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5:00 PM The Movie Channel
Stuck (2007 USA): From Re-Animator to Robot Jox to the more recent Edmond, director Stuart Gordon rarely gets his due. Stuck looked, momentarily, to be his big break, but alas, it sank at the box office, grossing a paltry $67,000. Considering the film cost around $5,000,000 to make, it's probably going to be a while before Gordon gets the keys to the camera handed to him again. That's a shame, because Stuck is a wonderfully wicked little film about transient Tom (Stephen Rea), who meets very uncute with nursing assistant Brandi (Mena Suvari). Hopped up on pills and beer after a celebratory night on the tiles, Brandi hits Tom whilst driving home, and then motors home with the poor man lodged in her broken windshield — which is where he stays for the balance of the film. Based on a true story, Stuck is an unabashedly cynical take on the perversely selfish aspects of contemporary American society, which probably explains its $67,000 take. Help Stuart Gordon out: watch Stuck tonight, and then give generously to his next production, whatever it may be. Also airs at 8:00 PM.

Saturday 06/13/09

6:00 PM Showtime
Into the Wild (2007 USA): Has it really taken this brilliant Sean Penn-helmed biopic almost two years to come to television? That's quite surprising, but now that Into the Wild is here, I can't recommend it strongly enough. Emile Hirsch stars as footloose and fancy free Emory grad Chris McCandless, who threw his degree and life savings away in favor of a life spent in the wilderness of Alaska. Along the way he meets folks and has adventures, but always remains an enigma, his motivation and intentions about as clear as mud. Into the Wild is episodic and its finale tinged with an air of inevitability, but Penn proves he's as capable behind the camera as in front, and the result is a gut-wrenching emotional rollercoaster ride. Also of great note: Hal Holbrook's lovely, low-key performance as the one man who almost makes a connection with McCandless, and Eddie Vedder's superb "songtrack" of specially commissioned tunes. Also airs at 9:00 PM.

Sunday 06/14/09

3:00 AM IFC
Vagabond (1985 FRA): Frozen homeless people seem to be the TiVoPlex theme of the week. Vagabond stars Sandrine Bonnaire as Mona, a beautiful tramp who lives through a series of misadventures before coming to a most unfortunate end in a frosty ditch. I haven't seen this one since it came out, so my memories are minimal, but I do recall the film looking very, very cold indeed. Directed by Agnes Varda, Vagabond earned numerous Cesar nominations — one of which turned into a Best Actress award for Bonnaire.

9:15 PM Sundance
Acacia (2002 ROK): More Korean cinematic mayhem ensues in Acacia, a baby-gone-bad melodrama with a central conceit that reminds me of Jan Svankmajer's Little Otik. The film tells the story of a childless couple (Kim Jin-Geun and Shim Hye-Jin) who adopt Jin-Seong, a lovable six-year-old who enjoys burning down the garden shed and chowing on insects when he isn't spending quality time bonding with the giant Acacia tree in the backyard. Ah, the wonder years, I remember them well. When the previously infertile couple suddenly cross-pollinate and produce offspring, Jin-Seong does a runner - but things turn decidedly weird when that big ol' tree starts asserting itself beyond the smothering confines of the family garden. Ostensibly, Acacia is director Park Ki-Hyung's commentary on his country's "adoption industry", but if you prefer to watch it as a horror film about a maniacal toddler and a tree possessed by evil spirits, be my guest.

Monday 06/15/09

7:00 HBO Signature
El Cuerno de la Abundancia (2008 ESP-CUB): I haven't seen this comedy-drama yet, but it has a good reputation and sounds intriguing: it's about a young Cuban (Jorge Perrugoria) who hears rumors of an inheritance awaiting him in a Bank of England account. Apparently his loyal Communist dad is less than keen on his son acquiring so much as a sniff of the filthy western lucre. The film was written and directed by Juan Carlos Tabio, whose 1994 effort Strawberry and Chocolate was a hit on the bootleg tape trading circuit.

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