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11:30 PM Encore Mystery
Dr. Chopper (2005 USA): I couldn't overlook a straight to video disaster entitled ‘Dr. Chopper', now could I? Admittedly, I haven't seen this slasher epic, which relies on the old ‘five friends stuck in the woods while a madman stalks them' trope - but the titular killer is apparently a 60-year-old on a motorbike (played by The OH In Ohio's Ed Brigadier!), and I'm getting to the age where I can kinda sorta empathise with an old geezer out to rid the world of a few surplus to requirements teenagers. Directed by the guy who edited Scarecrow Gone Wild, Dr. Chopper has Beneath the Slimy Wall written all over it.

Friday 10/27/06

8:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Creature With the Atom Brain (1955 USA): Surely one of the greatest film titles of all time, The Creature With the Atom Brain also spawned a Roky Erickson tune of the same name back in the late 1970s. Still absent on DVD, the film stars Gregory Gaye as Dr. Wilhelm Steig, a Nazi scientist hired by gangster Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger) to reanimate corpses and use them to kill the stoolies who sent him up the river. It's up to Police Captain Harris (S. John Launer) and his scientific pal Dr. Walker (Richard Denning) to solve the mystery of the marauding radio-controlled corpses. Can they stanch the bloodshed, or will Buchanan's revenge be complete? Written by the great Curt Siodmak (who seemed to have an obsession with brain-related horrors, cf. Donovan's Brain and Hauser's Memory) and directed by journeyman Edward L. Cahn, this nifty little thriller got lodged in the memory cells of many a baby boomer, and remains a surprisingly effective effort that could probably still give a few 21st century eight year olds a decent nightmare or two.

10:30 PM Encore Love Stories
Dear Frankie (2004 GB): This overlooked British drama stars the always good Emily Mortimer as Lizzie, a Scottish working class single mum trying to raise her deaf nine-year-old son Frankie (Jack McElhone) with the help of her mother (Mary Riggans). Lizzie's lied to her progeny about the whereabouts of his deadbeat dad, spinning a tale about how father is away at sea aboard the merchant ship Accra - but blowback commences when Frankie decides to connect with the old man via Royal Mail. Lizzie intercepts his missives, and masquerades as the man of the house with a series of increasingly complicated replies to Frankie's inquiries. Things go from bad to worse when a ship called the Accra actually DOES dock in Glasgow one day - and, unwilling to admit the truth, Lizzie hires a complete stranger (Gerard Butler, not slumming for once) to be Frankie's Dad For A Day. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as she plans. Directed by Shona Auerbach, this understated melodrama may verge on the predictable, but the cast is excellent and Andrea Gibb's screenplay stays just this side of saccharine.

Saturday 10/28/06

12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Crazies (1973 USA): This George Romero classic has long lived in the shadow of the director's better known Living Dead features, but it's just as good as any of those and deserves much wider exposure. It's been on DVD for a while, but makes a very rare uncut television appearance tonight on TCM. Set as usual in Pennsylvania, Romero examines what happens when a secret biological weapon gets loose from an Army laboratory. The virus is designed to literally drive its victims to madness, and as it spreads across the rural landscape becomes harder and harder to contain, until eventually extreme measures must be taken. As powerful today as ever - indeed, in light of the passage of the Military Commissions Act, perhaps even more relevant - The Crazies evokes a nightmare near future where Posse Comitatus has been rescinded, and the armed forces are on the streets of Anytown, USA. A comparative flop on its initial release, this film now stands as one of this prescient filmmaker's best works, and should be considered essential viewing for any serious horror fan.

9:30 AM Starz In Black
Krump Dancing vs. Break Dancing (2006 USA): Honestly, I have no idea if this film is any good and even less idea about what ‘Krump Dancing' entails, but how could I not mention it? With the presence of Different Strokes bad boy Todd Bridges and Adolfo Quinones - also known as Shabba Doo - as our hosts, resistance is futile.

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