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9:00 PM IFC
Lair of the White Worm (1988 GB): I'm not the world's biggest Ken Russell fan, for much the same reason I'm not the world's biggest Russ Meyer fan, but like Meyer, Russell has always been capable of surprising me and producing a film I actually enjoy. Such is the case with this over-the-top creature feature - based loosely on a Bram Stoker novel - and played as much for laughs as for chills by its outstanding cast, including the underutilized Amanda Donohoe (Castaway) and the overexposed Hugh Grant. Noteworthy Scots actor Peter Capaldi co-stars as an archaeologist excavating a convent (this being a Russell film, nuns do make an appearance), unearthing an evil skull, and unleashing an ancient monster, the legendary D'Ampton Worm. This is definitely the Ken Russell film for people who don't like Ken Russell films - and I believe it makes its American widescreen television debut tonight.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957 USA): If I keel over dead after watching Attack of the Crab Monsters, know that I died a happy man. I haven't seen this Roger Corman epic since I was a child, and I've carried its fading memories with me for decades, hoping against hope for another chance to see it. Here's that chance. Penned by the brilliantly outre Charles Griffith, it's the tale of mankind's first encounter with ginormous crustaceans, who have taken up shop on a Pacific atoll used (naturally) for atomic testing. But this is no run-of-the-mill overgrown seafood - these crabs can also read minds, giving them a distinct advantage over their human adversaries, including jut-jawed Hank Chapman (Russell Johnson, the Professor on Gilligan's Island), hunky Dale Drewer (Richard Garland), and object of lust Dr. Martha Hunter (Pamela Duncan). Sadly, the millionaire and his wife get eaten in the first reel. Skiiipppper!

Saturday 12/08/07

1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Green Slime (1969 JAP-USA): Another childhood favourite reappears! Director Kinji Fukasaku is best remembered for his series of bloody Yakuza epics and shockers like 2001's Battle Royale. It comes as a surprise to some that he had time to make this kiddie science fiction feature for the Toei Company, but hey, the guy liked to keep busy, and had completed three other films the same year, including the unforgettable Yukio Mishima gender-bender Black Lizard. Fukasaku was, in fact, a virtual cinematic Renaissance Man, at home in any genre and defiantly unafraid to embrace popular cinema. Though most remember The Green Slime thanks to its groovy theme tune - a psychedelic bubblegum ditty that you'll be humming for days afterwards - the slime itself is equally memorable, shimmering iridescently as it threatens the lives of astronauts aboard a space station. Sadly still unavailable on DVD, this staple of my television youth returns to TCM tonight , unfortunately still in pan-and-scan format.

7:00 Turner Classic Movies
Talk About a Stranger (1952 USA): An above average pseudo-noir, Talk About a Stranger also doubles as a cautionary tale of McCarthyism run wild. Set in Anytown U.S.A., the film stars future Father Knows Best star Billy Gray as Bud, a boy who takes an instant dislike to a newcomer to town, whom he suspects has poisoned his beloved pooch. Parents Robert and Marge (future right-wing senator George Murphy and future Mrs. Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis, of all people) are concerned that the boy is going too far with his accusations, but their cautionary take on things doesn't appeal to the neighbors, who share Bud's disdain for the stranger in their midst and are eager to get the figurative necktie party under way. Beautifully lensed by noir pioneer John Alton, Talk About a Stranger is a surprisingly insightful and thoughtful effort from director David Bradley, whose primary claim to fame was directing They Saved Hitler's Brain ten years later. Hey, that's a good film too, but for a whole different set of reasons.

Sunday 12/09/07

2:05 PM Encore Action
Mindwarp (1991 USA): The first film produced by the fine folks at Fangoria Magazine, Mindwarp would be pretty forgettable if not for its legendary leading men: Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm! Set in the post-apocalyptic future beloved by scores of low budget filmmakers during the 1980s and 90s, the film relates the adventures of rebellious Judy (Marta Alicia), who refuses to accept the ‘virtual reality' solution to the world's problems and is exiled to the land of the mutants as punishment. Luckily for her, she hooks up with Stover (Campbell), another non-mutant living large amongst the irradiated rubble. To explain how Scrimm fits in would be to spoil Mindwarp's big surprise, but all in all, this is a pleasantly goofy low-budget chiller that hasn't been seen on cable in - well, a really long time.

Monday 12/10/07

1:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
We Went to College (1936 USA): I've never seen this one (and chances are you haven't, either), but We Went to College stars one of my favourite comic actors of the 30s, Charles Butterworth, so it's got to be worth a look. He plays Glenn Harvey, a college old boy on his way to a class reunion with fellow grads Ellery Standish (Hugh Herbert) and Philip Talbot (Walter Abel). Una Merkel co-stars as Mrs. Standish, and there's something about a brick contract for the old alma mater's new physics building.

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