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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 05/19/09

3:30 PM Showtime 3
Vegas Vampires (2003 USA): Reasons to watch Vegas Vampires: it's a vampire movie! About vampires stalking innocent victims in Sin City! Starring the legendary Bernie Casey! And Tiny Lister as a police officer! Directed by The Hammer, Fred Williamson! And there's a Baldwin brother in it (Daniel)! Not to mention John Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree! Oops, I just mentioned him! Reason not to watch Vegas Vampires: It's terrible!

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Lawless (1950 USA): MacDonald Carey stars as a crusading newsman in this fine Paramount drama. Carey plays Larry Wilder, editor of the Santa Marta Union, a Central Valley fish-wrapper. Larry's made a name for himself exposing big city corruption, and proves just as eager to go after baddies in the heartland: in this case, farmers who abuse the Mexican field hands doing the hardest work for the littlest reward. Naturally, his crusade doesn't sit too well with the local power brokers, and Larry soon finds himself united in common purpose with a Latina reporter (Gail Russell) fighting on behalf of the braceros. The Lawless was exhibit ‘B' in the black-listing case against director Joseph Losey (exhibit ‘A' was 1948's The Boy With Green Hair), and within two years the great director had relocated permanently to Europe.

Wednesday 05/20/09

11:00 AM HBO2
The Fever (2004 GB): I've got the fever for the flavor of The Fever! A bolshy critique of western consumer culture based on a play by Wallace Shawn, this film stars Vanessa Redgrave - a bit of a bolshy herself - as an unnamed woman who slowly begins to appreciate the fact that her unsustainable lifestyle has been made possible by the blood, toil, sweat, and tears of countless third world peons. Your patience for this film will probably depend on your response to its message, so if you just finished reading Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead or are a card-carrying member of the Cato Institute, go ahead and give it a miss. Others will appreciate Redgrave's subtle performance and marvel at the sight of Michael Moore portraying a fictional character called War Correspondent. Also airs at 2:00 PM.

5:00 PM HBO2
Loot (2008 USA): Completely unrelated to the Joe Orton play of the same name, this Loot is actually a fascinating documentary about a semi-pro treasure hunter named Lance Larson. The film follows Larson's adventures with a pair of elderly World War II vets, one of whom stashed some stolen jewelry in a house in Germany, whilst the other buried a cache of gold somewhere in the Philippines. The treasure, however, is only the jumping off point in Loot, and director Darius Marder captures some remarkable revelations about each man's war experiences and the emotional baggage they still carry. Even if you don't normally enjoy documentaries, you may find this one to your liking. Also airs at 8:00 PM.

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