TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, July 7, 2009 through Monday, July 13, 2009
By John Seal
July 6, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 07/07/09
9:00 PM Sundance
The Last Mistress (2007 FRA): REALLY, Governor Sanford? You're sure about that? You don't have one last, super-secret, do-not-break-glass-except-in-case-of-emergency mistress lurking somewhere in Central Asia, perhaps? No, this isn't a film about the amorous adventures of South Carolina's favorite son, but a sumptuous and erotic frock flick from bad girl director Catherine Breillat. I'm not usually keen on costume dramas, but this one features Asia Argento in the lead role of Vellini, a lovely but loose lass apparently sleeping with half the noblemen of Paris circa 1835. As in most Breillat films, the sex is the crux of the story and the meat of the matter, with Vellini getting her kit off with regularity for plenty of healthy humping with the likes of Ryno (Fu'ad Ait Aottou), a hunky party boy engaged to wed moneyed hottie Hermangarde (Sheitan's Roxane Mesquida). But don't worry — Argento draws the line at bonking septuagenarian co-star Michael Lonsdale, here essaying the role of the Viscount of Prony, who enjoys a good nosh more than a roll in the hay. If you're a fan of Breillat or Italian director Tinto Brass, you won't be disappointed by The Last Mistress.
Wednesday 07/08/09
10:50 AM Starz
The Wackness (2008 USA): Here's a film I would have overlooked if not for the goofy title. Drug abuse and ‘90s nostalgia aren't exactly my cup(s) of tea, so I have reservations about recommending The Wackness, which — if you haven't already guessed — I haven't seen yet. The cast, however, intrigues: this is surely the only film to feature onscreen appearances by Ben Kingsley, Method Man, Jane Adams, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Bob Dishy. Oh, and some guy named Josh Peck, who was once a star on Nickelodeon and now makes a living voice acting in those Ice Age movies. Also airs at 1:50 PM.
8:00 PM Sundance
Hotel Very Welcome (2007 GER): Its title may be grammatically awkward, but this episodic comedy-drama from Germany is still worth a look. Directed by Sonja Heiss, Hotel Very Welcome spotlights five westerners as they traipse across the vastnesses of Asia, stopping every now and then to befriend the locals, take snapshots, and get drunk. Ricky Champ and Gareth Llewellyn are particularly noteworthy as a pair of chavs who encounter difficulties after the money — and the women — run out. This is a low-key, low-budget charmer that won't change your life, but will entertain you without insulting your intelligence for an hour and a half. Also airs 7/9 at 12:45 AM.
9:00 PM IFC
From Hell (2001 USA): Johnny Depp notwithstanding, I'm not an admirer of this dull retelling of the Jack the Ripper story. From Hell's reliance on a palette of rust browns is stuffy and claustrophobic, whilst the facts of the case are frequently ignored in favor of some of the silliest and most overheated theories posited by Ripper fanboys. I know, I know...it's based on a comic book, but I still can't forgive the film its historical liberties. Nevertheless, From Hell makes its widescreen television debut this evening, and as it was shot in 2.35:1, I think it behooves me (and you) to give it another chance.
10:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
My Name is Julia Ross (1948 USA): A decent if threadbare thriller from noir specialist Joseph H. Lewis, My Name is Julia Ross stars Nina Foch as the title character, a young woman hired for secretarial work by Cornwall widow Mrs. Hughes (Dame May Whitty). Julia's terms of employment include live-in accommodations, and after a day on the job and a good night's sleep, Julia awakens to discover that her wardrobe, possessions, and personality have all been sent down the memory hole — and that she is actually Marian, wife of Ralph (George Macready), the oily smooth heir to the Hughes estate. Is "Julia" a figment of Marian's imagination — or is she actually a pawn in a strange game being played by the Hughes family? Clocking in at barely more than an hour, My Name is Julia Ross plays like a prototype for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series, which is high praise in my book.
