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Thursday 09/11/08

6:00 PM IFC
Rush (1991 USA): The conundrums of our now almost 30-year-old "War on Drugs" are exposed in this excellent period drama from erstwhile director Lili Fini Zanuck. Underappreciated thesp Jason Patric stars as Jim Raynor, an undercover cop trying to bust a drug smuggling ring with the help of fellow peace officer Kristen Cates (Jennifer Jason Leigh). To do so, however, they must both partake in some thoroughly illegal activities — including the frequent abuse of heroin and cocaine. The film avoids hyperbole and only indirectly criticizes our losing effort to wean Americans off the teat of addictive substances, but it says everything it needs to say through the narrative arc of Patric and Leigh's torn and tormented characters. Also airs at 11:00 PM.

Friday 09/12/08

3:00 AM Sundance
Escape from Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream (2007 USA): Like most city dwellers, I'm guilty of looking down my nose at those who dwell in the suburbs. Filmmakers generally share my elitist perspective, but this documentary takes a slightly different slant on the topic, examining three families trying to live a sustainable life away from the hue and cry of the big city. Whether living on a farm or in a Canadian "eco-village", these folks are working to accrue the benefits of a suburban lifestyle whilst decreasing their carbon footprint. Sounds like an Amish Paradise to me.

2:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Union Station (1950 USA): A little known crime drama directed by Rudolph Mate (fresh off the box-office success of 1949's D.O.A.), Union Station stars William Holden as transit authority cop Bill Calhoun, who's been alerted to some suspicious behaviour by passenger Joyce Willecombe (Nancy Kelly). When Joyce spies two armed men boarding her train, she notifies Calhoun, whose initial scepticism turns to suspicion when poor little blind girl Lorna Murcheson (Allene Roberts) is reported missing. When a ransom demand for $100,000 is received by Lorna's father (Herbert Heyes), the chase is on, climaxing in some impressive scenes shot in the tunnels beneath the titular Los Angeles' rail terminus. Featuring a characteristically solid Sydney Boehm screenplay, this is an above average suspenser from Paramount.

9:00 PM IFC
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987 USA): With rumors of a rebooted Elm Street franchise bubbling through the tubes of the internets, the original series returns to IFC tonight — and, for the first time on American television, in widescreen. This time out, the surviving Elm Street teens are sequestered in a hospital, where modern medicine is protecting them from their deadly nightmares. But no amount of psychotropic drugs or rationalist thought can fully defend the kids from the dastardly tricks of the be-sweatered one, and soon enough those long dirty fingernails are scraping their way down otherwise sterile hospital corridors. The other Elm Street films are scheduled to air on IFC throughout the month, so this won't be the last you'll hear of Freddy, who will also return in a new story come 2010.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush (1968 GB): Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush starts out looking like another cheap cash in on the swinging '60s, but the further into the film you get, the more you appreciate its subtleties. Barry Evans plays Jamie McGregor, a 17-year-old virgin out to get laid before he starts university, and the film deftly handles the issues of the Sexual Revolution without pandering or preaching. Judy Geeson is the object of his affection, and though she has a lengthy topless scene she is much more than just a dolly bird. There are some wonderful cameos by Moyra Fraser and Michael Bates (the police inspector in Bedazzled) as Barry's parents, some fascinating footage of Stevenage (one of the idyllic New Towns of the '60s), and overall a marvelous story that mixes elements of Alfie and Billy Liar. This film comes strongly recommended, especially for fans of '60s art and music (The Spencer Davis Group provides the soundtrack).

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