TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, June 3, 2008 through Monday, June 9, 2008
By John Seal
June 2, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 06/03/08
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Family Secret (1951 USA): Shh! Don't tell anyone, but young David (John Derek) has been a naughty, naughty boy. He's killed his best friend Al - which qualifies as extremely naughty, even though it WAS accidental. Luckily for David, his old man (Lee J. Cobb) is Howard Clark, a high-powered lawyer who can pull some strings with the District Attorney. Unfortunately, Dave decides that discretion is the better part of valor, feigns ignorance of the crime, and implicates innocent bookie Joe Elsner (Whit Bissell). A rare Columbia programmer, The Family Secret features a fine cast struggling manfully to overcome a turgid storyline--and they almost succeed. Any film with Cobb or Bissell in major roles gets the TiVoPlex nod, however.
5:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Moontide (1942 USA): Produced by Hollywood legend Mark Hellinger, who would succumb prematurely to a heart attack in 1947, Moontide is an atmospheric melodrama about Bobo (Jean Gabin), a sailor with a dark past. Bobo thinks he may have killed a man, and has retreated to a fogbound river barge where he rescues and adopts would-be suicide victim Anna (Ida Lupino). The troubled pair attempt a fresh start--but when Bobo's old pal Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) shows up, the skeletons threaten to come out of the closet. Reminiscent of other Gabin tragedies such as Le Jour se Leve and Quai des Brumes--and quite possibly an influence on films as recent as 2003's Young Adam--Moontide co-stars Claude Rains and Jerome Cowan, who somehow manage to avoid getting into a catfight together.
12:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Rebellion of the Hanged (1954 MEX): Film of the week alert! I've never seen this Mexican drama, but considering its pedigree, it's got to be great. Exhibit one: the men behind the camera, director Emilio Fernandez and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. Both were giants during the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and worked together on dozens of features, including stone cold classics such as Enamorada (1946) and La Perla (1947). Exhibit two: the man in front of the camera, Pedro Armendariz, a superb actor who also had a long and illustrious career in American films. Exhibit three: Screen Writers Guild co-founder John Bright, who wrote some top notch pre-Code features (including The Public Enemy and Three on a Match) before adapting B. Traven's story Rebellion of the Hanged for this feature, which, of course, has never appeared on home video. Are you salivating yet? It's followed at 1:30 PM by The Big Boodle (1957), a fascinating car crash of a film featuring Armendariz and a floundering Errol Flynn in a tale of death and deceit in pre-Castro Cuba.
Wednesday 06/04/08
1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Castle of Fu Manchu (1969 BRD-GB): I got all worked up a few years back when a handful of Spanish bad boy Jesus Franco's films showed up on IFC. Now Senor Franco makes his TCM debut. Castle of Fu Manchu was the last of a series of low budget Sax Rohmer adaptations brought to the screen by British-born producer Harry Alan Towers, STILL in the business today at the age of 87. The film features Christopher Lee as the nefarious Oriental master criminal, making trouble as usual for Inspector Nayland-Smith of the Yard (Richard Greene), this time in the form of a plot to alter the planet's climate. Though Castle suffers from an overreliance on recycled footage, it looks great in widescreen and features an excellent supporting cast, including Tsai Chin, Burt Kwouk, Maria Perschy, Herbert Fux, and Franco himself as a Turkish police official.
6:35 AM Showtime Extreme
Champion (2002 ROK): Everyone loves the underdog, especially when they're getting the crap pounded out of them in the boxing ring. Here's a South Korean take on the Rocky meme, the true story of pugilist Deuk-Gu Kim (Oh-Sung Yoo), who overcame the odds and became a hero in his native land before succumbing to head injuries in a 1982 title bout. Every single boxing movie cliche is here in full effect, so your enjoyment of Champion will hinge on your feelings about the genre.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Too Bad She's Bad (1955 ITA): Sophia Loren stars as a petty thief who gets in too deep in this amusing romantic comedy from director Alessandro Blasetti (The Iron Crown). She plays Lina, the youngest member of a family of miscreants headed by patriarch Vittorio (filmmaker Vittorio de Sica). Lina meets cute with cab driver Paolo (Marcello Mastroianni), and the two begin to fall in love--even whilst Lina is planning to steal Paolo's vehicle. The film helped make stars of both Loren and Mastroianni, who also share screen time in the De Sica-helmed comedy anthology Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow, which follows at 6:30 PM.
10:30 PM Sundance
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005 CAN): The first French-Canadian film I've ever recommended in the 'Plex, C.R.A.Z.Y. is an enjoyable coming of age comedy about Zac (Emile Vallee and Marc-Andre Grondin, in a split role), the beloved fourth son of Montreal's Beaulieu clan. Zac is the apple of Dad Gervais' (Michel Cote) eye--but no amount of father-son bonding seems capable of weening young Zac from dolls and cross-dressing, and father and son both become concerned about his, ahem, 'orientation'. Set during the 1960s and '70s, the film features a predictably enjoyable selection of pop songs (including Patsy Cline's Crazy), and though its take on the subject is not particularly daring its heart is definitely in the right place. Also airs 6/7 at 9:15 PM.
