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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 8/03/10

1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Demon Seed (1977 USA): The concept sounds a bit yucky—computer impregnates woman—but Demon Seed is a surprisingly good science-fiction effort from director Donald Cammell. Julie Christie stars as Susan Harris, wife of super-genius scientist Alex (Fritz Weaver), who’s developed an organic computer named Proteus. Like all men who play God, however, Alex doesn’t understand the forces he’s unleashed until it’s too late. Proteus decides he rather fancies Susan, and after a somewhat clumsy courtship decides to take matters into his own hands, imprisoning her in her own home and then—how can I put this delicately?—raping her. Thankfully, Demon Seed isn’t pure exploitation on a par with such sleazy supernatural sex shockers as The Entity (1982), and handles its delicate subject matter with surprising taste and intelligence. In other words, this ain’t no I Spit on Your Circuit Board.

7:30 PM The Movie Channel
Life is Hot in Cracktown (2009 USA): You can’t go wrong with a title like this! Well, I’m making a leap of faith here, as I actually haven’t seen Life is Hot in Cracktown yet. However, the film was written and directed by Buddy Giovinazzo, the auteur behind 1986’s legendary grindhouse anti-classic Combat Shock—in which a seriously deranged Vietnam vet has problems on the home front—so its street cred is well-established. Though very poorly reviewed (the words ‘poverty porn’ echo ominously through the hallways of the critical academy), the film also features a surprisingly good cast, including Illeana Douglas, Lara Flynn Boyle, RZA, and Kerry Washington. Also airs at 10:30 PM.

Wednesday 8/04/10

5:00 PM HBO 2
12th and Delaware (2010 USA): The continuing abortion wars are examined in this excellent new documentary from the folks who brought us the equally disturbing Jesus Camp. Taking its title from an intersection in the town of Fort Pierce, Florida, the film focuses on two 12th and Delaware neighbors: an abortion clinic and a pro-life ‘Pregnancy Care Center’ that sit on opposite sides of the street. Needless to say, things get quite testy at times, especially when the pro-lifers harass—er, sorry, ‘counsel’—the women going into the clinic. It’s hard to believe this battle is still being fought almost forty years after Roe v. Wade—then again, it’s also hard to believe we’re still boycotting Cuba after fifty, another item of prime political importance in the Sunshine State. Also airs at 8:00 PM and throughout the month.

8:00 PM Sundance
Broken Noses (1987 USA): Boxing fans may want to check out this black and white documentary about a boys' boxing club in Portland, Oregon. Focusing on failed 25-year-old pugilist Andy Minsker, coach for the lads of the Mount Scott club, Broken Noses is a surprisingly arty affair, with a jazz score and snippets of Shakespeare's Richard II thrown in for good measure. Director Bruce Weber's next effort, the Chet Baker bio Let's Get Lost, would end up an Oscar nominee, and while Broken Noses isn't quite as good, it's still a beautifully made film.

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