TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday April 5 2011 through Monday April 11 2011
By John Seal
April 4, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 4/5/11
3:15 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Sometimes a Great Notion (1971 USA): When last I wrote about Sometimes a Great Notion (which I hadn’t seen at that point), I pondered the meaning of its Ken Kesey-coined title. Now that I’ve seen it I still have no idea what it means (maybe Kesey came up with whilst on an acid bender), but I can report conclusively that Sometimes a Great Notion is Always a Great Movie. Michael Sarrazin stars as Leeland Stamper, a long-haired black sheep who returns to his family of fiercely independent, deeply reactionary lumbermen in search of a little peace but finds crusty patriarch Henry (Henry Fonda) as unforgiving as ever. Brother Hank (Paul Newman) is a little more open-minded and allows Leeland to go to work chopping down old growth Oregon timber, but there’s trouble a-brewin’ due to a union dispute that the Stamper clan refuse to support. I’d still love to see this film in its correct aspect ratio, but even in pan and scan it’s a top rate character study with a deceptively simple story that will keep you engaged. If there’s a sour note to be found, it’s Lee Remick as Henry’s wife Viv: there’s nothing wrong with her performance, but she’s a tad too elegant for the role.
3:30 AM Showtime
Nic and Tristan Go Mega Dega (2010 USA): They do what now? Here’s one of those titles that sells itself. Who are Nic and Tristan, you ask, and what is mega dega? Turns out they’re pre-pubescent twin brothers who rock the Justin Bieber look and love sidewalk surfing, whilst "mega dega" refers to some big time skateboard competition. The twins play themselves in this independently produced family film, which I haven’t seen and probably won’t watch. I just wanted to type the words "mega dega." Try it yourself. You haven’t lived until you’ve typed ‘em. Also airs at 6:30 AM.
10:20 PM Encore Mysteries
Code 46 (2003 GB): The ever busy Michael Winterbottom directed this cerebral science fiction tale of unrequited love in the bleak world of tomorrow. The film stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton as the unlikely and unlucky couple, who must subvert the system which has deemed them incompatible and find a way to satisfy their surreptitious cravings. It's typical Winterbottom stuff - heavy on the intellect, easy on the action - and frustratingly oblique at times. But there's enough thought-provoking material packed into Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay to satisfy those inclined toward the William Gibson/Philip K. Dick end of the sci-fi spectrum, and David Holmes provides a typically effective ambient score.
Wednesday 4/6/11
1:40 AM Starz in Black
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008 USA): I’m a huge fan of Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 Starship Troopers feature; I’m a little less enamored of its first sequel, the straight-to-video Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, which basically jettisoned Verhoeven’s barely concealed political sub-text in favor of lots and lots of CGI bug-busting. The bad news is that film number three also ignores the original’s anti-imperialist message, but the good news is that it’s just as much fun as Hero of the Federation and just as, er, juicy. After taking a film off, Casper Van Dien returns to the series as Johnny Rico, once again tasked with stopping the deadly alien species in its tracks. That’s pretty much all you need to know about the plot: the rest is silence. Did I say silence? I actually meant loud, constant, and bloody explosions.
2:30 PM Fox Movie Channel
The Incident (1967 USA): One of the first films to capture and exploit the overwhelming fear of crime that would define the city of New York throughout the 1970s and early ‘80s, The Incident stars Tony Musante and a young Martin Sheen as two toughs who take over a subway car and terrorize the passengers. Directed by Bronx native Larry Peerce, who started his career with the flawed but fascinating racial drama One Potato, Two Potato, this is a somewhat dated but still powerful film with an interesting supporting cast, including Beau Bridges, Ruby Dee, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, and, ah, Ed McMahon. Brilliantly shot in stark black-and-white by Gerald Hirschfeld (Fail-Safe), The Incident remains a riveting and gut-wrenching experience, and is still maddeningly MIA on DVD.
5:00 PM HBO2
Earth Made of Glass (2010 USA): History happens in a hurry, and we tend not to learn the truth — if the truth is ever really knowable — until years after the fact. Right now we’re being sold a war in Libya as a necessary means to prevent a bloodthirsty dictator from killing his own people, but how much of that is the truth and how much hyperbole on the part of the business and power elite eager to get their hands on Libyan oil? If we’re lucky, we’ll find out what’s really going down five, ten, or a hundred years from now. As for Earth Made of Glass, it’s a fascinating reappraisal of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 — a historic moment no one anticipated, and almost everyone responded to inadequately. The film focuses on both the individual search for justice — as personfied by a man named Jean Pierre Sagahutu, whose father was murdered in the slaughter — and the national desire for healing, represented by Rwandan President Paul Kagame. In equal parts troubling and uplifting, Earth Made of Glass is a truly outstanding example of documentary filmmaking. Also airs at 8:00 PM.
Thursday 4/7/11
2:35 AM Encore Action
Tekwar (1994 USA): Until roughly 30 seconds before writing this I didn’t know that, in addition to being an acclaimed actor and corporate spokesperson, William Shatner was also a film director and a novelist. (Turns out Captain Kirk also directed one of those Star Trek movies, a fact I had completely forgotten, as well as ten episodes of T. J. Hooker.) Not only did Shatner direct Tekwar, he also penned the source material, the first of a series of stories he wrote about a futuristic drug war. So, is Tekwar (the film) any good? Well, I seem to recall it not being as bad as you might imagine, even considering the two biggest names in the cast are Shatner himself and Lady Sugar Walls herself, Sheena Easton. If memory serves, it’s a pretty standard example of "bleak future" filmmaking, but far from the worst the genre has to offer.
