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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 11/13/12

1:40 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
The Class (2008 FRA): First the good news: Encore has finally ditched that horrible dubbed print of The Class they’d insisted on airing over the last few years. Now the not so good: this is still a pan-and-scan print, reducing the film to a highly constricted, overcrowded box. Of course, The Class is a story about the inhabitants of a highly constricted, overcrowded box - otherwise known as a secondary school classroom - so perhaps it’s appropriate that its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio has been reduced to a square. Regardless, the film is a first-rate ensemble piece about a young teacher (François Bégaudeau) trying to tame a room full of uncooperative teenage miscreants. It’s basically To Sir with Love with baguettes, brie, and ennui. Okay, slight exaggeration - The Class is definitely miles more realistic than To Sir with Love - but you get the idea.

8:35 AM HBO Signature
La Hija Natural (2011 DOM-PUR): A Dominican Republic/Commonwealth of Puerto Rico co-production, La Hija Natural (Love Child) tells the story of Maria (Julietta Rodriguez), a young woman who, after the death of her mother, goes in search of the father who abandoned her at an early age. She finds him (Victor Checo) living on a spooky old banana plantation, but - despite her willingness to assist him in his struggles with a troublesome neighbor (Dionos Rufino) - he’s not happy to see her. Written and directed by Leticia Tonos, La Hija Natural relies on strong performances from Rodriguez and Checo to carry its slight story, and features attractive cinematography courtesy DoP Sonnel Velasquez.

Wednesday 11/14/12

10:45 AM Showtime Extreme
Steel Dawn (1987 USA): Patrick Swayze headlines this "bleak future" cheesefest as Nomad, a hunky hero who stumbles across a farm one day and gets hired by single mom Kasha (Lisa "Mrs. Swayze" Niemi) to keep things shipshape. Unfortunately, her property is deeply attractive to villainous Damnil (Anthony Zerbe), who wants her water supply for himself and will stop at nothing to get it. He hasn’t, however, counted on Nomad, who is (to paraphrase the film’s tagline) about to carve the future (and Damnil’s minions) with his sword. Yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic Shane with big hair and shoulder pads. Steel Dawn is utterly awful, but Swayze fans won’t care, and for the rest of us there’s Brion James and Arnold Vosloo. And cheese...lots and lots of cheese. Velveeta, to be precise.

Thursday 11/15/12

2:05 AM HBO Signature
Mi Ultimo Round(2011 CHI-ARG): I haven’t seen this film yet, but you know I can’t resist any of HBO Signature’s Spanish-language offerings. Mi Ultimo Round involves a gay boxer who falls in love and decides to hang up his gloves, and won the Best Feature award at this year’s International Queer Film Festival, which (believe it or not) was held in Mumbai, India.

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