TiVoPlex
By John Seal
June 29, 2009
Friday 07/03/09
8:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Our Man Flint (1966 USA): The film that made James Coburn a matinee idol, Our Man Flint is one of many tongue in cheek secret agent action-comedies of the 1960s. Coburn is Derek Flint, America's greatest clandestine operative, here assigned by ZOWIE chief Cramden (Lee J. Cobb, who seems to suffer an aneurysm in every scene) to stymie a plot to permanently alter the planet's climate. Derek Flint, where are you when we REALLY need you! Sent to Moscow to ostensibly teach ballet at the Bolshoi, Flint is actually more interested in his cover than in his mission, and it's not until enemy agents try to kill him that he really engages with the task at hand: saving the planet from ecological disaster. If you are familiar with the beer ads featuring "the most interesting man in the world", that character could have been based on Flint, who can also perform surgery and instantly solve complex equations in between his between the sheets adventures. It's delightful popcorny fun, and is followed at 10:30 AM by sequel In Like Flint (1967), in which our hero must stop a group of wicked women from conquering the planet and turning it into the galaxy's largest catwalk. Or something.
Saturday 07/04/09
1:00 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977 USA): I wish this film had been made either ten years earlier or ten years later. Why? Because the producers didn't ante up for good period detail, and the film looks like what it is: a lurid 1970s take on the misadventures of America's number one lawman. That means that everyone's hair is unkempt or too long, and their clothes reek of polyester. But at least writer-director Larry Cohen (Phone Booth, Q) got the film made, and outside of the late 1970s, there haven't been too many windows of opportunity for a film detailing FBI dirty tricks. A beyond-well-past-his-prime Broderick Crawford plays the maniacal Hoover, who parlayed his success taking out Depression-era gangsters into a 40-year career tracking down commies, political "subversives", drug addicts, and homosexuals — all whilst home-making with his second-in-command, Clyde Tolson (Dan Dailey), and indulging in cross-dressing fantasies. Cohen managed to wangle his way into FBI headquarters for some location footage, lending the film a patina of official approval it definitely didn't have. All things considered (and period detail aside), it's a pretty good film, and co-stars Jose Ferrer, Rip Torn, and Howard da Silva.
5:00 PM HBO
Burn after Reading (2008 USA): Despite the fact that this Coen Brothers comedy played for several weeks at the neighbourhood bijou a mere ten minute walk from my house, I still managed to miss it. That's primarily due to the presence of my arch nemesis, Brad Pitt, in the cast, but Burn after Reading is making its television debut this evening, and as a long-standing member of the Coen fan club, I'd better make time for it now. In addition to Pitt, the film's cast includes George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and John Malkovich, so the news isn't all bad. Also airs at 8:00 PM and throughout the month.
Sunday 07/05/09
7:00 AM IFC
Johnny Gaddaar (2007 IND): Tired of IFC repeating the same ol' samurai movies over and over and over again? Time to rejoice! No, they don't have any new samurai flicks for us, but they do launch a series of recent Bollywood features this month, kicking off with this hugely successful crime drama based on a novel by British expat James Hadley Chase. Johnny Gaddaar (Johnny Slick) stars Dharmendra as Seshadri, the elderly ringleader of an elaborate five-man plot that will earn him and his co-conspirators untold ill-gotten riches. The plan involves swapping a McGuffin for vast quantities of cash on a train, and naturally, things don't go quite as planned. Well-acted, beautifully shot, and completely bereft of songs (!), Johnny Gaddaar is good, twisty fun from start to finish.
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