama from director John Farrow. He plays Ed Stone, a convict being transported by air in the custody of Sheriff Munson (Stephen McNally). The plane crashes, the two struggle, and Ed escapes, only to stumble across the Canham family farmhouse, where suspicious Cally (Jean Simmons) puts both Ed and the late arriving Munson under house arrest. Whilst a storm broods outside, things get pretty thick inside, and our three protagonists find themselves in a struggle for supremacy, with Stone lasciviously ogling Cally whilst plotting an escape into the mountains. Brian Aherne is also on hand as Cally's erudite father, who has decided to set his Oxford education aside in favor of a degree in slopping pigs. A Bullet is Waiting looks great in Technicolor, and Rory will, quite naturally, rock your world.
Friday 12/07/07
5:00 PM Showtime
Cocaine Cowboys (2006 USA): Not to be confused with the 1979 Ulli Lommel film of the same name, these Cocaine Cowboys rode the range from Colombia to the United States during the 1980s, making millions (if not billions) from the eponymous controlled substance and bringing mayhem to the mean streets of Miami, where much of their dope debarked prior to national distribution. Focussing on the underground activities of smuggler Jon Roberts, the film takes a look at the transformation wrought upon Miami, which went from cosy retirement community to drug-fueled playground almost overnight. Alas, the good times ended soon enough, as competitors (such as particularly warped Cuban drug kingpin Griselda Blanco) moved in on the action. There's lots of money, mountains of snow, and violence aplenty in this action-packed documentary which aptly features a score from Miami Vice composer Jan Hammer. Also airs at 7:00 PM and throughout the month.
9:00 PM IFC
Lair of the White Worm (1988 GB): I'm not the world's biggest Ken Russell fan, for much the same reason I'm not the world's biggest Russ Meyer fan, but like Meyer, Russell has always been capable of surprising me and producing a film I actually enjoy. Such is the case with this over-the-top creature feature - based loosely on a Bram Stoker novel - and played as much for laughs as for chills by its outstanding cast, including the underutilized Amanda Donohoe (Castaway) and the overexposed Hugh Grant. Noteworthy Scots actor Peter Capaldi co-stars as an archaeologist excavating a convent (this being a Russell film, nuns do make an appearance), unearthing an evil skull, and unleashing an ancient monster, the legendary D'Ampton Worm. This is definitely the Ken Russell film for people who don't like Ken Russell films - and I believe it makes its American widescreen television debut tonight.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957 USA): If I keel over dead after watching Attack of the Crab Monsters, know that I died a happy man. I haven't seen this Roger Corman epic since I was a child, and I've carried its fading memories with me for decades, hoping against hope for another chance to see it. Here's that chance. Penned by the brilliantly outre Charles Griffith, it's the tale of mankind's first encounter with ginormous crustaceans, who have taken up shop on a Pacific atoll used (naturally) for atomic testing. But this is no run-of-the-mill overgrown seafood - these crabs can also read minds, giving them a distinct advantage over their human adversaries, including jut-jawed Hank Chapman (Russell Johnson, the Professor on Gilligan's Island), hunky Dale Drewer (Richard Garland), and object of lust Dr. Martha Hunter (Pamela Duncan). Sadly, the millionaire and his wife get eaten in the first reel. Skiiipppper!
Saturday 12/08/07
1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Green Slime (1969 JAP-USA): Another childhood favourite reappears! Director Kinji Fukasaku is best remembered for his series of bloody Yakuza epics and shockers like 2001's Battle Royale. It comes as a surprise to some that he had time to make this kiddie science fiction feature for the Toei Company, but hey, the guy liked to keep busy, and had completed three other films the same year, including the unforgettable Yukio Mishima gender-bender Black Lizard. Fukasaku was, in fact, a virtual cinematic Renaissance Man, at home in any genre and defiantly unafraid to embrace popular cinema. Though most remember The Green Slime thanks to its groovy theme tune - a psychedelic bubblegum ditty that you'll be humming for days afterwards - the slime itself is equally memorable, shimmering iridescently as it threatens the lives of astronauts aboard a space station. Sadly still unavailable on DVD, this staple of my television youth returns to TCM tonight , unfortunately still in pan-and-scan format.
7:00 Turner Classic Movies
Talk About a Stranger (1952 USA): An above average pseudo-noir, Talk About a Stranger also doubles as a cautionary tale of McCarthyism run wild. Set in Anytown U.S.A., the film stars future Father Knows Best star Billy Gray as Bud, a boy who takes an instant dislike to a newcomer to town, whom he suspects has poisoned his beloved pooch. Parents Robert and Marge (future right-wing senator George Murphy and future Mrs. Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis, of all people) are concerned that the boy is going too far with his accusations, but their cautionary take on things doesn't appeal to the neighbors, who share Bud's disdain for the stranger in their midst and are eager to get the figurative necktie party under way. Beautifully lensed by noir pioneer John Alton, Talk About a Stranger is a surprisingly insightful and thoughtful effort from director David Bradley, whose primary claim to fame was directing They Saved Hitler's Brain ten years later. Hey, that's a good film too, but for a whole different set of reasons.
Sunday 12/09/07
2:05 PM Encore Action
Mindwarp (1991 USA): The first film produced by the fine folks at Fangoria Magazine, Mindwarp would be pretty forgettable if not for its legendary leading men: Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm! Set in the post-apocalyptic future beloved by scores of low budget filmmakers during the 1980s and 90s, the film relates the adventures of rebellious Judy (Marta Alicia), who refuses to accept the ‘virtual reality' solution to the world's problems and is exiled to the land of the mutants as punishment. Luckily for her, she hooks up with Stover (Campbell), another non-mutant living large amongst the irradiated rubble. To explain how Scrimm fits in would be to spoil Mindwarp's big surprise, but all in all, this is a pleasantly goofy low-budget chiller that hasn't been seen on cable in - well, a really long time.
Monday 12/10/07
1:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
We Went to College (1936 USA): I've never seen this one (and chances are you haven't, either), but We Went to College stars one of my favourite comic actors of the 30s, Charles Butterworth, so it's got to be worth a look. He plays Glenn Harvey, a college old boy on his way to a class reunion with fellow grads Ellery Standish (Hugh Herbert) and Philip Talbot (Walter Abel). Una Merkel co-stars as Mrs. Standish, and there's something about a brick contract for the old alma mater's new physics building.