TiVoPlex
By John Seal
December 7, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 12/08/09
9:40 AM Encore Westerns
Return of Sabata (1972 ITA-FRA): Did you miss him? Not only is Sabata back, but he's changed his wardrobe and grooming considerably since his 1971 appearance in Adios, Sabata. In that film he was a chrome-domed man in black played by Yul Brynner - in this one, he's a thin moustachio'd chappie in a suit and tie played by Lee Van Cleef. The results aren't all that dissimilar, though...Return of Sabata is a fairly routine but enjoyable spaghetti oater in which our hero takes on a greedy businessman (Giampiero Albertini) looking to plunder the wealth of tiny Hobsonville, USA. Directed by western veteran Gianfranco Parolini, Return of Sabata also airs at 11:10 PM.
8:00 PM Sundance
Secret of the Grain (2007 FRA): Ah, the humble peasant epic. No, I don't mean an epic film about humble peasants...I mean the film itself, which is usually abrim with peasants of varying temperaments, lazy fields of wheat wafting in the breeze, and sex with farm animals. No, I've never fully recovered from that scene in Tree of Wooden Clogs where the 12-year-old boy chokes - sorry, pokes - the chicken. As for Secret of the Grain, well, it's not actually a peasant epic at all, but an industrial working class one about an elderly shipyard worker (Habib Boufares) trying to keep on keeping one against increasingly long odds. At 151 minutes in length, you'll need to activate the Magic Fingers in your La-Z-Boy to make it all the way to the end of the film, which was a monster hit on the festival circuit and also cleaned up at the Cesars. In its original French, the title is La Graine et le Mulet. Git ‘er done!
Wednesday 12/09/09
3:20 AM More Max
Double Indemnity (1973 USA): Hello, my name is John, and I'm addicted to bad made-for-television movies, especially bad made-for-television movies that are remakes of classic films. Last week I couldn't resist writing about Brief Encounter, which was pretty bad. This week, I can't resist writing about Double Indemnity, which is even worse. Remember how good Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck were in the original? Richard Crenna and Samantha Eggar ain't MacMurray and Stanwyck, nor is director Jack Smight even in the same league as Billy Wilder. And then there's the horrible ‘70s décor...the disgusting ‘70s fashions...the appalling ‘70s hair don'ts. I'm crying out for help here folks...
5:00 PM Encore Westerns
Pancho Villa (1972 SPA): More Eurowestern excitement is on tap today courtesy this enjoyable if thoroughly fictional biopic about the great Mexican nationalist of the same name. He's played with gusto by Telly Savalas, and in this telling of the legend mixes it up with the US Cavalry, who have interfered with Villa's efforts to maintain a revolutionary army. The better than average supporting cast includes Chuck Connors, Anne Francis, and Clint Walker, and the film was directed by Eugenio Martin, also responsible for Horror Express, another vehicle Savalas made in Spain around the same time.
Thursday 12/10/09
8:25 AM Sundance
Quiet City (2007 USA): A young Atlanta woman finds herself adrift in New York City in this prime example of the Mumblecore school of filmmaking. When southern belle Jamie (Erin Fisher) relocates to the Big Apple, she ends up spending time with helpful Charlie (Cris Lankenau), who offers her a place to stay when her friend fails to meet her at a Brooklyn diner. The two proceed to spend 24 hours together talking about a variety of topics, frequently punctuating their improvised dialogue with the deservedly maligned interjection ‘like'. This is otherwise a pretty decent indie movie, but, like, I wish they wouldn't, like, rely on saying like so much. It's, like, kinda annoying. Also, like, airs at 1:30 PM.
5:00 PM Sundance
Zift (2008 BUL): Neither Zardoz nor Zotz, but Zift. Is this the first Bulgarian film I've written about in the seven plus years of TiVoPlex? I have a feeling it is. Shot in the city of Sofia and set during the 1960s, Zift tells the tale of Moth (Zahary Baharov), a convict paroled after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Imprisoned prior to Bulgaria's Communist takeover, Moth finds himself at sea in a country he doesn't understand and people who seem to have changed beyond recognition. It's a little bit noir, a little bit Lars von Trier, and impressively shot in widescreen black and white by DoP Emil Hristow. Also airs 12/11 at 12:30 AM.
Friday 12/11/09
10:00 AM HBO
Terror in Mumbai (2009 GB): This HBO original documentary premiered last month, but I missed it. Sorry. Presumably it's a companion piece to director Dan Reed's superlative 2003 effort, Terror in Moscow - so even sight unseen, it gets a strong recommendation. Also airs at 1:00 PM.
5:00 PM The Movie Channel
Stepfather II (1989 USA): Come to Daddy! While I'd be happier to report the return of the first Stepfather movie to the small screen, I can't really complain, because number two is pretty good, too. The incomparably creepy Terry O'Quinn returns as Jerry Blake, who, after serving time in a mental institution for the transgressions committed in the first film, has escaped and assumed a new identity as Dr. Gene Clifford. Doctor Gene is a marriage counsellor, and in the course of his work meets the woman with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life. But there are other people getting in the way of Jerry's marital bliss - and when people get in Jerry's way, people die! This thoroughly enjoyable psycho killer thriller airs again at 8:00 PM.