1:40 PM Flix
Bad Jim (1989 USA): Two reasons to watch this otherwise mediocre western: an interesting cast, and some decent widescreen cinematography (yes, Bad Jim is making its letterboxed television debut this afternoon). This was the first (and to date, last) film appearance of one John Clark Gable, the sheltered offspring of you-know-who and actress and one-time Spreckels sugar matriarch Kay Williams. Gable plays John Coleman, a cowpuncher who decides ranch life is a little too quiet for his taste, and — after acquiring the late Billy the Kid’s horse from shady Virgilio (Pepe Serna) — takes up a life of crime with buddies B.D. (James Brolin) and July (Richard Roundtree). Though not a Cannon Films production, Menahem Golan served as the film’s executive producer, no doubt anticipating rich rewards from his association with a Gable. Success, however, was not forthcoming, as John Clark rode off into the sunset after deciding show biz was not for him. Also on hand: Ty Hardin, Rory Calhoun, and Harry Carey, Jr.
Friday 4/8/11
1:45 AM Showtime Extreme
Fidel (2002): Che Guevara has now been the subject of four major motion pictures, but where’s the cinema love for his revolutionary comrade Fidel Castro? Here it is, albeit in the form of a Showtime original. Regardless of its small screen origins, however, Fidel has the look and heft of a major release, clocking in at an impressive three-plus hours and featuring a solid array of Latin acting talent, including Gael Garcia Bernal as Che (he would play the asthmatic Argentinian a second time in Walter Salles outstanding 2004 feature The Motorcycle Diaries). As for Fidel, he’s portrayed by Victor Huggo Martin, an actor I’m otherwise unfamiliar with. He’s brilliant as the cigar-chomping jefe who leads his ragtag rebel army from the remote mountains of the Sierra Maestra Mountains to the capital city of Havana, and the film takes a valiant stab at accurately portraying 50 years of Cuban history, though the last three-plus decades get shorter shrift than the first two. Love him or hate him, no one can deny that Fidel’s story is an amazing one and a rich and worthy subject for film.
4:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Sparrows (1926 USA): A bit of an outlier in Mary Pickford's filmography, Sparrows is a Gothic melodrama about a decrepit baby farm deep in the rural hinterlands of the southern United States. Directed by William Beaudine, a director deserving of considerably more respect than he gets thanks to late career gaffes such as Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, the film features 34-year-old Pickford as Molly, a parentless adolescent abused by her caregiver, Grimes (the suitably gaunt Gustav von Seyffertitz). When the repulsive Grimes decides to dispose of a troublesome infant by tossing it in the local bog, Molly decides he's gone a tot too far, springs into action, and leads the parentless brood on a treacherous journey across an alligator-infested swamp to safety. Surely a great influence on Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter (1955), Sparrows has aged far better than many of America's Sweetheart's more famous pictures, and remains potent (if manipulative) stuff 80 years on.
12:45 PM Starz
The Runaways (2010 USA): Hello Daddy, hello Mom, I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch cherry bomb!! Here’s the television debut of last year’s not terrible biopic about The Runaways, impresario Kim Fowley’s mid 70s jailbait rock band. It’s a linear retelling of the band’s rise to — well, not exactly fame so much as notoriety — and the legion of personal problems confronting its young members (including Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Sandy West, and Lita Ford). You know the routine: boys, booze, and drugs punctuate the rockin’ highlights. I wish someone like Mary Harron or Penelope Spheeris had had the opportunity to direct the film rather than Italian-born music video producer Floria Sigismondi, who offers precious few insights, but it’s entertaining enough and some of the songs still sound pretty good. Also airs at 3:45 PM.
Saturday 4/9/11
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Up In Smoke (1957 USA): In which Sach and Duke try to smuggle marijuana from Mexico to the United States, to hilarious effect. Well, not quite...but Up in Smoke, the penultimate Bowery Boys flick, is definitely one of the more outre entries in the series. This time, Sach (Huntz Hall) sells his soul to the Devil (Byron Foulger) in order to get advance info on which horses are going to win at the track, allowing him to get revenge on some crooked bookies (is that an oxymoron?).
10:10 PM Sundance
The Last Mistress (2007 FRA): I need to give this Catherine Breillat frock film a second chance. The first time I watched it I was bored to tears, but after scoping out star Roxane Mesquida in Quentin Dupieux’s recent absurdist comedy Rubber, I’m going to give it another look. Why? Let’s just say Mesquida is a captivating screen presence. This time I’m going to play closer attention to The Last Mistress and not fall asleep half way through.
Sunday 4/10/11
5:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Payment on Demand (1951 USA): Bette Davis stars as Joyce Ramsey, a well-heeled society matron shocked to learn that husband David (Barry Sullivan) wants a divorce so that he can spend more time with gal pal Eileen (Frances Dee). She immediately goes through the first stage of recovery, shock, before settling on the next stage, revenge. Elegantly mounted by director Curtis Bernhardt, Payment on Demand is an effective if not entirely convincing soaper, but Davis is at the top of her game and Otto Kruger adds value as friend of the family Ted Prescott.
12:35 PM Sundance
Guest of Cindy Sherman (2009 USA): Paul H-O made a minor name for himself in the Manhattan art world during the 1990s by co-hosting a cable public access show called Gallery Beat. His show provided him the opportunity to meet photographer-artist Cindy Sherman, one of the most talented and important American artists of the post-pop art era. Guest of Cindy Sherman examines the ups — but mostly downs — of their five-year relationship, in which Paul found himself disappearing within the shadow of his famous girlfriend. Fans of Sherman will be thrilled at the opportunity to see much candid footage of the artist; others will be intrigued by H-O's tale of relegation to second-class citizenship.