TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, July 15, 2008 through Monday, July 21, 2008
By John Seal
July 14, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 07/15/08
7:00 AM The Movie Channel
Fair Game (1989 ITA): Also released as Mamba, Fair Game is a bizarre Euro-trash thriller about a sick, twisted, and extremely jealous video game designer who has a very special way of showing his love — or contempt — for his spouse. Perennially underappreciated Gregg Henry plays computer whiz Gene, whose wife Eva (British telly thesp Trudie Styler) has decided he's a few gig short of a hard drive and has left him in favor of a more stable system (Bill Moseley). Gene plots his revenge and locks Eva up in a room with a venomous, sex-mad Mamba, and the bulk of the film consists of her attempts to dodge the deadly Dendroaspis. Featuring only three human characters (not even a single extra!), Fair Game is a strangely fascinating, set-bound film that plays like a bizarre hybrid of Waiting for Godot and Snakes on a Plane. Also airs at 10:00 AM.
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Desert Sands (1955 USA): I'm a sucker for films about the French Foreign Legion (John Ford's The Lost Patrol is my favorite), so naturally I'm excited at the opportunity to reacquaint myself with this obscure effort produced by the tireless Howard W. Koch. Set in contemporary Morocco, the film stars Ralph Meeker as Captain David Malcolm, commander of a relief column en route to remote Fort Valeau. Sent ahead by helicopter, Malcolm is informed by sneaky local sheikh Jala (John Carradine) that radio contact with the column has been lost — and sure enough, the mutilated corpses of legionnaires soon begin to show up on the doorstep. Can Meeker keep his men from panicking — and will a second relief corps arrive before the fort is overwhelmed by the forces of wily Arab El Zanal (Keith Larsen)? The fine cast (which also includes J. Carrol Naish and Ron Randell) and some superior action sequences render Desert Sands a thoroughly enjoyable, if less than politically correct, adventure. It's making its widescreen American television debut this morning.
9:00 PM HBO
China's Stolen Children (2008 GB): Produced by Britain's Channel 4, China's Stolen Children documents the unanticipated consequences of that nation's One Child policy: a boom in child stealing, swapping, and trading. Narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley, it's an eye-opening and sobering film that highlights the deep emotional damage wrought by this well-intentioned but cruel and poorly designed example of social engineering at its worst. Perfect pre-Olympics viewing! Also airs 7/16 at midnight.
Wednesday 07/16/08
9:00 PM Sundance
Tulse Luper Suitcases 3: From Sark to the Finish (2003 GB): The final chapter of Peter Greenaway's daring, ornate, and frequently baffling Tulse Luper trilogy premieres this evening. For some reason Roger Rees replaced J.J. Feild in the titular role, but the luggage remains the same.
Thursday 07/17/08
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Trial (1963 FRA): I've yet to read Despite the System, Clint Heylin's recent book about Orson Welles, but I'll be very curious to see what he has to say about this film. From my perspective, it's one of the finest of Welles' features, and seems to have been made (for once) with a minimum of interference from his producers — in this case, Alexander and Michael Salkind. Though the film doesn't quite capture the full-bore existential dread of Kafka's nightmarish novel of the banality of bureaucratic evil, it comes damn close, and Anthony Perkins makes for a brilliant Josef K, his calm insouciance not a million miles away from that of Norman Bates. The cinematography is credited to Edmond Richard, but Welles' fingerprints are all over it, with camera angles and set design reminiscent of his finest work in Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil. I know I'm probably alone in considering The Trial superior to both of those films, but even should you disagree you'll find much here to savor.
8:00 PM Sundance
Streamers (1983 USA): One of the more obscure entries in Robert Altman's filmography, Streamers features Matthew Modine as a raw recruit about to be sent to the meat-grinder in Vietnam. Modine plays Billy, one of four newly minted GI's spending their last days of freedom desperately trying to subsume their fear in a welter of boys-only misbehavior and verbal abuse. Based on a hit play by David Rabe and set within the confines of a single room in an Army barracks, the film predictably but effectively dissects the dehumanizing lengths the military goes to in order to produce obedient and quiescent foot soldiers. Modine is excellent as always, but he's matched by Michael Wright as a streetwise African-American soldier and George Dzundza as a drunken sot of a sergeant.
Friday 07/18/08
4:30 AM Encore Love Stories
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984 USA): How many other sequels can claim to overshadow their cinematic predecessors in the way that Electric Boogaloo does? 1984's Breakin' was a plain dreadful effort to cash in on the early days of hip hop culture, and that's just what it did, to the tune of almost $36 million upon initial release - a lot of dosh in those days. Electric Boogaloo was immediately rushed into production for a Christmas-time release and barely grossed $15 million — substantially less than half of Breakin's take. So why is it that Breakin' 2 is now a cultural landmark (or punch line), and no one remembers the first film? I'd guess that it's a combination of three factors: the film's high camp '80s aesthetic, the nostalgic tug of old school hip-hop, and — perhaps most importantly — the pitch perfect assonance of the title. If you have another theory, please let me know — in the meantime, enjoy Electric Boogaloo this morning.