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Wilby Conspiracy (1975 GB): Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier star in this better than you might expect suspenser set in South Africa (but understandably shot in Kenya). Caine plays Jim Keogh, a British engineer who has his eyes opened about the true nature of apartheid when he meets not-so-cute with political activist Shacktwala (Poitier). Their attempt to flee to Botswana soon draws the attention of police inspector Horn (Nicol Williamson), an unrepentant advocate of racial discrimination, and the film develops into an exciting road movie with lots of action and some pretty good car chases. I seem to recall there's a helicopter, too, though I might be mistaken on that point. Look for Saeed Jaffrey in an important role as (East) Indian collaborator Mukarjee, as well as Rutger Hauer and the absurdly beautiful Persis Khambatta.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Performance (1970 GB): Please allow me to introduce myself - I'm a man of wealth and taste living in a boarding house in a non-descript part of London. Performance features Mick Jagger as rock star Turner, whose malign personality clashes with that of Chas (James Fox), a spiv on the run from the coppers who stumbles into said boarding house one day and decides it's a great place to hide out while he waits for a counterfeit passport that will get him to New York. Old-fashioned Chas has, however, met his match in Turner, and after a day or two of hallucinogen-fueled gender bending will never be the same again. Co-directed by Donald Cammell and Nic Roeg, Performance plays a bit like a post-psychedelic take on Tony Richardson's The Servant. It's not as good as its reputation would have you believe, but it's still worth a look, especially if you're a fan of Sir Mick.
Sunday 12/13/09
3:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Travels with My Aunt (1972 GB): Alec McCowen stars as Henry Rollins (no, not that one), a dull office worker pulled into the orbit of his energetic Auntie Augusta (Maggie Smith), in this likeable if far-fetched drama based on one of Graham Greene's lesser novels. Henry and Augusta are reunited at his mother's funeral, where she asks him for assistance in rescuing her lover Visconti (Robert Stephens), who is being held captive by kidnappers somewhere in the exotic East. Directed by George Cukor, clearly a bit out of puff at this point, Travels with My Aunt is carried by its two leads, who get decent support from Lou Gossett, Robert Flemyng, Cindy Williams, and Daniel Emilfork. Frock flick enthusiasts will want to tune in to appreciate Anthony Powell's Oscar-winning costumes.
9:00 PM Sundance
Cadaver (2006 THA): Over the years, I've found myself tending to favor Thai horror films over their Southeast Asian rivals. Though not as flashy as your average J-horror, nor as grim as most Korean efforts, there's a certain old-fashioned reliability and calm about films such as The Victim and Nang-Nak that I really appreciate. Cadavar, unfortunately, tries to up the ante a bit, and ultimately fails, though not for lack of trying. Set in a Bangkok medical school, the film relates the story of Mai (Natthamonkarn Srinikornchot), a student whose work with a lab corpse provides her with an unsettling experience in the lab and an even more haunting one after hours. The film doesn't know when to stop and verges on comedy at times, but is still worth a look if you enjoy the long-haired ghost genre.
Monday 12/14/09
12:45 PM Sundance
A Perfect Candidate (1996 USA): A fascinating documentary examining the 1994 Senate race between Republican proto-fascist and serial liar Oliver North and Democratic silver spoon oligarch Chuck Robb, A Perfect Candidate is an abject reminder that both parties are pretty crummy. In this case, you had two of the crummiest of crumb bums knocking heads for the right to be Virginia's junior senator, and neither covered himself in glory during the campaign. Watch A Perfect Candidate, then donate money to the Peace and Freedom Party or the Greens.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933 USA): Perhaps the best Frank Capra film you've never heard of (though The Miracle Woman is pretty darn good, too), The Bitter Tea of General Yen stars Babs Stanwyck as Megan, an American missionary who finds herself caught up in the horrors of the Chinese Civil War and in thrall to the titular officer (Nils Asther), who rescues her when she loses her orphans aboard a train and faints. After recovering in the General's palace, young Megan tries to convert her savior to Christianity, but soon finds herself adapting to and adopting Chinese culture with disturbing ease - and that's before she develops a crush on him. As with all Hollywood interracial romances of the period, things do not proceed smoothly. Beautifully shot by Joe Walker and featuring one of the most memorable dream sequences of the 1930s, The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a fine corrective for the later Capra-corn we still associate with this hugely talented but artistically compromised director.
6:00 PM Sundance
What Would Jesus Buy? (2007 USA): Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir take to the malls in this wickedly barbed documentary. If you're not familiar with Reverend Billy, he's actually Bill Talen, an Andy Kaufman-esque performance artist who has assumed the persona of a Hellfire and brimstone preacher testifying about the evils of consumerism. If you've ever wanted to see someone exorcize the demons from Wal-Mart, this is your film.