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Friday 07/11/08

7:00 PM Sundance
Sigur Ros: Heima (2007 ICE): Fans of sound sculptors Sigur Ros will want to check out this feature, a blend of concert footage and gorgeous landscapes shot during the band's recent series of free 'thank you' performances in their native Iceland. If you're unfamiliar with Sigur Ros, they make a unique sound that blends elements of early '70s Pink Floyd, new age music, and late '90s shoegazing, creating music that is definitely more than the sum of its parts. Shot in such non-rock n roll venues as fish factories, fields, and caves, Heima is a special and very beautiful tribute to this unique group.

Saturday 07/12/08

7:00 PM Cinemax
Eastern Promises (2007 CAN): Forgive me readers, for I have sinned: I missed David Cronenberg's most recent feature during its surprisingly successful theatrical run last year. My inadequate explanation is that I was stunned into somnolence by the film's surprising success in American cinemas, and that I actually didn't care all that much for A History of Violence. Starring Viggo Mortensen, whose performance earned him a nomination for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards, Eastern Promises makes its small screen debut this evening, and airs again at 10:00 PM and throughout the month. I promise to watch it now.

Monday 07/14/08

4:30 AM HBO Signature
Buen Dia lo Tiene Cualquiera(2007 ESP): A drama with darkly comedic edges, Buen Dia lo Tiene Cualquiera stars Diego Martin as Arturo, a Spanish telemarketer who's lost both his job and his home. Desperate to find a place to lay his head, Arturo turns to best bud Joaquin (Roberto Alamo), who hooks him up with a program that matches domicile-desperate university students with old age pensioners in need of companionship. He finds himself sharing quarters with Onofre (Jose Antonio Quintana), and soon finds his new roommate is more than he can handle. If you've still got bad memories of your college roomie, you might want to skip it, but you'll be missing out on a very good film.

11:20 PM HBO Signature
Tiempo de Valientes(2005 ARG): An Argentine comedy released briefly in the U.S. as On Probation, Tiempo de Valientes features Diego Paretti as Mariano, a nervous psychoanalyst sentenced to community service with slobby cop Alfredo (Luis Luque). In one of the least likely plot developments you'll ever see, the two find themselves assigned to a murder case, and the film devolves into an unlikely blend of thriller and fish out of water buddy movie. Absurd as the story may be, Peretti and Luque make for an engaging screen pairing and the film is worth watching for their onscreen chemistry alone.

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