TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex
By John Seal
May 22, 2007
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 05/22/07
3:05 AM IFC
Stevie (2002 USA): This riveting documentary from director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) takes a sometimes uncomfortably close look at its subject - a troubled young man named Stephen Fielding - and his relationship to the filmmaker. Born to a mother who didn't want him, Fielding spent much of his youth victimized by child abusers and spent years moving between foster homes and juvenile centers. When James volunteered to be Stevie's Big Brother in the mid-1980s, he provided one of the few periods of stability in the boy's life. Returning to Fielding's home in rural southern Illinois ten years later, James found his old friend still living on the cusp of society, a serious criminal charge looming in the not-too-distant future, and a completely dysfunctional family unable to support him. Once again thrust into the position of being the responsible adult, James finds himself removed from the comfort zone of objective outsider and spends more and more time on camera trying to reconcile his filmmaking responsibilities with his concerns for Stevie's future. To say that Fielding's life hasn't been a happy one would be an understatement, and this lengthy but rewarding film does its best to document it all: the bad, the worse, and the extremely ugly. This is an underappreciated gem that all fans of non-fiction cinema need to see. Also airs at 11:45 AM.
10:30 PM HBO
Wide Awake (2006 USA): I generally sleep like a log, though sometimes it's a bit hard dropping off whilst all the high and low-lights of the past 24 hours replay in my obsessive-compulsive brain. For some folks, though, sleep is even more elusive, and insomnia is their normal end of the day business. That's the subject of this enjoyable if somewhat facile HBO original documentary. Directed by dedicated night owl Alan Berliner, who operates at his peak during the wee, wee hours of the morning, Wide Awake is part autobiographical confessional and part unapologetic excuse for Berliner's workaholism. It's hardly an academic treatise on the subject, and it most assuredly won't put you to sleep. Also airs 5/23 at 1:30 AM, 5:00 PM, and 8:00 PM.
Wednesday 05/23/07
10:30 AM Sundance
Day of the Jackal (1973 GB-FRA): Frederick Forsyth's novel of the same name topped the best seller lists in 1971, and was hurriedly adapted for the screen by director Fred Zinnemann and screenwriter Kenneth Ross, who apparently couldn't bring themselves to trim much if any of its voluminous plot. The result is an overlong (145 minute) suspenser that takes its time to get going but delivers a decent quota of thrills by the time it wends its way to the final reel. Left-wing rabble-rouser Edward Fox stars as The Jackal, a right-wing assassin gunning for French President Charles de Gaulle on behalf of a group of disgruntled veterans of the Algerian wars. The Surete get wind of the plot, and assign Lebel (avuncular Michael Lonsdale) to sift the sparse tealeaves and stop The Jackal before he can complete his mission. The cat and mouse game that follows is low octane stuff, but the lack of action is no impediment to enjoying the film, which in addition to superb European location work also features a wonderful Georges Delerue score and an excellent supporting cast, including Alan Badel, Maurice Denham, Derek Jacobi, Delphine Seyrig, Howard Vernon, Jean Sorel, Eric Porter, and Cyril Cusack as The Jackal's personal artificer. Also airs 5/24 at 3:30 AM.
9:35 PM More Max
Action Jackson (1988 USA): This late in the day black action flick stars former Oakland Raider Carl Weathers as Jericho 'Action' Jackson, a hard-nosed Detroit flatfoot out for revenge against psychopathic auto magnate Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson). After his son, a brutal rapist, gets roughed up by our hero, the powerful Dellaplane engineers a police brutality charge that sees Jackson demoted from lieutenant to sergeant. Not content with his mastery over the Detroit police review board, Dellaplane is also intent on busting the local autoworkers union and using his hard-nosed business tactics as a foundation for a presidential run—presumably on the Republican ticket. Jackson, naturally, is intent on putting his boot into Dellaplane's ass, and enlists heroin-addicted good time girl Sydney (Vanity) to the cause. Also along for the ride is Sharon Stone as Dellaplane's put upon spouse Patrice, Robert Davi as a thug, and the great Bill Duke as the stereotypical screaming police captain who enjoys tearing folks a new one whilst crushing coffee cups in his bare hands.
