TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for February 2 2010 through February 8 2010
By John Seal
February 1, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 2/02/10
2:05 AM Encore Action
The Don is Dead (1973 USA): Don Rickles? No, still with us as of this writing. Don Duck? No, still happily glad-handing the crowds at Disneyland. (And at Disneyworld. Not quite sure how he manages to hold down both gigs.) Don Corleone? Ah, now there's the rub...or, perhaps, the rub-out. Produced in the wake of Francis Ford Coppola's hugely successful family drama The Godfather, The Don is Dead stars Anthony Quinn as Don Angelo, a Mafia kingpin suckered into a mob war by rival Orlando (Charles Cioffi). Amongst the other made men snarling their way across the screen are Robert Forster, Abe Vigoda, Victor Argo, and Al Lettieri. Directed with the sure, if conservative, hand of Richard Fleischer, this not terribly original crime drama will still please fans of the gangster genre.
10:05 AM The Movie Channel
Head Trauma (2006 USA): The search for a decent contemporary horror film generally takes one down a grim, lonely, blood-stained path that leads directly to a fully accoutred abattoir, where the unfortunate searcher is gutted, trepanned, and suspended from a meat-hook. It's a thankless task, but when one finally stumbles across a goodie, the feeling of triumph, of having overcome adversity against all the odds, is indescribable. And by indescribable, of course, I mean a satisfied warm glow, akin to the glow generated when you burn a big pile of zombies. Such is the glow you will feel when watching Head Trauma, an evenly-paced and (shock! horror!) logical thriller about depressed schlep George (Vince Mola) who moves into his grandmother's abandoned house with dreams of refurbishing it. George can't quite put his plans into action, however, and the house—and his mental health--slowly begin to disintegrate around him. Writer-director Lance Weiler's only previous film, 1998's The Last Broadcast, was also very good—and as he seems to produce a new film once every eight years, we can probably expect his next magnum opus in 2014. Also airs at 1:05 PM.
5:00 PM Flix
Blood Feud (1979 ITA): I first saw a Lina Wertmuller film—her phantasmagorical 1975 feature Seven Beauties—in the early ‘80s, and loved it. Starring louche Giancarlo Giannini as a foolish man stumbling his way blindly and inelegantly through the darkest days of World War II, Seven Beauties is a visually impressive and thematically fascinating film, worthy of comparison to the best of Fellini. I was convinced I'd found my new favorite auteur in Wertmuller. Shortly thereafter, I saw her 1974 film Swept Away. Yuk! How could the same person—a woman no less—direct such a piece of sexist garbage? Needless to say, my subscription to the auteur theory ended shortly thereafter. Which brings us to Blood Feud (or as it's known in Italy, a country apparently never at a loss for words, Fatto di sangue fra due uomini per causa di una vedova - si sospettano moventi politici), a film Wertmuller made a few years later with a trio of Italy's greatest stars—Giannini, Sophia Loren, and Marcello Mastroianni—as the three participants in a Mussolini-era love triangle. I've never seen it, but it's airing in widescreen tonight—and I might just be ready to give Wertmuller another try. Or maybe I'll just watch Seven Beauties again.
7:30 PM Sundance
Involuntary (2008 SWE): I always think of Norway as The Land of the Midnight Sun, but I suppose that appellation could also apply to the northernmost reaches of Sweden as well. Involuntary is a downbeat, ever-so-slighty salacious ensemble drama about summer in Scandinavia, and the effect it has on all those sweet young blonde things (male and female). For those who consider I Am Curious (Yellow) a vital document of liberated Swedish sexuality, here's its 21st century equivalent. Also airs 2/2 at 12:35 AM.
Wednesday 2/03/10
5:00 PM IFC
Penny Dreadful (2006 USA): Rachel Miner stars as Penny, a young woman trying to overcome her terror of cars, in this surprisingly good little thriller. Working in concert with shrink Orianna (Mimi Rogers), Penny returns to the scene of the deadly automobile accident that claimed her parents' lives—only to encounter a creepy hitchhiker (not Rutger Hauer, I'll have you know) who has no intention of helping the young lady overcome her phobia. Though it's not as good as Head Trauma, the result is a reasonably effective shock show that relies as much on genuine suspense as it does on grue. Look for good old Michael Berryman as a gas jockey.
7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Moonrise (1948 USA): Director Frank Borzage's reputation has been on the uptick for several years now, and the more I see of his work, the more I understand the fuss. Set somewhere in the Faulknerian backwoods south, Moonrise features Dane Clark as Danny, a tortured soul who's spent his life trying to escape the burdensome memories of Dad, a convicted murderer whose life ended years ago at the knotted end of a hangman's noose. The sins of the father are never far from Danny's mind, and after he snaps and accidentally kills romantic rival Jerry (Lloyd Bridges), he does a runner—only to discover that his brooding conscience won't allow him to escape the consequences. Co-starring Rex Ingram, Ethel Barrymore, and Harry Morgan, this atmospheric noir anticipated the swampy ambiance of Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter, and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Recording.