Thursday 06/05/08
2:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
C'era una Volta (1967 ITA): More Sophia Loren rarities arrive this morning in the wee hours, most notably this feature about a peasant girl who captures the eye of the heir to the Spanish throne. Young Prince Rodrigo (Omar Sharif) is under orders to choose a bride from a group of seven well-heeled young ladies-- but he falls for lowly peasant girl Isabella (Loren) instead, setting the stage for fireworks with the Queen Mum (Dolores del Rio). Released in the US as More Than a Miracle, the film is a pleasant blend of romance, comedy, and outright fantasy, and though it suffers a bit from clumsy dubbing still makes for reasonable family viewing. Well, as long as you can overlook the urine drinking scene! It's followed at 4:15 AM by Ghosts Italian Style (1968), in which Sophia and Vittorio Gassmann play a married couple who take up residence in a (purportedly) haunted house.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Toll of the Sea (1922 USA): The beautiful Anna May Wong stars in this obscure silent picture --which, even more amazingly, was shot in gorgeous, otherworldly two strip Technicolor! The then 16-year-old Wong plays Lotus Flower, a Chinese girl who falls in love with a shipwrecked American lad (Kenneth Harlan). Naturally, such an interracial affair can never be consummated, leading to inevitable tragedy. Penned by the great Frances Marion, Toll of the Sea is recommended for any admirer of Wong, and for anyone interested in the development of color cinematography.
6:00 PM IFC
The Howling (1981 USA): Joe Dante's tribute to the werewolf films of yore is no classic--in fact, I don't even consider it one of his better efforts--but any film featuring Slim Pickens, John Carradine, Dick Miller, Patrick Macnee, Kevin McCarthy, and Forry Ackerman is going to get a mention in the TiVoPlex by default. The not terribly engaging Dee Wallace is the star of the story, however, and plays TV journalist Karen White, who's trying to get the scoop on a big serial killer story that will help boost her ratings. After a too-close-for-comfort encounter with her quarry, Karen decides to take a break at The Colony, a restful retreat that will provide valuable navel-gazing time and allow her to recharge her batteries. But more seems to be going on at The Colony than first meets the eye, and Karen soon learns the lycanthropic truth about its inhabitants. I still prefer Creighton Chaney and Oliver Reed--not to mention An American Werewolf in London--but The Howling does feature some pretty cool Rob Bottin transformation effects. Also airs at 11:15 PM.
Friday 06/06/08
12:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Anna May Wong (2008 USA): I haven't been privy to a screener of this brand new TCM documentary, but judging from its lengthy genesis (ten years in the making!) and the impressive list of talking heads attached to it (Nancy Kwan! Kevin Brownlow! A. C. Lyles, for God's sakes!!), it's going to be worth checking out.
12:45 PM Sundance
Evil (2003 SWE-DEN): A film from Scandinavia entitled Evil? Can we be very far from Ingmar Bergman territory here? Well...yes, we can. Andreas Wilson stars as 1950s schoolboy Erik, whose troublemaking ways have led him to enrolment at Stjarnsberg, a particularly unpleasant boarding school. It's the sort of place where the senior boys ritually abuse the younger lads, and the many manifestations of bullying and corporal punishment get lots of screen time (though surprisingly there's no buggery). Evil was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2004 Academy Awards, but apparently all the urination, caning, and vomiting didn't sit well with the voters, who opted instead for Canada's Barbarian Invasions.
7:00 PM Sundance
Kurt Cobain: About a Son (2006 USA): If you've read Michael Azzeraid's excellent Kurt Cobain biography Come As You Are, you'll probably enjoy this rockumentary, which is based on Azzeraid's research and features previously unheard taped interviews with the Nirvana main man. If your interest is only peripheral--or if you just want to see footage of Kurt and the boys in concert--this probably isn't the film for you. That said, About a Son gives Cobain center stage, and is a challenging but very worthy attempt to cast revealing light on this complex, troubled, and extremely talented individual.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Wicked, Wicked (1973 USA): Shot in Duo-Vision, Wicked Wicked is basically a cheapjack attempt to cash in on the success of Brian de Palma's Sisters, which had been released a year earlier. Whilst de Palma only resorted to using split screen for Sisters' most suspenseful scenes, Wicked Wicked director Richard Bare chose to use the gimmick for his film's entire 95-minute running time. The effect is less than edifying and does little if anything to improve what is essentially a bog-roll proto-slasher flick, but it's still a fascinating if poorly conceived stylistic exercise. Starring Tiffany Bolling as damsel in distress Lisa and poor worn out Scott Brady as police detective Ramsey, as well as Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes and Arthur O'Connell, this MGM rarity makes its widescreen television premiere this evening.
Saturday 06/07/08
11:10 PM Starz
Eagle vs. Shark (2007 NZ): This loopy Kiwi feature relates the story of two nerds trying to fall in love with each other--with minimal success. Loren Horsley and Jermaine Clement star as Lily and Jarrod, two social outcasts who meet cute at an animal costume party (hence the title) and then spend the next 90 minutes exchanging glances and brutal one-liners. Though the down-under setting lends the film an exotic air, the end result is essentially a down-market take on Napoleon Dynamite, with director Taika Cohen failing to display much in the way of development since his 1999 stoner comedy Scarfies. Also airs 6/8 at 2:10 AM.
Monday 06/09/08
6:00 PM HBO
Roman Polanski: Wanted & Desired (2008 USA): Though Roman Polanski's 1977 conviction for statutory rape has generated much media hot air over the years, little real light has been cast on the subject. This new documentary finally gives Polanski's case the careful attention it deserves, and suggests that it may not have been as cut and dried as the popular narrative would suggest. Though the film does not exculpate Polanksi, it does imply he got a raw deal from the judicial system. Also airs at 9:00 PM and on HBO2 at 10:00 PM.