TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for the week of July 16th 2013 through July 22nd 2013
By John Seal
July 15, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 7/16/13
5:00 PM Showtime
Beware of Mr. Baker (2011 USA): Ginger Baker is, indeed, one of the most frightening men on Earth. If you have any doubts, watch this film, or if you only have a few minutes check out the ornery drummer’s May 2013 interview (perhaps better described as a joust) with the Guardian’s Michael Hann. Now 73 years old, the cantankerous grumpy old man of British rock – famous as much for his drug problems and alcohol-fueled tirades as for his drum thrashing exploits with Cream and others – is seen, warts and all, in this thoroughly entertaining rockumentary. Even if you’re not a fan of Baker’s music, you’ve gotta appreciate his To Lou Reed...and Beyond! attitude, which director Jay Bulger captures to full effect – even after being whacked in the face by Ginger’s cane. Get off my drum kit, you rotten kids! Also airs at 8:00 PM.
11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Thief of Damascus (1952 USA): Not to be confused with any versions of The Thief of Bagdad, Thief of Damascus is a deeply obscure Arabian Nights fantasia churned out by the good folks at Columbia’s "B" unit. Directed by Will Jason (who usually helmed short subjects), the film stars a down-on-his-luck Paul Henreid as Abu Amdar, a general tasked by wicked Khalid the Iron Man (John Sutton) to lay siege to, and capture, the titular city. Sounds like a sweeping epic might be afoot, but alas this is strictly backlot material. Uninspiring story and crummy production values aside, Thief of Damascus does feature an intriguing supporting cast, including Hogan’s Heroes Robert Clary as Aladdin, Lon Chaney Jr. as Sinbad, and Elena Verdugo as love interest Neela.
Wednesday 7/17/13
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Unholy Partners (1941 USA): Edward G. Robinson plays a newspaperman with Charles Foster Kane-like ambitions in this above average Mervyn LeRoy-helmed drama. Robinson is Bruce Corey, a tabloid editor looking to raise investment cash with which to launch his own paper. He finds a willing money man in the form of shady gambler Merrill Lambert (Edward Arnold) and launches his scandal sheet with unsavory (and fake) stories in order to increase circulation. Naturally, this is no way to run a legit business, and Corey soon finds himself in deep waters when the printing presses heat up with (real) murder and insurance scandals. Surprisingly downbeat for 1941, Unholy Partners is not one of Robinson’s best known features but will definitely satisfy his fans.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Our Man In Marrakesh (1966 GB): Here’s one I’m really looking forward to! A comic caper flick with Bondian overtones from indie producer Harry Alan Towers, Our Man In Marrakesh stars Tony Randall as Andrew Jessel, a tourist who finds himself caught up in international intrigue involving bribery at the UN. Helmed by Don Sharp (Curse of the Fly, Psychomania), the film co-stars Herbert Lom, Terry-Thomas, Senta Berger, Gregoire Aslan, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Klaus Kinski, Margaret Lee, Burt Kwouk and John LeMesurier. If that mouthwatering cast isn’t enough to convince you to watch, this screening also marks Our Man In Marrakesh’s widescreen television debut.
11:05 PM Starz Citation
Chicken With Plums (2011 FRA-GER-BEL): Written and directed by Iranian emigre Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), Chicken With Plums relates the tragic story of Nasser-Ali (Matthieu Amalric), an acclaimed musician who loses the will to live after his wife breaks his priceless violin. Set in Tehran circa 1958, the film flits back and forth through time, but concentrates on the week immediately following the unfortunate accident. Blending magical realism, animation, and Sirkian artificiality, this unique and moving feature was adapted from one of Satrapi’s graphic novels. Perhaps the loveliest film ever made about suicide, Chicken With Plums won the Special Jury Prize at the Dublin International Film Festival.
Thursday 7/18/13
1:15 PM Flix
The Last Wave (1978 AUS): I'm still as baffled by this Peter Weir film as I was after first seeing it in the early '80s, but that doesn't make it any less rewarding. It's a puzzle piece about an Australian lawyer (Richard Chamberlain), the five Aboriginal men (including one portrayed by David Gulpilil) he's defending against murder charges, and a prophecy about a bleak and watery future for the Australian continent. Akin to Weir's earlier Picnic at Hanging Rock and Antonioni's Blow-Up, The Last Wave is a film that has actually improved with age, with the threat of global warming lending it an edge not readily apparent on its initial release.
Friday 7/19/13
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Soft Skin (1964 FRA): The mind can play funny tricks. The Soft Skin was one of the very first "foreign" films I scoped out as a youngster, probably on Los Angeles public television in the 1970s, and its "memory" has stuck with me ever since. Specifically, however, I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about the film, which I haven’t seen in almost 40 years – all I can remember is the title and its general tone (romantic). And then there’s this: until now, I had completely forgotten (or perhaps never known!) that it had been directed by Francois Truffaut, a name that meant less than nothing to me in my early teens. Anyhoo, here it is: can The Soft Skin possibly live up to my decades-old, feel-good semi-memories? Online reviews suggest probably not, but I’m eager to find out. It’s followed tonight by further helpings of Truffaut, including (at 9:00 PM) Two English Girls (1971), in which Jean-Pierre Leaud essays a rare non-Antoine Doinel role; at 11:15 PM by the little seen short A Story of Water (1961), co-directed by Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard; at 11:30 PM by The Woman Next Door (1981), in which Gerard "Mr. Potatohead" Depardieu locks lips with Fanny Ardant; and at 1:30 AM by The Man Who Loved Women (1977), Truffaut’s so-so attempt at light romantic comedy.
