TiVoPlex
By John Seal
October 19, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 10/20/09
7:30 PM Sundance
Under the Bombs (2007 FRA-LEB): I love "firsts" in the TiVoPlex, so you can imagine the breathless excitement I'm experiencing as I write this. Yep, it's our first Lebanese film! Have a cigar! Oh, I know, Under the Bombs is technically a Lebanese-French co-production — but cut it a little slack, why doncha. Directed by Beirut-born Philippe Aractingi, the film tells the story of Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat), a mother searching for her son amidst the wreckage of devastated southern Lebanon. Shi'ite Zeina has been living in exile in Dubai, but when cease fire is declared after the disastrous Israeli invasion of 2006, she returns to look for offspring Karim, left in the care of her sister in their home village, Kherbet Selem. Along to help her: Christian taxi driver Tony (Georges Khabbaz), who takes pity on her when she finds the old homestead flattened during the war. Though the plot is somewhat predictable and at times awkwardly paced, Aractingi masterfully weaves improvised scenes and documentary footage into the proceedings, rendering Under the Bombs a powerful and disturbing tale of wartime horror. Also airs 10/21 at 1:30 AM.
8:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Tingler (1959 USA): It's Shocktober — what better time to disinter one of my favorite William Castle thrillers! Though hardly in need of an introduction, The Tingler remains a firm favorite in these parts, and stars Vincent Price as Warren Chapin, a pioneering scientist working to discover that shiver-inducing thing that grips you with terror and fear. No, it's not in your head...it's a physical entity, and Chapin is determined to capture it! Co-starring cadaverous Philip Coolidge as the no-good owner of the local bijou in which The Tingler finally gets loose, this is probably the best film Castle ever directed: it's actually ever so slightly disturbing, and features the first on-screen reference to psychedelic drugs.
Wednesday 10/21/09
11:30 AM Flix
Pulse (2001 JAP): This J-horror classic appears in widescreen tonight on Flix. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Bright Future), Pulse examines the impact of Taguchi's (Kenji Mizuhashi) suicide on his surviving friends. Ghostly images and possessed computers suggest he's trying to communicate with his pals from beyond the grave — but the truth is even more disturbing, as there appears to be an overcrowding problem in the after-life. Though it's inspired countless imitations over the last decade — most of them decidedly pale and inferior — Pulse is definitely amongst the best of show. Hey, you don't resent The Beatles for indirectly spawning The Knack, do you?
2:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
As Long as They're Happy (1955 GB): This rather bland musical rom-com comes recommended only to those of us attached to the great pantheon of British character actors. Directed by J. Lee Thompson, the film stars Jack Buchanan (who?) as John Bentley, a suburban London patriarch cursed with three troublesome daughters (Jeannie Carson, Janette Scott and Susan Stephen) and the visiting American crooner (Jerry Wayne) attached to one of them. The story is as banal as it sounds, and the leads not terribly appealing, but check out the supporting cast: in addition to sex goddess Diana Dors, there's Nigel Green, Joan Sims, Richard Wattis, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Dora Bryan, Leslie Phillips, Sam Kydd, and even Norman Wisdom! That's a remarkable array of talent, and reason enough to sit through this otherwise unremarkable feature.
Thursday 10/22/09
12:10 AM HBO Signature
Kiltro (2006 CHL): A martial arts movie...from Chile? Believe it or not, Kiltro is precisely that, and it's much better than you might think. Marko Zaror stars as Zami, a mulleted muscle man who makes common cause with the Korean immigrants living in his Santiago neighborhood. They're threatened by the equally buff Kalba (Miguel Angel de Luca), who's returned home after a lengthy absence to collect a debt owed him by Teran (Man-soo Yoon) and his fellow Tae Kwon Do enthusiasts. Zaror isn't much of an actor, but he's stunt doubled for Duane "The Rock" Johnson and is an impressive physical presence; the action sequences are fairly believable and well choreographed, and the entire package is a surprisingly good effort from first time director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza. Kiltro is also very different from most of the Spanish-language productions airing on HBO Signature, and it's nice to know not every film from South America is a road movie or a relationship drama.
3:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Sin Takes a Holiday (1930 USA): Now Sin's on holiday? I hope it waited until Death got back from vacation, because it would not be cool to have them both out of the office at the same time. Basil Rathbone takes the lead in this forgotten Pathe comedy as Reggie Durant, a rake competing for the hand of stylish and sexy secretary Sylvia (Constance Bennett) whilst she vacations in Paris. Sylvia works for top-drawer lawyer Gaylord Stanton (Kenneth MacKenna) — and she's also his wife of convenience in his struggles against gold-digger Grace Lawrence (Rita la Roy). The silly if slightly naughty pre-Code story pales in comparison to the film's art deco sets and lush costumes, which made Bennett a star and turned Sin Takes a Holiday into a substantial box office hit. Look for the wonderful ZaSu Pitts as Annie, Sylvia's working girl roommate.
6:00 PM Showtime
Bound (1996 USA): Every red-blooded American he-man's favorite lesbian fantasy-thriller returns to the small screen tonight in widescreen. Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly star as Corky and Violet, lipstick lovers who also happen to be hardened cons in search of One Last Big Job to set them up for life. When the opportunity arises to grab a cool two million smackers from Violet's erstwhile boy toy Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), the pair get busy — but when mob boss Gino (Richard C. Sarafian) disappears, things get rather complicated. The first film directed by the Wachowski Brothers, Bound may be no more than a few steps removed from your typical Skinemax erotic thriller, but benefits from excellent Gershon and Tilly performances. Also airs at 9:00 PM.
