TiVoPlex
By John Seal
June 1, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 06/02/09
1:35 AM Sundance
Christmas on Mars (2008 USA): Oklahoma's own Flaming Lips, whose song Do You Realize was recently named that state's official rock song over the objections of its Republican-dominated legislature, produced and star in this extremely silly holiday sci-fi fantasy. Singer Wayne Coyne plays Alien Super-Being, a wise extraterrestrial who lends a helping hand when Earth's colonization of the Red Planet hits some speed bumps. Bandmate Steven Drozd plays Syrtis, the colony's commanding officer, who's organizing a celebration in honor of the Yuletide season and the impending arrival of Mars' first baby, whilst stoic third Lip Michael Ivins marks time as tight-lipped Earthman Deuterolinus. As far as vanity projects go, Christmas on Mars is pretty decent in a crypto-Lynchian way, and the ambient score is, not surprisingly, excellent.
2:15 AM IFC
Private Fears in Public Places (2006 FRA): Known in its native Gaul by the simpler title Coeurs (Hearts), this is the most recent production of octogenarian enfant terrible Alain Resnais, who (at least according to IMDb) directed his first film in 1936! I must admit to only having seen three other Resnais pictures (and you can probably guess which three), and I'm far from an expert on his style, but if there's one word that sums 'em up, it's, ahem, deliberate. Well, Mon Oncle d'Amerique isn't exactly boring, but it IS rather long. As for Private Fears in Public Places, it's a similar ensemble piece about half a dozen Parisians looking for love in all the wrong arrondissements. Based on a play by Brit Alan Ayckbourn, the film can't disguise its stage roots and is resolutely small scale, but if you like Resnais (and who doesn't?), you'll want to at least give it the once-over.
7:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
Woman's World (1954 USA): Male chauvinist corporate culture is the subject of this unintentionally amusing early Cinemascope effort from Fox. Prissy Clifton Webb stars as auto manufacturer Ernest Gifford, who's searching for just the right man's man to hire as his new general sales manager. And what better way to find that man than by closely examining the strengths and weaknesses of the three leading candidates' spouses? There's Carol (Arlene Dahl), the gold-digging partner of Type A personality Jerry (Van Heflin); Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall), the loyal wife of sickly saddo Sid (Fred MacMurray); and Katie (June Allyson), who wants what's best for sidekick Bill (Cornel Wilde) but fears it will destroy their relationship. The script (the result of a five way collaboration) wavers from comedy to drama and back again, and though its sexual politics look a little dated 50 years on, things probably haven't changed ALL that much in the land of the three martini lunch. Woman's World isn't on home video and makes its widescreen television debut this morning.
5:00 PM Showtime
Trinidad (2008 USA): No, not the Caribbean island — the town in Colorado! Prior to seeing this film, I had not only never heard of Trinidad, I also had no idea that this bucolic burg was also home to the nation's largest colony of transgender folk. How did this happen? Pure happenstance, really, as a doctor specializing in sex change ops took up residence there in the 1960s, and one thing led to another. If you're squeamish, don't worry — this is no Let Me Die a Woman, instead concentrating on the development of a post-op transgender community in Bat Masterson's old hometown. Also airs at 8:00 PM, 6/3 on Showtime 3 at 5:30 PM, and 6/4 on Showtime 3 at 5:00 PM.
Wednesday 06/03/09
4:00 PM HBO
Smile Pinki (2008 USA): I haven't seen Smile Pinki yet, but it won the Best Documentary (Short Subject) Oscar at this year's Academy Awards. The film documents the travails of the titular poverty stricken five-year-old, a child with a cleft lip who meets a social worker who arranges for an operation that will change her facial appearance and her life for the better. Also airs at 7:00 PM and 6/5 on HBO2 at 10:15 AM and 1:15 PM.
5:00 PM Showtime 3
Rescue Dawn (2006 USA): German bad boy Werner Herzog briefly dipped his toe into the mainstream with this exciting film about American prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict. Christian Bale stars as Dieter Dengler, a German immigrant who joins the US Air Force, only to get shot down whilst flying a combat mission over Laos. Imprisoned and tortured by the Viet Cong, Dieter meets fellow POWs Duane (Steve Zahn) and Gene (Jeremy Davies), and though the three are desperate to escape, they disagree vehemently about how to do so. Filmed in lush jungle reminiscent of Herzog's Aguirre the Wrath of God and FItzcarraldo, Rescue Dawn is a fictional representation of the events depicted in the director's earlier documentary, Little Dieter Learns to Fly.