8:40 PM Showtime Extreme
Lifeforce (1985 GB): Am I the only person who likes Lifeforce? Besides the fact that alien seductress Mathilde May spends the bulk of the film’s running time au natural, this Tobe Hooper joint also features a terrific Dan O’Bannon screenplay (remember him? he wrote a little something called Alien) as well as some nice location footage of London. In fact, the film could be viewed as a precursor to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, though it doesn’t feature the political or social commentary of Boyle’s zombiefest. Blood sucker May, discovered and brought back to Earth by a space mission, is soon wreaking havoc on the Greater London area, whose denizens seem incapable of withstanding the allure of the willowy blonde bombshell. The film also features Frank Finlay, Patrick Stewart, and - as “vampire #1” - brother of Sir Mick, Christopher Jagger. A throwback to British ‘60s sci-fi efforts like Five Million Miles to Earth and The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Lifeforce is an underappreciated little gem from the man who brought you The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Saturday 7/20/13
6:00 PM The Movie Channel
The Crow: City of Angels (1996 USA): Winner of the Most Portentous Film of the Year Award – an award, by the way, that I just made up – 1994’s The Crow spawned three equally ridiculous sequels, all of which air this evening in chronological order. In City of Angels, Vincent Perez replaces the late Brandon Lee, but the film isn’t much different than its predecessor, its comic book excess dressed up in then-trendy music video tropes which haven’t aged particularly well (and weren’t all that great to start with). Nonetheless, if you’ve ever wanted to watch all three sequels in one sitting, here they are: The Crow: City of Angels is followed at 7:30 PM by 2000’s The Crow: Salvation (a superior effort thanks to the presence of Kirsten Dunst, William Atherton and Fred Ward) and at 9:15 PM by 2005’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer (a substantially worse one).
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Une Parisienne (1958 FRA): This film has two selling points, and both are named Brigitte Bardot. The wacky anti-fur activist became a huge international star thanks to films like this one, in which she portrays a young woman who decides to ditch her philandering husband in favor of some fun in the sun on the French Riviera. Proof if ever proof were needed that not all Gallic films brim with artistic merit, Une Parisienne is pure fluff. I’m not certain this is a widescreen premiere, but it’s a bit of a rarity regardless.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958 USA): What do you do when you find an ancient crate on your elderly relative’s property? Why, open it, of course! And what do you when you discover the decapitated head of a 16th century devil worshiper inside? Hope that the bodiless noggin doesn’t exert its tremendous psychic powers by taking over the minds of whoever crosses its path, of course! Alas, that’s precisely what does happen in this turgid if strangely entertaining low budget chiller from Universal. It’s followed at 12:15 AM by an encore screening of 1962’s legendary anti-masterpiece The Brain That Couldn’t Die (oh, if only The Brain and The Thing could have been united, Predator vs. Alien style!) and at 1:45 AM by the grim anti-drug feature Goofballs and Tea (1958). Kids, stay away from drugs! Drugs will kill you! I know this, because James Brown told me so, and the Hardest Working Man In Showbiz never lied.
Sunday 7/21/13
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Mickey (1918 USA): Years before Mabel Normand had her infamous love affair with the beknighted William Desmond Taylor, she appeared in this fish-out-of-water silent comedy about a young country gal forced to adapt to life in the wicked big city. It’s pretty anodyne stuff, but does feature a remarkable scene of Normand holding a cat by the tail. Don’t try that at home.
Monday 7/22/13
10:25 AM HBO Signature
La Isla Interior (2009 ESP): A worthwhile Spanish drama about family and genetics, La Isla Interior provides a powerful and sobering look at the crippling effects of mental illness. Cristina Marks stars as Gracia, one of three siblings re-united by the imminent death of their father. Also on hand are brother Miguel (Alberto San Juan) and sister Coral (Candela Pena), as well as dear old mum (Geraldine Chaplin). Dad has long suffered from schizophrenia and the family has long avoided dealing with its legacy, but his passing forces them to come to terms with his - and perhaps their - illness. Though deadly serious in intent, there’s an underlying current of dark humor that works in the film’s favor, and San Juan delivers a particularly strong performance.
8:45 PM Encore
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977 USA): I’ve taken my lumps about The Exorcist (1973), a film that sends me into paroxysms of laughter rather than screams of terror. No such trepidation about its 1977 sequel, however: featuring a rich and fruity performance from Richard Burton as well as the return of the incredibly limber Linda Blair, The Heretic doesn’t pretend to be anything more than an exploitation flick. I like it, but not as much as I like 1990’s The Exorcist III, which stars George C. Scott and Brad Dourif and follows at 10:45 PM. No, really: I like The Exorcist III more than I like both The Exorcist and Exorcist II: The Heretic. I hope you’ll still respect me in the morning.