TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, July 29, 2008 through Monday, August 4, 2008
By John Seal
July 28, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 07/29/08
3:55 AM HBO Signature
Casi Casi (2006 PUR): Written and directed by the Valles Brothers (Jaime and Tony), Casi Casi is basically Election—Caribbean-Style, and stars Mario Pabon as Emilio, a nerdy high schooler trying to impress object of affection Jacklynne (Maite Canto) by running for Student Council president. Alas, he learns too late that his chief opponent in the race is the very same Jacklynne, and Emilio decides he must engage in a little ballot-box fixing in order to ensure a political loss and a romantic win. Paging Sequoia, Diebold, and Intercivic! If you're in the mood for a light-hearted, PG-rated teen comedy, it doesn't get any better than Casi Casi, which won the Audience Award at the 2006 San Diego Latino Film Festival. And Spanish teachers take note: this film can serve double duty as an excellent pedagogical tool!
4:15 PM IFC
Tsotsi (2005 SAF): 2006's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film makes its widescreen television debut this morning after previously airing in pan and scan on Starz. It's a familiar tale of sin and redemption, made fresh by its Johannesburg setting and powerful performances from Presley Chweneyagae as the titular hot-headed street punk - who would shoot you as soon as blink at you - and Terry Pheto as a nursing mother who establishes a strange bond with him. Based on a novel by Athol Fugard, the film has the kind of uplifting final reel that Academy voters love - but still remains true to its artistic vision, portraying the rough life of Tsotsi with unblinking and unvarnished honesty.
9:05 PM HBO
The Recruiter (2008 USA): This brand new HBO documentary takes a look at the world of a Louisiana-based Army recruiting sergeant. I haven't seen it yet, but early reports indicate The Recruiter is in the vein of Salesman, The Maysles' Brothers even-handed salute to Eastern Seaboard bible peddlers. If it's only half that good, it'll be worth a look. Also airs 7/30 at 12:05 AM and 7/31 at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM.
Wednesday 07/30/08
10:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Kelly the Second (1936 USA): Embarrassing confession time: I have a serious crush on old time comedienne Patsy Kelly, so even if this Kelly vehicle were the worst film ever made I'd still be offering it a recommendation. Happily it's a bit better than terrible, and in addition to Patsy also features sassy blonde Pert Kelton, silent comedy veteran Charley Chase, and former boxer Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, rendering Kelly the Second absolutely irresistible. As for the story, it's a broadly told tale of lunch counter manager Molly (Kelly) who finds herself training aspiring pugilist Cecil (Guinn ‘Big Boy' Williams). If you can overlook the ubiquitous, teeth-grinding hurdy-gurdy rendition of The Irish Washerwoman, you'll enjoy this film—though probably not as much as I will.
1:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Thunder and Lightning (1977 USA): '70s superstar David Carradine features in this uninspired action flick, which makes its widescreen television debut this afternoon. He plays moonshiner Harley Thomas, a rum running Floridian who gets into trouble with his mob-connected rivals. There's a surfeit of two-fisted action, along with the requisite car chases and crashes — none of it filmed with much vigor by director Corey Allen. The film's tagline was 'it's 250 proof fun!', but the proof in THIS pudding packs considerably less punch than that.
7:00 PM Sundance
Man of the Year (2003 BRA): An auspicious debut for Brazilian filmmaker Jose Henrique Fonseca, Man of the Year features Murilo Benicio as Maiquel, an unemployed car salesman who becomes an unlikely local hero. Out drinking one night with his pals, Maiquel gets snookered into dying his hair blonde — and soon regrets it when one of the neighborhood toughs takes a dislike to his new 'do. Invited outside to exchange blows with the bully, Maiquel inadvertently kills him, and immediately wins plaudits from both the police and the local vigilante committee, who then induct him into their ranks. Caveat: Man of the Year is ostensibly a comedy, but its incorporation of over-the-top violence and grim social commentary may not leave more sensitive viewers laughing.
