TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for June 21 2011 through June 27 2011
By John Seal
June 20, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 6/21/11
4:10 AM Encore Mystery
Crimewave (1985 USA): In between producing the Evil Dead movies and taking his first tentative steps towards America’s multiplexes via Darkman, director Sam Raimi delivered this odd, somewhat out of character Three Stooges inspired comedy, penned — believe it or not — by the Coen Brothers! Produced by Columbia — who immediately took a disliking to their new wunderkind — Crimewave relates the last minute memories of Vic Ajax (Reed Birney), a death row inmate about to fry for some murders he didn’t commit. Needless to say, those memories are a little out of the ordinary, and involve such bizarre elements as rodent extermination and burglar alarms. Crimewave is ultimately less than the sum of its parts and only mildly amusing, but remains a curate’s egg well worth investigating thank to its fantastic cast, which includes Brion James, Antonio Fargas, Louise Lasser, Stooges veteran Emil Sitka, Julius Harris, Frances McDormand (as a nun) and (of course) Bruce Campbell.
11:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Wild on the Beach (1965 USA): For those looking for a Beach Party knock-off shot in black and white, look no further! This Fox cheapie stars Frankie Randall and Sherry Jackson as Frankie and Annette — er, Adam and Lee — two young people fighting over possession of a beach house. One wants to rent its rooms to boys, the other to girls, and before you can say Eric von Zipper battle (and, eventually, romance) commences. Musical highlights are provided by Sonny and Cher, The Astronauts, and Sandy Nelson. Dramatic highlights are provided by no one.
Wednesday 6/22/11
12:05 PM Flix
Grey Gardens (1975 USA): The Maysles Brothers are rightly revered for their documentary classics Salesman and Gimme Shelter, but this left-field examination of old age on Long Island is just as good. It's a deceptively simple cinema verite look at the lives of Jackie Kennedy’s aged aunt, Edith Bouvier Beale (no relation to Marge Bouvier), and her minder and daughter, "Little" Edie. The two lived for 20 years in a decaying East Hamptons mansion, slowly and perhaps inadvertently withdrawing into an increasingly small world of creeping neglect and eccentric behavior. Over the decades, both the Beales and their home went to seed (apparently, the house is now owned by former Washington Post publisher Ben Bradlee and has presumably been renovated), with portions of the estate overrun by wildlife and the rest of it much the worse for wear. Originally intended as background material for a feature about Jackie O and Lee Radziwell, the Maysles decided the Bouvier footage was much more interesting subject matter, and turned it into Grey Gardens. Tracing the inexorable path from youthful promise to disappointment and decay - an arc that almost all of us will trace, regardless of social position or wealth - this is bittersweet and powerful testimony to the inexorable toll taken by the passage of time. The film was remade in 2009 as a docudrama starring Drew Barrymore; I didn’t see that film but can’t imagine it’s as good as this one.
7:35 PM Sundance
Three Monkeys (2008): No, it’s not a prequel to Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, but a drama about class and family conflict in contemporary Turkey. Ercan Kesal stars as Servet, a politician who hits a pedestrian during a sleep-deprived mid-campaign commute home. The panic stricken pol sees his future prospects flash before his eyes, and asks regular driver Eyup (Yavuz Bingol) to take the rap. Eyup agrees, with the understanding that he’ll get a short sentence and a nice cash reward after serving time — but of course, things don’t turn out quite as anticipated when Eyup’s family find themselves in immediate financial difficulties. Superbly lensed by cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki, Three Monkeys’ helmer Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the Best Director prize at Cannes 2008. Also airs on 6/23 at 2:15 AM.
Thursday 6/23/11
1:45 AM Starz
Tamara Drewe (2010 GB): It is, of course, a well-worn maxim that Helen’s face launched a thousand ships, precipitating the bloody and lengthy Trojan War. But what could a nose alone accomplish? That’s the question posed by Tamara Drewe, director Stephen Frears’ (High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things) marvelous romantic comedy of errors. Based on what I can only assume is the least-likely graphic novel ever penned, the film stars former Bond girl Gemma Arterton as the title character, a Dorset lass returning to her ancestral village of Ewedown after several years spent in London. Tamara left the country for all the usual reasons — Ewedown was a very small pond for an aspiring big fish — and her time in the Big Smoke has been well spent. Not only has she established herself as a respected journalist, she’s also invested in life-changing cosmetic surgery. Though I’m not generally inclined towards bedroom farce, Tamara Drewe is an utter delight: Moira Buffini’s adaptation of Posy Simmond’s novel is literate, frank, and at times screamingly funny, and the cast uniformly excellent. Of particular note is token American Bill Camp’s performance as lumpy, balding Glen, a novelist whose writer’s block is cured by his landlady’s cooking, whilst youngsters Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie are impressive as the film’s Greek Chorus, a pair of scheming schoolgirls who get involved in everyone’s affairs — romantic or otherwise. Probably the first British film to feature a cattle stampede (foreshadowed by one character’s contention that the local cows “exude bovine malice”), Tamara Drewe is a very typical Frears film: strong on character, intelligently written, and a little unconcerned with plot development but not much the worse for it. Some may have issues with the film’s sexual politics — though written and produced by women, the film’s lead character probably won’t be everyone’s idea of contemporary feminist icon — but this is robust, hugely enjoyable storytelling. Also airs at 4:45 AM.
