TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, June 17, 2008 through Monday, June 23, 2008
By John Seal
June 16, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 06/17/08
6:30 PM Sundance
Strait Through the Ice (2007 FRA): With global warming rapidly diminishing Earth's polar ice caps, new commercial possibilities have opened up for rapacious corporations willing to cut their way through the slush. One of the most significant developments is the clearing of a new Northwest Passage, a trade route between the Atlantic and the Pacific that was impassable until recent years. Of course, the route goes through environmentally sensitive regions of the Canadian north, and this impressive looking French documentary examines this latest battleground in the eternal struggle between tree-hugging conservationists and ruthless capitalists. You know who I'm rooting for.
9:30 PM HBO
Resolved (2007 USA): There have been a number of fictional films produced of late about the wacky world of competitive debate, most recently the execrable Rocket Science and the stirring Great Debaters, but Resolved is one of the few documentaries to tackle the subject. I haven't seen it yet, but as a former high school debater of considerable enthusiasm but little renown I'm certainly looking forward to it. I'm less excited by the onscreen presence of Supreme Court Justice Sam 'I Have No Opinion About Abortion' Alito and boob tube gasbag Juan Williams amongst Resolved's interview subjects, but hey--you can't have a debate without someone being on the wrong side. Also airs 6/18 at 12:30 AM and throughout the month.
Wednesday 06/18/08
12:15 AM HBO Signature
La Edad de la Peseta (2006 CUB-ESP): Time was you couldn't legally see a Cuban film in the United States, and though the absurd economic embargo remains in full effect, the artistic embargo seems to have been relaxed of late, allowing us to view such forbidden fruit as this family drama about a boy coming of age in pre-revolutionary Havana. Starring Spanish thesp Mercedes Sampietro as grouchy grandma Violeta and Ivan Carreira as her puppy love stricken ten-year old grandson, La Edad de la Peseta breaks little new narrative ground but is a visual treat, with bright primary colors dominating the palette. As far as forbidden fruit goes, there's not much juice here, but the film was Cuba's entry for the 2007 Academy Awards.
7:00 AM Sundance
For the Bible Tells Me So (2007 USA): Homophobia may be on a slow descent path towards extinction, but there's still plenty of biblical literalists out there touting the Good Book's hatred for The Third Sex. This documentary takes a look at the issue, but thankfully doesn't just rage against these culture war dead-enders. Featuring interviews with Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson (whose ordination led to a schism amongst Anglicans), respected author and scholar Peter Gomes, and evangelical Mel White, this is an informative, intelligent, and even-handed treatment of this contentious issue.
Thursday 06/19/08
4:35 AM IFC
The Cars That Ate Paris (1972 AUS): My memories of seeing The Cars That Ate Paris were dark ones. The horrific pan-and-scan video print that we all grew up with seemed to be a succession of dank and dreary night scenes, and poorly-composed night scenes at that. Now that the film is fully restored on DVD, however, viewers can truly appreciate this masterpiece of the macabre. Filled with sunshine - brilliant shots of a beautiful Australian town and buoyed by Peter Weir's magnificent screenplay, this is an outsider classic about a bizarre cargo cult in the middle of an otherwise "civilized" country. Amongst a raft of fine performances, John Meillon stands out as the town mayor, and, as accident victim Arthur Waldo, Terry Camilleri effortlessly channels the spirit of Dudley Moore's down-in-the-dumps Stanley Moon in 1967's Bedazzled. There's also a magnificent score by Bruce Smeaton that deftly blends the romanticism of Nino Rota with the majestic sweep of Morricone's best work and adds a dash of electronic dissonance for good measure. Viewers anticipating a film about real man-eating cars are best advised to avoid Peter Weir's freshman feature. All others, you're in for a treat.
10:30 AM Sundance
Avenue Montaigne (2006 FRA): A multi-plotted tale of life in the big city, Avenue Montaigne is a gentle comedy set in a picture postcard Paris that doesn't exist, and probably never did. The film features Cecile de France (L'auberge Espanole) as Jessica, a waitress whose dining room encounters with artists, musicians, and wealthy patrons provide the film with what little narrative drive it has. It won't win any prizes for artistic ingenuity and isn't the sort of film I generally favor, but should appeal to fans of James Toback, Merchant-Ivory, or even Hal Hartley.
7:30 PM IFC
Dead Alive (1993 NZ): Now here's the sort of film I definitely DO favor! Directed by Peter Jackson shortly before he made the transition to big budget Hollywood features, Dead Alive is a New Zealand-set comedy about a meek young man (Timothy Balme) who finds himself battling the living dead --including his mother, who has succumbed to the bite of a Sumatran rat-monkey and been re-animated as a house proud, gut-munching zombie. The film features some amazing set pieces--without giving away too much, the lawnmower scene is a standout--and is essential viewing for anyone who enjoys horror comedies such as Return of the Living Dead or Shaun of the Dead.