Thursday 07/09/09
2:30 AM Encore Action
Sheba, Baby (1975 USA): Pam Grier's career highlights — Coffy and Foxy Brown — are cable and satellite staples at this point, but this black action feature gets considerably less exposure. It makes a rare small screen appearance early this morning, and features the buxom Grier as Sheba Shayne, a Kentucky gal working as a private dick in Chicago until problems compel her return to the Bluegrass state. Sheba's dad (Rudy Challenger) is a successful businessman, but local thugs are trying to muscle in on his turf — and it's up to Sheba and beefcake sidekick Brick (Austin Stoker) to put righteous boot in gangster ass. Co-starring reliable D'Urville Martin as the main baddie, Sheba, Baby is neither as good nor as outrageous as Coffy, but is still required viewing for fans of the so-called "blaxploitation" genre.
3:05 AM IFC
Peppermint Frappe (1967 ESP): Here's something truly exciting: the American television premiere of an early film from Carlos Saura, later to achieve art-house fame in the '80s with Carmen and El Amor Brujo. Peppermint Frappe stars Geraldine Chaplin as Ana, a shy, withdrawn nurse working in the radiology lab of Doctor Julian (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez). Julian visits his old chum Pablo (Alfredo Mayo), and discovers that he's married to Elena (Chaplin again), who bears a striking resemblance to Ana but is considerably more, ahem, outgoing. Inspired by a childhood memory of a woman beating a drum, Julian unsuccessfully tries to woo sexy Elena away from Pablo — and when he fails, refocuses his efforts on Ana, whose proximity and personality make her much more malleable. Often compared to the films of Bunuel (to whom Peppermint Frappe is dedicated) and to Hitchcock's Vertigo, Saura's film uses surreal imagery to undercut the pious mythology of Franco-era Spain. It's yet to earn a DVD release, so you really don't want to miss this broadcast. Also airs at 8:30 AM and 1:45 PM.
7:00 PM Sundance
The Killing of John Lennon (2007 GB): I missed The Killing of John Lennon during its cinema run, and judging from its pathetic box office take, you did, too. (In fact, it did so poorly that it likely won't turn a profit even AFTER taking ancillary income into account.) The film generally received scathing reviews and was described by critics as "fatuous", "exploitative", and "baffling", amongst other generous words of praise. Being a huge Beatles fan, however, I can't help but be drawn to director Andrew Piddington's Mark Chapman biopic, no matter how distasteful the subject matter. If you're another Fab Four or Lennon obsessive, chances are you'll probably also want to take a sideways glance. Also airs 7/10 at 12:30 AM.
Friday 07/10/09
7:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Good Bad Girl (1931 USA): Who could resist such a title? The Good Bad Girl is an incredibly obscure Columbia second feature starring Mae Clarke as Marcia, a gangster's moll trying to leave her sordid past behind in favour of a white picket fence in front. That doesn't sit well with lover Dan Tyler (Robert Ellis), who threatens to kill her, and after Marcia takes an unscheduled trip to Philadelphia to wed straight arrow Bob (James Hall) he does his damnedest to follow up on the threat. This is a fairly typical early talkie with the usual drawbacks (stagy scenes, poor sound), but director Roy William Neill does his best to spruce up the material and Clarke is good.
Saturday 07/11/09
11:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
Space Master X-7 (1958 USA): Deadly space fungus invades Earth in this rather lame Ed Bernds helmed sci-fier. Bill Williams and Robert Ellis (no, not the one from The Good Bad Girl!) are the lucky fellows who must remove the fungus among us and return planet Earth to its normal state of near catastrophic semi-equilibrium. Space Master X-7 sadly airs in pan and scan this morning, but watch out for Paul Frees and Moe Howard in small roles!
6:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
In the French Style (1963 USA): An evening of Jean Seberg films is highlighted by this rare drama based on a pair of Irwin Shaw short stories. The lovely Seberg stars as Christina James, an American art student in Paris who falls for teenage lothario Guy (Philippe Forquet), then dumps him in favor of journo Beddoes (Stanley Baker), who spends most of his time flying off to scoop stories in exotic and distant locales. Their relationship is, in turn, strained when Christina's father (Addison Powell) shows up and tries to convince her to return to her family in the good ol' U.S. of A, where respectability and marriage await. The film's narrative echoes aspects of Seberg's own life: she had lived on the continent for several years after her unpleasant stateside experiences with director Otto Preminger and wasn't real keen to go back any time soon. Though In the French Style doesn't stray too far from the Hollywood playbook, Seberg is always a pleasure to watch, and Michel Kelber's evocative black and white cinematography does a fine job capturing Parisian night life. It's a shame TCM couldn't dig up some even more obscure Seberg rarities, such as Who's Got the Black Box? or The Corruption of Chris Miller, but this will do.
