TiVoPlex
By John Seal
July 25, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 7/26/11
2:00 PM HBO Signature
El Hombre de al Lado (2009 ARG): This absurdist Argentine drama (titled The Man Next Door in English) comes with my highest recommendation. Daniel Araoz and Rafael Spregelburd star as Victor and Leonardo, residents of adjacent apartments in a fabulous Corbusier-designed building in a tony Buenos Aires neighborhood. Leonardo is a renowned architect with a deep appreciation for his building’s "artistic integrity," so when working-class Victor starts making "home improvements" - including some that affect his own living space - his hackles are understandably raised. Matters escalate, climaxing in a surprising denouement. Directed by Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, El Hombre de al Lado is a simple, subtle, and satisfying examination of the roles played by class and status in contemporary Argentine society.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Black Tent (1957 GB): Bryan Forbes penned this handsome but not terribly interesting look at the British Empire and its relationship with the subject peoples of the Arabian Peninsula. Anthony Steel stars as David Holland, a British Army captain who gets separated from his unit and then "goes native," marrying the daughter (Italian actress Anna-Maria Sandri) of a Bedouin chieftain (London-born Andre Morell). Holland’s attempts to rejoin the Army lead to a tragic - and tragically predictable - conclusion that most viewers will see coming a mile away. Nonetheless, this rare feature is worth watching for its attractive Libyan location footage and excellent cast, which also includes Donald Sinden, Donald Pleasence, and Anton Diffring.
Wednesday 7/27/11
12:15 AM Showtime Extreme
Color of Night (1994 USA): Bruce Willis headlines this goofy but enjoyable thriller directed by Richard Rush (The Stunt Man, Getting Straight). Bruce plays Bill Capa, a psychologist who loses a patient the hard way - she jumps out of his office window. Shocked beyond words, Bill develops a case of color blindness, decides to take down his shingle for good, and moves out west in hopes of getting a fresh start. Newly arrived in L.A., Bill attends a party hosted by best bud Bob (Scott Bakula), but when Bob also ends up dead Bill must bust out his mad psychological skills and figure out whodunit. Was it the nympho (Lesley-Anne Down), the obsessive-compulsive (Brad Dourif), or the cop with anger management issues (Lance Henriksen)? As Roger Ebert wrote of this film, “Color of Night approaches badness from so many directions that one really must admire its imagination.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, though I do like the film a little more than Roger does.
5:00 PM Sundance
Toe to Toe (2009 USA): A few months back I recommended a documentary entitled Keep Eye on Ball - the first (and to date, only) film ever produced about competitive squash. (I can’t actually prove this, but I’m still reasonably comfortable making the assertion. However, if you know of other films about pro squash - fictional or otherwise - drop me a line.) Now there’s Toe to Toe, an indie drama that tries to do the same for lacrosse: make it interesting for people who otherwise wouldn’t know a lacrosse stick from a bocce ball. I haven’t seen it yet, so Toe to Toe may be terrible, but c’mon people...lacrosse! Also airs 7/28 at 1:35 AM.
Thursday 7/28/11
Midnight Turner Classic Movies
Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972 USA): This long-forgotten MGM comedy stars Lynn Redgrave as a woman who kidnaps the son of gangster Victor Mature after his goons take over her dancing school and convert it into an illegal casino. Featuring an absurd plot only slightly more believable than that of 1971’s senior citizen motorcycle caper Bunny O’Hare, this is slight amusement at best, but in addition to Redgrave and Mature, you’ll spot boob-tube regulars like Pat Morita, Dom DeLuise, Severn Darden, John Astin, and Esther Rolle. Long unavailable on home video and unseen on television since 2004, this is a genuine rarity.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Princess Tam Tam (1934 FRA): Arab Images in Film month wraps up this evening with a solid triple bill, starting with 1934’s Princess Tam Tam, a showcase for African-American dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker. Baker plays Alwina, a poor shepherdess who serves as inspiration for down-on-his-luck novelist Max de Mirecourt (The Italian Straw Hat’s Albert Prejean). Max has been cuckolded by wife Lucie (Germaine Aussey from A Nous la Liberte), and cooks up a plan to use Alwina - masquerading as North African royalty - to get his revenge. Alas, the newly minted "Princess Tam Tam" falls in love with the old rogue and interracial romantic tragedy inevitably ensues. The story may be maddeningly soapy, but Baker is a knockout and the music and dance scenes outstanding. Princess Tam Tam is followed at 6:30 PM by The Band’s Visit (2007), a delightful character study about an Egyptian orchestra stranded in Israeli territory; and at 8:15 PM by Rana’s Wedding (2002), a Palestinian drama in which a young woman’s marital hand is forced by her anxious father.
