New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Thursday 06/14/07

9:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Velvet Touch (1948 USA): Rosalind Russell stars as an actress caught in a compromising position in The Velvet Touch, an obscure intriguer (and only feature film) from television director Jack Gage. Russell portrays star-crossed thespian Valerie Stanton, who accidentally kills producer-boyfriend Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames) and is desperate to conceal her involvement in his death — especially if she can kill two birds with one stone by implicating romantic rival Marian Webster (Claire Trevor). Featuring arch dialogue laden with veiled insinuations and double entendres, The Velvet Touch co-stars Sydney Greenstreet as an inquisitive police captain who also happens to be a theater enthusiast, Leo Genn as Valerie's new flame Michael Morrell, and Lex Barker as hunky window dressing.

9:50 PM HBO Signature
Solo Con Tu Pareja (1991 MEX): I haven't seen this film, but it's an item of interest thanks to the presence of director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) behind the camera. Written by Alfonso's brother Carlos, Solo Con Tu Pareja is apparently a romantic comedy about an incorrect AIDS diagnosis. Sounds a bit dodgy, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the talented Mr. Cuaron was getting up to back in the day.

Friday 06/15/07

1:35 AM Cinemax
Dos Ilusiones (2005 ARG): Been a while since we've had a new Argentinian film to promote in the TiVoPlex, but fear not, fans of Patagonian picture-making — the long drought is over. Dos Ilusiones is a frank comedy about the lust for success, and stars Matias Santoianni as Heniberto, a down at heel clerk with a chance to break away from his dull working class existence when glamorous Cynthia (Claudia Albertario) pops into his shop one day. Cynthia is aspiring to fame and fortune, and, on a whim, she takes Heniberto on as joint minder and publicist on a make it or break it trip to Buenos Aires. Will Cynthia climb all the way to the top — and if she does, will she remember all the little people who helped her become the star she is today? Let's just say the film isn't called 'Two Illusions' for nothing. Also airs at 4:35 AM.

Saturday 06/16/07

12:15 AM Showtime
Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (2004 USA): The Runaways may not have been very good, bar a few songs like the irresistible Cherry Bomb, but this documentary is essential viewing for rock-and-roll fans. Directed by one of the band's former bass players, Victory Tischler-Blue, Edgeplay is the final cinematic word on the all-female band that gave birth to the careers of both Joan Jett and, less encouragingly, Lita Ford, and is only hampered by the lack of original music, the unfortunate result of Jett's decision not to participate in the project. What Edgeplay does have - and have in spades - is access to the REST of the band, who are incredibly forthcoming and more than make up for Jett's absence with tales of life on the road and in the studio with producer Kim Fowley. For those not completely creeped out by Fowley's presence in 2004's other great rock doc, The Mayor of the Sunset Strip, you're in for more of the same here, as the sleazy Svengali doesn't hold anything back. It would have been nice if Jett had chosen to appear, but Edgeplay is still a first-rate film, especially for those who favor big hair and Spandex. Also airs at 3:15 AM.

3:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Man In the Vault (1956 USA): Here's one of those low budget '50s crime features that does exactly what it says on the label. Directed by action specialist Andrew V. McLaglen on behalf of John Wayne's product ion company Batjac, Man In the Vault features the future star of Dementia 13, William Campbell, as Tommy Dancer, a talented locksmith forced against his will to assist in a bank robbery organized by a goon named Trent (Berry Kroeger). The film is utterly predictable right down to the cardboard romance that allows Tommy to save a Good Woman from a Bad End, but there's always a time and a place for cinematic comfort food, and that's probably what you want at 3:15 in the morning. The supporting cast includes Anita Ekberg, Mike Mazurki, and Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez.

Continued:       1       2       3