TiVoPlex
By John Seal
June 29, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 06/30/09
10:00 PM Sundance
Lake of Fire (2007 USA): Sight unseen, I was apprehensive and a little scared of Lake of Fire. Directed by the prickly Tony Kaye (American History X), it's an abortion documentary with a difference: it presents both sides' opinions and doesn't flinch in its depiction of the abortion procedure itself. That's probably why I avoided this two and a half hour feature during its theatrical run, but braver critics — such as Dave Poland and Roger Ebert — did the dirty work for me and gave Lake of Fire extremely high marks. Now that I've finally had the gumption to watch it, I concur: it's a powerful and emotionally engaging feature, but it DOES feature blunt and graphic abortion footage that will render it beyond the pale for more sensitive viewers. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, however, you will know and understand more about it after watching Lake of Fire.
Wednesday 07/01/09
4:00 AM Flix
BMX Bandits (1983 AUS): 16-year-old Nicole Kidman stars in this fairly dreadful kiddie adventure flick about the wacky world of bicycle motocross. A sporting phenomenon of the 1970s and '80s, BMX racing was popular enough to inspire not only this film, but also a Scottish indie pop super group of the same name. Though only achieving moderate success, the group are still a going concern, whilst the film has been all but forgotten - 'til now! Kidman plays Judy, a teenage pal of two BMX enthusiasts who stumble upon a plot to rob a bank and, with the help of their trusty velocipedes, assist the authorities in tracking down the miscreants responsible. It all plays like an ever so slightly off color Disney movie (The Computer Wore Cycling Shorts, perhaps?), and makes its widescreen American television debut this evening. And for those who can't get enough of the off-road action, BMX Bandits airs again at 5:00 PM.
8:00 PM Sundance
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2004 GB): Shane Meadow's mordant comedy drama teeters into overly-cute territory from time to time, but ultimately it's one of the best British films of recent vintage, accurately capturing the atmosphere of suburban working-class life without straying too far into Mike Leigh or Ken Loach territory. In other words, Meadows is very much his own filmmaker, with a distinctly different (and less political) take on modern British life than the aforementioned auteurs. Starring Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle as bad lad Jimmy, a Nottingham exile returning to his home town to win back the heart of lady love Shirley Henderson, the film also features Notting Hill gurner Rhys Ifans in a rare straight role as Henderson's new paramour. The film's title and setting offer tribute to the spaghetti-western genre (in recent years, Nottingham has been the scene of a long simmering gang war), but Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is at heart a typically low-key British film, its well-crafted story blessed by solid performances from all concerned, including Ifans, helium-voiced Henderson, and the always fine Kathy Burke, here cast as Henderson's best friend and confidante. Look for director Meadows and co-writer Paul Frasor in a bingo-hall scene. Also airs 7/2 at 12:30 AM.
Thursday 07/02/09
8:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Li'l Abner (1959 USA): As I've probably mentioned once or twice before, I am not a fan of 1950s musicals. The tunes tend to be too syrupy for my liking, and though the dance sequences are generally well-choreographed, they also aren't anywhere near as much fun as, say, the equivalent scenes in Gold Diggers of 1933 or 42nd Street. Li'l Abner, though...that's a different kettle of fish. Based on Al Capps' popular long running cartoon strip of the same name, Li'l Abner had already been turned into a successful Broadway show and was a natural for the big screen. Written and directed by Melvin Frank, the film features many of the original stage production's cast, but it's the script that pushes it into must-see tee-vee territory. A wickedly subversive look at '50s society, the film has fun at the expense of the redneck residents of Dogpatch, U.S.A., but also offers a takedown of their well-spoken betters, including the military men who want to evacuate Dogpatch and utilize the town as an atomic testing site. Acting highlights include Bern Hoffman's performance as hulking Earthquake McGoon, Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam, and the incomparable Al Nesor as zoot-suited con man Evil Eye Fleagle. Shot in widescreen and in eye-popping Technicolor, Li'l Abner is a delight from start to finish — especially for those of us who wouldn't get within a country mile of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
1:20 PM Encore Dramatic Stories
Wanted: Dead or Alive (1987 USA): A sequel of sorts to the excellent, Steve McQueen-starring television series of the same name, Wanted: Dead or Alive is a brainless time killer that manages to provide decent entertainment value whilst also playing to some rather malicious and unfortunate racial stereotypes. Rutger Hauer is Nick Randall, the great-grandson of McQueen's character, who must come out of espionage retirement to stop the deadly activities of Arab terrorist Malak Al Rahim (Knights In Satan's Service rocker Gene Simmons). Al Rahim doesn't seem to have much in the way of motivation, but as we are taught from an early age, Arabs just like to blow stuff up, so who needs back story? Incidentally, I find it quite interesting that Jewish and/or Israeli actors are frequently cast as Arabic killers in movies of this ilk — there's an interesting film studies thesis lurking hereabouts! Anyhoo, if you can overlook the stereotypes and appreciate the film as a broad, silly thriller, you'll probably enjoy it. Look for Robert Guillaume as one of Randall's fellow CIA operatives.
