TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, July 8, 2008 through Monday, July 14, 2008
By John Seal
July 7, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 07/08/08
5:00 AM Encore Mystery
Slay Ride (1972 USA): Not to be confused with everyone's favorite holiday slasher flick Slayride (AKA Silent Night Deadly Night), this is actually two old episodes of the long forgotten television series Cade's County, spliced together to mimic feature length. It's of interest to TiVoPlexers thanks to the presence of Glenn Ford in the lead role of Sam Cade, a sheriff in the American southwest confronted with the requisite array of puzzling cases. I never saw the series when it was initially aired — hey, it started after my bedtime! — but with Ford in front of the camera (along with acting vets Edgar Buchanan and Bernie Casey) and Avengers' director Robert Day behind it, Slay Ride should provide solid entertainment value.
12:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Terror of Rome against the Son of Hercules (1961 ITA): The good news: I don't believe this sword and sandal epic has ever had a previous commercial-free airing on American television. The bad: TCM is utilizing a pan and scan print, which sadly seems to be par for the course when it comes to many of MGM's '60s Euro-cinema holdings. Still, it's always a pleasure to watch these goofy muscleman pics, and this is actually a fairly decent one. Mark Forest stars as Maciste, who must defend Rome's otherwise hapless Christians from the worst excesses of Emperor Vitellius ('Peter White', aka Franco Cobianchi). He does so in predictably spectacular fashion, and even gets to do battle with a giant ape! Originally released as Maciste Gladiator of Sparta, Terror of Rome against the Son of Hercules is (image squeezing aside) great fun, if of questionable historical value.
7:00 PM Showtime Extreme
Hiding Out (1987 USA): Borderline brat packer Jon Cryer stars in this so-so comedy about a stockbroker forced to masquerade as a high school student. He plays Andrew Morenski, a successful Wall Street moneyman who has been playing a little fast and loose with SEC regulations. When the heat in the kitchen gets a little too intense (and co-conspiratorial goombahs start making veiled threats), Andrew shaves off his beard and changes his identity to that of Max Hauser, high school BMOC. If you've seen one '80s high school comedy, you've basically seen Hiding Out — it's a predictable, run of the mill sub-John Hughes effort, but is making its widescreen television debut this evening for those (like me) who care about such things.
Wednesday 07/09/08
10:45 AM Encore Love
Solas (1999 ESP): There's quite a crop of Spanish-language cinema on offer this week, starting with this quietly effective tale of a mother and daughter re-connecting in the wake of a family crisis. Solas stars Ana Fernandez as Maria, a young woman who has fled her stiflingly small home town for the big city of Seville, where she promptly finds herself pregnant, alone, and living in a flea pit. After her martinet of a father (Paco de Osca) is hospitalized nearby, Maria's mother (Maria Galiana) moves in with her offspring, leading to unanticipated consequences, heartbreak, and reconciliation. A massive hit on the festival circuit and a five-gong winner at the Goyas (Spain's equivalent of the Academy Awards), Solas comes strongly recommended to admirers of Victor Erice or Ermanno Olmi.
2:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
Everything's Ducky! (1961 USA): Did you hear the one about the talking duck? No, I'm not talking about Howard the Duck — I'm referring to Scuttlebutt the Duck, the mouthy water fowl who gets sailors Admiral Jones and Beetle McKay (Buddy Hackett and Mickey Rooney) into hot water in this absurd and very rarely seen Columbia comedy. Scuttlebutt also likes to drink martinis and impersonate celebrities, and when the top brass learn of his special skills, they become determined to get their hands on the bird and, ahem, cut his brain out. This doesn't sit well with Admiral and Beetle, who engage in a series of wacky escapades in order to save their beloved pet from a fate worse than a frontal lobotomy. Everything's Ducky is decidedly not, but, in addition to featuring Jackie Cooper and TiVoPlex fave Richard Deacon in supporting roles, is making its American widescreen television debut this afternoon.
9:00 PM Sundance
Tulse Luper Suitcases Part 2 (2003 GB): The second part of Peter Greenaway's Tulse Luper trilogy debuts this evening. Subtitled Vaux to the Sea, the film continues the avant-garde adventures of our hero and his hand luggage.
Thursday 07/10/08
6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Winter A-Go-Go (1965 USA): One of the worst teensploitation films ever mde, Winter-A-Go-Go was Columbia's attempt to cash in on the AIP Beach Party craze. William Wellman, Jr. (here proving that sometimes the acorn actually falls quite a distance from the tree) stars as Jeff Forrester, a vaguely teenage type who inherits a Tahoe ski lodge and promptly tries to turn it into a cool resort for the younger set. It's ninety minutes of contrived situations, unfunny funny bits, and bland music courtesy The Nooney Rickett Four and The Reflections. As bad as AIP's Ski Party was, at least Sam Arkoff anted up for James Brown and Lesley Gore! Unavailable on home video, Winter-A-Go-Go is yet another feature making its first widescreen television appearance this week.
9:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
Violent Saturday (1955 USA): Violent it is, especially for a film from the mid 1950s. Certainly the onscreen carnage is stronger than anything else I've seen from the period, with the possible exception of Richard Widmark shoving the wheelchaired elderly lady down the stairs in Kiss of Death (1947). There are definitely hints of the soon-coming Hollywood of Sam Peckinpah and Co. in Violent Saturday — the sadistic Lee Marvin grinding a little boy's hand into the ground, and a bearded Ernest Borgnine skewering Lee with a pitchfork towards the final reel — but it's all rather surprising coming from talented but non-controversial director Richard Fleischer. Screenwriter Sydney Boehm was also responsible for gritty films such as The Big Heat (1953) and Rogue Cop (1954), so I expect we must blame him for coarsening the cultural atmosphere and poisoning the artistic well. Do James Dobson and Bill Donohue know about this guy?
4:00 PM Sundance
Lights in the Dusk (2006 FIN): The most recent feature effort from renegade filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki (Leningrad Cowboys Go America), Lights in the Dusk was selected to represent Finland at the 2007 Academy Awards — then Kaurismaki voiced his objections, and the film was withdrawn from competition, leaving Nokia Nation unrepresented. Artistic sensibilities aside, that's a shame, because it surely would have given the film greater international exposure, which it certainly deserved. A mordant black comedy, Lights in the Dusk stars Janne Hyytiainen as Koistinen, a poker-faced Helsinki security guard charged with protecting a block of shops, one of which is a particularly tempting jewelry store. He becomes the target of gangster Lindholm (Ilkka Koivula), who recognizes Koistinen as a lonely soul in need of companionship and foists his own moll (the icily beautiful Maria Jarvenhelmi) on him in an effort to pry loose the jeweler's security codes. Fans of Kaurismaki will recognize many of his themes, memes, and bugaboos here — others may find Lights in the Dusk a baffling but beautifully made exercise in Scandinavian minimalism (and miserabilism). I like it.
9:30 PM Fox Movie Channel
Vanishing Point (1971 USA): Now thankfully also available on home video, Richard Sarafian's hyperkinetic Vanishing Point makes a rare wide-screen appearance today on Fox. In a film I like to think of as Bennies and the Vet, Barry Newman plays a hopped up Vietnam veteran speeding across America in a souped-up Dodge Challenger. He's ably supported from afar by blind DJ Cleavon Little, who provides play-by-play commentary as Newman eludes numerous state police departments in his attempt to get from Colorado to San Francisco in 15 hours. It's sheer excitement from the get-go, brilliantly lensed by John Alonzo, and features a pumping soundtrack from Jimmy Bowen. Look for John Amos (Good Times) in a small role as Cleavon's on-air engineer.
Friday 07/11/08
7:00 PM Sundance
Sigur Ros: Heima (2007 ICE): Fans of sound sculptors Sigur Ros will want to check out this feature, a blend of concert footage and gorgeous landscapes shot during the band's recent series of free 'thank you' performances in their native Iceland. If you're unfamiliar with Sigur Ros, they make a unique sound that blends elements of early '70s Pink Floyd, new age music, and late '90s shoegazing, creating music that is definitely more than the sum of its parts. Shot in such non-rock n roll venues as fish factories, fields, and caves, Heima is a special and very beautiful tribute to this unique group.
Saturday 07/12/08
7:00 PM Cinemax
Eastern Promises (2007 CAN): Forgive me readers, for I have sinned: I missed David Cronenberg's most recent feature during its surprisingly successful theatrical run last year. My inadequate explanation is that I was stunned into somnolence by the film's surprising success in American cinemas, and that I actually didn't care all that much for A History of Violence. Starring Viggo Mortensen, whose performance earned him a nomination for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards, Eastern Promises makes its small screen debut this evening, and airs again at 10:00 PM and throughout the month. I promise to watch it now.
Monday 07/14/08
4:30 AM HBO Signature
Buen Dia lo Tiene Cualquiera(2007 ESP): A drama with darkly comedic edges, Buen Dia lo Tiene Cualquiera stars Diego Martin as Arturo, a Spanish telemarketer who's lost both his job and his home. Desperate to find a place to lay his head, Arturo turns to best bud Joaquin (Roberto Alamo), who hooks him up with a program that matches domicile-desperate university students with old age pensioners in need of companionship. He finds himself sharing quarters with Onofre (Jose Antonio Quintana), and soon finds his new roommate is more than he can handle. If you've still got bad memories of your college roomie, you might want to skip it, but you'll be missing out on a very good film.
11:20 PM HBO Signature
Tiempo de Valientes(2005 ARG): An Argentine comedy released briefly in the U.S. as On Probation, Tiempo de Valientes features Diego Paretti as Mariano, a nervous psychoanalyst sentenced to community service with slobby cop Alfredo (Luis Luque). In one of the least likely plot developments you'll ever see, the two find themselves assigned to a murder case, and the film devolves into an unlikely blend of thriller and fish out of water buddy movie. Absurd as the story may be, Peretti and Luque make for an engaging screen pairing and the film is worth watching for their onscreen chemistry alone.