Thursday 06/04/09
9:15 PM Showtime 2
Y.P.F. (2007 CAN): It stands for ‘Young People Fucking'. I haven't seen it, and I probably won't watch it, but this is surely the best film title since 1994's S.F.W. Also airs 6/5 on Showtime 3 at 9:15 PM.
10:30 PM Sundance
Nights of Cabiria (1957 ITA): I run hot and cold on Federico Fellini, but his 1950s films are uniformly excellent, in part due to the frequent presence of pixie-ish leading lady and love of his life Giulietta Masina. In this film, Masina plays Cabiria, a lady of the night looking for true love whilst plying her trade on the streets of Rome. Her guard is always up, but when she meets kindly Oscar (Francois Perier), who plies her with flowers and sweet nothings, she begins to wonder if she has finally met the man who will take her away from it all. Featuring a marvellous Nino Rota score and an earthy screenplay from young Pier Paolo Pasolini (who would later explore similar territory in his own Mamma Roma), this was the Best Foreign Language Film at the 1958 Academy Awards.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Hour of the Wolf (1968 SWE): An evening of Ingmar Bergman flicks is highlighted by a rare airing of Hour of the Wolf, the closest the director ever came to making a horror film. Max von Sydow stars as artist Johan Borg, who lives with wife Alma (Liv Ullman) on a remote, windswept island in the Baltic Sea. Their neighbors are a perverse nobleman (Erland Josephson) and his hangers-on, and Johan spends his after hours seesawing between insomnia and nightmares. Much of the film takes place in the wee, wee hours of the morning, as Johan opens his soul to his wife in a failing effort to maintain his sanity, but — as in Bergman's earlier Persona — the effort fails, and he begins to experience terrifying hallucinations. Hour of the Wolf is followed at 12:45 AM by The Passion of Anna (1969), a lesser known Bergman effort featuring von Sydow, Ullman, Josephson, Bibi Andersson, and other members of the filmmaker's stock company.
Friday 06/05/09
5:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Running Man (1963 GB): For those who resent paying their insurance premiums - and who amongst us doesn't - there is Carol Reed's The Running Man, not to be confused with the Arnold Schwarzinator film of the same name. The always-dapper but much-too-thin Laurence Harvey stars as Rex Black, a professional pilot whose insurance claim is turned down by frosty Allen Cuthbertson due to coverage that expired two days prior to an accident. Enraged, Harvey and wife Stella (played by the icily beautiful Lee Remick) launch a scheme to bilk the insurance company of a very large sum of money. Unfortunately, claims adjustor Alan Bates is on the job to complicate matters for the felonious couple. John Mortimer's screenplay is a bit flat and frankly unbelievable at times, but the superb cast more than makes up for it. The film, shot in color and on location in Spain, looks gorgeous, and finally gets the widescreen airing its original Panavision framing deserves. Of especial note is The Running Man's credits sequence, which features superb work by Bond main man Maurice Binder.
10:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
Hilda Crane (1956 USA): Further adventures in pre-feminism appear on Fox this week, this time in the form of Hilda Crane, a marvelously antiquated feature written and directed by Philip Dunne. (It's often claimed that Douglas Sirk had a monopoly on this genre, but that's patently untrue.) Jean Simmons stars as Hilda, a failed career woman who moves back to her home town in hopes of rekindling her relationship with old flame Russell Burns (Guy Madison). When Russell's mother (Evelyn Varden) keels over and dies, Hilda finds the strain unbearable, and begins an affair with snooty French academic Jacques de Lisle (Jean-Pierre Aumont). There's only one option left for a woman of such low morals: suicide, but can Russell intervene in time to save her from herself? You'll want an extra hanky handy for this unapologetic tearjerker, which makes its widescreen television debut today.
6:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Saving Private Ryan (1998 USA): Here's another widescreen boob tube premiere, this time for a film that needs no introduction. It's Spielberg night on TCM, and though his best films aren't on offer tonight, at least we get "the most realistic World War II film ever made." It isn't, of course, but it's not too bad for a Spielberg picture.
7:00 PM Sundance
Duck Season (2004 MEX): Thankfully not to be confused with the wretched indie drama Bee Season, Duck Season is a much more interesting Mexican film about a day in the lives of Flamo and Moko, two Mexico City teenagers wiling away a quiet Sunday. All they have is some Coca-Cola and a video game — delightfully entitled Bush vs. Bin Laden — until 16-year-old Rita (Danny Perea) shows up and announces she needs to use their oven to bake herself a birthday cake. The film examines the yawning emotional and sexual distance between 14- and 16-year-olds, as well as the general boredom and ennui of teen existence. Shot in grainy black and white, Duck Season also airs 6/6 at 2:35 AM.
Saturday 06/06/09
6:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Sniper's Ridge (1961 USA): It's a big week in the TiVoPlex for Fox Movie Channel! Here's another rarely seen Fox production, this one a Korean War drama that deserves a better fate than to be completely forgotten. Jack Ging and former East Side Kid Stanley Clements star as Sharack and Pumphrey, a couple of dog soldiers hoping to survive the last days of the conflict. With an armistice due to take effect in two days, the GIs are looking forward to peace — but the Red Chinese hordes to their north intend to maximize their territory by launching a last minute attack. The film offers more than the standard wartime platitudes, however, and actually explores such contentious subjects as shell shock and conscientious objection, rendering Sniper's Ridge the thinking man's second feature. Unfortunately, it's airing in pan and scan.
9:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958 USA): Mickey Rooney and Tom Ewell star as Gus and Max, a pair of hapless would-be bank robbers in this mild Henry Levin-helmed comedy. Gus and Max plan to use their ill-gotten gains to purchase a racehorse, which will, they hope, then make them a fortune on the track. Guess what? Things don't turn out quite as expected. A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed is a nice little movie that should be funnier, but Ewell is always a delight to watch — even in pan and scan.
7:00 PM HBO
Tropic Thunder (2008 USA): 2008's best comedy makes its small screen debut tonight. Get ready to swallow the gravy! Also airs at 10:00 PM.
Sunday 06/07/09
1:15 PM Sundance
Derek (2008 GB): Derek Jarman was the transgressive bad boy of British film during the bleak 1980s, creating a unique blend of highly stylized gay cinema that didn't sell many tickets but took the art form into bold new directions. This documentary is a loving tribute to Jarman, who died of AIDS in 1994 at the age of 52, and features plenty of clips and archival footage collected by multi-media artist Isaac Julien, as well as narration from the great Tilda Swinton, who worked with the director on his magisterial tribute to Renaissance queer art, Caravaggio. It's a short, sharp salute to a director whose legacy of short and feature length films still holds unexplored riches for adventurous cineastes.
6:05 PM IFC
The Devil's Rejects (2005 USA): It's not much better than Rob Zombie's earlier House of 1,000 Corpses, but if you appreciate Sid Haig as much as I do, you'll still want to check out The Devil's Rejects. In this outing, Captain Spaulding (Haig) and company hit the road, bringing mayhem and mass murder to the furthest reaches of rural Texas. It's by no means great, but it is kinda fun to play spot the psychotronic guest star, including Ken Foree, Mary Woronov, P. J. Soles, Michael Berryman, and Tom Towles. It's also making its widescreen television debut this evening.
Monday 06/08/09
1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Cabin in the Cotton (1932 USA): An oft-overlooked entry in the Michael Curtiz filmography, Cabin in the Cotton offers a fascinating glimpse of Depression-era farming life. Richard Barthelmess stars as Marvin Blake, a sharecropper's son who falls in love with Madge (Bette Davis), the daughter of wicked plantation owner Lane Norwood (Berton Churchill). Marvin soon learns that her love comes with a price tag: if he's to win Madge's heart, he must first bend to the will of her father, and assist him in royally screwing his tenant farmers. Though not on a par with Jean Renoir's 1945 peasant epic The Southerner, Cabin in the Cotton is still an intriguing social document of agrarian hard times, and was also the film that made Davis a star.