New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 3/27/12

4:20 PM HBO Signature
All She Can (2011 USA): I’m usually not terribly keen on American-made independents, but this one’s a cut above the usual slacker/mumblecore fare. Written and directed by Amy Wendel, All She Can tells the story of Luz Garcia, a Texas high school senior intent on making good at UT Austin, but in desperate need of funds to pay her way. Happily, Luz is a top weightlifter competing for a scholarship offered to the winner of the state powerlifting championship, but a less than helpful suggestion from boyfriend Raynaldo (Jeremy Ray Valdez) threatens to permanently derail her dream. Though a bit on the predictable side, All She Can is in deadly earnest - a refreshing change from the usual run of annoying wink-wink nudge-nudge indie wannabes.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Rampage (1963 USA): There’s musky, two-fisted, hyper-masculine action aplenty in this steamy jungle adventure helmed by Phil Karlson. Robert Mitchum headlines as Harry Stanton, a trapper hired - along with big game hunter Otto Abbott (Jack Hawkins) - to track down and capture some particularly rare big cats on behalf of a German zoo. Stanton and Abbott are as alike as chalk and cheese and instantly get off on the wrong foot, and matters are only made worse by the presence of Otto’s mistress Anna (Elsa Martinelli), who finds Harry irresistible. Shot in Hawaii (in lieu of Malaysia), Rampage was the penultimate effort of Indian actor Sabu, here cast as Talib, head "boy" of the native bearers employed by our pair of great white hunters. It’s not a great film, but Mitchum is clearly having fun and there’s a good score by Elmer Bernstein.

Wednesday 3/28/12

1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Going Home (1971 USA): After Rampage wraps up, Mitchum fans will want to stay tuned for this rare screening of one of the great man’s more obscure features. This time, the sloe-eyed bad boy plays another Harry, last name of Graham, an ex-con newly released from prison after serving 15 years for the murder of his wife. His return home doesn’t sit well with grown son Jimmy (Jan-Michael Vincent), who witnessed the crime as a child and - unsurprisingly - is not much interested in rekindling his relationship with dear old dad. Harry’s lady friend Jenny (Brenda Vaccaro, outstanding as usual) tries to mend fences, but it’s a bridge too far, and one not easily crossed - especially with parole officer Bonelli (Josh Mostel) breathing down Harry’s neck. Going Home is not quite as good as you’d hope it might be, but there’s enough quality thesping courtesy Mitchum and Vaccaro to make it a worthwhile pick.

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Spanish Gardener (1957 GB): Dirk Bogarde is badly miscast as Jose, the titular horticulturalist in this cerebral Philip Leacock-helmed drama, which is worth a look if you can overlook Bogarde’s woefully inadequate accent. Hired to prune trees and trim the lawn by Harrington Brande (Michael Hordern) - a British consular agent on the Costa Brava - Jose becomes fast friends with Brande’s over-protected and lonely son Nicholas (Jon Whiteley). Brande, however, has intentionally kept Nicholas well isolated from the locals, and - suspicious of the gardener’s intentions - determined to end their relationship by fair means or foul. Co-starring Cyril Cusack and Bernard Lee, this odd film blends subtle psychological themes with broad melodrama, not always successfully. And, oh, that accent.

Continued:       1       2       3