6:30 PM HBO
Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags (2009 USA): New York City's legendary garment district gets the documentary treatment in this brand spanking new HBO original. Directed by reliable if unflashy filmmaker Marc Levin (Soldiers in the Army of God, Protocols of Zion), it surveys the past, present, and uncertain future of "the rag trade", which has of late been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs along with the rest of the United States. Beginning with the Triangle Factory Fire (in which HBO producer Sheila Nevins' great aunt was killed) and concluding with the outsourcing epidemic of the present day, this is a fine documentary about one of Manhattan's most fascinating ethnic and business enclaves. Also airs at 9:30 PM.
Friday 10/23/09
7:30 AM IFC
Paranoid Park (2007 USA): Time to plead ignorance — somewhere in between filming Last Days and Milk, Gus Van Sant cooked up this paean to skateboarding and manslaughter. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of Paranoid Park until I saw the title in IFC's program guide, but being a Van Sant joint, it's bound to be... well, probably something rather slow, I would imagine, but something also featuring naked teenage boys who mumble a lot. And ride skateboards. Also airs at 12:05 PM and 10/24 at 2:45 AM.
3:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Law and the Lady (1951 USA): A past her prime Greer Garson stars in this slight MGM comedy about a household servant falsely accused of stealing some valuable jewelry. Greer plays maid Jane Hoskins, employed by Lady Sybil Minden (Phyllis Stanley) and suspected of nicking some diamond earrings from Her Hoity-Toityness. Jane isn't responsible, though — the guilty party is actually Lady Sybil's younger brother Nigel (Michael Wilding), who's cheesed off about losing his rightful share of the family fortune. When Nigel learns that Jane's been given the sack, he treats her to dinner, lets her wear the purloined rocks, and convinces her to go in with him on a whirlwind, world-wide con job which takes them from back-lot London to back-lot California circa the turn of the 20th Century. Garson is badly miscast as a sweet and foolish young thing, but the presence of Rhys Williams and Marjorie Main in meaty supporting roles nudge the film into worth watching territory. Incidentally, I just learned that some people don't like Marjorie Main. What's up with that?
Saturday 10/24/09
6:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Dick Tracy (1937 USA): The series' concluding chapter, Brothers United, airs this morning. I've been more than pleasantly surprised by Dick Tracy: clearly a superior chapter-play effort, it relies less on stock footage than most of its peers and includes impressive location shots of the San Francisco Bay area, decent special effects, and of course Ralph Byrd in the title role. No other actor ever came close to matching Byrd's physical resemblance to the granite-jawed comic book dick — I'm looking at you in particular, Warren Beatty.
5:00 PM HBO
Milk (2008 USA): Milk — it does a body politic good! The aforementioned Gus Van Sant returned to the cinema mainstream (well, relatively speaking) with this first-rate feature about Harvey Milk, the groundbreaking gay San Francisco-by-way-of-New-York politician. Sean Penn delivers a remarkable Academy Award-winning performance as Milk, and he's ably supported by Josh Brolin as Twinkie-killer Dan White and Emile Hirsch as activist Cleve Jones. Even your homophobic relatives might enjoy this film — especially considering the major competition tonight is over on Starz, where the execrable Paul Blart: Mall Cop is making its television debut at roughly the same time. Yeah, next to Kevin James, that rainbow flag is gonna start looking pretty good to Uncle Cletus and Aunt Brandine. Also airs at 8:00 PM.
Sunday 10/25/09
9:00 PM Sundance
Victim (1999 HK): Director Ringo Lam was once one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema thanks to his stylish crime films (City on Fire) and martial arts crowd pleasers (Double Dragon). He's gone off the boil since then, but never lost the touch entirely, as evidenced by this thriller about a computer engineer who's kidnapped and tortured by...who? It's up to Detective Pit (Tony Leung Ka Fai) to ferret out the responsible party, and in the meantime, poor and unfortunately named victim Manson (Ching Wan Lau) seems to be losing his marbles, to say the least. Lam is only semi-successful in his attempts to blend crime and horror tropes into the proceedings, but Victim is never less than engrossing and features plenty of effective spooky bits.
Monday 10/26/09
4:25 PM Sundance
Dreams With Sharp Teeth (2008 USA): I haven't seen this documentary about science-fiction author Harlan Ellison, and I can't recall ever having read any of the man's books, but you know a film entitled Dreams With Sharp Teeth is going to catch my eye and earn a TiVoPlex mention. An IMDb reviewer wrote "even if you don't know a thing about him (Ellison), it's funny and revealing of human nature", and the film features an original soundtrack by, of all people, folk-rock pioneer Richard Thompson. On the other hand, Robin Williams is one of the featured talking heads...so you've been warned.
10:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Valentino (1977 USA): Ballet star Rudolf Nureyev stars as silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino in this historically inaccurate Ken Russell biopic. Using the actor's 1926 funeral as its starting point, the film proceeds to detail Valentino's career on screen, in jail, and in bed — ESPECIALLY in bed — for two distressingly bland hours. Valentino was never a great actor — he got by primarily on looks and mystique — so in that respect, first-time screen thesp Nureyev was perfectly cast, but the film lacks the erotic charge of the best Russell films and plods along like a dirty old man in a brand new raincoat. Regardless, Valentino's supporting cast is impressive — there's Seymour Cassel, Carol Kane, Linda Thorson, Anton Diffring, and even Bowery Boy Huntz Hall as producer Jesse Lasky! — and the film is making its widescreen television debut this evening.