TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, February 17, 2009 through Monday, February 23, 2009
By John Seal
February 16, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 02/17/09
10:35 AM Starz
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007 USA): One of my favorite contemporary guilty pleasures, the Resident Evil series went above ground for its 2007 chapter Extinction. In this outing, Alice (scream queen Milla Jovovich), the gun-toting conqueror of Raccoon City, is en route to Alaska but gets diverted to Las Vegas, where she teams up with a group of fellow survivors and blows away several hundred zombie flesh eaters. Though there are a few too many dark corridors — the bane of the modern horror film — in evidence, the film makes the most of its low budget and doesn't disappoint in the mayhem department. Shot in Mexico and featuring production design by Academy Award winner Eugenio Caballero (Pan's Labyrinth), Resident Evil: Extinction is good, gory fun with oodles of grey matter splatter. Also airs at 1:35 PM.
7:05 PM Flix
Manhunter (1986 USA): First, the good news: Michael Mann's Hannibal Lecktor (sic) adaptation is airing on Flix in widescreen, and looks absolutely terrific. Now, the not so good: Manhunter is suffused with Mann's Miami Vice-style trappings, including an over-the-top soundtrack and the director's general inability to cut the fat out of overlong scenes. William Petersen stars as frustrated FBI agent Will Graham, assigned to track down serial killer The Tooth Fairy (Tom Noonan) with the assistance of penitentiary inmate Lecktor, whose insights into the mind of a fellow psychotic are of incalculable value to the G-Men. Whilst Petersen is a bit of a one-note Johnny, there are superior turns by Dennis Farina as fellow agent Jack Crawford and, most notably, Brian Cox as Lecktor: though the chianti-slurping, fava bean-munching killer is only a secondary character in Manhunter, the surprisingly young-looking Cox delivers a performance the equal of Anthony Hopkins' in Silence of the Lambs. On balance, Lambs is the superior film, but Manhunter is worth watching for Cox alone.
Wednesday 02/18/09
Midnight HBO Signature
Plastic Disasters (2006 USA): Ever wanted to know what happens when plastic surgery goes awry? If you've got a strong enough stomach, this is the film you've been waiting for. Examining the unappetizing fallout of three badly botched nip and tucks, this HBO original doc may have you reaching for the smelling salts. Meet Lucille — honey, is that you?!? — whose collagen injections and facelifts make her look far older than she actually is; Mona, whose liposuction goes horribly wrong; and Tony, whose nose job leaves him looking less than handsome. Plastic Disasters is, thankfully, more than just a freak show — it places its unfortunate victims within the context of a burgeoning cosmetic surgery industry, which now encompasses millions of dangerous and arguably unnecessary medical procedures every year. Sometimes, it really is better to leave well enough alone.
4:00 AM Sundance
Return of the War Room (2008 USA): 1992's The War Room was a groundbreaking, fly-on-the-wall examination of a modern political campaign — specifically, that of "New Democrat" Bill Clinton. This sequel reunites many of the usual suspects — er, sorry, political operatives — who ran the Clinton presidential campaign, including, amongst others, the loathsome but oft hilarious James Carville, the loathsome and reptilian George Stephanopoulos, and the just plain loathsome apparatchik Rahm Emanuel, for a chat about how politics has changed in the intervening years. If you can stand the thought of looking at these guys for 80 minutes, Return of the War Room offers manna for political junkies who enjoy the nuts and blots of a campaign as much as, if not more than, the high flown rhetoric and promises that get broken as soon as the inauguration confetti is swept away. Watch this and ruminate on what little progress, if any, we've made in the last two decades.
10:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Madame X (1929 USA): Ruth Chatterton earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as the titular bad luck woman in this crude but effective early talkie. Chatterton plays Jacqueline Floriot, a society woman who engages in an unwise adulterous affair, and then must abandon her young son after husband Louis (Lewis Stone) finds out. Fast-forward 20 years, and Jacqueline's luck has gone from bad to worse: after killing hustler Larocque (Ulrich Haupt) in self-defense, she finds herself represented in court by — gasp! — her now adult child Raymond (Raymond Hackett), who, naturellement, has no idea his client is also his mother! This hackneyed plot device was surely already past its sell-by date by 1929, but Chatterton — a perennially underrated and now virtually forgotten actress — gives a performance that is every inch worthy of her nomination.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Last Detail (1973 USA): Based on a novel by Daryl Ponicsan (also responsible for the equally-fine Cinderella Liberty), The Last Detail is another gem from director Hal Ashby, and stars Jack Nicholson as an MP who decides to show his stockade-bound prisoner one last good time before delivering him to prison. Robert Towne's screenplay captures the playful nature of the source material perfectly, Nicholson is great as usual, and there's good supporting work by Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Michael Moriarty. Look for Gilda Radner in a bit part as a cult member.