Friday 06/20/08
4:00 PM Sundance
Privilege (1967 GB): Here's the TiVoPlex highlight of the week. Directed by cinema maverick Peter Watkins (The War Game, Punishment Park), Privilege is a take no prisoners examination of the cult of celebrity--specifically, that of 1960s pop star Steven Shorter, portrayed by real-life 1960s pop star Paul Jones (Manfred Mann). The massively popular Shorter's cross-generational appeal seems harmless at first, but after an apple marketing campaign sees him successfully extol the virtues of that estimable fruit his handlers harness him to an increasingly fascistic series of political projects. The malleable youngster goes along to get along, but after meeting attractive artist Vanessa (Jean Shrimpton) begins to suspect he's just a pawn in their game. Privilege features a prescient screenplay, outstanding cinematography by a young Peter Suschitzky, and an excellent soundtrack which including a fine Mike Leander score and some great psych-pop numbers from Jones. Shamefully unavailable on home video, this film hasn't been seen on television in a very long time, so don't miss it tonight.
9:00 PM IFC
The Devil's Rain (1975 USA): A ridiculous but hugely enjoyable horror effort from reliable director Robert Fuest, The Devil's Rain makes its widescreen television debut this evening. Ernest Borgnine stars as satanic cult leader Jonathan Corbis, who (almost literally) locks horns with good guys William Shatner and Tom Skerritt in a struggle for the eternal souls of a townful of desert dwellers. Every now and then the heavens open and people melt, ensuring The Devil's Rain a primo spot in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame. Co-starring Ida Lupino, Eddie Albert, Keenan Wynn, a pre-stardom John Travolta, and Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, it's great fun for the whole family. Well, maybe the Addams' family.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Apple (1980 USA): CAMP ALERT. This is an obscure film from the geniuses at Cannon Films, the company that made Chuck Norris a household name and tried unsuccesfully to do the same with Michael Dudikoff. (I know what you're thinking--Michael who?) It's part of the short-lived "New Wave musical" genre that began with Times Square and died a few years later with Breaking Glass. The story takes place in the far-flung future of 1994, where two young Canadians are competing in the Worldvision Song Contest--take THAT, Eurovision! They cross paths with an unscrupulous music industry bigwig with the astonishingly apropos moniker Mr. Boogalew, played by all-purpose bad guy Vladek Sheybal, a Polish actor who had started his career in high-quality films such as Kanal (1957) and Return From the Ashes (1965). There are also embarrassing career lowlights for Joss Ackland, Miriam Margolyes, and '50s torch singer Yma Sumac, of all people. Mavens of bad cinema should definitely make time for The Apple--and happily, TCM will be airing it in its full widescreen glory.
Saturday 06/21/08
11:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Hatful of Rain (1957 USA): By the late '50s, mainstream Hollywood tentatively stopped tiptoeing around the realities of drug abuse. The burgeoning social problem, once confined film-wise to traveling road shows and B pictures, had graduated to the A list with 1955's Nelson Algren screen adaptation The Man with the Golden Arm. A Hatful of Rain, whilst not quite as brutal as its predecessor, is nonetheless a worthy and serious look at heroin addiction, featuring Don Murray as a young, disabled Army vet who can't get the monkey off his back after being discharged from hospital. Supported by his family - including wife Eva Marie Saint and brother Tony Franciosa - Murray struggles to get control of his addiction, only to lose every time. Filled with wonderful location footage of New York City, and featuring an appearance by TiVoPlex favorite William Hickey, this is a prime example of the "problem pictures" of the period, right down to the downbeat but realistic finale.
9:00 PM Sundance
The Blossoming of Maximo (2005 PHI): This surprising and quite daring Filipino film stars 14-year-old Nathan Lopez as Maxi, a flamboyant gay adolesecent growing up in the slums of Manila. Maxi belongs to a family of criminals who frequently have run-ins with the law-- but when the lad meets hunky police officer Victor (J. R. Valentin) finds himself being tugged in two quite different directions. It's been favorably compared to Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin and Ian Gamazon's Cavite, and though The Blossoming of Maximo isn't as good as either of those films, they're apt comparisons nonetheless.
Monday 06/23/08
6:00 PM IFC
Heavy Load (2008 GB): I haven't seen this documentary--heck, it doesn't even have five votes on IMDb yet, so apparently neither has anyone else--but the subject matter sounds intriguing. Heavy Load is a British punk band from the sleepy Sussex town of Lewes, which--perhaps uniquely, perhaps not--includes several members with learning disabilities. Why Kan't Johnny Rotten Reed? Watch and lurn.
8:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Kid From Spain (1932 USA): One of my first movie loves was goggle-eyed comic Eddie Cantor, whose outrageous, over the top Depression-era musicals were broadcast staples throughout the 1970s. These films have long since sunk into obscurity, but every now and then one of them pops up on TCM--case in point, 1932's The Kid From Spain, which puts in an appearance tonight. The convoluted plot finds Cantor's character, college student Eddie, forced to flee to Mexico, where he must masquerade as legendary bullfighter Don Sebastian. Co-starring Robert Young as Eddie's best buddy Ricardo, as well as J. Carroll Naish, Noah Beery, and John Miljan, The Kid From Spain also benefits from great choreography by the legendary Busby Berkeley.