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

6:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
License to Drive (1988 USA): You know I’m digging deep this week when I’m recommending Corey Haim films simply because they’re airing in widescreen. In License to Drive, Corey plays Les, a typical suburban teen desperate to get his driver’s license as soon as possible so he can drive himself to parties and get into alcohol-related accidents. Alas, even the written test is a struggle for poor Les, but is he downhearted? No, he is not, especially after aptly named dream queen Mercedes (Heather Graham) invites him out - as long as he can provide the transportation. Eh, who needs a license? As far as teen fodder goes, they come a lot worse than License to Drive, so it’s a passable time killer. Added bonus: the presence of "second Corey" Corey Feldman as Les’s buddy Dean.

9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Feu Mathias Pascal (1926 FRA): Every now and then I discover another gaping hole in my film knowledge. Case in point: Feu Mathias Pascal, a film that I’ve never heard of, directed by Marcel L’Herbier, a filmmaker I’ve never heard of. From 1919 until 1975, the man directed over 50 films, and not only have I seen none of them, I hadn’t even heard of any of them, either. The more you learn, the less you know, I guess...or perhaps, the more you learn, the more you discover remains to be learned. Anyway, I have no idea if this is a good film or not, but I’m going to trust in the judgment of the TCM programmers and give this two thumbs up. Silent French cinema is hard to come by in the best of circumstances, and as far as I can tell Feu Mathias Pascal isn’t on DVD, so be sure to check it out.

Monday 11/26/12

Midnight Turner Classic Movies
L’Atalante (1934 FRA): Jean Vigo’s classic L’Atalante, on the other hand, has been a firm John Seal favorite ever since I first saw it on a double bill with Zero de Conduit back in the early ‘80s. Jean Daste and Dita Parlo star as Jean and Juliette, working-class lovebirds who make their home aboard a barge steaming between Le Havre and Paris. But they’re not alone: traveling with them are a cabin boy, half a dozen cats, and Jean’s elderly friend Jules (Michel Simon), whose surly presence makes Juliette a little uncomfortable. Squabbles and misunderstandings lead to separation, and it’s up to Jules to bring the couple back together. Produced in the dead of winter whilst the 29-year-old Vigo was dying of tuberculosis (he would succumb shortly after completing the film), L’Atalante is rightly regarded as one of the crown jewels of French cinema, and inspired Francois Truffaut to pick up a movie camera. It’s one of the most beautiful and moving films you’ll ever see.

Continued:       1       2       3