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Saturday 12/06/08

3:00 AM MGM HD
The White Bus (1967 GB): A very rare short film from director Lindsay Anderson, The White Bus relates the story of a young woman (Patricia Healey) who decides to return home to Manchester after deciding life in London is not for her. Once home, she takes a bus tour around town hosted by the Mayor (Dad's Army's Arthur Lowe) and then enjoys lunch in a local chippie. Written by Shelagh Delaney (A Taste of Honey) and featuring the first screen appearance of Anthony Hopkins, The White Bus is an elegant meditation on the lives of little people everywhere. On the Buses it ain't.

Sunday 12/07/08

8:00 PM The Movie Channel
Ju-on 2 (2003 JAP): Sundance's Asia Extreme season goes into repeats this month, so it's up to The Movie Channel to pick up the mantle and air Ju-on 2 — in widescreen, no less. Takashi Shimizu's Japanese-language sequel to the incredibly successful Ju-On (The Grudge) sees the return of Yuuko Daike as actress Kyoko Suzuki, who loses her unborn child in a car accident but finds herself mysteriously pregnant again after recovering and returning to work. Is her immaculate conception one of God's little miracles? Or could it be related to her latest project, a horror film that seems to be taking an inordinate toll on those associated with it? Be careful, now — you only get one guess.

Monday 12/08/08

5:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Feather In Her Hat (1935 USA): This convoluted Columbia programmer features Pauline Lord as London shopkeeper Clarissa Phipps, whose dalliance with gone to seed military man Randolph Courtney (Basil Rathbone) has led to complications later in life for her adopted son Richard (Louis Hayward). Seems Richard's real parents were members of the moneyed intelligentsia, and Clarissa is determined that he will rise above her low station in life and reclaim his rightful spot at the head of society's table. A soapy tearjerker perhaps most notable for the presence of newcomer David Niven amongst its supporting cast, A Feather in Her Hat makes its TCM debut this morning.

6:00 PM Sundance
In Prison My Whole Life (2007 GB): Okay, this is a tough one. As regular readers know, I'm an opponent of the death penalty and will almost always have something kind to say about a documentary dealing with the subject. One of my pet peeves about anti-death penalty advocates, however, has been their apparently limitless fascination for death row convict Mumia Abu-Jamal — who also happens to be the focus of this film. Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981, and a biased judge and some questionable prosecution witnesses soon drew the attention of activists. My objections arise not from the details of Abu-Jamal's case — there are definitely serious evidentiary questions about it, and the tampering of his trial judge is undeniable — but from the attention focussed on him at the expense of scores of less sexy defendants who aren't as well connected as Abu-Jamal. So how's the film? Overly broad, for one thing — we get doses of slavery and Hurricane Katrina, for example — and far too reliant on musicians and rappers as interview subjects. In fact, it's one of the least convincing films of its type, and isn't likely to win too many hearts and minds. Which makes this the non-recommendation recommendation of the week, I guess.

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