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8:55 PM Showtime Extreme
Bad Boys (1982 USA): Not to be confused with Michael Bay's buddy cop shoot ‘em ups of the same name, this Bad Boys features a very young Sean Penn as Michael O'Brien, a Chi-Town juvenile delinquent who gets sent to reformatory after contributing to the hit and run death of an eight-year-old boy whilst on the run from the police. Once behind bars, devil may care Mick begins the long hard journey to redemption in the company of assorted rapists, murderers, and drug-dealing scum. Penn had already received good notices for his performance as goofball Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High in 1982, but this was the first film where he began to display some real acting chops, and it's quite the tour de force. Bad Boys is airing in widescreen, and repeats on 7/8 at 10:35 PM.

Thursday 07/05/07

6:35 AM Flix
My Brilliant Career (1979 AUS): Gillian Armstrong's delightful coming of age drama returns to premium cable this morning after a very lengthy absence. Starring up and comer Judy Davis as feisty, turn of the 20th century Australian schoolgirl Sibylla Melvyn, My Briiliant Career essays the young girl's transformation from troublemaking youngster to troublemaking adult, as the rebellious Sibylla establishes herself as a successful author whilst avoiding the social constrictions of marriage at a time when marriage was the only acceptable path for a ‘nice girl' to take. This pointed but enjoyable (and never labored) tribute to proto-women's liberation co-stars Antipodean regulars Sam Neill and Wendy Hughes, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design, rendering it that rarest of beasts, the feminist frock flick.

12:05 PM Encore Action
Black Dragon (1989 HK): This excellent action comedy was directed and penned by lead actor Jackie Chan, who was at the height of his powers and the apex of his success in 1989. Set during the 1930s, Black Dragon features Jackie as country boy Cheng, who unwittingly saves a gangster from a fate worse than death - well, okay, death itself - and receives payback via a rapid immersion course in criminal evildoing at the knee of his new master. Cheng soon finds himself romantically involved with a gorgeous nightclub ingénue (Anita Mui) - but does she love him for who he is, or for whom he works? Jam-packed with the action and breathtaking stunts we expect from a Chan feature, Black Dragon also benefits from the presence of the late, much lamented Mui, who brings an otherworldly luminescence to the proceedings. Sadly, Encore seems to be utilizing a pan and scan print - and with any luck, it'll also be dubbed.

Friday 07/06/07

5:00 PM Encore Western
God Forgives, I Don't (1967 ITA): I did a double take when I saw this spaghetti western on the schedule. Not only has God Forgives, I Don't remained resolutely unavailable on stateside home video, it's rarely if ever appeared on American television. It marked the first of two dozen on-screen teamings of actors Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, who became the biggest thing in Italian cinema since Franco and Ciccio thanks to a series of amusing if quite broad western comedies. Unlike most of their collaborations, however, this is definitely not a laugh riot, but a fairly violent oater about train robbers trying to divide up their ill-gotten gains in a fair and mutually satisfactory manner - which, needless to say, is easier said than done. Directed by Giuseppe Colizzi, God Forgives, I Don't also co-stars the great expatriate American actor Frank Wolff, who tussles with Bud and Terence for the moolah.

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