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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 03/07/06

12:45pm Turner Classic Movies
The Law and Jake Wade (1959 USA): Richard Widmark stars as Clint Hollister, an outlaw freed from jail by a friend who owes him a good turn, in this wide-screen Western from MGM. His get-out-of-jail-free card is Jake Wade (Robert Taylor), whose friendly gesture turns sour when Clint decides he'd like to get his hands on the ill-gotten gains the pair hid some years back. With the aid of his current sidekicks (including DeForest Kelley and Henry Silva), Clint kidnaps Jake and his pretty fiancée (Patricia Owens), and politely asks them to show him the whereabouts of the loot. Beautifully shot in Death Valley by Robert Surtees, The Law and Jake Wade is a top-quality oater whose great cast outshines its predictable storyline.

5:30pm Showtime
Code 46 (2003 GB): The ever busy Michael Winterbottom directed this cerebral science fiction tale of unrequited love in the bleak world of tomorrow. The film stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton as the unlikely and unlucky couple, who must subvert the system which has deemed them incompatible and find a way to satisfy their surreptitious cravings. It's typical Winterbottom stuff - heavy on the intellect, easy on the action - and frustratingly oblique at times. But there's enough thought-provoking material packed into Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay to satisfy those inclined toward the William Gibson/Philip K. Dick end of the sci-fi spectrum, and David Holmes provides a typically effective ambient score. Also airs at 8:30pm, 3/8 on Showtime 2 at 5:25pm, 3/11 at 10:15pm, and 3/12 at 1:15am.

Wednesday 03/08/06

5pm Showtime
All We Are Saying (2005 USA): This Rosanna Arquette-helmed documentary premiered at 2005's Tribeca Film Festival and then went back into deep storage until this evening, when it makes its small screen debut. It's a frequently fascinating and entirely engaging series of interviews with music biz veterans who expound on the current, generally dismal, state of affairs in their profession. There's a refreshing range of interviewees, including grumpy old man David Crosby, peppy youngster Andre 3000, stringy prune-face Iggy Pop, and a disarming middle-aged Chrissie Hynde, who expounds on the discomfort of taking the stage whilst wearing a nursing bra. The second feature film from actress Arquette, All We Are Saying also airs at 8pm.

10pm HBO Signature
Roma (2004 ARG-ESP): By now you might have thought I'd given shout-outs to every Argentinean film ever made, but such is not the case. Here's one that I had heretofore missed: an epic-length, set-in-Spain biopic about an elderly Argentine novelist (José Sacristán) who relates his life and times to a young journalist (Juan Diego Botto) he's hired to help with his next book. The result is an episodic homage to the writer's mother (the titular Roma), an open-minded proto-feminist whose free-spirited ways helped expand her son's horizons via cinema and music. Even though it's a tad overlong at 155 minutes, Roma was a critical and box office hit in its homeland, and it scooped up three awards (and twice as many more nominations) at the 2004 Argentine Film Critics Awards.

10:10pm Showtime 3
The Man Who Loved Women (1977 FRA): One of Francois Truffaut's least-appreciated and least-known features, The Man Who Loved Women returns to television tonight for the first time in many years. Featuring Charles Denner (Elevator to the Gallows, Z) as Bertrand, a fellow who will go to great lengths to catch a glimpse of the lower portions of a woman's legs, the film is a semi-autobiographical tribute to Truffaut's womanizing ways. Castigated on its release as an exercise in puerile sexism, the film has mellowed with age and now plays as it was originally intended: a theatre of the absurd-style comedy/drama about a rather homely man who cannot (or is unable to) keep his libido in check. Amongst the cast (and his conquests) are Leslie Caron, Nathalie Baye, and Brigitte Fossey, and Truffaut himself puts in a cameo appearance during a funeral scene.

Thursday 03/09/06

6am Sundance
McVicar (1980 GB): A bit of a vanity project, McVicar was co-produced by the man who also landed the title role: Who singer Roger Daltrey. He plays a London wide boy who ends up behind bars after he grows up and graduates to armed robbery. Based on the true story of John McVicar (who contributed to the screenplay), the story revolves around the felon's prison break and his resultant attempts to evade a tightening noose of police pursuers. The film is brisk and exciting, Daltrey doesn't embarrass himself, and there's a nice performance from the eternally underrated Adam Faith as our hero's sidekick. There's also a soundtrack redolent with the macho braying of Daltrey himself (this can be taken as either compliment or condemnation; take your choice), and lots and lots of swearing. Also airs at 2pm.

4pm Sundance
Nomi Song (2004 GER): One of the strongest (and strangest) television memories of my adolescence is that of Klaus Nomi's appearance one evening on Saturday Night Live. Roped into providing backing vocals for David Bowie, Klaus's performance was a true eye-opener, on a par with seeing Elvis Costello break the rule book or Devo go manic in their yellow suits, with Nomi's heavily made-up, kabuki-style visage and angular outfits conjuring visions of an asexual Boy George. This documentary tells the all-too-brief story of his life, from his Bavarian childhood to his flirtation with fame and, ultimately, his death in 1983 from AIDS. Though the film can't quite crack the nut - what DID make this man tick? - it's loaded with fascinating performance footage, including the aforementioned SNL gig. Nomi Song also features copious interviews with the singer's contemporaries, including the wonderful Ann Magnuson, who provided Nomi with his first American exposure via her 1978 "New Wave vaudeville" show in the East Village.