12:05 PM Encore Mystery
Moon (2009 GB): Sam Rockwell delivers a bravura performance in this intelligent science-fiction thriller from writer-director Duncan "Zowie Bowie" Jones. Rockwell, whose performance won him near-universal plaudits, plays astronaut Sam Bell, about to return to Earth upon completion of his three-year term of duty harvesting energy on the Moon. Completely bereft of human contact, Sam has only the voice of computer assistant GERTY (Kevin Spacey) to keep him company, and has reached the end of his mental tether. With only days to go before returning to his family on Earth, however, Sam gets into an accident — and begins to doubt both his sanity and the trustworthiness of his employer, Lunar Industries. If you tune in expecting space opera, you're going to be sorely disappointed, but for those who prefer their science fiction cerebral, Moon is a real winner. Rockwell is superb, Jones' script thought provoking, and Clint Mansell's score evocative and creepy. Sadly overlooked at the Academy Awards, Moon definitely rates as one of the top films of 2009.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955 USA): Giant monsters rampage across the screen in this evening’s Drive-In Sextuple Feature. The troubles begin with It Came from the Sea, in which a Ray Harryhausen-animated octopus lovingly wraps its arms around the Golden Gate Bridge. This unsettles the film’s human characters, including naval officer Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey) and purty lady scientist Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue), who try and convince the massive cephalopod to return to the atomic testing grounds from whence it came. This classic creature feature is followed at 6:30 PM by The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), a widescreen chiller in which something resembling a giant worm challenges not so much the world but the Salton Sea; at 8:00 PM by The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1956), in which a dinosaur rises from the Atlantic Ocean to threaten little ol’ Manhattan; at 9:30 PM by the oxymoronic The Giant Behemoth (1956), featuring a similar creature smashing his way across London; at 11:00 PM by The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues (1956), starring a radioactive rock that turns into a hideous monster; and at 12:30 AM by Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961), the last of Roger Corman’s infamous Puerto Rico trilogy.
Friday 6/24/11
Midnight Showtime Extreme
Chicago Overcoat (2009 USA): This surprisingly good independently made crime drama stars Frank Vincent as Lou Marazano, an aging Toddlin’ Town hitman now living in reduced circumstances. Lou hasn’t made a hit it years, and is now mostly employed for minor league shakedowns, but when the opportunity for One Last Big Job arises — and with it the chance to set his daughter up for life — he leaps feet first. It’s far from the most original of stories, but Vincent is excellent and Chi-Town looks great. Fans of gangster films will definitely enjoy it.
Saturday 6/25/11
8:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Ace Drummond (1936 USA): The adventures of Flying G-Man Ace Drummond continue in chapters 3 & 4 of this action-packed chapter play.
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948 USA): TCM’s weekly Tarzan retrospective has me thinking: what is it about the Jungle Lord and women? Why does such a major league he-man always seem to be getting into so much trouble with members of the female sex? The Huntress, The Leopard Woman, The Amazons...why couldn’t the T-Man do battle against something a little more manly? Could it be that he’s a little light in the loincloth? Only Edgar Rice Burroughs knows for sure, but here he is again, this time facing off against George Zucco and a bunch of salty sea maids. Johnny Weissmuller bowed out of the series after this film — and none too soon — but would return shortly in the far, far worse Jungle Jim films.
Monday 6/27/11
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Ballerina (1938 FRA): Here’s a film I’ve never seen and know nothing about. Neither does the TCM website. Well, there’s always IMDb to turn to...and in this case, it isn’t terribly helpful, either. So here’s what little we do know: directed by Jean-Benoit Levy, Ballerina (originally released as Death of the Swan) stars a bunch of French people I’ve never heard of, most of whom, presumably, were professional dancers. Someone has generously attached the word "lesbian" to the film’s tagline, but I’m guessing that reflects wishful thinking more than reality. Apparently TCM last aired this in 1996 — early days indeed, as the channel only went on the air in 1994.
11:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Zarak (1956 GB): Victor Mature plays the title character in this set in Afghanistan but shot in Burma adventure. Zarak is an Afghani tribesman given a choice: either be flogged to death or expelled from his village for the crime of kissing the wrong woman (Anita Ekberg). He takes up a life of crime and the British Army decides his reign of banditry must come to an end, dispatching Major Ingram (Michael Wilding) to sort things out. Ingram ends up getting into a spot of trouble — a spot only Zarak can rescue him from. Though Mature is (as usual) pretty bad, this is an interesting early example of work by the team that would later bring us Dr. No. — director Terence Young, screenwriter Richard Maibaum, and producer Albert Broccoli. A superb supporting cast, including Eric Pohlmann, Bonar Colleano, Finlay Currie, Patrick McGoohan, and Andre Morell helps matters, too.
6:00 PM HBO
Hot Coffee (2011 USA): Mmm, torte reform. I would love to eat some torte right now, hot or cold. What’s that? This is an HBO original documentary about tort reform? Specifically about the infamous McDonald's coffee case, in which a woman named Stella Liebeck scalded herself with a hot drink and sued the bright yellow pants off Ronald McDonald? Well, the film might be good, but it won’t be very tasty. Also airs at 9:00 PM.
11:00 PM Sundance
Summer Holiday (2008 ROM): A Romanian man spends a night on the tiles in this solid, if far from ground-breaking, drama from director Radu Muntean. Dragos Bucur, the tormented cop in last year’s Police, Adjective, plays Bogdan (Boogie) Ciocazanu, a 20-something trying to settle down as a family man after a misspent youth. Unfortunately, whilst on holiday with the trouble and strife, Boogie meets some of his old hell-raising pals and spends an evening drinking, drugging, and womanizing, much to wifey’s chagrin. It’s the old Peter Pan Syndrome story updated to modern-day mitteleuropa, but well-acted and beautifully shot.