TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex
By John Seal
November 15, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 11/16/10
11:30 AM HBO
Pootie Tang (2001 USA): Every once in a while a sublimely silly comedy comes along that I simply can’t resist. In recent years there’s been Let’s Go to Prison and The Ringer (Father forgive me, for I have sinned and enjoyed a Johnny Knoxville movie), but in 2001 it was all about Pootie Tang. Lance Crouther headlines as the title character, an African-American ghetto folk hero who speaks in a unique and barely decipherable patois, whilst Chris Rock essays three roles, including that of Pootie’s father, who bequeathes a special mojo-laden belt to his son. Years later, corporate boss Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn) determines to use the Tang family mojo by having our hero endorse products that, intentionally or otherwise, will poison the minds and bodies of African-American youth. When Pootie succumbs to temptation, his mojo is lost, and he becomes a pariah to his people - until he redeems himself and puts The Man in his proper place. Also featuring the wonderful Wanda Sykes as lady of the night and Greek chorus Biggie Shorty, Pootie Tang may be silly, but it isn’t dumb. Also airs at 2:30 PM.
7:00 PM Showtime 3
The Killer Inside Me (2010 USA): The critical knives came out quickly for Michael Winterbottom’s latest film, The Killer Inside Me, which briefly played arthouses earlier this year. An adaptation of hardboiled novelist Jim Thompson’s most famous work, Winterbottom’s film was accused of looking kindly upon violence against women, and (worst of all) suggesting victims may be complicit in the crimes committed against them. If there’s blame to be apportioned, however, assign it to the source material– The Killer Inside Me is extremely faithful to the novel, and there’s nothing here that Thompson didn’t put on paper almost 60 years ago. Casey Affleck (the Affleck it’s okay to like) stars as Lou Ford, deputy sheriff in a small West Texas town circa the mid-1950s. Lou seems like the straightest of straight arrows, and his ostensibly gentle touch gets him assigned the task of running prostitute Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba) out of town. But Lou has a well-concealed mean streak, and when Joyce angrily slaps him after he rejects her advances, he answers in kind. The two swiftly develop a sado-masochistic relationship in which violence and sex are inextricably intertwined. According to Robert Polito’s magisterial Jim Thompson biography, the appropriately titled Savage Art, director Stanley Kubrick once described The Killer Inside Me as “probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered”. I’d second Mr. Kubrick’s opinion, while also noting that Michael Winterbottom’s film is the best big-screen literary adaptation I’ve seen since Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist. If you’re a fan of Thompson, you won’t be disappointed. Also airs 11/18 on Showtime 2 at 8:00 PM.
7:00 PM Sundance
A French Gigolo (2008 FRA): Well, of course he’s bloody French - do gigolos come in any other variety? Released in its native Gaul with the somewhat blunter (if less descriptive) title Cliente, A French Gigolo is an inconsequential bit of fluff about construction worker Marco (Eric Caravaca) who moonlights as - you guessed it - a hunk for hire. One of his customers is elegant businesswoman Judith (Nathalie Baye), who finds more than she bargained for with her (otherwise happily) married piece of beefcake. Triangular complications with Marco’s wife Fanny (Isabelle Carré) ensue. Films don’t come much more French than this one, so don your stripy shirt and beret, grab a baguette, and settle down for an evening of sexy fun. Amusez-vous!
10:00 PM HBO Signature
Malta con Huevo (2007 CHL): It’s been a while since a new Spanish-language film has appeared on HBO Signature, so I’m delighted to note the American television debut of this Chilean comedy. I haven’t seen Malta con Huevo yet, but plot synopses suggest it’s a South American take on Groundhog Day, with the title referring to a revolting sounding drink consisting of Guinness and eggs. I think I’d rather drink Sunny-D and rum, yum yum…
Wednesday 11/17/10
3:15 pm Encore Mystery
Iceman (1984 USA): I remember really hating this film when it came out, but (shotgun blasts to the head aside) time heals all wounds, and I’m ready to give Iceman another chance. Directed by Aussie expat Fred Schepisi, the film stars Hong Kong actor John Lone as the titular character, a caveman whose well-preserved body is thawed out after the passage of 40,000 years by scientists Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse. Naturally enough, he finds the cross-millenia transition a difficult one to make - traffic is a lot worse than it had been, and that hippity-hoppity music the kids dig is awful - and things get even dicier when some of Hutton and Crouse’s colleagues decide they’d like to dissect the discovery. Ouch. Is this the simple-minded Forrest Gump cheese-fest I remember, or is it the thought-provoking classic Roger Ebert saw? It’s definitely time for a re-assessment.
