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

Saturday 7/20/13

6:00 PM The Movie Channel
The Crow: City of Angels (1996 USA): Winner of the Most Portentous Film of the Year Award – an award, by the way, that I just made up – 1994’s The Crow spawned three equally ridiculous sequels, all of which air this evening in chronological order. In City of Angels, Vincent Perez replaces the late Brandon Lee, but the film isn’t much different than its predecessor, its comic book excess dressed up in then-trendy music video tropes which haven’t aged particularly well (and weren’t all that great to start with). Nonetheless, if you’ve ever wanted to watch all three sequels in one sitting, here they are: The Crow: City of Angels is followed at 7:30 PM by 2000’s The Crow: Salvation (a superior effort thanks to the presence of Kirsten Dunst, William Atherton and Fred Ward) and at 9:15 PM by 2005’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer (a substantially worse one).

9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Une Parisienne (1958 FRA): This film has two selling points, and both are named Brigitte Bardot. The wacky anti-fur activist became a huge international star thanks to films like this one, in which she portrays a young woman who decides to ditch her philandering husband in favor of some fun in the sun on the French Riviera. Proof if ever proof were needed that not all Gallic films brim with artistic merit, Une Parisienne is pure fluff. I’m not certain this is a widescreen premiere, but it’s a bit of a rarity regardless.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958 USA): What do you do when you find an ancient crate on your elderly relative’s property? Why, open it, of course! And what do you when you discover the decapitated head of a 16th century devil worshiper inside? Hope that the bodiless noggin doesn’t exert its tremendous psychic powers by taking over the minds of whoever crosses its path, of course! Alas, that’s precisely what does happen in this turgid if strangely entertaining low budget chiller from Universal. It’s followed at 12:15 AM by an encore screening of 1962’s legendary anti-masterpiece The Brain That Couldn’t Die (oh, if only The Brain and The Thing could have been united, Predator vs. Alien style!) and at 1:45 AM by the grim anti-drug feature Goofballs and Tea (1958). Kids, stay away from drugs! Drugs will kill you! I know this, because James Brown told me so, and the Hardest Working Man In Showbiz never lied.

Sunday 7/21/13

9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Mickey (1918 USA): Years before Mabel Normand had her infamous love affair with the beknighted William Desmond Taylor, she appeared in this fish-out-of-water silent comedy about a young country gal forced to adapt to life in the wicked big city. It’s pretty anodyne stuff, but does feature a remarkable scene of Normand holding a cat by the tail. Don’t try that at home.

Monday 7/22/13

10:25 AM HBO Signature
La Isla Interior (2009 ESP): A worthwhile Spanish drama about family and genetics, La Isla Interior provides a powerful and sobering look at the crippling effects of mental illness. Cristina Marks stars as Gracia, one of three siblings re-united by the imminent death of their father. Also on hand are brother Miguel (Alberto San Juan) and sister Coral (Candela Pena), as well as dear old mum (Geraldine Chaplin). Dad has long suffered from schizophrenia and the family has long avoided dealing with its legacy, but his passing forces them to come to terms with his - and perhaps their - illness. Though deadly serious in intent, there’s an underlying current of dark humor that works in the film’s favor, and San Juan delivers a particularly strong performance.

8:45 PM Encore
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977 USA): I’ve taken my lumps about The Exorcist (1973), a film that sends me into paroxysms of laughter rather than screams of terror. No such trepidation about its 1977 sequel, however: featuring a rich and fruity performance from Richard Burton as well as the return of the incredibly limber Linda Blair, The Heretic doesn’t pretend to be anything more than an exploitation flick. I like it, but not as much as I like 1990’s The Exorcist III, which stars George C. Scott and Brad Dourif and follows at 10:45 PM. No, really: I like The Exorcist III more than I like both The Exorcist and Exorcist II: The Heretic. I hope you’ll still respect me in the morning.

Continued:       1       2       3