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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 08/26/08

5:15 PM Cinemax
Sunshine (2007 GB): I'm a big fan of director Danny Boyle, but Sunshine isn't one of his, ahem, brightest moments. Nonetheless, it's an audacious piece of filmmaking that succeeds quite masterfully half the time and fails miserably the other half. Set in the middle of the current century, the film stars Cillian Murphy as Capa, a scientist sent on a space mission to re-ignite the sun, which has decided to blink out a few billion years too early and is in need of a defibrillator, or a good talking to, or something. Ensconced aboard the good ship Icarus II (uh oh), Capa and crew (including Dirty Pretty Things' Benedict Wong and reliable Kiwi thesp Cliff Curtis) have set their controls for the heart of the solar system, but start to pick up what sound disturbingly like distress signals from the good ship Icarus I, whose mission seven years prior ended in disaster. Are the signals merely radio noise from the past — or does some remnant of the preceding mission still survive in the vast expanses of space? Sunshine takes a distinct turn into 2001: A Space Odyssey territory for its final reel, which is NOT a recommendation in my book, but the film is magnificently lensed throughout by Alwin Kuchler and features an outstanding score by electronica pioneers Underworld, whose first big break came courtesy of Boyle's breakthrough hit Trainspotting (1996). On balance, Sunshine is an intriguing effort burdened by an implausible final reel that will either blow your mind or have you tearing your hair out. Also airs at 8:15 PM.

11:05 PM IFC
Amarcord (1973 ITA): Like well-endowed women? So did Federico Fellini, and never did they feature so prominently in his work as in this autobiographical recreation of life in a small Italian town during the 1930s. It's an episodic retelling of the year spanning spring 1932 to spring 1933, and stars Bruno Zanin as Titta, an adolescent lad whose hormones are just beginning to spin out of control — and whose sexual awakening is accompanied by the bawdy reminiscences of his grandfather (Giuseppe Lanigro) and his nutty uncle (Ciccio Ingrassia), whose unforgettable encounter with a midget nun is one of the film's highlights. Flawlessly shot by Giuseppe Rotunno, Amarcord treads similar ground as Fellini's earlier Roma, and will have you longing for simpler days when colors were brighter and women were much, much more curvaceous than they are now.

Wednesday 08/27/08

11:30 AM Sundance
It's All About Love (2003 A Whole Bunch O'Countries): Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix are unhappily married couple John and Elena in this faux science-fiction film about the bleak future of New York City circa 2020. The climate has shifted, leaving the Big Apple icebound in July. Phoenix and Danes are planning on a divorce, but then they don't, instead fleeing the snowed-in city, where ice dancing is the hippest thing happening and Danes' character is considered one of the finest practitioners of the art. Written and directed by Dogme veteran Thomas Vinterberg, with a helping hand from the puckish Mogens Rukov, It's All About Love was reportedly howled off the screen at Sundance 2003 and drove a distracted Danes to tears when she first viewed the finished product. The artistic presence of enfant terrible Lars Von Trier hovers over this wacky love story, however, and that - and the sterling work from cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, as well as a guest appearance by Sean Penn - make this one a must-see for film fans made of sterner stuff.

Thursday 08/28/08

7:00 AM Sundance
In the Mood For Doyle (2007 FRA): One of the greatest contemporary practitioners of the fine art of cinematography, Australian born but Hong Kong based Christopher Doyle, gets his due in this first-rate French documentary. Doyle's hauntingly beautiful work can be seen and appreciated in such disparate films as Chungking Express, Temptress Moon, Rabbit-Proof Fence, and Three...Extremes, and is discussed intelligently and at length by interview subjects such as Gus Van Sant, Wong Kar Wei, and M. Night Shyamalanadingdong. Along with Anthony Dod Mantle and Roger Deakins, Doyle is one the three greatest working DoPs, and this is a worthy tribute to his immense talent.

2:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Surf Party (1964 USA): [NOTE: I'm reprinting last week's recommendation for this film, which was listed in the program guide with an incorrect play date.]

One of the rarest American surf movies quietly resurfaces on Fox this afternoon, and if you're a fan of the Beach Party oeuvre you won't want to miss it. Directed by Maury Dexter (The Day Mars Invaded Earth, Mary Jane), Surf Party features Patricia Morrow as Terry Wells, an impressionable youngster traveling to California to reunite with her older brother (Jerry Summers) and soak up some of his reflected glory as well as some sun-drenched surfside ambiance. Alas, things are not as they appear to be, and soon Terry and her pals are knocking heads with local anti-surfer lawman Neal (Richard Crane), who resolutely refuses to wax up his board. Of course, no one ever watches these films for the intricate plots — it's all about the bikinis and the music, which in this case includes Jackie de Shannon, The Astronauts, and The Routers, featuring a pre-fame Scott Walker. Barely an hour long and cheaply shot in black and white, Surf Party can't compete against those glorious widescreen, full color AIP epics, but genre completists should be excited nonetheless.

4:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Mannequin (1987 USA): Look, I know Mannequin is a terrible movie, YOU know Mannequin is a terrible movie, and even your dentist probably knows it...but it's making its widescreen television debut this afternoon, and it's important for these historical landmarks to be recognized. And I bet you'd forgotten it actually earned an Academy Award nomination...for best song. Yep, thanks to Mannequin, we've had 20 plus years of Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now to enjoy!

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