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Gene Krupa Story (1959 USA): Sal Mineo stars as percussionist extraordinaire Gene Krupa in this above average biopic. The dynamic Krupa was an explosive, powerful drummer whose hard knock life included a stint behind bars, and Mineo's performance is one of the highlights of his career, along with Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and the criminally unavailable on home video Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965). A fine supporting cast, including Bobby Troup, James Darren, Yvonne 'Batgirl' Craig, and an uncredited Gavin MacLeod, plus some terrific music, make this one required viewing.
Thursday 07/31/08
7:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961 USA): A day of rarely seen horror and science fiction flicks kicks off with George Pal's fantasy about life in Atlantis, the mythical continent that supposedly sank beneath the Atlantic Ocean (or in this rendering, the Mediterranean Sea) thanks to a volcanic eruption. Sal Ponti (not to be confused with Sal Mineo) stars as simple fisherman Demetrios, who rescues Princess Antillia (Joyce Taylor) from drowning and is rewarded for his troubles with enslavement in her kingdom. Partly thanks to an uninspiring lead performance from Ponti, this is not one of Pal's better efforts, though the climactic scenes are reasonably impressive and it's kinda fun to watch Edward Platt (in a toga!) as Azor the High Priest.
12:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Gorgon (1964 GB): Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee co-star in this retelling of the Medusa tale. Set in the mittel-Europa village of Vandorf, the film features Cushing and Lee as, respectively, a brain surgeon and a brilliant (if sceptical) Leipzig academic who together must solve the mystery of the stoned townsfolk. No, the residents of Vandorf haven't been inhaling wacky tobacky or sucking down schnapps — they've been victimized by Megaera, a Medusa-like creature whose hideous visage turns to granite anyone who has the misfortune to look her in the face. Though burdened with poor low budget special effects, this is still one of Hammer Films most satisfying efforts, well directed by Terence Fisher, and (in addition to the incomparable Cushing and Lee) blessed by the screen presence of Patrick Troughton and Barbara Shelley.
2:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
They Came From Beyond Space (1967 GB): There's not too much I can say in defence of They Came From Beyond Space, other than it's making its American widescreen television debut this afternoon. Robert Hutton stars as Curtis Temple, an ex-pat Yank scientist investigating a meteor shower that has brought an alien invasion to planet Earth — or more specifically, to Cornwall, England. This being a cheap Amicus production, however, there are NO aliens seen on screen, only human beings inhabited by invisible invaders From Beyond Space. This puts a definite crimp on the fun factor, and the film is a bit of a bore for all but the most ardent fans of fantastic British cinema. On the other hand, you DO get to see Michael Gough portray The Master of the Moon, so it's not entirely a lost cause.
Friday 08/01/08
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Two-Headed Spy (1958 GB): Michael Caine gets the star treatment today on TCM, starting with this fairly decent intriguer in which his role is decidedly of the supporting variety. The Two-Headed Spy's REAL star is Jack Hawkins, here cast as a British spy who not only insinuates his way into the Nazi war machine but then manages to win promotion to the Wehrmacht general staff, where he rubs shoulders with Der Fuhrer (a memorable Kenneth Griffith) himself. He's ably assisted in his undercover activities by nightclub singer Lili (Gia Scala), whilst Leutnant Reinisch (Eric Schulmann) grinds his teeth and tries to ferret out the mole in Hitler's midst. In addition to Caine — who appears as 'Gestapo Agent' — the film also co-stars Donald Pleasance and Bernard Fox. It's followed at 5:00 AM by Billion Dollar Brain (1967), in which the by now very famous Caine made his third and final screen appearance as British secret agent Harry Palmer.
7:00 PM Sundance
You're Gonna Miss Me (2005 USA): One of the great comeback stories of recent years has been the reappearance of Texas-born musician Roky Erickson, a founding member of the world's first self-proclaimed psychedelic rock band, the 13th Floor Elevators. Thanks to onerous drug laws, Erickson spent time in jail and mental institutions during the late 1960s and early 1970s and for much of the last two decades of the 20th century was in the care of his mother Evelyn. Thanks to the efforts of his younger brother Sumner, Roky has spent the last decade regaining his confidence, and his condition has stabilized to the point where he can tour and record regularly. His unbelievable life is surveyed in this excellent rockumentary, which for best value should be complemented by Eye Mind, Paul Drummond's superb recent print history of the Elevators.