Friday 03/10/06

1:35am Sundance
L'eau Froide (1994 FRA): One of a series of ten films produced under the general rubric Tous les Garçons et Filles de Leur Âge, L'eau Froide was the contribution of director Olivier Assayes, whose next film would be the even-better Irma Vep. The series was intended to provide the filmmakers an opportunity to tell the stories of their teenage years, and Assayes' film concentrates on the politically heated early 1970s, a time when the echoes of the May 1968 Paris student rebellion were still reverberating. Starring Cyprien Fouquet and a young Virginie Ledoyen as a pair of rebellious teens who engage in anti-social behavior then leave home for a life on the road, L'eau Froide effectively captures the pains and pleasures of adolescence during a particularly tumultuous time in French history.

7pm Showtime
Open Water (2003 USA): Do you like sharks? Do you like water? Do you like LOTS of water? How about lots of water with sharks thrown in for good measure and a jellyfish chaser on the side? If you answered yes to these questions, then make time for Open Water, a low-budget existential thriller that was a surprising and extremely profitable hit at the 2004 box office. It features no-name stars Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis as newlyweds whose dream honeymoon is spoiled when they find themselves stranded mid-ocean with only their scuba gear to protect them. The film consists of the two of them floating, conversing, and most importantly trying to survive, as they try to remember whether it's safe to drink sea water or urine, and whether or not all sharks are aggressive. Shot on digital video and airing in wide-screen, Open Water also airs at 10pm and throughout the month.

7pm Sundance
The Border (1982 USA): Jack Nicholson stars as border patrol officer Charlie Smith in this gritty drama about a Mexican woman (Elpidia Carrillo) who dreams of a future in the land of milk and honey and is willing to risk her life - as well as the lives of her infant child and her pre-pubescent brother - to get there. Charlie is also a recent immigrant; urged on by his wife (Valerie Perrine), he's moved to Texas after spending years as an INS agent fruitlessly trying to clamp down on illegal sweatshops in the Los Angeles area. What he finds along the Rio Grande is a culture just as corrupt as the one he left behind, as fellow officers (including Harvey Keitel) supplement their income by ferrying illegals across the border before filling their arrest quotas and shipping them back. The tightly-wound screenplay keeps the focus on the intrigue and doesn't preach, though it does point out the hypocrisy of a nation unwilling to recognize its own history of European immigration. Nicholson is particularly good - as in the brilliant About Schmidt, he avoids his tendency of mugging for the camera - and the film also includes a deliciously malicious turn from Warren Oates as Jack's supervisor. The Border airs in wide-screen and re-airs 3/11 at noon.

8pm IFC
House of 1000 Corpses (2003 USA): Informational alert for those who care: this awful horror film from Rob Zombie, who at least had the presence of mind to cast the great Sid Haig as anti-hero Captain Spaulding, makes its American wide-screen television debut this evening. That is all. Also airs at 11pm.

11pm Turner Classic Movies
Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962 FRA): Robert Bresson isn't one of my favorite directors, but his recreation of the trial of Joan of Arc is one of his more interesting and accessible films. Bresson had been a painter before he became a filmmaker, and his preferences for minimalism, naturalism, and still-life render many of his features inert or incomprehensible for many. His style works well for this film, however, as it's basically a recreation of the famous trial and conjures memories of Carl Dreyer's powerful silent feature, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928). Florence Delay plays Joan, and though she can't hope to match the overwhelming power of Maria Falconetti's suitably showy interpretation, she manages to run rings round that of Ingrid Bergman. Procès de Jeanne D'Arc ain't for everyone, but hardcore cineastes will definitely want to give it a look.

Saturday 03/11/06

7am Turner Classic Movies
Man in the Shadow (1957 USA): Last week I gave the nod to director Jack Arnold's No Name on the Bullet. This week another of Arnold's Universal oaters (also penned by Gene Coon) pops up on TCM, this one featuring handsome Jeff Chandler in the lead role in place of Audie Murphy. Chandler plays the straight-shooting lawman of Spurline, facing off against a corrupt and powerful landowner (Orson Welles) whose grip on the town is threatened when a bracero is killed on his property. Chandler finds himself an unlikely ally (and, natch, love interest) in the form of Welles' daughter (perky Colleen Miller), and he's soon on a collision course with danger. Amongst the outstanding supporting cast of this pleasant CinemaScope feature are Royal Dano, William Schallert, and James Gleason.

Sunday 03/12/06

5:30pm Showtime
The Woodsman (2004 USA): Kevin Bacon essays the difficult role of Walter, a pedophile, in this intelligent feature about a man struggling to control his compulsions and live some semblance of a normal life. Released from prison after 12 years, Walter finds himself inadvertently housed across the street from an elementary school, hounded by an unsympathetic parole officer (Mos Def), and employed at a lumberyard where some of the staff take an instant disliking to him. When Walter becomes involved with one of his co-workers (Kyra Sedgwick), he finds himself at a crossroads, and decides he must be brutally honest with her about his sexual history. The first feature-length film from NYU grad Nicole Kassell, The Woodsman is a powerful and thoughtful look at what is still largely an unmentionable transgression, and unless you simply can't deal with the subject matter, is strongly recommended. It's making its American television premiere this evening in wide-screen, and also airs at 8:30pm and on 3/13 at 6:30pm and 9:30pm.

Monday 03/13/06

6pm Sundance
Bruce and Me (2005 AUS-CAN): The titular Bruce is a bit of a rogue: a draft-dodging war resister, tax-evader, car thief, and credit card scamster. In 1972, Bruce's disgusted wife left him for Australia, taking with her their four-year-old daughter, Oren. Thirty years later, Oren decided it was time to get to meet her dad, and this film chronicles that journey home. What she discovers is that the more things change, the more they don't change: her father is still living off ill-gotten credit card gains in a remote part of the country, far from the prying eyes of law enforcement. Though this small-scale documentary doesn't really teach us anything we didn't already know about the flaws and foibles of human nature, its subjects - which include the director's caustic 97-year-old grandma - are engaging enough to warrant the attention of those who enjoy non-fiction cinema.