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

11:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
Repo Man (1984 USA): Bonafide cult classic Repo Man returns to TCM this evening, though unfortunately not in its correct aspect ratio. Not a big deal, though: it’s a film that always plays well on TV, and is required viewing for aging punk rockers and Emelio Estevez fans alike. Directed by Alex Cox (Sid and Nancy, Walker), the film stars Estevez as Otto, a young hellion who gets a straight job working for a repossession agency operated by Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), Miller (Tracey Walter), and Lite (Sy Richardson). What starts out as a mundane occupation, however, soon becomes something much more dangerous, as a car trunk full of radioactive…something…starts to cause all sorts of problems for Otto and friends. Featuring a terrific soundtrack including songs by Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and The Plugz, Repo Man even includes a cameo appearance by LA scenester Rodney Bingenheimer. It’s followed at 1:30 AM on 10/16 by Border Radio, a low-budget indie from 1987 starring LA punk veteran Chris D. as a rocker on the run in Mexico with some ill-gotten gains. If you spent time in the clubs of LA circa 1980 you’ll appreciate the on-screen presence of Mr. D (The Flesheaters), John Doe (X), and Dave Alvin (The Blasters).

Saturday 10/16/10

7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
No Holds Barred (1952 USA): It’s number 28 of the Bowery Boys series, and by now, the routine had become pretty tiresome. Sach develops a talent (this time, wrestling), Slip tries to take advantage of it (this time, managing Sach), and the rest of the gang hover in the background. No film featuring the squared circle can be entirely bad, but this is not one of my favorite Bowery Boys outings - though I’ll be watching it anyway.

Sunday 10/17/10

10:15 AM Showtime Extreme
Transporter 3 (2008 FRA-GB): One of the most ridiculous action movies of all time - and I realize that’s saying a lot - makes a (supposedly) letterboxed appearance on Extreme this morning. Jason Statham returns for a third time as grim-visaged hard man Frank Martin, this time lumbered with a Russian lovely (Natalya Rudakova) whilst forced to drive a car from Point A to Point B. Series fans denounced this entry for attempting to be a bit less cartoony than the two previous Transporters, but don’t worry - there’s still plenty of completely over-the-top automotive adventuring on hand. Personally, I rather enjoyed the film’s efforts - however minimal - to humanize Martin, but I realize that character development is not an important consideration for most action junkies.

4:45 PM Sundance
Boogie (2008 ROM): A Romanian man spends a night on the tiles in this solid, if far from ground-breaking, drama from director Radu Muntean. Dragos Bucur, the tormented cop in last year’s Police, Adjective, plays Bogdan (Boogie) Ciocazanu, a 20-something trying to settle down as a family man after a misspent youth. Unfortunately, whilst on holiday with the trouble and strife, Boogie meets some of his old hell-raising pals and spends an evening drinking, drugging, and womanizing, much to wifey’s chagrin. It’s the old Peter Pan Syndrome story updated to modern-day mitteleuropa, but well-acted and beautifully shot. Also airs 10/18 at 12:20 AM.

Monday 10/18/10

9:10 PM Sundance
Drama/Mex (2006 MEX): A multi-story drama co-produced by actor Gael Garcia Bernal, Drama/Mex relates three (or is it two?) interconnected tales set in Acapulco. This isn't the Acapulco the tourists generally visit, however; it's here dubbed "Crapapulco". There's a dangerous relationship game played out between two young folk (Emilio Valdés and Diana Garcia), a jilted boyfriend (Juan Pablo Castaneda) who shouts a lot, and a middle-aged schlep (Fernando Becerril) who steals his employer's payroll and decides to off himself at the beach. If the film is a little too indebted to the style of Iñárritu and Arriaga, it partially compensates with attractive photography and a tighter narrative focus than, say, the overreaching 21 Grams.

Continued:       1       2       3