11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
It (1927 USA): Not to be confused with 1958’s sci-fi classic It! The Terror From Beyond Space or 1967’s sci-fi non-classic It!, this It is the film that gave silent screen queen Clara Bow her immortal nickname, The It Girl. Imagine if film actresses still got their nicknames this way: Nicole Kidman would be known forever as The BMX Bandits B*h, whilst the nomenclature Firehouse Floozie seems somehow appropriate for Julia Roberts. (Note to sensitive readers: I do not actually endorse the use of demeaning sexist terms such as b***h and floozie.) As for Clara, she’s utterly charming (and quite alluring) as Betty Lou Spence, a salesgirl with her sights set on the bedroom of boardroom boss Cyrus Waltham (Antonio Moreno). The cinematic embodiment of both the Roaring '20s and The Jazz Age, It also includes an early performance by Gary Cooper, here seen briefly as a newspaper reporter.
Thursday 11/18/10
1:50 PM The Movie Channel
Slash (2002 SAF): Here’s something you don’t see every day: a South African horror flick! James O’Shea stars as Mac, a rock singer who finds himself (and his bandmates) stranded, stalked, and slashed by a killer scarecrow around and about a remote farmstead. The Absolute Horror website sums up this film better than I can: “Slash is a movie that makes Miner’s Massacre look like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” If you’ve ever suffered through Miner’s Massacre, you know praise doesn’t come any lower than that, but hey…South African horror, everybody! Also airs at 4:50 PM.
Friday 11/19/10
5:00 PM Sundance
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007 USA): This one’s a bit of a TiVoPlex Great White Whale. Originally airing some months back on Showtime 3, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead was supposed to appear on that channel in widescreen. It didn’t. Last week it showed up in the Sundance Channel program guide, and - despite Sundance’s seemingly random propensity for pan and scan - I assumed they’d air it in its original aspect ratio. It didn’t air at all. Now it’s scheduled again. What will we get this evening? A real, honest to goodness 1.85:1 airing of Sidney Lumet’s sterling drama about the strained relationship between two criminally-minded brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke)? Or more episodes of Ladette to Lady?
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Dementia (1955 USA): Also known by the more colorful title Daughter of Horror, Dementia is a bonafide psychotronic classic. It’s a completely dialogue-free mood piece in which a young woman (Adrienne Barrett) wanders through the back alleys and sleazy joints of L.A.’s Skid Row whilst the narrator - Ed McMahon! - fills in her back story. Dementia is an astonishing little gem, brimming with noir atmosphere and familiar faces, including stand-up comic Shelley Berman as a beatnik, little person Angelo Rossito, AIP regulars Jonathan Haze and Bruno VeSota, and jazz trumpeter Shorty Rogers. It’s also the only film VeSota’s teacher wife Jebbie appeared in. Can you imagine being married to Bruno and bearing six of his children? Yikes.
Saturday 11/20/10
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Private Eyes (1953 USA): In Bowery Boys adventure number 32, Sach (Huntz Hall) gets socked in the nose and subsequently acquires a talent for mind-reading. Slip (Leo Gorcey) gets another brainstorm and decides to harness Sach’s newfound ability by opening his own defective agency. Malapropisms and pratfalls follow in abundance.
8:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
The Leopard (1963 ITA): Now here’s a challenge for me: I’m still in the digital stone age and can only record one program at a time. So, do I reserve my hard drive this morning for my beloved but thoroughly predictable Bowery Boys? Or do I record this lush, widescreen Luchino Visconti historical epic about 19th century Sicilian court intrigue? I know what I should do, but Visconti’s never been one of my favorite Italian directors: though he got his start in neo-realism, he soon began to helm enigmatic bloaters such as The Damned and Death in Venice which test my patience more than anything. So, Huntz Hall and Leo Gorcey, or Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale? Help me make my decision for me, dear readers…
Sunday 11/21/10
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Our Miss Brooks (1956 USA): I’ve had a crush on Eve Arden since forever. There was something incredibly cool about her sharp diction and haughty, well-heeled demeanor that sent this cat into wayoutsville, man. Never a big star, Arden popped up in supporting roles in lots of comedies and even some dramas (she’s great in Mildred Pierce) but is best remembered for her 130-episode stint on the popular CBS television series Our Miss Brooks in the early 1950s. The series ended in 1956 but immediately made the transition to the big screen in this independently produced feature, which (in contemporary Tinseltown-speak) tried to "reboot the franchise" by depicting Miss Brooks during her first day at Madison High. If you can overlook that slightly bizarre development, there’s plenty here to enjoy in addition to the The Lady Eve, including Gale Gordon as Principal Conklin and Richard Crenna and Nick Adams as students.
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
She’s Working Her Way Through College (1952 USA): I'm not much of a fan of Hollywood musicals (especially the bloated 50s variety - you can keep Kiss Me Kate, thank you very much) but there is something about She’s Working Her Way Through College that sets it apart from the pack. The script is sharply written and the songs reasonably good, but the capper are the production numbers: watching Gene Nelson bound around a gymnasium is a genuinely thrilling experience. And if you think this is merely another one of co-star Ronald Reagan's bad films, think again: with its candy cane Technicolor, snappy dialogue, and big productions, it's almost a pre-rock The Girl Can't Help It - and that can only be a good thing!
3:35 PM Sundance
I’m Gonna Explode (2008 MEX): Better you than the penguin atop your television set, I guess. I’m Gonna Explode is a Mexican coming-of-age drama starring Juan Pablo de Santiago and Maria Deschamps as Roman and Maru, young lovers who stage a fake kidnapping, camp out on a roof, steal a car and a gun, and get extremely drunk. You know, the stuff teenagers always get up to. The film is at times maddeningly disjointed and hard to follow, but the leads are well cast as the story’s directionless, love-lorn losers, and it’s all beautifully lensed by cinematographer Tobias Datum (How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, Amreeka).
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Viking (1928 USA): There aren’t very many of them, but the few feature-length Technicolor silents I’ve seen - such as Chester Franklin’s Toll of the Sea (1922) and this Roy William Neill production - are impressive indeed. In The Viking, Donald Crisp plays Leif Ericsson, a hearty Norwegian who sets sail to discover the lands beyond Greenland. In addition to plenty of two-strip Technicolor spectacle, there’s a love quadrilateral involving Leif, beauteous Helga (Pauline Starke), fellow barbarian Egil (Harry Lewis Woods), and English slave Alwin (LeRoy Mason); religious troubles with Christian Leif’s pagan father Eric the Red (Anders Randolph); and problems as the longboat approaches the limits of the known world (the crew are concerned it will fall off the edge). Though produced under the MGM banner, The Viking was actually financed by the Technicolor Company, then eager to display the beauty and depth of their process. Mission accomplished!
Monday 11/22/10
5:00 PM Sundance
The Shock Doctrine (2009 GB): Director Michael Winterbottom is cinema’s renaissance man. Dramas, comedies, noirs, documentaries - he seems to revel in trying his hand in as many different genres as possible. The Shock Doctrine is his first non-fiction effort, and not surprisingly, it’s really good. Based on muckraker Naomi Klein’s best-seller of the same name, the film examines the horrendous impact neo-liberal capitalism has had on the planet over the last half-century, and presents a dizzying array of information in a succinct 82 minutes. Luckily, Klein and narrator Kieran O’Brien are on hand to help you make sense of it all. Also airs at 10:30 PM.