Saturday 08/02/08
1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Destructors (1974 GB): Bottom of the barrel Michael Caine arrives this morning in the form of The Destructors, a shot-in-Europe thriller about American intelligence agent Steve Ventura (Anthony Quinn) and his efforts to bring scumbag drug lord Jacques Brizard (James Mason) to justice. To do so, he hires old friend (and contract killer) John Deray (Caine), who proceeds to put the hurt on The French — er, sorry, Marseilles — Connection. Though the film is resolutely derivative, lackadaisically written, and unimaginatively filmed, it does benefit from south of France location work and a terrific Roy Budd score. Look for former Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger in a small role.
1:30 PM Encore Mystery
The Good German (2006 USA): Everything you need to know about the box office performance of Steven Soderbergh's tribute to classic Hollywood: it's making its television debut on Encore as opposed to HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime. A floppo at the boxxo, The Good German was shot full-frame in black and white, perhaps explaining why no one went to see it. That's a shame, because it's an interesting experiment in filmmaking that features a predictably fine George Clooney performance as an American military journalist who finds himself enmeshed in a murder mystery whilst covering the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. It's not one of Soderbergh's best, but you gotta give him credit for trying.
10:50 PM Encore
Return to Horror High (1987 USA): It's George Clooney day here in the TiVoPlex! Return to High Horror features the salt and peppered one in his pre-Grecian Formula days as a vain leading man on the set of a low-budget slasher pic. The film's being shot at abandoned Crippen High School, closed since a series of gruesome murders bloodied its hallways five years earlier — and still playing host to secrets that begin to affect the film crew in deadly ways. Even by the standards of the genre, Return to Horror High is minor league stuff, but it's still fun to watch Clooney working for what was probably a not very large pay check. You know, an AFTRA pay check, not a SAG one. Also airs 8/3 at 1:50 AM.
Sunday 08/03/08
5:00 AM IFC
The Last Wave (1978 AUS): I'm still as baffled by this Peter Weir film as I was after first seeing it in the early '80s, but that doesn't make it any less rewarding. It's a cinema puzzle piece about an Australian lawyer (Richard Chamberlain), the five Aborigine men (including one portrayed by David Gulpilil) he's defending against murder charges, and a prophecy about a bleak and watery future for the Australian continent. Akin to Weir's earlier Picnic at Hanging Rock and Antonioni's Blow-Up, The Last Wave is a film that has actually improved with age, with the threat of global warming lending it an edge not readily apparent on its initial release.
10:30 AM Flix
Smithereens (1982 USA): A wonderful coming-of-age period piece about life on the edge in New York City, Smithereens was director Susan Seidelman's impressive debut feature. Seidelman next helmed Desperately Seeking Susan, an equally fine effort also set in Manhattan, but Smithereens' lack of star power and commitment to realism gives it the slight edge. Susan Berman stars as Wren, a self-sufficient but vulnerable young punkette barely scraping by in the Big Apple. She hopes to hook up with rocker Eric (sloe-eyed Richard Hell), but instead finds her fate intertwined with that of uncool suburbanite Paul (Brad Rijn), currently living on an abandoned lot in his Chevy van. Shot only a few years after President Ford's infamous 'drop dead' bail-out veto, this time capsule captures a long-gone city that was both grimmer and more innocent than it is today.
Monday 08/04/08
6:00 PM HBO
Baghdad High (2007 GB-USA): Produced collaboratively by the BBC and HBO, this is a cinema verite documentary about four boys trying to complete a tough school year in Iraq's capital city. I haven't seen it yet, but I suspect matriculating in Baghdad is a little more challenging than in Beverly Hills. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.