9:45 PM Sundance
Jar City (2006 ICE): A North Atlantic variant on the Fargo meme, this Baltasar Kormakur (White Night Wedding, 101 Reykjavik) joint follows the misadventures of an Icelandic police squad as they try to solve a particularly brutal murder. Worn-out chain-smoker Erlendur (Ingvar E. Sigurdsson) is in charge of the investigation, which dovetails with two other mysterious deaths, and he has a drug-addled teenage daughter to contend with, as well. The film is mordantly humorous—hence the Coen Brothers parallel—and though the audience learns who the killer is fairly quickly, offers enough surprises and plot twists to keep you engaged.
Thursday 2/04/10
3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Green Goddess (1930 USA): I'm a big fan of actor George Arliss, and this is probably my favorite of his films. It's an over-the-top adventure yarn about a planeload of stiff-upper-lip Britishers (including H.B. Warner, seven years before his trip to Shangri-La in Lost Horizon) who crash-land in an obscure Eastern principality. Surprisingly, Arliss is NOT one of the passengers, but plays the local rajah, a canny trickster who manipulates and abuses his newfound subjects. Attractively shot by James Van Trees, this very odd but intriguing early talkie earned Arliss a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar nom.
6:00 PM HBO
Coraline (2009 USA): Creating a children's film that is just scary enough without being too scary is a tall order, but director Henry Selick pulls it off adeptly with Coraline, his recent Neil Gaiman adaptation. The film depicts the animated adventures of the titular girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning), a feisty youngster who finds her way into a parallel universe where her parents are just ever so much more attentive than they are in the real world. The more time Coraline spends in this other universe, however, the more she begins to realize her Other Parents aren't quite the superstars she thought they were. Beware the button eyes that hypnotize! This delightfully creepy film airs again at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.
Friday 2/05/10
2:00 AM More Max
In God We Tru$t (1980 USA): I've always had a soft spot for comedian Marty Feldman, but let's be honest: the man made some terrible films. This is one of them—perhaps not as bad as misfires such as Every Home Should Have One and Sex with a Smile, but still not even close to Young Frankenstein territory. And, sadly, Feldman bears much of the responsibility for its shortcomings, as he wrote, directed, and stars in In God We Tru$t as Brother Ambrose, an innocent monk despatched by his bankrupt monastery to raise some much needed funds in the big, bad beyond. He falls in with televangelist Armageddon T. Thunderbird (Andy Kaufman), and the results are...mildy amusing at best. The film's rarity (it's not on DVD) and solid cast (also including Severn Darden, Peter Boyle, Louise Lasser, Richard Pryor, and Wilfrid Hyde-White) nudge it into ‘almost watchable' territory, but if you miss it, you won't really have missed anything, if that makes sense.
3:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Address Unknown (1944 USA): Here's one of those little known pictures that occasionally get their day in the sun during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar. Directed by the legendary William Cameron Menzies, the film stars Paul Lukas as Martin Schulz, a German-American art dealer who willingly moves back to the Fatherland during the Nazi years in order to win more business. At first, things go swimmingly for him—but when Jewish friends and associates begin to feel the wrath of the regime, it begins to dawn on Martin that he's made a deal with the devil. Nominated for Best Score and Best Black and White Art Direction, Address Unknown co-stars Carl Esmond, Peter van Eyck, and Frank Reicher.
6:00 AM MGM HD
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926 USA): If this is accurate, it's quite a coup for MGM HD. Granted, it's no Reincarnation of Peter Proud or Exorcism of Emily Rose, but The Winning of Barbara Worth is an important silent Old West epic starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Banky, and a young Gary Cooper, written by Frances Marion, directed by Henry King, and shot by Gregg Toland. In short, if you have access to HD channels, this is the TiVoPlex Movie of the Week.
9:00 AM HBO Signature
Los Cronocrimenes (2007 ESP): I haven't seen this Spanish science fiction film yet, but it sounds interesting and was well-received on the festival circuit. Karra Elejalde stars as Hector, a regular Joe who finds himself travelling back and forth in time—and creating multiple Hectors as a result. Los Cronocrimenes actually enjoyed a brief US theatrical run in late 2008, and makes its American television premiere this morning.
Saturday 2/06/10
1:30 AM HD NET
Aliens of the Deep (2005 USA): Ever wonder how James Cameron spent his downtime during the years in between Titanic and Avatar? Here's the answer: making a 3-D IMAX documentary about deep-sea life that should look great in HD, even without a mile-high screen in your living room. Cameron's film is, goofy Atlantean coda aside, a memorable visit with some of the strangest and most beautiful creatures that inhabit the deepest depths of Earth's oceans. No sign of any Unobtainium, however.
Monday 2/08/10
10:15 AM Showtime Extreme
Thief (1981 USA): Paced more like a character-driven 1970s feature than a Reagan-era Rambofest, Thief stars James Caan as a safecracker trying to go straight...but only after pulling off a few last jobs to provide himself and his family with some financial security. While the film is far from boring, it relies on lengthy expository segments featuring Caan and Tuesday Weld that open the film up and make it much more than a simple-minded gangster flick, and the droning Tangerine Dream score adds an otherworldly touch to the proceedings. Showtime Extreme is airing a nice letterboxed print this morning, so if you've never seen Thief, now's the time.