Saturday 07/19/08
12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Absolute Beginners (1986 GB): It's imperfect at best, but this wayward adaptation of Colin MacInnes' influential youth culture novel has sufficient points of interest to warrant induction into the TiVoPlex. David Bowie, hugely popular in the wake of his money-spinning Blue Jean LP, appears as ace face Vendice Partners, but the story really revolves around young photographer Colin's (Eddie O'Connell) efforts to win the hand of cat-walker Suzette (Patsy Kensit), who's fallen under the spell of the world's only straight fashion designer (James Fox). Directed by Julien Temple (The Great Rock n Roll Swindle), the film is burdened by gauche art design, weak original songs, and a phoned in performance from The Thin White Duke, but on the plus side of the ledger, there's impressive Oliver Stapleton cinematography, an enjoyable turn by Ray Davies as Colin's dad Arthur, and a memorable appearance by jazz hipster Slim Gaillard.
4:30 AM HBO2
Resolved (2008 USA): I recommended this high school debate documentary sight unseen when it debuted on HBO a few weeks back. Now that I've seen it, I can confirm that it's the best film yet made about this frequently baffling, oft maddening, and occasionally intellectually stimulating extra-curricular activity. The film focuses on a pair of African-American public speakers from Long Beach who attempt to subvert the debate paradigm, and makes for compelling and thought-provoking viewing. If you missed Resolved the first time, resolve not to miss it this morning.
11:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
You Can't Win 'em All (1970 GB): An obscure action-comedy from director Peter Collinson, You Can't Win 'em All stars Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson as a pair of ex-G.I.'s who find themselves in Turkey, hired by Osman Bey (the great Gregoire Aslan) to protect his three daughters during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. They're set to escort the girls to Smyrna, but unbeknownst to them, there's a shipment of gold along for the ride — and some scheming baddies out to get their hands on it. Though shot on location in Turkey, the film plays like a western, and, bar the apparent enthusiasm of Curtis, not terribly good. Also featuring Patrick Magee as Kemal Ataturk, You Can't Win 'em All makes its widescreen American television debut this evening.
Sunday 07/20/08
11:15 PM Fox Movie Channel
Little Murders (1971 USA): Alan Arkin directed this pitch-black comedy on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox, who obviously didn't know what they were getting into when they gave the project the greenlight. Based on a play by Jules Feiffer, the story revolves around a young couple (Elliott Gould and Marcia Rodd) going a-courting whilst random sniper murders are terrorizing the city. Arkin and Donald Sutherland appear in cameo roles but the real scene-stealer is quintessential New York tough guy Vincent Gardenia as Rodd's father. A paranoid classic about the price paid by those living in The City That Never Sleeps, Little Murders is an overlooked gem with a heart of festering, wormy, and gleefully wicked genius.
Monday 07/21/08
6:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Barefoot Mailman (1951 USA): Organic foods fancier Robert Cummings stars as a late 19th century conman in this unusual, and very rare, comedy from Columbia. He plays Sylvanus Hurley, whose plans to invest in property hinge on his ability to safely transport his wad of cash from the Florida panhandle to Miami. He decides to mail the money to himself — and also decides to accompany postal worker Jerome (Steven Pierton) in order to make sure that neither sleet, nor snow, nor mail thieves shall keep this postman from his appointed rounds. To complicate matters, they're accompanied by teenage runaway Adie (Terry Moore), and are soon engaged in battle with alligators, swamps, and villainous beachcomber Theron (John Russell). It's a most unusual premise for a picture, and the film can't decide whether it's more comedy than thriller or vice versa, but is still worth watching thanks to a stellar cast, which also includes future Walton grandparents Will Geer and Ellen Corby.
6:00 PM Sundance
Murderball (2005 USA): The world of quadriplegic rugby is explored in this feel-good Academy Award-nominated documentary. Focussing on the efforts of the American national team (yes, this is an organized sport), Murderball explores this unusual full contact game, which resembles nothing so much as medieval jousting, Mad Max-style. It also probes the off-court lives of these differently-abled athletes, and does a decent job of doing so in a non-condescending, non-pitying manner.
9:50 PM Sundance
Two People (1973 USA): Robert Wise directed a lot of really good and deservedly well-known pictures over the course of his illustrious 40-plus year career. Chances are, however, that you probably haven't heard of Two People, Wise's effort to break bread with the counterculture. It stars Peter Fonda as a draft dodger who's planning to return to the States and turn himself in after spending time getting his head together in Morocco. Before he's able to do so, however, he meets fellow American Deirdre (future Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner), a model on a Marrakesh photo shoot, and the duo decide to spend some quality time together in Paris before returning home to face the music. The film hasn't aged well, but wasn't all that good even in its day thanks to a soapy and ham-fisted screenplay and Wagner's flat as a pancake line readings. Regardless, admirers of Wise still need to give it a look, if only to admire a fine Estelle Parsons performance as the editor of a fashion magazine.