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11:30 PM Sundance
Bunny and the Bull (2009 GB): Not to be confused with the film Roger Ebert hated before he loved it (or at least liked it) - Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny - Bunny and the Bull is a comedic fantasia from Mighty Boosh creator Paul Ryan. Described by the director as a “comedy road movie set entirely in a flat," the film stars Edward Hogg as reclusive Stephen, a stay at home type who hasn’t left his apartment in months. When an infestation of mice upends his routine, Stephen’s sense of complacency is disrupted and he imagines himself back on last year’s European road trip with chum Bunny (Simon Farnaby). If you’re familiar with the surreal and non-sequitur-ish (is that a word?) nature of The Mighty Boosh, you know what to expect: if not, you’ll probably be puzzled beyond belief.

Friday 11/25/11

2:00 AM The Movie Channel
Mona Lisa (1986 GB): Bob Hoskins plays an East End gangster with a heart of gold in this well-acted if not entirely plausible drama written and directed by Neil Jordan. Bob is George, a low-level mobster newly released from jail and desperate for work. Enter underworld bigwig Mortwell (Michael Caine), who takes him on and assigns him the task of driving high-class lady of the night Simone (Cathy Tyson) to her assignations and provide her protection if necessary. Simone can’t believe she has to work with the uncouth George, but the two slowly develop a closer relationship - a relationship that emboldens her to ask for his assistance in the search for a friend who’s gone missing in the gritty environs of King’s Cross. The Oscar-nominated Hoskins and Tyson make for an intriguing pair in this unlikely buddy movie, which also features Robbie Coltrane in a supporting (and largely comedic) role. Also airs at 5:00 AM.

Saturday 11/26/11

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Bomba on Panther Island (1949 USA): With the supply of Tarzan movies now exhausted, TCM turns to the Bomba franchise in order to continue the Saturday morning loincloth ‘n’ lions theme. Can Jungle Jim and Clyde Beatty be next on the horizon? Former "Boy" Johnny Sheffield headlines as Bomba, a white boy living in Darkest Africa. How he got there isn’t clear - apparently it’s not made clear in the original books, either, though I haven’t read them - but like the T-man he’s a friend and protector of animals and natives alike. In this series entry (the second of 12 churned out by Monogram and Allied Artists), our hero must protect Lady Maitland’s (Allene Roberts) farm from a prowling and hungry black panther. Directed by serial specialist Ford Beebe, it’s exactly what you expect from a Monogram B picture.

7:30 PM The Movie Channel
The Reef (2010 AUS): Excellent widescreen photography is the major selling point of this thriller shot near the Great Barrier Reef. An ensemble piece about shipwreck survivors stalked by a Great White Shark, The Reef looks great in its original aspect ratio - but if this turns out to be pan and scan screening, don’t bother. Also airs at 10:40 PM.

Monday 11/28/11

6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Walk Softly Stranger (1948 USA): Joseph Cotten revisits Shadow of a Doubt territory in this satisfying romantic suspenser helmed by Robert Stevenson. Instead of playing Uncle Charlie, Joseph is Chris Hale, a hail fellow well met sort who shows up one day in the small Ohio town of Ashton. Chris regales one and all with tales of his Ashton childhood and even strikes up a relationship with the heir to the local shoe factory (Alida Valli), but suspicions are stirred when some of his stories don’t quite jibe with reality. Produced in 1948 but unreleased for two years (until after Cotten and Valli had starred together in the big hit The Third Man), Walk Softly Stranger co-stars Spring Byington as a nun - no, sorry, kindly old woman - and Paul Stewart as an oily crook.

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