TiVoPlex
By John Seal
October 15, 2012
Thursday 10/18/12
10:30 AM Cinemax
Pariah (2011 USA): First we get the Shame, now we get the Pariah...it’s a big week for sexual guilt here in the TiVoPlex. Written and directed by Dee Rees, Pariah is a superb coming of age drama about an African American high school student hiding her sexual orientation from, well, just about everybody. She’s Alike (Adepero Oduye), a bright 17-year-old keeping her secret, but none too convincingly. She’s in that netherworld where everyone sorta kinda knows but have never had their suspicions confirmed, while Mom and Dad (Charles Parnell and Kim Wayans) are strictly in denial. Expanded from a short subject Rees made in 2007, this is an assured and promising feature debut anchored by a great performance by Oduye. Also airs at 1:30 PM.
1:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Swordsman of Siena (1962 FRA-ITA): If you enjoyed last month’s TCM screening of The Castilian (1963), you should get similar mileage from this rare set-in-Spain costume epic. Stewart Granger stars as Thomas Stanswood, a 16th century Englishman hired to protect the fiancee of an unpopular Spanish nobleman. However, Stanswood soon finds himself attracted to the rebels’ political position...and also to the woman (Sylva Koscina) he’s supposed to be guarding. Uh oh! Sadly, it looks like this shot-in-widescreen feature will be airing in pan-and-scan. It’s followed at 3:00 PM by The Crooked Road (1965), a British-Yugoslav co-production featuring Robert Ryan as a reporter wheedling secrets from a dictator (Granger). Happily, this one will be airing in its correct aspect ratio.
Friday 10/19/12
11:30 AM HBO Signature
Lobos de Arga (2011 ESP): There may be no Paul Naschy in this film (the great man had died long before it went into production), but it’s still the best Spanish werewolf movie in a long, long time. Winner of the Audience Award at the San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, Lobos de Arga (Game of Werewolves) references Hammer’s Spanish-set feature Curse of the Werewolf from the get-go, with a hex being placed on a small village by a wandering gypsy. Then it’s full speed ahead to the present day, where local boy Tomas (Gorka Otxoa) becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to finally end the curse. Be aware that this is a horror film with comedic overtones, so if your preference for things lycanthropic is The Howling you may be a little disappointed. However, favorable comparisons to An American Werewolf In London are definitely in order. Highly recommended.
Saturday 10/20/12
4:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Shadow of a Woman (1946 USA): Fancy another gypsy curse? Consider the one on offer in this obscure Warners programmer, in which a wizened crone ruins an otherwise perfect honeymoon. The unlucky newlyweds are Eric and Brooke Ryder (Helmut Dantine and Andrea King), who start experiencing all sorts of problems as soon as they return home to San Francisco from their unfortunate Monterey sojourn. Featuring a particularly ludicrous denouement, Shadow of a Woman is pretty forgettable, but nonetheless an enjoyable enough timewaster if you’ve got 78 minutes to spare.
9:00 AM Encore Westerns
Windwalker (1980 USA): Not to be confused with 2002’s Windtalkers or the forthcoming Wind Walkers, Windwalker is a forgotten western starring Trevor Howard as an aging Native American warrior trying to save his family from the wicked white man. Wait...Trevor Howard?!? Yes, and shock of shocks, he does a superb job playing completely against type... and delivers all his dialogue in Cheyenne! Even better, he’s played in flashback by James Remar...yep, this is one strange movie, funded by the Mormon church and shot in Utah. But don’t let that put you off - Windwalker is really quite good, well-acted and beautifully shot by cinematographer Reed Smoot, who now lenses concert films for the likes of Justin Bieber and The Jonas Brothers!
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