Thursday 05/24/07
12:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Beach Party (1963 USA): Though it took its cues from Sandra Dee's Gidget series, Beach Party was the film that launched the sun, sand and bikini genre that made AIP producers Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson rich men. It stars decidedly un-hip health food enthusiast Bob Cummings as anthro Professor Robert Sutwell, who is studying the (squeaky clean) sexual habits of typical American teenagers and is convinced he sees parallels with the mating behaviour of certain ‘primitive' tribes. The plot, of course, is completely secondary to the romantic complications involving Frankie and Dee Dee (Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello), the comic misadventures of the Rats and Mice Motorcycle Club led by the great Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), and the musical interludes provided by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. It's the best of the series—though Bikini Beach is good fun, too—and appears this afternoon in widescreen.
10:50 PM The Movie Channel
Quadrophenia (1979 GB): The film that temporarily convinced teenage me that being a mod was cooler than being a punk, Quadrophenia was adapted for the big screen from The Who's classic double LP of the same name. Directed by Franc Roddam, it stars newcomer Phil Daniels (who briefly parlayed the role into a musical career with his group The Cross) as Jimmy, a pill-popping teenager desperate for kicks and determined not to settle for Mum and Dad's boring, nine to five working class lifestyle. Like most teen lads, spotty faced Jimmy is also trying to pull the birds, including sexy Steph (Leslie Ash), but has a hard time competing with the sharply dressed and smooth complected competition, including Ace Face (Sting), the reticent figurehead leader of the local scooter club. A day trip to Brighton soon beckons, of course, and the inevitable battle between the Vespa-riding Mods and their greasy-haired, Norton mounted enemies, the Rockers, leads Jimmy to a tragic turning point. I was 17 when Quadrophenia came out, and it's safe to say the film changed my life about as much as any film can change anyone's life. For one thing it led to some truly embarrassing behaviour, such as chanting 'we are the Mods, we are the Mods, we are, we are, we are the Mods' on the way out of the cinema. Yikes. Also airs 5/25 at 1:50 AM.
Friday 05/25/07
3:30 AM Sundance
Blue Vinyl (2002 USA): If you needed something else in your life to worry about, take a look at Blue Vinyl, an excellent documentary about the PVC industry that puts the lives of its workers at risk so that we can enjoy cell phones, vibrators, and vinyl siding. Director Judith Helfand brings a light touch to this tale of toxic horrors, though, and whilst you may be feel compelled to immediately re-side your house with clay, recycled wood, or stucco before a fire engulfs your neighbourhood in deadly smoke, you'll have had a few chuckles beforehand. Helfand's perspective is definitely that of a chemical industry victim, as her mother's exposure to DES during pregnancy led to her daughter's cervical cancer, but her sunny outlook and can-do attitude lift this film above the morass of death, doom and destruction documentaries. Also airs 5/28 at 8:15 AM.
9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Racket (1951 USA): Robert Ryan stars as Nick Scanlon, a Los Angeles mobster with a penchant for sadism, in this above average crime drama from jack of all trades director John Cromwell. Scanlon's had firm control of his town's criminal activity for many years, and when the big boys from back east try to hone in on the action, he's none too pleased. He also must contend with the only cop in town who isn't on his payroll, Captain McQuigg (Robert Mitchum), who, with the aid of Patrolman Johnson (Perry Mason's William Talman), is determined to bring Scanlon to justice. Based on the same ancient play that informed Howard Hughes' silent 1928 picture of the same name, The Racket doesn't break any new ground, but rates strongly thanks to the presence of Mitchum and Ryan, who had previously worked so effectively together on 1947's ‘problem film' Crossfire.
9:00 PM IFC
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1988 USA): Possibly the worst film airing on any channel this week, Bud the Chud is, nonetheless, worthy of mention in TiVoPlex. The sequel to the bloody 1984 film C.H.U.D. (it stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, if you're interested), it's basically a comedy remake of its predecessor that cross-pollinates elements from the superior Return of the Living Dead series with a narrative trope lifted wholesale from George Romero's magnificent and underappreciated Day of the Dead (1983). I use the word "comedy" advisedly, as you probably won't find much to laugh at, but the film definitely belongs on the periphery of the "So Bad it's Good" universe and it does feature a mind-boggling cast, including the great Gerrit Graham (as Bud himself!), Robert Vaughn, June Lockhart, Larry "M*A*S*H" Linville, Norman Fell, and Bianca Jagger. There's even a Robert Englund cameo. Be warned: this film is truly awful, but you may not be able to take your eyes off it. It's also making its premium channel widescreen debut tonight in the IFC Grindhouse.
