TiVoPlex
By John Seal
August 1, 2005
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.
Tuesday 08/02/05
1:15am Starz! In Black
The Beat (2003 USA): Whilst The Beat may be somewhat predictable in its tale of a bright youngster trying to make it as a rapper in South Central Los Angeles, it is an impressive first outing for writer-director Brandon Sonnier. The sharp and believable screenplay has a sting in its tail, too, and the ending surprised me; not an easy accomplishment! Rahmaan Jamaal stars as Flip, a child of a racially-mixed marriage who is trying to "keep it real' by giving up a comfortable middle-class life for the street, where his Muse can soak up enough ambiance to give his rapping an extra edge. Jamaal is a likable if limited actor, and the balance of the cast also does well, especially Michael Colyar as a scuffling talent agent who has precisely one business card and markets himself as "Barnes and Knoble" ("the 'k' is silent!"). A very promising debut that also features some truly impressive freestyle rap. Highly recommended.
6pm Showtime 2
Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (2004 USA): The Runaways may not have been very good, bar a few songs like the irresistible Cherry Bomb, but this documentary is essential viewing for rock-and-roll fans. Directed by one of the band's former bass players, Victory Tischler-Blue, Edgeplay is the final cinematic word on the all-female band that gave birth to the careers of both Joan Jett and, less encouragingly, Lita Ford, and is only hampered by the lack of original music, the unfortunate result of Jett's decision not to participate in the project. What Edgeplay does have - and have in spades - is access to the REST of the band, who are incredibly forthcoming and more than make up for Jett's absence with tales of life on the road and in the studio with producer Kim Fowley. For those not completely creeped out by Fowley's presence in last year's other great rock doc, The Mayor of the Sunset Strip, you're in for more of the same here, as the sleazy Svengali doesn't hold anything back. It would have been nice if Jett had chosen to appear, but Edgeplay is still a first-rate film, especially for those who favor big hair and Spandex.
Wednesday 08/03/05
3:35am Starz! In Black
The Girl With Brains in Her Feet (1997 GB): If you enjoyed Bend It Like Beckham, you may not care too much for The Girl With Brains in Her Feet, but if you thought Bend It Like Beckham was a bit trite and predictable, you'll love it. Produced by fiercely-independent moneyman Don Boyd, this is a marvelous kitchen-sink drama that oozes period authenticity thanks to some excellent location work in Leicester, and features an unpredictable story about adolescent love, sex, and sport in early 1970s Britain. I can't say enough nice things about this little picture; it's a quality production all the way around, with a wonderful cast and a busy story line that will keep you intrigued to the end. Of particular note are Amanda Mealing as the prototypical struggling and bitter single mum, Mossie Smith as her world-weary sister, and Joshua Henderson as an ethereal itinerant who takes advantage of the film's heroine, Jackie (Joanna Ward). My only quibble is with the busy song-track, which threatens to overwhelm the dramatic proceedings from time to time. Overall, however, this is a low-budget delight that warrants a much wider audience than the one it has heretofore had. Also airs at 10:05am, 8/4 at 2:15am, and 8/6 at 4:35am.
8am The Movie Channel
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003 MON): In the spirit of such previous TiVoPlex favorites as Kandahar and Osama comes this docudrama from Mongolia about the runt of a camel litter and a farmer's efforts to save its life. For those who dream of building a yurt or moving to Ulan Bator, this is your film. If, on the other hand, you find the thought of camel reproduction disgusting, you might want to give it a miss (I once saw two camels mating at the Oakland Zoo, so you know which camp I'm in). Nominated for Best Feature-Length Documentary at this year's Academy Awards, The Story of the Weeping Camel airs wide-screen this morning. Also airs at 11am, 6:45pm, and 9:45pm.
10:15am Encore Westerns
Utah Blaine (1957 USA): I really have no reason to include this Columbia oater in this week's column, but it leapt out at me, tackled me to the ground, and held a gun to my head, so here it is. Actually, I think it's the fact that I'd never heard of it before that attracted my attention. It stars Rory Calhoun, and was the penultimate feature for former boxer Max Baer, whose life story was horribly distorted by Ron Howard's Cinderella Man earlier this year. Also airs at 6:30pm and 8/7 at 5am.
8:40pm Encore Dramatic Stories
The Choirboys (1977 USA): This crude cop drama returns to premium cable this evening after a lengthy absence. Based on one of Joseph Wambaugh's wildly popular novels and directed by Robert Aldrich, it's the story of a group of LA's finest who blow off steam after hours by engaging in some questionable fun that invariably involves baiting women, minorities, and/or gays. The film's cast, including Charles Durning, Perry King, and Louis Gossett, is uniformly fine, but Christopher Knopf's screenplay is a misfire which can't decide whether it's a screwball comedy or an incisive drama, and the film ends up being more offensive than anything else. Nonetheless, it's a rarity that isn't available on home video, so troglodytes and hardcore film buffs might want to give it a look.