Sunday 07/12/09
4:20 AM HBO
Hamlet 2 (2008 USA): Steve Coogan plays a failed, full-of-himself stage actor exiled to Tucson high school work in this comedy written and directed by Andrew Fleming (Dick, The Craft). Somehow my teenage son ended up seeing this on the big screen and I missed it, which is pretty odd considering how much I love Coogan and how much his mother loves the Bard of Avon. I blame David Tennant — after seeing the former Doctor Who portray Hamlet at the RSC during the summer of 2008, we must have been burned out on paranoid Danes. Also airs at 7:20 AM.
7:00 AM IFC
Ghajini (2008 IND): This Indian thriller features a score by Slumdog Millionaire composer A.R. Rahman and a storyline cribbed from Christopher Nolan's Memento. With pedigree like that, you'd think it would be worth a glance, and you'd be right. Ghajini features Aamir Khan (one of the cricketers in Lagaan) as Sanjay, a telecom business exec who has a bad habit of forgetting himself and, on occasion, turning into a violence-prone macho man named Sachin. Khan is very good, as is Pradeep Rawat as the titular villain bringing pain and suffering into Sanjay's life. Unlike last week's Bollywood feature Johnny Gaddaar, Ghajini features song and dance routines and clocks in at a healthy three hours and three minutes, so admirers of the more traditional Bollywood style are well served.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Night of the Hunter (1991 USA): Did YOU know there was a 1991 remake of this classic film with Richard Chamberlain cast in the Robert Mitchum role? Neither did I, and it's surely (sight unseen!) one of the most pointless and unnecessary remakes of all time. Apparently produced by the ABC television network, this Night of the Hunter's only possible claim on your time is the presence of 85-year-old Burgess Meredith in the cast. Not much doubt about where this will fall on the LOVE/HATE spectrum.
9:00 PM Encore Action
Slaughter (1973 USA): Former football player Jim Brown stars as ex-Green Beret Slaughter, hired by the feds to take out the Mexican mafia, in this violent but very watchable thriller. Slaughter has a long-standing dysfunctional relationship with the mob — they killed his parents — and he's happy to take on the assignment. Gunplay and fisticuffs ensue. Also in on the fun: Cameron Mitchell as the racist G-man who ropes Slaughter into the assignment, Rip Torn as the even more racist capo di tuti capi who ordered the hit, and Stella Stevens as the color-blind moll who dumps Rip for Jim. It's slam bang AIP fun, and is followed at 10:35 PM by sequel Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, which relocates the proceedings to Los Angeles to similar effect whilst replacing Torn with Ed McMahon (!) as head bad guy.
Monday 07/13/09
12:10 AM Encore Action
The Savage Seven (1968 USA): Encore Action continues to hit on all cylinders with a rare airing of this unusual biker flick from director Richard Rush (The Stunt Man). Robert Walker Jr. stars as Native American Johnny Blue Eyes, a working man minding his own affairs and earning a living somewhere in the California desert. His bucolic existence is upset by the arrival of a gang of filthy bikers, led by Kisum (Adam Roarke), who hates Indians almost as much as he loves drinking beer and pissing on other guy's leather jackets. Not only that, he has the hots for Johnny's sister Marcia (Joanna Frank), and pretty soon an all-out race war looms on the horizon. A fine supporting cast, including Duane Eddy, John Cardos, Max Julien, and Billy Green Bush render The Savage Seven a superior hog homily.
8:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Undercover Man (1949 USA): Nina Foch reunited with Joseph H. Lewis for this obscure police procedural headlined by Glenn Ford. This time out, Nina plays Judith, the loyal wife of treasury agent Frank Warren (Ford). Frank has been assigned to bust a mysterious villain known as The Big Fellow for tax evasion, and as he gets nearer to his goal, the danger increases for Judy, who becomes a convenient target for the bad guy's henchmen. Will Frank back down — or will he listen to the wise words of Granny Maria (Esther Minciotti), who regales him with tales of Grandpa's courageous face-off with the Mafia back in the old country? Mamma mia!