TiVoPlex
By John Seal
August 30, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 8/31/10
3:45 AM Sundance
Stolen Land (2008 COL): We’ll start the week off on a somewhat serious note with this Colombian documentary concerning an indigenous tribe’s struggle for survival in our relentlessly cruel, market-driven modern world. Stolen Land tells the story of the Nasa, an agricultural people whose land was taken from them by force in the early ‘90s. Though promises were made to restore their property, the Nasa soon discovered that talk is cheap, and in order to force the question adopted non-violent resistance as a tool for restorative justice. Stolen Land focuses on the efforts of Lucho Acosta, leader of the tribal Indigenous Guard, and though the film has been roundly criticized in some circles for assuming a hagiographic tone, is fascinating stuff nonetheless.
11:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Escape From Alcatraz (1979 USA): The last of six collaborations between director Don Siegel and actor (and, of course, future director) Clint Eastwood, Escape From Alcatraz is an enjoyable if cliched prison break drama with a great cast. Set during the early 1960s, the film stars the stoic one as Frank Morris, a bank robber incarcerated on the legendary San Francisco Bay island fastness. No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz before, but Frank is determined to be the first…and with the assistance of fellow inmates Doc (Roberts Blossom) and Litmus (Frank Ronzio), who’s to say he can’t do it? Co-starring Patrick McGoohan as the prison warden, Escape From Alcatraz provides solid all-around entertainment value, and makes its widescreen television debut this morning.
Wednesday 9/01/10
1:00 AM Flix
Invaders From Mars (1986 USA): A remake of the classic Cold War-era chiller of the same name, Tobe Hooper’s take on Invaders From Mars hews surprisingly close to the original film’s plot but is nowhere near as satisfying. Sprog Duncan Hunter plays David Gardner, who sees a UFO land just over the hill, and then discovers his parents (Timothy Bottoms and Laraine Newman) have quite literally lost their minds - or at least their free will - to the space visitors. It’s up to young David, nurse Magnusson (Karen Black), and General Wilson (James Karen) to restore the natural order of things and send those damn Martians back where they came from. Co-starring Bud Cort, Louise Fletcher, and Tony Cox, Invaders From Mars may be a disappointment in comparison to William Cameron Menzies’ 1953 fever dream, but is still worth a look in its original aspect ratio - Flix is currently airing a gorgeous letterboxed print.
3:30 AM Flix
One Little Indian (1973 USA): I had this confused with 1974’s Agatha Christie adaptation Ten Little Indians until I got around to doing my background research for this week’s column. Turns out One Little Indian is an obscure Disney flick about a ten-year old white boy (Clay O’Brien) raised by Indians and ‘rescued’ by a mutinous soldier (James Garner). I can’t believe I didn’t see this when it first came out - I was 11 at the time - but it looks like pretty typical Disney ‘70s live-action fare. A good cast, including Vera Miles, Pat Hingle, Andrew Prine, Jay Silverheels, and fellow 11-year-old Jodie Foster elevate One Little Indian into ‘maybe worth a watch if I can’t sleep’ territory.
9:00 PM HBO
The Informant! (2009 USA): Matt Damon! gets the lead in this amusing, puzzling, and slightly disturbing shaggy dog tale from director Steven Soderbergh. Damon! plays Mark Whitacre, a moustachiod senior employee of wicked agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland. Whitacre is cajoled into assisting a government investigation concerning price fixing allegations, but the skeletons in his closet complicate matters considerably. The Informant! is not the easiest film to enjoy - the subject matter itself will be a turn-off for most people - but stick with it, and the rewards will come. Also airs 9/2 at midnight and throughout the month.
10:00 PM HBO Signature
El Nido Vacio (2008 ARG-ESP): Entitled Empty Nest in English, El Nido Vacio is an Argentinian comedy-drama about a Jewish couple trying to adapt to life without their (now adult) children. Oscar Martinez and Cecilia Roth play Leonardo and Martha, who have grown distant over the years whilst concentrating on their parental duties. Leonardo deals with his estrangement by taking up with a younger woman (don’t men - in movies at least - always seem to do this?), whilst Martha heads back to school. It’s neither the most eventful nor the most intriguing film ever made, but both leads are good, and remote-control aircraft fans are in for a real treat. If you enjoyed director Daniel Burman’s earlier Derecho de Familia, you’ll get similar mileage from EL Nido Vacio.
Thursday 9/02/10
5:05 AM Sundance
No End in Sight (2007 USA): As we await the production of No End In Sight 2: Afghani Bugaloo, we can still appreciate this fine documentary about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Produced when the war was at lowest ebb (at least from the perspective of our Masters of War), No End in Sight won’t supply well-informed viewers with much they didn’t already know, but will provide a valuable overview for everyone else. With Imperial forces oh so gradually being withdrawn from our Middle Eastern satrapy, No End in Sight may seem somewhat out of date at this point…but who knows what the future holds for the American Empire. It could well be a case of Back to the Future in very short order. Also airs at 10:05 AM.
5:20 AM Encore Wam!
Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994 USA): Call me a philistine, but I have always enjoyed the Police Academy movies, and I found this one a pleasant diversion thanks to guest stars Christopher Lee and Ron Perlman. It's as silly as ever, but quite inoffensive, and cinematographer Ian Jones captures some wonderful Moscow locations. Just think, without the fall of the Berlin wall, this film would not have been possible! Rife with continuity errors (look at the car windows during the chase sequence, and note that Perlman's character's last name is spelled differently on a manifest than it appears elsewhere), this was obviously filmed on the cheap. I like it anyway. Also airs at 3:00 PM.
Friday 9/03/10
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Asi Era Pancho Villa (1957 MEX): TCM salutes the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution this evening with a trio of tributes to the legendary Pancho Villa. First up is Asi Era Pancho Villa (This Was Pancho Villa), in which - at least according to online synopses—the disembodied head of Villa narrates the story of his life! Pedro Armendariz plays our hero, with Maria Elena Marquez (La Perla, Dona Barbara) providing feminine support. It’s followed at 7:00 PM by 1960’s Pancho Villa y la Valentina and at 9:00 PM by Cuando Viva Villa es la Muerte, both also starring Armendariz (and both times with noggin firmly in place, I believe). All three films were directed by Ismael Rodriguez, the man responsible for shooting the Mexican location footage for 1956’s creature feature The Beast of Hollow Mountain. These are VERY rare films - I’ve never seen them, and they’re basically unknown outside Mexico—so you won’t want to miss them this evening.
Saturday 9/04/10
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Ghost Chasers (1951 USA): They’re back! After a Summer Under the Stars-enforced hiatus last month, it looks like the Bowery Boys are picking up where they left off. Here’s series entry number 22, another of the lads periodic adventures with things supernatural. It’s a particularly amusing effort and consistently ranks as a fan favorite, so if you’ve otherwise been unimpressed by the Boys, this might be the film that changes your mind.
9:00 PM Sundance
The Wig (2005 ROK): A creepy hairpiece is front and center in this wildly silly but enjoyable Korean horror effort. The directorial debut of Shin-yeon Won, The Wig tells the story of Su-Hyeon (Min-seo Chae), a leukemia patient who, upon completion of her chemo course, is gifted with a wig by her mute sister Ji-hyun (Seon Yu). But the toupee has a tortured history, and is infused with an evil spirit that will stop at nothing to spread its maleficence far and wide. As with most Korean horror films, the story is told completely straight, but it was still hard for me to get worked up about a killer coif. Recommended, nonetheless, because you’ve never seen anything quite like it before!
10:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Love and Pain (and the Whole Damn Thing) (1972 USA): This one is definitely TiVoPlex title of the week! Produced by Columbia, this drama sank into obscurity almost immediately, but is well worth your time. It’s a character study starring That’s My Bush star Timothy Bottoms as Walter Elbertson, a college-age lad touring his way across Spain. En route he meets older woman Lila Fisher (Maggie Smith), and the two recognize each other as kindred spirits despite their difference in age. Intelligently written by Alvin Sargent and well-directed by Alan Pakula, LPWDT is a typical, and typically excellent, example of character-driven seventies cinema. The fine location footage, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth, is an added bonus.
Sunday 9/05/10
9:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Pagan (1929 USA): The Pagan features Mexican-born actor Ramon Novarro as Henry, a half-breed island shop-keeper whose love for a native girl (Dorothy Janis) is stymied by the objections of Slater, her lustful guardian (Donald Crisp). When the sleazy Slater decides it's his Christian duty to marry the heathen wench, it's up to Henry to save her from a life of dutiful drudgery. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, this very old-fashioned but most enjoyable MGM silent was shot on location in Tahiti, lending the otherwise predictable tale of star-crossed lovers a crepuscular sheen. The film co-stars Renée Adorée as the stereotypical whore with a heart of gold, and the synchronized musical score also features the singing voice of Novarro himself!
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
La Cucaracha (1958 MEX): Not quite had your fill of Pancho Villa yet? Well, he doesn’t actually appear in this film…but it was entitled Soldiers of Pancho Villa for Stateside release. Also directed by Ismael Rodriguez, the film stars Dolores del Rio (whose Hollywood fame no doubt contributed to the film’s US distribution) as the title character, a patriotic Mexican who stirs the blood of all who come in contact with her, including Colonel Zeta (writer-director-real life revolutionary Emilio Fernandez), commander of the local garrison. Though ultimately spurned by Zeta, La Cucaracha takes to the hills to fight the good fight - and just in case you were missing him, Pedro Armendariz plays one of Zeta’s fellow officers (and fellow competitor for La Cucaracha’s hand).
Monday 9/06/10
3:35 PM Showtime Extreme
The Big Bus (1976 USA): This ensemble comedy was a big hit back in the day and will provide a particularly redolent blast of nostalgia for those of a certain age. The titular nuclear-powered omnibus is named Cyclops, and was created to honor America’s bicentennial by the Baxters (Harold Gould and Stockard Channing), a father-daughter science team. It’s en route from New York City to Denver (why Cyclops isn’t continuing on to the West Coast isn’t made clear), but madmen Jose Ferrer and Stuart Margolin are determined to put a halt to the vehicle’s progress. Will they succeed - or will driver John Beck pull into Denver’s Greyhound station on schedule? Featuring a dizzying array of talent, including Ruth Gordon, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Mulligan, Larry Hagman, Sally Kellerman, Ned Beatty, and Howard Hesseman, The Big Bus makes its widescreen television debut this afternoon.