TiVoPlex
By John Seal
January 7, 2013
3:00 AM HBO 2
Jaws: The Revenge (1987 USA): Great White hits barrel bottom in this dreadful (and thankfully final, at least to date) chapter of the Jaws saga. Scheider’s character has mercifully succumbed to a heart attack since his last appearance, Quaid’s has been eaten by a shark, and widow Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary, who’d skipped Jaws 3-D but had been in the first two films) is left to tackle the ocean’s mightiest predator when it follows her from Martha’s Vineyard to the Bahamas. Yep, this time Sharky has GPS that allows him to track the widow of his worst enemy because, well, who knows why. It’s Jaws: The Revenge - don’t ask questions!
9:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Background to Danger (1943 USA): It pales in comparison with other Warner Bros suspensers of the period, but this Raoul Walsh-helmed feature is worth watching for its cast alone. Not only do you get the great Peter Lorre/Sydney Greenstreet team, you also get George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Turhan Bey (rest in peace!), Steven Geray, and Kurt Katch. Sure, the story about German spies floating a rumor that Russia is about to invade Turkey isn’t all that good, but whenever Lorre and Greenstreet share the screen, magic still happens.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Psychopath (1966 GB): Boy, we’re getting all kinds of goodies in the New Year! Of course, we’d better enjoy them now – February will be 31 Days of Oscar month on TCM, which means a steady diet of movies we’ve seen a million times before. I’m not complaining, mind you – TCM remains the jewel in the crown of my satellite package, and I’m willing to put up with a hundred broadcasts of Funny Lady and Citizen Kane if it means I get one of The Psychopath. Directed by Freddie Francis and penned by the estimable Robert Bloch, this Amicus production tells the sordid tale of a serial killer who leaves behind an unusual clue at each murder scene: a doll fashioned in the likeness of the victim. Too bad this isn’t airing in its original aspect ratio, but beggars can’t be choosers. It’s followed at 12:30 AM by a widescreen airing of 1971’s disappointing Murders In the Rue Morgue, which despite a decent cast –including Jason Robards, Herbert Lom, and Michael Dunn – plays like a rather bloodless made-for-TV movie.
Saturday 1/12/13
6:00 PM The Movie Channel
From Dusk Till Dawn 2 (1999 USA): We have a theme this week - here’s another case of a super cast stuck in a disappointing feature. Robert Patrick, Danny Trejo, Bo Hopkins, and Bruce Campbell are all here, and I’m a huge fan of the original From Dusk Till Dawn (who isn’t?), but (despite the return of Robert Rodriguez as executive producer), the film’s sum is most definitely not the equal of its parts. Basically it's an uninspired, campier remake of the original. From Dusk Till Dawn 2 is followed at 7:30 PM by the somewhat more inspiring From Dusk Till Dawn 3, and the films repeat at 9:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
Monday 1/14/13
12:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Walkabout (1971 AUS): I’ve written about Walkabout once or twice before, but it’s a truly wonderful film and I can’t resist heaping a bit more praise on it. Set in the Australian outback, the film features Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg (son of director Nic) as two Anglo children abandoned in the wilderness, only to be rescued and cared for by an Aborigine teenager (legendary Native Australian actor David Gulpilil, in his first role). That’s basically it. Roger Ebert compared Walkabout to Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and that seems like an apt comparison, as the film lacks much in the way of traditional plot. On the other hand, it’s a stunningly beautiful work of art (and I don’t use that term lightly) that brilliantly illuminates man’s relationship to the Earth, compares and contrasts the concepts of "civilization" and "barbarism", and features a haunting John Barry score. In other words, it’s a must see.
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