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

Tuesday 02/03/09

4:00 AM Sundance
Refugees of the Blue Planet (2006 FRA-CAN): What will happen to those displaced by increasingly common environmental disasters here on planet Earth? That's the subject of this elegant but disturbing documentary from the National Film Board of Canada. Examining a trio of ecological problems — rising sea levels threatening to inundate the low-lying island nation of The Maldives, Brazilian deforestation, and Canada's own problems with Albertan "sour gas" - the film addresses a critical issue most governments would prefer to ignore, but which isn't about to go away. There's only so much clean, high ground six billion human beings can flee to, and as sea levels rise and pollution worsens, there's less of it every day.

Wednesday 02/04/09

10:30 AM Encore Action
Ladyhawke (1985 USA): Bad fantasy films starting with "L" were the order of the day in the 1980s — Legend or Labyrinth, anyone? — but here's one a notch or two above that motley crew. Ladyhawke actually earned a couple of Oscar noms (though they were, admittedly, technical ones), and features fresh-faced Matthew Broderick as escaped felon Phillipe Gaston, who meets exiled knight Navarre (Rutger Hauer) whilst fleeing from the evil Bishop of Aquila (Shakespearian actor John Wood). The two become allies in the struggle to overthrow the Bishop — but Navarre has had a shape-shifting curse placed upon him for his illicit love affair with Lady Isabeau (the eternally luminous Michelle Pfeiffer), and he transforms into a wolf at awkward moments. Though no classic, Ladyhawke is far from the worst hand dealt us by the sword and sorcery genre during the Big '80s, and is apparently making its American widescreen television debut tonight, rendering it a must-see for fantasy fans.

9:10 PM Encore Western
Man of the East (1972 ITA-ESP): Or, if you saw it in its native Italy, E poi lo Chiamarono il Magnifico! Man of the East features popular-on-the-continent Terence Hill as Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Phillip Moore, an effete snob sent out west by his father for seasoning and tough love. He meets Bull, Holy Joe, and Monkey (Gregory Walcott, Harry Carey Jr., and Dominic Barto), three of the orneriest critters this side of the Rockies, who help him overcome his fear of fisticuffs, guns, and hard drinking. Hackneyed narrative aside (isn't this virtually the same plot as in 1959's Sheriff of Fractured Jaw?), Man of the East is still an entertaining little picture, and ranks high amongst the "comedy spaghettis" that marked the beginning of the Eurowestern's decline and disappearance.

Thursday 02/05/09

10:00 AM HBO2
Resolved (2007 USA): I recommended this high school debate documentary sight unseen when it debuted on HBO last year. Now that I've seen it, I can confirm that it's the best film yet made about this frequently baffling, oft maddening, and occasionally intellectually stimulating extra-curricular activity. The film focuses on a pair of African-American public speakers from Long Beach who attempt to subvert the debate paradigm, and makes for compelling and thought-provoking viewing. If you missed Resolved the first (or second) time, resolve not to miss it this morning.

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