TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, April 8, 2008 through Monday, April 14, 2008
By John Seal
April 7, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 04/08/08
12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Queen Christina (1933 USA): Ready for some hot girl-on-girl action? It doesn't get much hotter than this pre-Code Greta Garbo vehicle. Well, maybe it does sometimes, but we don't write about those sorts of films in the TiVoPlex. Except for that one time I gave a tip o' the hat to Debbie Does Dallas. But I digress - Queen Christina is a terrific frock flick about the titular 17th century Swedish monarch, a boyish free spirit who ascended to the throne at the age of five and proceeded to upend convention whilst parading around the palace grounds in men's clothing. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, whose 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde also has a well-deserved reputation for steaminess, Queen Christina is a literate, well-acted, and well-aged example of the studio system at its height, co-starring down on his luck John Gilbert as a Spanish diplomat who doubles as Garbo's hetero love interest and the otherwise forgotten Elizabeth Young as Countess Sparre, who mistakes Greta for a man and gives her a big sloppy kiss on the lips and a few pecks on the cheek for good measure. Spicy!
7:00 PM HBO
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (2008 USA): Here's a cheery title for you. This HBO original documentary premiered earlier this year at Sundance and makes its small screen debut this evening. The film was well received at the fest, and it took home the Special Jury Prize for its gruelling depiction of rampant sex crimes amidst the horrors of civil war. Also airs at 10:00 PM and throughout the month.
11:00 PM Sundance
Backstage (2005 FRA): Emmanuelle Seigner stars as Lauren, a French pop star whose fame has gone to her head, in this reasonably satisfying essay on the cult of personality. The film co-stars Isild le Besco as Lucie, a teenage fan of Lauren who wins the opportunity to meet her idol on a television reality show. Overwhelmed by events, Lucie suffers an emotional breakdown at the soiree, then proceeds to up sticks for Paris, where she reunites with her idol and finds herself taken on as a gofer and drug runner. The two leads are outstanding and Seigner isn't half bad as a singer, either. If the film has a flaw, it's a predictably predictable narrative arc, but writer-director Emmanuelle Bercot's screenplay manages to throw the audience a few curve balls before the final credit crawl.
Wednesday 04/09/08
4:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Loss of Innocence (1961 GB): Originally released as Greengage Summer, Loss of Innocence is a charming, low-key coming of age drama from director Lewis Gilbert. The film stars Susannah York as Joss Grey, a British teenager on a holiday trip to France with her family. When Mum (Joy Shalton) falls ill, Joss must take charge of her two younger siblings (including a very young Jane Asher), whilst also contending with an unsympathetic hotel proprietor (the legendary Danielle Darrieux). Luckily, English man of mystery Eliot (Kenneth More) is on the premises, and with his assistance things eventually get sorted. This nearly forgotten film, which I haven't seen for a good 30 years, was beautifully shot on location and in color by cinematographer Freddie Young, and still has never had a home video release - so don't miss it this morning.
Thursday 04/10/08
1:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Spy Train (1943 USA): The films of poverty row studio Monogram Pictures are seen all too infrequently on television these days, but one of their rarest productions takes a trip out of the vaults this morning. Conveniently set aboard the titular train, the film requires little more than two sets to tell its short and sweet tale of Nazi perfidy and the brave American journalists (Richard Travis and Chick Chandler) who derail the plot. Paul McVey and Evelyn Brent are German spies who have hidden a bomb in a piece of luggage, but when it gets switched with an identical suitcase complications ensue. Like all Monogram features, it's a cheap and cheerful hour of thrills that will keep you entertained without overtaxing your brain. Look for future Superman co-star John Hamilton as a train conductor.
12:45 PM Sundance
Chain (2004 USA): America is the land of the chain store, the chain hotel, and the chain restaurant, where one can buy identical goods, stay in identical rooms, and enjoy identical meals from Maine to California. This indie from director Jem Cohen (Benjamin Smoke) examines the cultural effects of this phenomenon as seen through the eyes of Japanese businesswoman Tamiko (Miho Nikaido), sent by her corporate masters on a mission to establish a chain of 'Floating World' theme parks, and American drifter Amanda (Mira Billotte), who works a variety of low-income jobs and keeps a video diary. Shot verite style and without permission, Cohen's film upends the product placement expectations of big budget film, revealing these corporate giants to be the empty and flavorless husks of endgame capitalism, and features an unexpected sting in its tail that effectively underscores its message.
11:45 PM Showtime
Backbeat (1994 GB): My favorite Beatles movie that doesn't actually feature The Beatles, Backbeat is a surprisingly good recreation of the band's early days as rock ‘n roll wild men. Primarily set in Hamburg, where the boys honed their skills in the clubs and back alleys of the infamous Reeperbahn, the film does an excellent job depicting their pill-popping, bedroom-hopping ways, and features superb contemporary interpretations of rock standards performed by an all-star band consisting of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner, Nirvana's Dave Grohl, and Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli. The acting is good to excellent, with top honors going to Ian Hart as John Lennon and Stephen Dorff as the enigmatic Stu Sutcliffe. The film takes some historical liberties - the cause of Sutcliffe's brain hemorrhage isn't as clear cut as the film depicts, and the 1962 haircuts aren't quite up to snuff - but by and large, Backbeat will satisfy all but the most pedantic Beatles fans. Also airs 4/11 at 2:45 AM.
