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Thursday 6/14/12

8:00 PM Sundance
The Possession of David O’Reilly (2007 GB): Not to be confused with The Possession of Joel Delaney or The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, this is a muddled but interesting British horror flick in the Blair Witch vein. Giles Anderson headlines as the title character, a regular fellow who spoils friends Kate and Alex’s weekend with ridiculous tales of unexplained and embarrassing photographs. Invited to stay the night by the gullible couple, David is soon wreaking all kinds of demonic havoc in their flat - all of it conveniently caught on tape by Alex’s elaborate camera set up. It’s unoriginal, but watchable nonetheless.

9:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961 USA): This Paramount comedy is pretty weak sauce, but worth a look as a precursor of sorts to the Beach Party movies. Teen idol Tommy Sands stars as Gordon, a college freshman adapting to his new-found independence by spending spring break at a groovy beach pad with gal pal Blythe (Toby Michaels). Their relationship, of course, is strictly platonic, but the arrival of Coast Guard sailor Giuseppe (Fabian) disturbs the waters - and reveals the true depths of Gordon and Blythe’s relationship. Shot in widescreen, this rarely seen feature unfortunately airs tonight in pan and scan, and co-stars Star Trek regular Majel Barrett years before she met Gene Roddenberry and put down roots aboard the Starship Enterprise.

Saturday 6/16/12

1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Empire of Passion (1978 JAP): I remember this Nagisa Oshima flick being marketed as a bit of a naughty movie back when it first came out. An arthouse hit, it was also the inspiration for one of my favorite post-punk records, a little ditty of the same name composed and performed by San Francisco experimentalists Factrix that included such memorable lines as “I want your sex for my display case” and “I’m learning to love you while fondling your organs during scientific films”. I do wonder what Oshima would have thought of Factrix’ song if he’d ever heard it, because it does - in strange ways - seem in keeping with the film’s bizarre tale of unrequited love between a middle-aged Meiji-era barmaid (Kazuko Yoshiyuki) and the much younger Toyoji (Tatsuya Fuji), a demobbed soldier newly returned home. Lacking the sexual intensity of Oshima’s previous feature In the Realm of the Senses (which genuinely WAS naughty), Empire of Passion remains an unsettling character study with sexual and supernatural overtones. It’s strongly recommended, as is the film that follows it at 3:00 AM: the completely dissimilar World Without End (1956), a widescreen sci-fi adventure featuring the world’s greatest animatronic giant spider.

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Dick Tracy (1937): Our hero takes a ride in a motorboat and escapes a burning airship in Chapters 10, 11, and 12 of this Republic serial.

6:00 PM Starz
Anonymous (2011 GB-USA): Frock flicks rarely come better than Anonymous - and rarely more controversial, either. Tackling the still contentious issue of the authorship of William Shakespeare’s plays, the film plumps for the De Vere theory, which posits that the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) was the man behind the quill. If you’re a strong Shakespeare partisan - or subscribe to one of the other theories (Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe) - you’ll probably find Anonymous maddening, but if you’re simply looking for a quality period piece set in Elizabethan England, look no further. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.

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