TiVoPlex
By John Seal
June 22, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 06/23/09
9:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Road House (1948 USA): You can't get a much better screen pairing than Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark, which of course is exactly what's on offer in this above average noir from director Jean Negelusco. Widmark plays Jefty Robbins, the manager of an upscale bowling joint in need of a new entertainer to keep the booze hounds happy, drinking, and, presumably, out of the gutter (ball). He hires husky-voiced chanteuse Lily Stevens (Lupino) against the advice of his boss (Cornel Wilde), but soon regrets the decision when a bizarre love triangle develops amongst the trio. Who will strike out — and who will split for Canada? Tune in to find out, and be sure to have your two-tone bowling shoes on.
4:00 PM Sundance
The Balanda and the Bark Canoes (2006 AUS): I overlooked this documentary last week when it aired immediately following the American television premiere of the Aboriginal feature Ten Canoes. Sorry ‘bout that, as it's the logical companion piece for that film, and would make a great DVD "extra" (if it hasn't already served duty in that role). The Balanda and the Bark Canoes provides deep background for director Rolf de Heer's production, with particular emphasis on negotiations between the crew and the Aboriginal peoples of remote Arnhem Land, who quite naturally have concerns whenever outsiders try to portray their culture on film. Happily, those concerns were successfully allayed, and the puckish, pseudo-Herzogian Ten Canoes was the result. (And if you're wondering, "Balanda" is a word used by Aborigines to describe non-indigenous Australians.)
Wednesday 06/24/09
5:00 PM HBO2
Be Like Others (2008 CAN-IRA): Cows...in Berkeley? For many years, that was the tagline for a brand of milk produced and sold here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Which somewhat circuitously brings me to Be Like Others, which could, perhaps, be promoted with the tagline: Sex Change Operations...in Iran? That conjures fantastical images on a par with bovine ruminants grazing peacefully on Sproul Plaza, but it's also the subject of this Canadian documentary. I haven't seen it yet, but — the recent turmoil in the Islamic Republic notwithstanding — it can only add further nuance to our sometimes wilfully stubborn refusal to accept and understand the complexities of life in that highly educated and heavily urbanized nation. Also airs at 8:00 PM.
7:00 PM Sundance
Eros (2004 USA-ITA-HK): A trio of thematically linked stories, each one directed by a master of cinema, are collected in this mildly erotic anthology. First up is Wong Kar-Wai's The Hand, in which the ever-radiant Gong Li portrays Hua, a high-rent lady of the night who encounters quiet but hunky tailor Zhang (Chang Chen) at an, ahem, business meeting. Zhang has been hired to create a fabulous new outfit for Hua, but gets distracted by the strangely arousing noises being made behind closed doors, and an unusual aide memoire seals their new relationship. Wong's segment is followed by Steven Soderbergh's Equilibrium, featuring Robert Downey Jr. (here in white face) as a psychiatric patient whose ramblings fail to hold the attention of his therapist (Alan Arkin), who is constantly distracted by someone, or something, just outside his window. Eros concludes with Michaelangelo Antonioni's The Dangerous Thread of Things, a loose-limbed shaggy dog tale about a wayward husband and his sexy adventures in the park. On balance, Eros is a pretty decent effort, but the results vary wildly: whilst the first two segments represent the work of two brilliant filmmakers at the height of their powers, the last was Antonioni's final film, and to be blunt, it's not something he'll be remembered for.
Thursday 06/25/09
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
La Strada (1954 ITA): Federico Fellini's picaresque tale of itinerant entertainers returns to the small screen after an absence of almost six years. Anthony Quinn stars as Zampano, a circus strongman who brings his act to the masses via his motorcycle-hauled caravan. Zampano needs a helping hand, and finds it in the form of Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), a waif on the cusp of womanhood sold to him by her desperately poor mother. She's not the sharpest nail in the tool-chest, and he treats her with a mixture of contempt and cruelty, but Gelsomina manages to make the most of her miserable existence and brings a measure of stability to Zampano's life — until the two hook up with a traveling circus and lock horns with its star attraction, The Fool (Richard Basehart). One of the most important films of the post-war period, La Strada helped kick off America's love affair with the foreign language film — an affair that would burn brightly until the late 1970s, when Spielberg and Lucas would return the big budget blockbuster to center stage and suck the air out of the rep house business model.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Juliet of the Spirits (1965 ITA): Normally, I would piggy-back my recommendation for this film with La Strada, but Juliet of the Spirits is too big, too beautiful, and too important to play second fiddle to anything. It's a film that deserves and rewards multiple viewings, scene-by-scene (and sometimes frame-by-frame) analysis, and a hearty appreciation for surrealism. Giulietta Masina is perfect as the middle-aged woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, trying to decide if husband Mario Pisu is cheating on her. Director Federico Fellini's camera flatters Masina (his real life wife) at every turn, in sharp contrast to the outrageously costumed and made-up likes of Sylva Koscina and Valentina Cortese. Hints of the macabre are laced throughout, in anticipation of Fellini's own Satyricon (1969) and countless Italian horror films of the '70s. I pose two questions: what is the significance of the very frequent facial shots of characters that are shrouded in shadow? And is the split-second shot of a David Hemmings look-alike, complete with camera, some sort of psychic forecast of what Michelangelo Antonioni would be filming in Blowup (1966)? Watch the film, and submit your answers to the usual address!
