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Thursday 10/02/08

8:35 AM Starz Edge
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000 JAP): I'm not sure why this Godzilla feature hasn't aired on American television before now, but them's the facts. It's one of the better entries in the recent kaiju cycle, and introduces the Godzilla Graspers, an elite corps of giant monster wranglers hired to protect the homeland with the Dimension Tide, a secret weapon that can generate black holes. Sounds a bit dangerous, but presumably the Godzilla Graspers are experts, and with any luck there's one of those disclaimers on the side of the machine (Caution: Do Not Point Dimension Tide at Planet Earth). Anyhoo, whilst testing the DT one day, the Graspers notice the sudden proliferation of mysterious eggs that carry within them the dreaded Meganuras, butterfly-like creatures who must feed on water and human energy to survive. Once again, Earth's lonely eyes turn towards Big G, who must put the hurt on Megaguirus, Queen of the Meganuras, during a memorable final reel showdown. Tune in to find out who wins.

Friday 10/03/08

3:15 PM Showtime 3
Boys of 2nd Street Park (2003 USA): Men who grew up in Brooklyn during the middle of the 20th century share their bittersweet childhood memories in this Showtime original documentary. Yeah, I guess this could qualify as an example of baby boomer navel-gazing, and it doesn't entirely dispel the gauzy nostalgia we've come to expect from this sort of film. Even so, it's a very watchable and at times quite moving paean to a particular time and place, and you could do far worse on this otherwise barren Friday in the TiVoPlex.

Saturday 10/04/08

8:00 AM Sundance
Project Grizzly (1996 CAN): If only Timothy Treadwell, the subject of Werner Herzog's amazing doc Grizzly Man, had seen this film. Project Grizzly takes a look at Canadian Troy Hurtubise, who, like Treadwell, wanted to get as close to grizzly bears as he possibly could. Unlike Treadwell, Hurtubise wasn't inclined to believe that giving the bears cutesy names would make them your BFF, so he decided to select the next best option: developing a suit of armor strong enough to protect him from the cavernous jaws of Yogi and Friends. Hey Boo Boo, check out this metal pic-a-nic basket!

Sunday 10/05/08

10:00 AM Flix
Old Enough (1984 USA): A buddy movie with a hormonal difference, Old Enough stars Rainbow Brite — er, sorry, Rainbow HARVEST — as a street-smart adolescent who befriends a less worldly youngster (Sarah Boyd) and introduces her to the wonderful world of make-up and shoplifting. The two bond, get into trouble, and generally have an episodic time of it before the credit crawl. This long forgotten indie also features Alyssa Milano (in her film debut), as well as cinematography by heavy-hitting Michael Ballhaus, newly arrived in America after years spent working with Rainer Fassbinder.

9:00 PM Sundance
The President's Last Bang (1999 ROK): Not, surprisingly, a film about Bill and Hill's final night in the White House, this is actually an excellent Korean feature about the (real life) assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979. Park (played herein by Song Jae-ho) was killed by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, one of the tools used by the military to maintain a firm grip on South Korea. The assassin claimed the murder was intended to kick-start democracy, but the truth isn't entirely clear: indeed, the KCIA had very close ties to the US CIA, and Park's support for re-unification with the North did not play well in Washington. Regardless of the knowns both known and unknown, The President's Last Bang is a brutally effective, searingly cynical little film that was a huge hit in its homeland.

Monday 10/06/08

6:00 PM Sundance
14 Women (2007 USA):...and only one man around. Wait, I'm wrong — these women were members of the United States Senate during the 2005-2007 session, which also included 84 men, so the ratio wasn't all THAT bad. Ranging from arch-conservative Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchinson to liberal California heroine Barbara Boxer, these women are the subject of this brief documentary from director Mary Lambert (previously responsible for the Pet Sematary series), who managed to get face time with each senator. It's not the most enlightening film about politics you'll ever see — many of the questions posed are definitely of the softball variety — but it's a worthy acknowledgment of the social progress made by women, and the progress still to be made.

9:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
The Laughing Policeman (1973 USA): Fox is airing a wide-screen print of this terrific police procedural starring Walter Matthau in best rumpled form as Jake Martin, a San Francisco cop on the trail of a killer responsible for the shooting deaths of a busload of Muni passengers. Isn't having to ride Muni punishment enough? Based on the popular cerebral police novels of Swedes Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, this gritty little film co-stars Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr., and Anthony Zerbe as Matthau's colleagues, and, erm, Cathy Lee Crosby.

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