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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 06/02/09

1:35 AM Sundance
Christmas on Mars (2008 USA): Oklahoma's own Flaming Lips, whose song Do You Realize was recently named that state's official rock song over the objections of its Republican-dominated legislature, produced and star in this extremely silly holiday sci-fi fantasy. Singer Wayne Coyne plays Alien Super-Being, a wise extraterrestrial who lends a helping hand when Earth's colonization of the Red Planet hits some speed bumps. Bandmate Steven Drozd plays Syrtis, the colony's commanding officer, who's organizing a celebration in honor of the Yuletide season and the impending arrival of Mars' first baby, whilst stoic third Lip Michael Ivins marks time as tight-lipped Earthman Deuterolinus. As far as vanity projects go, Christmas on Mars is pretty decent in a crypto-Lynchian way, and the ambient score is, not surprisingly, excellent.

2:15 AM IFC
Private Fears in Public Places (2006 FRA): Known in its native Gaul by the simpler title Coeurs (Hearts), this is the most recent production of octogenarian enfant terrible Alain Resnais, who (at least according to IMDb) directed his first film in 1936! I must admit to only having seen three other Resnais pictures (and you can probably guess which three), and I'm far from an expert on his style, but if there's one word that sums 'em up, it's, ahem, deliberate. Well, Mon Oncle d'Amerique isn't exactly boring, but it IS rather long. As for Private Fears in Public Places, it's a similar ensemble piece about half a dozen Parisians looking for love in all the wrong arrondissements. Based on a play by Brit Alan Ayckbourn, the film can't disguise its stage roots and is resolutely small scale, but if you like Resnais (and who doesn't?), you'll want to at least give it the once-over.

7:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
Woman's World (1954 USA): Male chauvinist corporate culture is the subject of this unintentionally amusing early Cinemascope effort from Fox. Prissy Clifton Webb stars as auto manufacturer Ernest Gifford, who's searching for just the right man's man to hire as his new general sales manager. And what better way to find that man than by closely examining the strengths and weaknesses of the three leading candidates' spouses? There's Carol (Arlene Dahl), the gold-digging partner of Type A personality Jerry (Van Heflin); Elizabeth (Lauren Bacall), the loyal wife of sickly saddo Sid (Fred MacMurray); and Katie (June Allyson), who wants what's best for sidekick Bill (Cornel Wilde) but fears it will destroy their relationship. The script (the result of a five way collaboration) wavers from comedy to drama and back again, and though its sexual politics look a little dated 50 years on, things probably haven't changed ALL that much in the land of the three martini lunch. Woman's World isn't on home video and makes its widescreen television debut this morning.

5:00 PM Showtime
Trinidad (2008 USA): No, not the Caribbean island — the town in Colorado! Prior to seeing this film, I had not only never heard of Trinidad, I also had no idea that this bucolic burg was also home to the nation's largest colony of transgender folk. How did this happen? Pure happenstance, really, as a doctor specializing in sex change ops took up residence there in the 1960s, and one thing led to another. If you're squeamish, don't worry — this is no Let Me Die a Woman, instead concentrating on the development of a post-op transgender community in Bat Masterson's old hometown. Also airs at 8:00 PM, 6/3 on Showtime 3 at 5:30 PM, and 6/4 on Showtime 3 at 5:00 PM.

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