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Wednesday 03/18/09

3:20 AM IFC
Wordplay (2006 USA): What's a nine letter word for a popular newspaper puzzle? That would be crossword, of course, which is the subject matter of this engaging if very laid back documentary focusing on New York Times' puzzle passionista Will Shortz. Shortz is also the host of the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and Wordplay devotes much of its running time to the machinations of the 2005 tourney. Compared to the contestants, Shortz comes across as a perfectly normal if slightly dull sort, but there's more than enough competitive intrigue and suspense here to keep you engaged. Also airs at 9:00 AM and 1:45 PM.

6:00 PM HBO2
Death on a Factory Farm (2009 USA): I haven't had an opportunity to pre-screen this new HBO original documentary, but with a title like Death on a Factory Farm, how can you resist? As you might expect, this is not a murder mystery but a look at the unpleasantries taking place at a hog farm in Ohio. Sounds like jolly fun! The film airs again at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.

Thursday 03/19/09

2:30 AM Starz in Black
Fast Forward (1985 USA): Or, To Sir With Leotards! The penultimate directorial effort of erstwhile filmmaker Sidney Poitier, Fast Forward is the squeaky-clean, family friendly tale of eight Ohio teenagers (none previously employed on a hog farm, we have been assured) who head to New York, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps, where they hope to turn their raw dance skills into Broadway hoofing material. If you, like me, enjoy films about Midwestern rubes getting their eyes opened in the big, bad city (see also: Senior Trip), or if you just like cheesy eighties musicals and all they entail, you'll go ape for Fast Forward, which stars — well, no-one you've ever heard of, actually.

7:00 PM Sundance
Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2007 USA-CAN): No, not the heavy metal we brought Iraqis in our depleted uranium munitions — the kind we brought on our Metallica CDs! This astonishing rockumentary was shot at the height of the anti-occupation insurgency, and examines Mesopotamian metal misfits Acrassicauda (black scorpion), Iraq's one and only hard rock band. Though there are no feathered poodle cuts for these guys — that wouldn't sit well with the local fundies — and they have to rely on gas generators to power their amps, Acrassicauda otherwise make a valiant effort to replicate the sounds, sights, and yes, smells of metal at its finest. Even if the music isn't your thing, however, this film is a revealing document of life during wartime. Also airs 3/23 at 6:30 AM and 12:15 PM.

Friday 03/20/09

10:05 AM HBO Family
The Last Starfighter (1984 USA): Every teenage boy's dream — to actually become ONE with the videogame — was realized early on in this enjoyable science fiction effort from future Major Payne director Nick Castle. (Nick is also mooted to helm a forthcoming Starfighter remake.) Lance Guest stars as joystick jockey Alex Rogan, whose obsessive loyalty to an arcade game comes to the attention of Star League representative Centauri (Robert Preston), who realizes the boy's skills are needed in order to defend the galaxy from the evil Xur (Norman Snow) and his Alien Armada. It's not as good as Tron (hey, there's nothing wrong with Tron!), but is thoroughly entertaining bunkum nonetheless.

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