Saturday 05/26/07
11:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Face In the Crowd (1957 USA): Many movie fans consider 1939 the apex of American filmmaking, but I'd make the argument that 1957 was just as strong a year—if not stronger, thanks to the slow but steady relaxation of the Production Code. 12 Angry Men, A Hatful of Rain, and Paths of Glory are all amazing films — and then there's A Face In the Crowd, as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. Andy Griffith — yes, Matlock himself — should have received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Lonesome Rhodes, a no-good hobo who hustles his way to the top of the heap with the assistance of Arkansas radio broadcaster Marcia Jeffries (the luminous Patricia Neal, who never looked more beautiful than she does here). Griffith's performance is a true tour de force, his Rhodes a primal force of nature who uses his gift of gab to move from a backwoods jail cell to a nationally broadcast television show, where his faux-homespun, cracker barrel wisdom strikes a chord with the great American public. Perhaps arguably, though rock and roll is never mentioned in the film, I'd submit that A Face in the Crowd IS, secondarily, a film about rock and roll. The narrative arc—hardscrabble country boy with a killer voice sings and talks his way into the hearts of his countrymen—certainly bears some similarities to the life story of one Elvis Aron Presley, and the film's prescient examination of the inevitable intersection of revolution and commodification is fascinating food for thought. This is a great film, keynoted by two great performances by Griffith and Neal, and comes with my strongest recommendation.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Mighty Joe Young (1949 USA): There's monkey business aplenty on TCM this evening, starting off with the original Mighty Joe Young, an exciting tale of a giant gorilla being brought to heel by modern civilization. Joe has been the house pet of perky teen Jill Young (Terry Moore), who foolishly agrees to relocate stateside with her simian chum on behalf of grasping promoter Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong). Things soon go awry on stage, and, after Joe is subjected to the abuse of three drunks, he goes on a bender of his own in the big city. Produced by King Kong's creative team of Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, and Willis O'Brien (not to mention Armstrong), Mighty Joe Young also served as young Ray Harryhausen's point of entry into feature filmmaking, and true to form, the special effects are very impressive for the time. It's followed at 8:45 PM by a rare widescreen airing of Konga (1961 GB), a rather limp British take on the giant ape meme, and at 10:30 PM by The Gorilla (1939 USA), a not terribly funny Ritz Brothers comedy.
Sunday 05/27/07
10:30 AM Sundance
The Liberace of Baghdad (2005 GB): Samir Peter was, for many years, Baghdad's most famous tickler of the ivories. Since the 2003 invasion, life has become measurably worse for Christians in Iraq like the Peter family, who used to be protected by the secular Baathist state but now find themselves between the rock of Muslim fundamentalism and the hard place of the trigger-happy Yankee occupation. Taking a cue from fellow BBC veteran Nick Broomfield, director/narrator Sean McAllister gets personally involved with his subject, trying to reassure him that things will get better, but Samir instinctively knows the opposite to be true, lending the film a suitably mordant tone. Multiply the horrors of the invasion several million times over, and you may begin to appreciate the disastrous effects of our war — which, of course, have worsened considerably since this film was made. As for Samir and his family — if, indeed, they're still alive — one can only imagine the horrors they have lived through in the last two years.
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Battle of the Sexes (1928 USA): A relatively rare comedy from film pioneer D. W. Griffith, Battle of the Sexes features Jean Hersholt as Bill Judson, the hapless target of gold-digging Jazz Age flapper Marie (Phyllis Haver). Judson, a middle-aged tycoon looking for kicks he can't find at home, leaves his wife and two kiddies in favor of the fun-loving Marie, but will he find true happiness as well? Like most Griffith' features, there's a moral to be learned from this silent saga, though it's not as heavy-handed as Intolerance or Hearts of the World, and the film reflects the more tolerant attitudes of the Roaring ‘20s.
Monday 05/28/07
5:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Action In the North Atlantic (1943 USA): One of the best war pictures you probably haven't heard of, Action In the North Atlantic stars Humphrey Bogart as Joe Rossi, a merchant seaman risking life and limb to transport supplies across the Atlantic and into the hands of America's British allies. What sets this Lloyd Bacon actioner apart from other pictures of its ilk are the special effects, which will have you marvelling at what can be accomplished on a film set, and, of course, Bogart, who is magnificent as the crusty salt who sets sail under the command of Captain Jarvis (Raymond Massey) on their critical mission to extend a lifeline to that sceptered isle. Chock full of action and fascinating characters, Action In the North Atlantic also features Alan Hale, Ruth Gordon, Kirk Alyn, and Mrs. Olsen herself, Virginia Christine.