Friday 7/29/11
9:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
House of Bamboo (1955 USA): Directed by the legendary Sam Fuller, House of Bamboo is a slam-bang crime drama set in and around the Tokyo underworld - which, oddly, seems to be owned and operated entirely by Caucasians. The film stars Robert Ryan as Sandy Dawson, a mob boss whose outfit specializes in bank jobs. One of Sandy’s men is "Spanier" (Robert Stack), a good fella otherwise known as Eddie Kenner, a G-Man who’s successfully infiltrated the Dawson gang. Sandy takes a real shine to Spanier - the film even hints that his interest might not be of the strictly platonic variety - and foolishly opens up to him about his bank robbery operations. Whoops. An early Cinemascope production shot on location in Japan, House of Bamboo is well worth visiting. Just don’t expect Beat Takeshi to greet you at the door.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm (1968 USA): Try saying that three times fast. This film screened on Sundance Channel seven or eight years ago but hasn’t been seen since, probably because no programmer wanted to be responsible for spelling the title correctly. As odd and unique as its title suggests, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is both a meta-documentary and a forerunner of the reality TV craze: director William Greaves filmed a group of auditioning actors, filmed the cameras filming them, and filmed himself filming the cameras filming them. Your head will be spinning after watching this film - heck, it’ll be spinning after you simply try to say Symbiopsychotaxiplasm three times. Go ahead, I dare you.
Saturday 7/30/11
8:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Zorro Rides Again (1937 USA): Zorro’s great grandson James represents truth, justice, and the Hispano-American way in the second and third chapters of this Republic serial.
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953 USA): Tarzan’s problems with women continue. The She-Devil in question is Lyra (Monique Van Vooren), an ivory hunter assisting evil dudes Vargo (Raymond Burr) and Fidel (Tom Conway) in their efforts to wipe out the local elephant population. Naturally, the Jungle Lord (Lex Barker) doesn’t think too much of their plans and intercedes on behalf of the pachyderms. It was back to the back-lot for this series entry, which is of primary interest due to the scowling presence of Burr.
Sunday 7/31/11
1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Donovan’s Brain (1953 USA): Based on Curt Siodmak’s novel of the same name, Donovan’s Brain is one of the best sci-fi features of the early ‘50s. Lew Ayres and Gene Evans headline as Doctors Cory and Shratt, two sawbones who spend their off-hours poking, prodding, and otherwise examining the living brain of a dead criminal named Donovan. The brain, however, has its own ideas - it’s sick and tired of being suspended in saline solution and wants to break free, preferably by assuming control of Cory’s body. Quite a trick if you can pull it off, Brain. Future Mrs. Reagan Nancy Davis pops in from time to time to provide love interest for Schratt.
5:00 AM Flix
A Private Function (1984 GB): Here’s a film I hadn’t thought about for years until I read recently that it had been adapted for the stage and turned into a West End musical. A West End musical about a pig? Well, don’t that beat all. As for the film, I recall it being a delightfully droll and very English tale of post-war rationing (and the concomitant black market) starring Maggie Smith, Michael Palin, and Denholm Elliott. Oh, and the pig, of course.