Friday 04/11/08
8:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Gangway for Tomorrow (1943 USA): A companion piece of sorts for the similarly themed Tender Comrade, Gangway for Tomorrow takes a look at the lives of defence workers toiling in an American armaments plant during World War II. Taking place over the course of a morning commute, the set-up involves factory hand Jim Benson (Charles Arnt) and the white lies he's told his wife about the backgrounds of five colleagues he regularly drives to work. When Jim's car breaks down, the five find they have some spare time on their hands, and whilst awaiting repairs relate their true stories. Among the passengers are French immigrant Lisette (The Leopard Man's Margo Albert), gearhead Joe (Robert Ryan), prison guard Tom (James Bell), beauty contestant Mary (Amelita Ward), and down and outer Wellington (John Carradine). Needless to say, by film's end we've learned that America's war effort offers every man and woman a chance for a fresh start, and our heroes and heroines are soon back on the job in the fight against fascism. It's another slightly askew but effective effort from talented screenwriter Arch Oboler.
Saturday 04/12/08
1:30 AM Starz Edge
American Hardcore (2006 USA): I was a regular LA clubgoer starting in 1979, when I was 17 years old. I never got into the hardcore scene, preferring artier bands like Monitor, BPeople, Catholic Discipline, The Deadbeats, and The Weirdos, but I did see my fair share of the bands depicted in this film. For me, American Hardcore correctly identifies the first band to exemplify the style, The Middle Class, and accurately traces the developments that followed. The hardcore scene overwhelmingly comprised very young and alienated working class white kids, whilst the 'art punk' bands were a bit older, a bit wiser, and tended to live in LA or Hollywood (with a few folks out in the Valley for good measure). So I don't have any complaints about the film's sins of omission: The Germs were a great band, but certainly not hardcore; likewise the Dead Kennedys, who were far too melodic for the style - heck, they even played '60s stuff like The Boy From New York City on occasion! For my money, American Hardcore very wisely keeps the focus narrow: there are a hundred films that could (and arguably should) be made about the American punk explosion, and trying to do it all in one would have done everyone a disservice. For anyone who grew up with '70s punk, this is required viewing. Now, who amongst us has the wherewithal to produce The Nervous Gender Story, All About The Screamers, or Black Randy: He Slept In An Arcade?? The footage is out there...
Sunday 04/13/08
2:40 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Children of Times Square (1981 USA): One of many cautionary tales produced for television throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Children of Times Square is no classic, but does have some points in its favor. Written and directed by Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, The Wonder Boys), the film features future Falcon Crest regular Brandon Douglas as Eric Roberts (!), an out of his depth 14-year-old runaway who decamps to the Big Apple, where he falls into the clutches of drug dealer Otis (Howard Rollins, Jr.). Otis takes young Eric under his wing, promising him comfort and safety in exchange for his assistance in selling cocaine. Hanson desperately tries to keep the proceedings on a serious level, and thought the film looks laughably outdated at this point, he by and large succeeds. Look for Larry B. Scott, Revenge of the Nerd's Lamar, as a fellow street tough, and the late, great Joe Spinell as a sidewalk salesman.
11:20 AM Encore Mystery
The Sting II (1983 USA): I'm not an admirer of The Sting, and actually prefer this sequel. I know that puts me at odds with 98% of humankind, but I think the original film's critical and popular success was wildly out of proportion to its mundane story line and gauzy made-for-TV look. At least with The Sting II, expectations were close to nil, and though Jackie Gleason and a then-in-vogue Mac Davis couldn't hope to recapture the star power of Newman and Redford, they're surprisingly effective as con men Gondorff and Hooker, squaring off this time against crime boss Macalinski (Karl Malden) and all around louse Lonnegan (Oliver Reed). Though the change in lead actors is a definite distraction, The Sting II works thanks to better use of location footage, decent period detail, and (shock! horror!) a more interesting screenplay courtesy original Sting scribe David S. Ward. Give it a chance - it's not as bad as you think.
9:00 PM Sundance
The Great Yokai War (2005 JAP): A loose sequel to a popular series of yokai films produced in the late 1960s, The Great Yokai War is an enjoyable if cartoonish adventure from jack of all genres director Takashi Miike. The film features Ryunosuke Kakimi as Tadashi, a boy who has just moved to rural Japan with his newly divorced mother. When he's not being bullied at school, Tadashi finds himself doing battle on behalf of the spirit world against an army of cold, calculating robots. The film displays the influence of such big-budget Hollywood features as Labyrinth and The Never-Ending Story, but its reliance on stop-motion animation, colorful art design, and typical Miike nuttiness sets it apart from those somewhat anodyne and poker-faced fantasies. It's good, generally clean fun for the whole family.
Monday 04/14/08
3:10 AM HBO Signature
The Wrong Man (1956 USA): One of Alfred Hitchcock's more obscure efforts, The Wrong Man is, nevertheless, an excellent film anchored by an outstanding Henry Fonda performance. He plays Manny Balestrero, a musician looking to take out a loan to help pay the family medical bills. Unfortunately, a case of mistaken identity at the loan company sees him arrested and put on trial for a crime he didn't commit, destroying his marriage and damaging his career. Based on a true story, the film sees Hitchcock eschew his usual gimmicks and McGuffins in favor of a more straightforward, noir-style narrative, and the result is surprisingly satisfying.