Thursday 02/19/09
1:10 AM HBO Signature
Cronica de una Fuga (2006 ARG): Also known as Chronicle of an Escape and Guantanamo on the Pampas, this excellent based-on-a-true-story Argentinian drama stars The Motorcycle Diaries' Rodrigo de la Serna as Claudio, a football goalie "disappeared" by paramilitaries during the 1970s. Rendered to a government torture chamber because of the false confessions of Tano (Martin Urruty), an acquaintance desperate to save himself from further police beatings, Claudio meets fellow inmates Gallego, Guillermo, and Vasco, and the quartet promptly begin planning a breakout. Though the film offers plentiful food for thought, its impressive final-act escape sequence is the primary selling point. Directed by Adrian Caetano, Cronica de una Fuga scooped up film awards around the world, including Best Film at the Argentinian Film Critics Association Awards.
4:15 AM Sundance
Third Monday in October (2006 USA): No, it's not a film about the Supreme Court — it's a documentary about middle school student council elections! If you're still feeling bitter about that time you ran for treasurer in 7th grade and lost, here's something guaranteed to soothe your soul: a cinematic reminder that running for office is rarely a good idea, and definitely not one for faint-hearted adolescents. Also airs at 10:00 AM.
Friday 02/20/09
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Conversation (1974 USA): Film fans remember Francis Ford Coppola for his overrated Godfather trilogy and his masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. In between those Marlon Brando mumble-fests, however, Coppola made this quiet little film that remains one of his personal best, and also one of the finest productions of the decade. Starring Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a mild-mannered surveillance expert with a nifty assortment of bugging devices, The Conversation anticipated the explosion of spying technology at the end of the 20th century. Harry is hired to stalk a couple apparently engaged in an illicit romantic relationship, but as he gathers and pieces together the evidence, a murder plot begins to emerge, and he has a crisis of conscience: is he aiding and abetting an assassination scheme? More timely now than ever before, The Conversation is a film about complicity, privacy (or the lack thereof), and the amoral world of big business. Frederic Forrest and Cindy "Shirley" Williams are the couple, John Cazale is Hackman's sidekick, Harrison Ford has a small role as a corporate flunky, and TiVoPlex favorite Allen Garfield puts in an appearance. With our government still more than eager to spy on us, this is the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with one of the best and most prophetic films of the 1970s.
9:00 PM IFC
Man Bites Dog (1992 BEL): Speaking of prophetic, Man Bites Dog is a bizarre and disturbing Swiftian commentary on mass media, and is even more relevant now than on its initial release. Definitely not for all tastes, it follows a film crew documenting the bloody exploits, opinions, and philosophies of a serial killer — and eventually, the crew crosses the line and start aiding and betting the criminal in his murderous activities in order to get a better story. At times extremely violent and at other times extremely funny, Man Bites Dog screams "j'accuse!" at journalists and audience members alike. Which means anyone with a conscience probably shouldn't watch it.
Saturday 02/21/09
7:00 PM Sundance
Toi et Moi (2006 FRA): Want to know what French actress Marion Cotillard was getting up to before she won last year's Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose? Look no further than this middling Gallic romantic comedy about a writer (Julie Depardieu), her lover (Tomer Sisley), and her little sister (Cotillard). It's not really my cup of meat, but if you like to take in the occasional chick flick, you could do worse.
Sunday 02/22/09
9:00 PM Sundance
Lady Vengeance (2005 ROK): The third and final film in director Chan-Woo Park's loosely related trilogy of "revenge" stories (the first two being Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy), Lady Vengeance stars Lee-Young Ae as Geum-ja, a beautiful woman who is also the confessed and convicted murderer of a five-year old child. Geum-ja has done her time, though, and like villains the world over has found a modicum of peace via religious conversion, in this case to Christianity. But she's also harboring a secret - an obsession with her old high school teacher Mr. Baek (Min-sik Choi), who has a few skeletons of his own in the closet. It's thrilling, deeply dark and disturbing stuff that will leave you feeling a little queasy - even if you've already experienced Park's frequently gruesome set pieces in other films.
Monday 02/23/09
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941 USA): This amazing fantasy film from director William Dieterle remains one of the greatest American films of the 1940s — and though it's had a Criterion DVD release, is still relatively unknown. Walter Huston, always a favorite in these here parts, stars as Mr. Scratch, a devilish sort who makes a deal with farmer Jabez Stone (James Craig): he'll give him seven good harvests in exchange for his soul. When the seven years are up and Scratch comes to collect his reward, Stone has a change of heart — and engages the services of master orator Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to save his immortal soul from eternal damnation. Y'know, kinda like America's bankers did when they convinced Congress to repeal the Glass-Steagel Act, then came crying for a bailout after their ill-gotten gains went up in a puff of CDOs and over-leveraged loans. Besides the magnificent cast, Dieterle was also blessed to have the services of composer Bernard Herrmann, cinematographer Joseph August, and editor Robert Wise behind the camera.
6:00 PM Sundance
F.T.A. (1972 USA): I'm not in a forgiving mood at the moment. Whether it was a busy and stressful time at work, or the effective evisceration of the stimulus bill by gutless Democrats who aimed too low and shameless Republicans who think tax cuts are the answer to everything, or the Justice Department's decision to assume the Bush position on so-called "States Secrets", last week was not the best of weeks. So when a documentary called F(uck) t(he) A(rmy) shows up on Sundance, you know I'm gonna be all over it. I've never seen it and hadn't even heard of it before now — but F.T.A. seems like the perfect sentiment this week. Now pardon me while I go and scream it from the rooftops.