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

5:00 PM Encore
Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966 USA): Over the last decade or so, almost every Elvis movie has aired on TCM in widescreen. This isn’t one of them, and, sadly, I doubt that Encore will be screening Paradise Hawaiian Style in its original aspect ratio tonight, but you never know. In this paint-by-numbers outing, The King plays Rick Richards, a helicopter pilot running his own business in America’s 50th state. The dramatic complications are, of course, strictly routine, primarily revolving around Rick’s inability to be a responsible adult and his lack of respect for business partner Danny (James Shigeta). As for the songs...oh boy, they’re amongst the worst in the Presley canon (Queenie Wahini’s Papaya, anyone?). So what’s to like? Well, Hawaii always looks great, the supporting cast - including Suzanna Leigh, Irene Tsu, and Marianna Hill – is quite attractive, and...did I mention that Hawaii looks great?

Thursday 5/16/13

12:45 AM HBO Signature
3:34 Earthquake In Chile (2011 CHL): Everyone enjoys the vicarious thrill of a good disaster movie – at least until they experience a major disaster themselves. Then a comedy looks pretty good. As for 3:34 Earthquake in Chile, it’s at the top of the heap of the shake and jiggle genre, noteworthy not only for its vivid onscreen recreation of the Great Quake of 2010 but also for the producers’ offscreen decision to donate all proceeds to rebuilding efforts.

11:50 AM Encore Action
The Eliminator (2004 USA): This isn’t a good film, but we’re cutting it some slack due to the presence of Michael Rooker. One of America’s finest character actors, Rooker had a juicy role for several seasons on AMC’s The Walking Dead, and is cast here as an insane millionaire with more money than sense (which I guess explains the "insane" bit). He’s Miles Dawson, who brings together a group of other insane millionaires to bet on a Most Dangerous Game-style throwdown between competing tough guys – including Dawson’s hand-picked (and kidnapped!) entrant, Dakota Varley (Dutch Mixed Martial Arts champ Bas Rutten). If Fireball struck you as being too innovative and daring in its approach to the action movie genre, The Eliminator is a cozy, entirely predictable straight-to-video affair. Rooker is solid, but there’s not a whole lot more to recommend it.

Friday 5/17/13

12:40 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Illtown (1998 USA): If ever there were an American Indie prom – or if there had been one in the 1990s, at least – its king and queen undoubtedly would have been Michael Rapaport and Lili Taylor. Together for the first time in Illtown (they would be reunited twice thereafter), Rapaport and Taylor play Dante and Micky, a married couple peddling drugs in Miami Beach. It’s easy money thanks to the cooperation of corrupt policeman Lucas (Paul Schulze), but things get tricky when one of their teenage runners ends up dead – and when Dante’s old buddy Gabriel (Adam Trese) shows up after finishing his prison sentence. Illtown doesn’t add much to our understanding of the dynamics of drug dealing, but Rapaport and Taylor are always worth watching – especially when they’re together – and an interesting supporting cast, including Tony Danza and Isaac Hayes, provides additional value.

Continued:       1       2       3