7:00 PM Sundance
Apres Lui (2003 FRA): Catherine Deneuve stars in this intense French drama from director Gael Morel. Deneuve plays Camille, a bookseller and loving mother who loses her young adult son in a car wreck and begins to obsess about his (still living) best friend Franck (Thomas Dumerchez). Camille wants to help Franck, and hires the lad to work in her shop, but things get out of hand when she decides to stalk him during his holiday in Portugal. Deneuve is excellent and the film features impressive cinematography from Jean-Max Bernard, but its tale of Oedipal Complex by Proxy probably isn't for everyone. Also airs 7/6 at 12:45 AM.
Friday 07/03/09
8:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Our Man Flint (1966 USA): The film that made James Coburn a matinee idol, Our Man Flint is one of many tongue in cheek secret agent action-comedies of the 1960s. Coburn is Derek Flint, America's greatest clandestine operative, here assigned by ZOWIE chief Cramden (Lee J. Cobb, who seems to suffer an aneurysm in every scene) to stymie a plot to permanently alter the planet's climate. Derek Flint, where are you when we REALLY need you! Sent to Moscow to ostensibly teach ballet at the Bolshoi, Flint is actually more interested in his cover than in his mission, and it's not until enemy agents try to kill him that he really engages with the task at hand: saving the planet from ecological disaster. If you are familiar with the beer ads featuring "the most interesting man in the world", that character could have been based on Flint, who can also perform surgery and instantly solve complex equations in between his between the sheets adventures. It's delightful popcorny fun, and is followed at 10:30 AM by sequel In Like Flint (1967), in which our hero must stop a group of wicked women from conquering the planet and turning it into the galaxy's largest catwalk. Or something.
Saturday 07/04/09
1:00 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977 USA): I wish this film had been made either ten years earlier or ten years later. Why? Because the producers didn't ante up for good period detail, and the film looks like what it is: a lurid 1970s take on the misadventures of America's number one lawman. That means that everyone's hair is unkempt or too long, and their clothes reek of polyester. But at least writer-director Larry Cohen (Phone Booth, Q) got the film made, and outside of the late 1970s, there haven't been too many windows of opportunity for a film detailing FBI dirty tricks. A beyond-well-past-his-prime Broderick Crawford plays the maniacal Hoover, who parlayed his success taking out Depression-era gangsters into a 40-year career tracking down commies, political "subversives", drug addicts, and homosexuals — all whilst home-making with his second-in-command, Clyde Tolson (Dan Dailey), and indulging in cross-dressing fantasies. Cohen managed to wangle his way into FBI headquarters for some location footage, lending the film a patina of official approval it definitely didn't have. All things considered (and period detail aside), it's a pretty good film, and co-stars Jose Ferrer, Rip Torn, and Howard da Silva.
