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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 12/15/09

12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Younger Generation (1929 USA): ‘Cause we're The Younger Generation, and we've got something to say! And with the advent of the talking picture, they really could say something, though this particular film is actually one of those odd silent/sound hybrids. Despite its title, which suggests The Younger Generation might be one of those early musicals about flappers and gigolos living it up in the Roaring ‘20s, this is actually a sharply drawn, surprisingly downbeat tale of life in the tenements of New York City. Ricardo Cortez (who despite his exotic screen name was actually a nice Jewish boy named Jacob Krantz) stars as Morris Goldfish, a second-generation immigrant looking to shake off the old world strictures of his parents (Jean Hersholt and Rosa Rosanova) and make something of himself in gentile society. Success eventually takes the family all the way to Park Avenue - but the Goldfish's soon learn that money isn't everything, and wish they were back on the East Side. Another excellent early effort from director Frank Capra, The Younger Generation was based on a play by Fannie Hurst, an extremely popular writer of the early 20th century who also penned Back Street and Imitation of Life.

9:00 PM IFC
Alien Visitor (1997 AUS-ITA): Despite its title, which sounds like it should be attached to a straight-to-video cheapie, this is actually a very well made, thought-provoking science fiction film. Directed by Rolf de Heer, also responsible for the infamous Bad Boy Bubby as well as the gorgeous Aboriginal drama Ten Canoes, Alien Visitor plays like a distaff Man Who Fell to Earth, with a female space traveler (Ulli Birve) showing up naked and unannounced in the middle of the Australian desert. She's found and clothed by a surveyor (Syd Brisbane), whose reward is an hour long lecture about humanity's responsibility for the environmental degradation of Planet Earth. If you can put up with the lumbering dialogue (much of it apparently improvised), Alien Visitor (originally entitled Epsilon) offers rich visual rewards. It simply looks stunning in widescreen, and airs again on 12/16 at 1:30 AM.

Wednesday 12/16/09

5:00 PM HBO
Every F'ing Day of My Life (2009 USA): Originally released with the slightly less exciting moniker One Minute to Nine, Every F'ing Day of My Life is an utterly compelling documentary about "justifiable homicide". The film focuses on Oregonian housewife Wendy Maldonado and her troubled relationship with abusive hubby Aaron. After putting up with mental, emotional, and physical abuse for years, Wendy ended up hitting Aaron over the head with a hammer, a crime which earned her a ten-year stretch in the big house. I'm not at all comfortable with the concept of "justifiable homicide" (that's why I put the words in quotes), but if ever there was a poster child for it, it's Wendy Maldonado. Also airs at 8:00 PM.

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