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Thursday 7/4/13

8:00 AM Flix
Max (2002 USA): A somewhat controversial art-house hit in 2002, Max returns to television in wide-screen this morning. Starring Noah Taylor (who played an ambitious Jewish peasant in 1999's Simon Magus) as Adolf Hitler and John Cusack as his art-dealer friend during the immediate post-World War I years, the film generated critical heat for presenting Hitler as less than the fully-formed monster he was to become by the 1920s. If you missed its week-long run at the local art-plex, here's an opportunity to make up your own mind: is Max a tasteless example of historical revisionism, or a bold statement about the power of art? (I’m voting for the latter.)

5:00 PM Showtime Extreme
Lawless (2012 USA): If you admired director John Hillcoat’s ultra-violent outback western The Proposition, you’ll get equal value from Lawless, his take on Prohibition-era bootlegging. Set in the backwoods of Franklin County, Virginia during the early 1930s, Lawless stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke as three brothers earning a crust peddling moonshine. This, of course, doesn’t sit well with the local authorities, who sic G-Man Charley Rakes (Guy Pearce) on them to shut down their illicit business. The result: a staggering body count and a lot of smashed stills. Penned (as was The Proposition) by polymath Nick Cave, Lawless doesn’t offer much in the way of insight into the reasons why folk took up the bootlegging business back in the day, but looks great and is well-acted by all concerned.

Friday 7/5/13

12:50 AM Starz
Rust and Bone (2012 FRA-BEL): Wanna see Marion Cotillard swim with the fishes? Look no further than Rust and Bone, a thoughtful and contemplative drama in which la Cotillard plays Stephanie, a woman who trains killer whales for a living at a south-of-France Marineworld knock-off. Safer than making illegal hooch, I guess. When she’s not developing orca talent in the water, Stephanie spends quality time with Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), a single dad with a five-year-old son and a not terribly promising career as a nightclub bouncer. Tragedy ensues, however, when Stephanie loses her legs in an accident, and Ali is left to pick up the pieces, raise his five-year old son, and help his woman recover from a mishap that leaves her unable to work – and to love. Directed by Jacques Audiard (A Prophet), Rust and Bone dives deep into character study, with both leads outstanding as ordinary folk having to cope in extraordinary circumstances. Strongly recommended. Also airs at 3:50 AM.

3:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Sh! The Octopus (1937 USA): One of Hollywood’s legendary bad films (albeit one with a great title), Sh! The Octopus is a comedy thriller that’s neither funny nor thrilling. Nonetheless, as a prime piece of Le Bad Cinema it’s required viewing, and you can’t fault the film’s cast. Hugh ‘Woo Woo’ Herbert and Allen Jenkins play Kelly and Dempsey, a pair of hapless detectives facing off against both a master criminal named The Octopus and a giant octopus in and around an isolated lighthouse somewhere off the coast of New England (I think). The Octopus is trying to secure control over a radium ray that will help him rule the world; the octopus merely wants to wrap his/her tentacles around whichever hapless victim stumbles across his/her path. The film is completely illogical, incomparably dumb, and poorly made, but irresistible nonetheless.

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