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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 11/03/09

4:40 AM Sundance
The Youngest Candidate (2008 USA): Never trust a politician over 20! That's the subtext of this fascinating documentary about five youngsters running for office before they're even old enough to drink legally. Whether running for mayor, city council, or dog catcher, these kids are hot for public service — and with a little luck, one of them will become a member of our esteemed ruling class before too much longer! Watch The Youngest Candidate, and get a head start on the presidential election of 2032!

Wednesday 11/04/09

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Hunt the Man Down (1950 USA): This brisk 68-minute RKO crime drama makes a rare television appearance on TCM this morning. Gig Young stars as Paul Bennett, a public defender assigned the near impossible case of "Bill Jackson" (James Anderson). Jackson's been swabbing dirty dishes in Happy's Café, but his intervention in the prevention of a strong-arm robbery draws unwanted attention to his secret past: he's actually Richard Kinkaid, on the lam and wanted for murder. Bennett now has the unenviable task of tracking down the witnesses who can help prove his client's innocence, but as 12 years have passed, it's not going to be easy. Co-starring Gerald Mohr, Cleo Moore, and (in a small role) voice actor extraordinaire Paul Frees, Hunt the Man Down is a brisk and enjoyable programmer featuring excellent Nicholas Musaraca cinematography.

7:30 PM Sundance
Everlasting Moments (2008 DEN-SWE-FIN-GER-NOR): Adherents and graduates of Lars Von Trier's Dogme school of thought may dominate the tiny Danish film industry, but there's still room for something a little more traditional every now and then. Case in point: director Jan Troell's Everlasting Moments, a Scandinavian co-production with primary funding coming from Copenhagen's Final Cut Productions. Troell is best known for his ‘70s features The Emigrants and The New Land, two pastoral tales of Swedish immigrant farmers setting up shop in late nineteenth century Minnesota. Everlasting Moments is set a few decades later in Malmo, Sweden, and examines the effect a new camera has on the life of everywoman Maria Larsson (Maria Heiskanen, the nice girl in Aki Kaurismaki's Lights in the Dusk). Won in a lottery, the camera allows Maria escape from her busy life as mother of seven and spouse of dipsomaniac dockworker Siggy (Mikael Persbrandt). Bathed in autumnal hues of red and brown, this is a simple, old-fashioned character study, beautifully made and entirely free of artifice. In other words, there's neither shaky-cam nor characters with Downs' Syndrome.

Friday 11/06/09

7:00 AM HBO Signature
Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera (2007 MEX): Known in English as It's Better if Gabriela Doesn't Die, this periodically amusing Mexican farce stars Dagoberto Gama as Bracho, a policeman with an unhealthy obsession. Bracho is a devotee of Destiny of Love, one of Mexico's most beloved telenovelas (soap operas), and meets cute with program scripter Miguel (Mauricio Isaac) during a routine traffic stop. Bracho lets Miguel off with a warning in exchange for some hot tips about forthcoming program highlights — but then decides to offer his own input into future plot developments. The movie descends into hysteria during the final reel, but overall it's an entertaining Network-style indictment of the increasingly blurry lines between fantasy and reality.

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