TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for January 12 2010 through January 18 2010
By John Seal
January 11, 2010
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.
Tuesday 1/12/10
4:00 AM Cinemax
The Terrorists (1975 GB): ...hate us because of our freedoms? Nope - the terrorists in The Terrorists are of the Irish Republican variety, and hate us (and by us, I mean the scurvy Brits) for our steak and kidney pie, Chocolate Hobnobs, and John Bull waistcoats. They're led by Ian Bannen, who seizes an airliner and threatens to blow it up whilst it sits on the ground at a Scandinavian airport. It's up to Norwegian police inspector Sean Connery (!) to throw a spanner in the works. Though no classic, The Terrorists benefits from its two charismatic leads and excellent cold weather photography from Sven Nykvist, who presumably knew from cold weather. Also airs at 7:00 AM.
4:45 AM Sundance
The Pool (2007 USA): Documentarian Chris Smith took a temporary trip into fictional territory with this unusual shot in India comedy-drama. Set in the former Portuguese enclave of Goa, The Pool stars Venkatesh Chavan and Jhangir Badshah as Venkatesh and Jhangir, two Indian adolescents who work in a hotel whilst selling second-hand plastic bags on the side. The two become obsessed with a nearby mansion with its own (apparently unused) pool, and Venkatesh manages to insinuate his way into the lives of the occupants. After being hired by householder Nana (Nana Patekar) to do odd jobs, he falls for his new employer's attractive daughter (Ayesha Mohan) and learns how to halve a coconut, amongst other valuable lessons. Shot in a semi-documentary neo-realist style, The Pool is based on a short story set in Iowa, but transitions well to its South Asian setting. It's a surprisingly assured fiction effort from the director of American Movie and The Yes Men, and airs again at 11:00 AM and on 1/17 at 5:15 AM.
7:45 AM Sundance
Fermat's Room (2007 ESP): There's considerable fun - if an only partly satisfying payoff - in this fine Spanish suspenser from writer-directors Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena. It's an old-fashioned locked room thriller about a group of mathematicians invited to a dinner party - only to find out that their host is serving naught but revenge. The first half of the film is particularly engaging, as the characters try to figure out why they've been targeted whilst also racing against time to solve complex math problems that may (or may not) save their lives. It's been described as Saw without the gore, which seems an apt description to me. Also airs at 1:00 PM.
Wednesday 1/13/10
5:20 AM IFC
Kill the Poor (2007 USA): Not a documentary based on the Dead Kennedy's song of the same name (or any GOP legislation of the last 40 years), Kill the Poor is an above-average indie about life on Manhattan's Lower East Side during the hardscrabble early 1980s. Adapted for the screen by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler from Joel Rose's novel, the film follows the efforts of everyman Joe (David Krumholtz) to find safe and affordable housing for his wife (Clara Beller) and their forthcoming progeny. Alas, his old neighborhood is now awash in drug addicts and ladies of the night, and it's up to Joe to pull out his Magnum 357 and clean things up. Er, no, wrong film - but someone DOES commit an act of arson, all in the name of improving the local quality of life. This is a solid, well written film that manages to avoid most of the indie ghetto clichés, and also looks great thanks to Harlan Bosmajian's widescreen photography. Also airs at 9:40 AM and 2:00 PM.
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