Friday 06/26/09
12:30 AM HBO Signature
Hard as Nails (2007 USA): Credit where credit is due: "youth minister" Justin Fatica found a market niche for himself, and is milking it for all it's worth. Fatica is a "born again" Catholic from a VERY wealthy family who got into all sorts of trouble as a teenager and then turned it into a brand during his 20s. Now he lives a comfortable existence of his own whilst abusing impressionable teenagers with his Hard as Nails Ministry, which seems to involve tremendous amounts of shouting, violence (in one scene, he seems to be kicking one of his students; in another, he allows someone to hammer him repeatedly on the back with a folding chair), and abuse of "the other" disguised as empathy. This film is completely non-judgemental, but Justin's borderline psychotic behavior and poor little rich bad-boy schtick tells you everything you need to know about this New Jersey Elmer Gantry. Fascinating and deeply disturbing.
10:00 AM Sundance
The Situation (2006 USA): The war in Iraq hasn't had much in the way of fictional movie treatment yet, but here's an indie effort that tries to make sense out of the mess in Mesopotamia. Dane Connie Nielsen (Brothers) stars as war reporter Anna Molyneux, a hard-working newshound willing to don the chador and niqab in order to scoop the story. In this case, the story involves American troops chucking Iraqi boys off a bridge, but Anna's main squeeze Dan (Damian Lewis) is a CIA operative who'd rather she write about the "good news" instead. The Situation does a decent job conveying the (very unfun) funhouse mirror state of affairs in Iraq, where today's good guys were yesterday's insurgents and it's virtually impossible to know who you can really trust.
Saturday 06/27/09
7:00 PM Sundance
The Witnesses (2007 FRA): I haven't seen this Andre Techine film yet, but apparently, it's an ensemble piece about the reactions and responses of a group of Parisians to the AIDS epidemic circa 1984. Its reputation is mixed, but the presence of Emmanuelle Beart and Michel Blanc render it of interest to admirers of Gaullish cinema.
Monday 06/29/09
5:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Deadly Affair (1967 GB): A somewhat underdone Cold War thriller from director Sidney Lumet, The Deadly Affair has a super Quincy Jones score and a fine cast to recommend it. James Mason stars as Charles Dobbs, an intelligence operative working on behalf of Her Majesty's government and assigned to investigate the death of a diplomat. The death looks like a suicide, but Dobbs suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye, and as sure as you can say John Le Carre Cashes Another Royalty Cheque, he's proven right. Co-starring Maximilian Schell, Simone Signoret, Harry Andrews, Harriet Andersson, and Lynn Redgrave, the film is well acted if a wee bit on the dull and grey side.
6:00 PM HBO
Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009 USA): I haven't had the opportunity to pre-screen this brand spanking new HBO original documentary, but early reviews suggest it's an important film examining contemporary free speech issues and the Constitution's most important amendment, numero uno, in light of the PATRIOT Act and other efforts to censor speech. The list of interview subjects, ranging from Ward Churchill to David Horowitz, suggests that free speech really shouldn't be an ideological issue. And judging from the chilling and suppressive tactics of both Bush and Obama, it isn't... also airs at 9:00 PM.
6:00 PM Sundance
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2006 USA): An important fixture in the New York City music scene for almost two decades, late composer Arthur Russell gets his due in this informative and entertaining doc from Brooklyn-born neophyte filmmaker Matt Wolf. Russell was a Zelig-like presence in the Big Apple throughout the 1970s, leaving his mark on the disco, no wave, punk, and avant music scenes before his death from AIDS in 1992. Featuring interviews from poet Allen Ginsberg, composer Philip Glass, singer-songwriter Jens Lekman, and many others (including Russell's parents), Wild Combination underscores the brilliance and breadth of the man's talents.