5:00 PM HBO
Burn after Reading (2008 USA): Despite the fact that this Coen Brothers comedy played for several weeks at the neighbourhood bijou a mere ten minute walk from my house, I still managed to miss it. That's primarily due to the presence of my arch nemesis, Brad Pitt, in the cast, but Burn after Reading is making its television debut this evening, and as a long-standing member of the Coen fan club, I'd better make time for it now. In addition to Pitt, the film's cast includes George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and John Malkovich, so the news isn't all bad. Also airs at 8:00 PM and throughout the month.
Sunday 07/05/09
7:00 AM IFC
Johnny Gaddaar (2007 IND): Tired of IFC repeating the same ol' samurai movies over and over and over again? Time to rejoice! No, they don't have any new samurai flicks for us, but they do launch a series of recent Bollywood features this month, kicking off with this hugely successful crime drama based on a novel by British expat James Hadley Chase. Johnny Gaddaar (Johnny Slick) stars Dharmendra as Seshadri, the elderly ringleader of an elaborate five-man plot that will earn him and his co-conspirators untold ill-gotten riches. The plan involves swapping a McGuffin for vast quantities of cash on a train, and naturally, things don't go quite as planned. Well-acted, beautifully shot, and completely bereft of songs (!), Johnny Gaddaar is good, twisty fun from start to finish.
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Mockery (1927 USA): Put Lon Chaney together with brilliant Swedish director Bernard Christiansen, and what do you get? Surprisingly, a somewhat bland costume drama set in Imperial Russia. Chaney portrays Sergei, a peasant who lucks into a gig serving noblewoman Countess Tatiana Alexandrova (Barbara Bedford). Sergei loves his mistress, but resents her suitor, handsome Cossack Dimitri (Ricardo Cortez), and doesn't disguise the fact very well. Will Sergei fall under the spell of the Reds in the servants' quarters — or will he expose their nefarious scheming against the Empire? Lavishly produced by MGM, Mockery is one of Chaney's more obscure extant features, and makes its TCM debut this evening on Silent Sunday Night. It's far from the great actor's best, but absolutely essential viewing for his legion of fans, as the film is unavailable on home video.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Crazed Fruit (1956 JAP): For those who enjoyed Nagisa Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth, here's another film about raging teenage hormones in post-war Japan. Directed by Ko Nakahira (best known for directing the Rica films), Crazed Fruit stars Yujiro Ishihara and Masahiko Tsugara as brothers Natsuhisa and Haruji, a couple of spoiled rich kids who spend their copious free time water skiing, gambling, and chasing skirts. Trouble arrives in the shapely shape of Eri (Mie Kitahara), and the lads soon find themselves competing for her, only to discover that she harbors a deep, dark, and potentially very shameful secret. The film was very controversial in its time, and while the intervening decades have softened its impact, it still looks terrific and offers fascinating insight into the changes wrought on Japanese society by the American occupation.
Monday 07/06/09
4:30 AM Sundance
The Man Who Became King (2007 CAN): Adongo Adaga was just another Sudanese exile living in Canada at the turn of the 21st century, until he received word that he was needed back home. This compelling documentary takes a look at the challenges facing Adaga, who desperately wanted to relocate his family from his homeland to the Great White North but was instead called to serve as the king of a tribe in his native Southern Sudan. A large tribe of several hundred thousand subsistence farmers, the Anyuak needed him to settle outstanding issues, such as their strained relationship with neighboring tribes and the difficulties faced by their fellow Anyuak across the border in Ethiopia. The film focuses on Adaga's efforts to balance the needs of his people with the needs and safety of his immediate family, and his grace under pressure should be a lesson for us all.
6:00 PM Sundance
Obscene (2007 USA): In 1951, a man named Barney Rosset purchased tiny Grove Press and turned it into one of the most important (and perhaps the most controversial) of all American publishing houses. This is his story. Rosset would publish Lady Chatterley's Lover, Tropic of Cancer, and many other pieces of literature deemed "obscene" at the time and was constantly tied up in litigation for his troubles. Rosset is still with us, and though he no longer owns Grove, he still has plenty of opinions to share regarding his days as the bad boy of belle lettres. In addition, Obscene features interview footage with such literary luminaries as Jim Carroll, Erica Jong, Gore Vidal, and the ubiquitous non-literary (though quite literate) John Waters.