Thursday 08/04/05
9pm Fox Movie Channel
Come See the Paradise (1990 USA): The polar opposite of The Choirboys, Come See the Paradise is an earnest drama about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita play Jack and Lily, star-crossed lovers forced to elope to Seattle in the late 1930s when Lily's disapproving dad (Sab Shimono) puts the kibosh on their relationship (interracial marriage was illegal in California at the time anyway). Things take a turn for the worse after Pearl Harbor, when Lily is sent to a concentration camp with the couple's young daughter and Jack joins the Army. The film explores the themes of loyalty (familial and national), racism, and freedom, and its wide-screen reappearance on cable couldn't be timelier.
Friday 08/05/05
11:50am Starz! Edge
The Code (2002 FRA): Zoot alors! It's another Francophone action film! This one features Samuel Le Bihan as an ex-con who can't resist getting back into the crime business when his buddy (the always busy and always good Samy Naceri) drops by one day and proposes his old pal get back in the game with him. Shot on location in the unglamorous and racially-tense Parisian suburbs, this is a predictable gangster flick elevated somewhat by the two leads, who do as much with the rather rote screenplay as they can. Look for the great Edith Scob (Eyes Without a Face) in a small role as Naceri's mother.
9pm Encore
Midnight Movies (2005 CAN): First, disclosure: the good folks at Encore sent me a screener for this brand-spanking new original documentary. Second, the good news: the film is an absolutely terrific look at six films that defined the midnight movie genre, including El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, Pink Flamingos, The Harder They Come, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Eraserhead. The film includes, miraculously, extended interviews with each of the filmmakers, including the previously reclusive Perry Henzell, whose gangster flick The Harder They Come helped hasten the popularization of reggae in the United States. The biggest thrill, though, is enjoying the effusive commentary of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the Donald Sutherland look-a-like behind the incredible El Topo, which launched the midnight movie phenomenon single-handedly from Manhattan's Elgin Theater. There's copious rare (sometimes VERY rare) behind-the-scenes footage - not to mention George Romero's first gig, a short film of Mr. Rogers' 1966 tonsillectomy!! - and loads of fun to be had with this informative and very enjoyable film. Also airs 8/6 at midnight.
Saturday 08/06/05
2:30pm Sundance
Stealing the Fire (2002 USA): Despite the fact that events have long since outstripped this documentary's premise - that Saddam Hussein's nuclear programs posed a looming threat to Israel - this remains a fascinating look at nuclear proliferation, in this case perpetrated on an entirely legal basis by a German scientist named Karl-Heinz Schaab. The film is actually most interesting when it's dealing with issues other than Schaab's complicity with Iraq's attempts to acquire centrifuge technology, spending considerable time detailing Nazi Germany's efforts to develop nuclear weaponry, and revealing the unsavory stories of Nazi scientists and German industrial concerns in the post-War period. Though the film relies too much on interviews with the thoroughly-discredited Iraqi defector and camera-hog Khidhir Hamza, whose knowledge of Hussein's nuclear program extends only until 1994, this remains a powerful indictment of personal greed and corporate aggrandizement.
5pm Fox Movie Channel
It's Good to be Alive (1974 USA): This feel-good TV Movie of the Week features a miscast Paul Winfield as Los Angeles' Dodger Ray Campanella, a sports hero whose career was cut short by a crippling automobile accident in 1959. Campanella went on to be a pop culture fixture in the Southland during the ‘60, and could still be counted on to make an appearance for each and every worthy cause well into the ‘70s (ah, yes, I remember it well!). This long-unseen CBS production typically sugarcoats the story, but its fine cast (including Louis Gossett Jr. and Ruby Dee, as well as Lloyd Gough, Stymie Beard, and the entire Campanella family) and relative rarity make it a must for the TiVoPlex.
Sunday 08/07/05
1:25am HBO
Twist of Faith (2005 USA): One week, and two Best Feature Documentary nominees for the 2005 Academy Award debut on premium cable. (See above for the first one - and note that the ultimate Oscar winner this year, Born into Brothels, premieres on cable later in August!) This, of course, is the second of the pair, the personal story of an Ohio fireman trying to come to terms with his childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest. Directed by Kirby Dick, whose 1997 feature Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan probably turned more than a few stomachs, Twist of Faith is a grueling look at the burden one man still carries with him, and an indictment of the church's inability to come to terms with its responsibility for this heinous crime. Also airs at 4:25am.
10:15pm Sundance
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996 USA): Okay, you all know about this one, but it's airing on Sundance this time. Irregardless of whether or not this means it will be airing wide-screen (!!), I can't resist plugging the swan song of Tom Servo and Gypsy, even if they did select a decent film (This Island Earth) to lampoon. If you enjoyed the shtick of the TV series, you'll enjoy the movie - and on a side note, Rhino is doing a nice job re-releasing MST3K on DVD, frequently offering viewers the option of watching the films both with or without comedic counterpoint.
Monday 08/08/05
5pm Turner Classic Movies
Alfie (1966 GB): I know, I'm really bending the rules to include Alfie, but it IS one of my ten favorite films of all time, so allow me to indulge myself. Michael Caine plays the titular character, a misogynist lay-about who works his way into as many beds as possible but is decidedly uneasy when it comes to accepting the consequences. Pointlessly remade last year with Jude Law in the title role, the original Alfie is one of the funniest and most bittersweet cinematic confections ever: from the first strains of Burt Bacharach's magnificent theme song to the final credit roll, this is a near perfect film and is required viewing for all of you.
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