Viewer Discretion Advised: 20 January 2007

By
/ 18 January 2007

Finally, SE&L has a new Friday format in place. Instead of focusing exclusively on the premium channels and the Saturday evening ‘event titles’ they feature, we will scan the weekly offerings to highlight a few independent and outsider efforts as well. This way, you don’t have to stick with the frequently mediocre mainstream selections. Instead, you can venture out into the realm of documentaries, classics, horror and foreign films to discover a preferred tele-visual repast. For the week beginning 19 January, here are the small screen possibilities:

Premiere Pick

Walk the Line

Boy oh boy does Tinsel Town love actors who can sing and dance. Indeed, critics went crazy for this Johnny Cash biopic, with most noting how honorable it was to see leads Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing the songs in their own voices. Similar to Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner’s Daughter (but unlike Jessica Lange in the Patsy Cline drama Sweet Dreams) the result was an Oscar for Witherspoon, serious consideration for Phoenix, and a decent box office run. Frankly, there is much more to this movie than a couple of younger generation Hollywood superstars warbling a collection of country and rockabilly classics. Both leads do something that’s rare in a cinematic biography — they get to the true heart of their celebrated counterparts. (20 January, Cinemax, 10PM EST)

Additional Choices

Big Momma’s House 2

Following Eddie Murphy’s formula for failing career rehabilitation, former blue comedian Martin Lawrence dons drag once again to portray that infamous obese black woman. Nothing more than a poorly concealed cash grab. (20 January, HBO, 8PM EST)

The Libertine

Johnny Depp puts on the period garb (yes — AGAIN! ) to play the 17th Century poet The Earl of Rochester. Overloaded with debauchery and attempted era authenticity, many found this to be a repugnant trip into the past. (20 January, Starz, 9PM EST)

The Longest Yard

Adam Sandler steps into Burt Reynolds shoes, and shows why, as an action hero, he should stick to comedy. Featuring Chris Rock and support from the former ’70s box office king, it’s a genial if generic effort. (20 January, Showtime, 9PM EST)

Indie Pick

New York Doll

One of the best experiences a viewer can have is going into a movie cold, not knowing anything substantive about a story, and coming away mesmerized and moved. This is the experience most film and music fans will have when visiting this heroic and heartbreaking documentary. After moving to LA, director Greg Whiteley discovered that Arthur “Killer” Kane, bassist for the infamous New York Dolls, had survived decades of drugs and self-indulgence to become a fellow Mormon. Determined to tell the story of his rise and fall from star to street person, Whiteley learned that the Dolls were planning a reunion—and wanted Kane onboard. It resulted in a journey back to his rock roots, and for the director, a devastating portrait of a fragile human being rebuilt. (22 January, Sundance, 9:30PM EST)

Additional Choices

The Devil’s Backbone

In the first installment of what may end up being a fantasy meets Fascism trilogy, Guillermo Del Toro looks at an orphanage where both the ravages of war, and a solemn boy ghost, haunt the very walls. (20 January, IFC, 5:25PM EST)

George Washington

When their actions turn fatal, a group of children in an impoverished small town band together to cover up the incident. While it sounds simple, writer/director David Gordon Green’s morality tale is a complex, spellbinding wonder. (21 January, IFC, 3:10PM EST)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Featuring an original score by Michel Legrand, this charming French musical (almost every conversation is set to song) reminds us that romance can be as weird and whimsical as an all singing spectacle. (25 January, Sundance, 7:15PM EST)

Outsider Option

Bubba Ho-Tep

Bruce Campbell deserved an Oscar nomination for his turn in this brilliant genre deconstruction. Playing a nursing home patient who may or may not be the real Elvis Presley (an impersonator plays an important part in the backstory), he brings a real emotional depth to what could have been a wholly craven caricature. After meeting up with Ozzie Davis’ JFK (don’t ask…) the duo battle a soul sucking mummy who has decided to target the elderly and infirmed. While horror fans will lap up the numerous scare sequences, what’s striking here is the acting ambitions of Campbell and Davis. These two bring a kind of humbling humanity to their otherwise over the top persona, and make this one of the best independent films ever. (21 January, IFC, 3:45PM EST)

Additional Choices

Curse of the Demon

Dana Andrews, and one incredibly creepy evil spirit, dominate this story of an ancient curse and the paranormal scientists who must defeat its unearthly effects. Featured as part of Rob Zombie’s TCM Underground presentations. (21 January, TCM, 2AM EST)

Night of the Comet

One the ’80s best, this combination of teen potboiler and end of the world zombie-thon has some interesting things to say about the end of the world — and how adolescents deal with it. Great effects and post-apocalyptic atmosphere. (21 January, Flix, 10PM EST)

Rollercoaster

Back when Sensurround was an over-hyped gimmick (basically, a set of humungous woofers stacked inside a wooden box), this was its biggest hit. In truth, it’s nothing more than a cat and mouse thriller with the title amusement at the center. (24 January, Encore Drama, 2AM EST)
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