TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex
By John Seal
November 21, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 11/22/11
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Terror on a Train (1953 USA): Not to be confused with the Jamie Lee Curtis slasher Terror Train, Terror on a Train is a somewhat more sedate affair headlined by Glenn Ford. Glenn plays Peter Lyncort, a Canadian Army ordnance expert who finds himself in a tricky situation: he’s a passenger aboard a choo-choo with a bomb on it. Naturally it’s up to him to defuse the device, but will he accidentally set it off by mistake? Start biting your nails! Set and shot in Britain (where it was released as Time Bomb), Terror on a Train co-stars Anna Vernon as Peter’s concerned spouse and Maurice Denham as a helpful police constable who lends a hand with the tricky job. It’s nothing special, but Freddie Young’s cinematography is quite good.
3:30 PM Flix
The Young Sinners (1959 USA): Here’s a spicy one! Sadly, though the title promises steak, it doesn’t really provide all that much in the way of sizzle, either. Nonetheless, The Young Sinners is an interesting little picture that will appeal to fans of the JD (juvenile delinquency) genre. Better known as High School Big Shot (also a great title, I think you’ll agree), our film features Tom Pittman as Marv, a poverty-stricken kid whose scummy father (Malcolm Atterbury) steals his son’s last three bucks so he can take the town floozy out on a date. Meanwhile, bad girl Betty (Virginia Aldridge) convinces our loser hero to do her homework in exchange for some up close and personal time with her. Things don’t turn out well when school administrators find out about the arrangement. Barely clocking in at an hour in length, this is one of the bleakest JD pics you’ll ever see - and that’s saying a lot.
Wednesday 11/23/11
9:15 PM Fox Movie Channel
An Unmarried Woman (1978 USA): Jill Clayburgh earned a Best Actress Oscar nom for her role in this solid if now rather outdated Paul Mazursky feature. Clayburgh is Erica, a New York art dealer trying to get her life back in order after her 16-year marriage to Wall Street hubby Marty (Michael Murphy) comes to an end when he has a fling with a shopgirl at Bloomies. Her newfound disdain for the male sex is exacerbated when her doctor makes a pass at her, and a blind date goes tits up (as we English so delicately put it). Soon she’s burning her bra and experimenting with lesbianism. Okay, that last sentence isn’t true, but a one-night fling with "artist"/pornographer Charlie (Cliff Gorman) opens her eyes to the power of p*y. Though well-written and superbly acted, An Unmarried Woman is very much of the Studio 54 pre-AIDS era. You’ll need to wear a crushed velvet leisure suit in order to best appreciate it.
Thursday 11/24/11
10:00 PM Sundance
A Little Trip to Heaven (2006 USA): The first English-language feature from Icelandic auteur Baltasar Kormakur (Jar City, White Night Wedding), A Little Trip to Heaven stars Forrest Whitaker as Abe Holt, an insurance investigator reviewing a suspicious auto accident which resulted in the death of a policy holder. Beneficiaries Fred and Isold (Jeremy Renner and Julia Stiles) will make out like bandits if the claim is legitimate, but Abe has his doubts. A great cast makes up for Kormakur’s apparent discomfort and/or unfamiliarity with certain aspects of American culture, which tends to undercut the film’s realism (in fact, it was shot in Iceland). Worth a look if you like Whitaker or enjoy neo-noir.
11:30 PM Sundance
Bunny and the Bull (2009 GB): Not to be confused with the film Roger Ebert hated before he loved it (or at least liked it) - Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny - Bunny and the Bull is a comedic fantasia from Mighty Boosh creator Paul Ryan. Described by the director as a “comedy road movie set entirely in a flat," the film stars Edward Hogg as reclusive Stephen, a stay at home type who hasn’t left his apartment in months. When an infestation of mice upends his routine, Stephen’s sense of complacency is disrupted and he imagines himself back on last year’s European road trip with chum Bunny (Simon Farnaby). If you’re familiar with the surreal and non-sequitur-ish (is that a word?) nature of The Mighty Boosh, you know what to expect: if not, you’ll probably be puzzled beyond belief.
Friday 11/25/11
2:00 AM The Movie Channel
Mona Lisa (1986 GB): Bob Hoskins plays an East End gangster with a heart of gold in this well-acted if not entirely plausible drama written and directed by Neil Jordan. Bob is George, a low-level mobster newly released from jail and desperate for work. Enter underworld bigwig Mortwell (Michael Caine), who takes him on and assigns him the task of driving high-class lady of the night Simone (Cathy Tyson) to her assignations and provide her protection if necessary. Simone can’t believe she has to work with the uncouth George, but the two slowly develop a closer relationship - a relationship that emboldens her to ask for his assistance in the search for a friend who’s gone missing in the gritty environs of King’s Cross. The Oscar-nominated Hoskins and Tyson make for an intriguing pair in this unlikely buddy movie, which also features Robbie Coltrane in a supporting (and largely comedic) role. Also airs at 5:00 AM.
Saturday 11/26/11
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Bomba on Panther Island (1949 USA): With the supply of Tarzan movies now exhausted, TCM turns to the Bomba franchise in order to continue the Saturday morning loincloth ‘n’ lions theme. Can Jungle Jim and Clyde Beatty be next on the horizon? Former "Boy" Johnny Sheffield headlines as Bomba, a white boy living in Darkest Africa. How he got there isn’t clear - apparently it’s not made clear in the original books, either, though I haven’t read them - but like the T-man he’s a friend and protector of animals and natives alike. In this series entry (the second of 12 churned out by Monogram and Allied Artists), our hero must protect Lady Maitland’s (Allene Roberts) farm from a prowling and hungry black panther. Directed by serial specialist Ford Beebe, it’s exactly what you expect from a Monogram B picture.
7:30 PM The Movie Channel
The Reef (2010 AUS): Excellent widescreen photography is the major selling point of this thriller shot near the Great Barrier Reef. An ensemble piece about shipwreck survivors stalked by a Great White Shark, The Reef looks great in its original aspect ratio - but if this turns out to be pan and scan screening, don’t bother. Also airs at 10:40 PM.
Monday 11/28/11
6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Walk Softly Stranger (1948 USA): Joseph Cotten revisits Shadow of a Doubt territory in this satisfying romantic suspenser helmed by Robert Stevenson. Instead of playing Uncle Charlie, Joseph is Chris Hale, a hail fellow well met sort who shows up one day in the small Ohio town of Ashton. Chris regales one and all with tales of his Ashton childhood and even strikes up a relationship with the heir to the local shoe factory (Alida Valli), but suspicions are stirred when some of his stories don’t quite jibe with reality. Produced in 1948 but unreleased for two years (until after Cotten and Valli had starred together in the big hit The Third Man), Walk Softly Stranger co-stars Spring Byington as a nun - no, sorry, kindly old woman - and Paul Stewart as an oily crook.