It’s finally here – no, not a decent selection of first run films on your favorite premium movie channels. In this case, were talking about the arrival of Apple TV, the computer giant’s IPod-ish answer to the TiVo – or something like that. Anyway, as the hype blurs all reality on the system’s necessity and effectiveness, you can use this week’s offerings as a guide to whether you’d require something so sophisticated and/or superfluous. Not that there’s much to choose from. Of the main movie’s offered, we are treated to a noted celebrity skank’s continuing career nosedive, a decent indie drama, and a thug-lite character study featuring a famed musical phenomenon. Truth be told, you’d be better off programming your overpriced digital VCR to focus on the outsider networks this week. The big four are mired in a mid-season malaise that is clearly affecting the choices beginning 24 March – even the SE&L suggestion:
Premiere Pick
16 Blocks
Richard Donner, whose prolific profile recently increased with the release of his original cut of Superman2, returns to the action category, eight years after the last Lethal Weapon film, and the results are uneven but effective. Bruce Willis is an aging cop set to deliver a key witness (Mos Def) to court. The title indicates the distance he must traverse. Naturally, shadow forces want to silence the stoolie, and our hero ends up caught in a crossfire of competing interest. Once the truth is uncovered, the case becomes even harder for our loyal policeman. Released in March 2006 to little fanfare and mediocre studio support, critics actually enjoyed this return to form for the one time creator of box office blockbusters. And since it already premiered on Cinemax back in January, it’s now available in a manner that may allow fans a chance to discover this genre gem. (24 March, HBO, 8PM EST)
Additional Choices
Just My Luck
There are only two words you need to know about this release, two small soundbites that will guide your love or hate of this ridiculous romantic comedy – Lindsay Lohan. If the underpants (and moral) –less one floats your entertainment boat, by all means, check it out. But if you prefer your stars to be talented, not tacky, you may wish to skip this lackluster, gimmick-ridden love story. (24 March, Cinemax, 10PM EST)
Friends with Money
This 2006 indie drama, centering on a group of women who share similar problems with family and finance, was roundly praised for its uncompromising performances (especially that of Fargo Oscar Winner Frances McDormand). But after the awards season sheen dissipated, many found the actual narrative cloudy and cloying. Now is your opportunity to decide for yourself. (24 March, Starz, 9PM EST)
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Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Trying to tap into the lucrative hip hop market, Hollywood’s trend of taking famous rappers (Eminem) and placing them in loosely autobiographical dramas (8 Mile) may have come to an end with this underachieving effort. 50 Cent creates a magnetic onscreen presence, but director Jim Sheridan can’t find a way to freshen up the film’s turgid thug life narrative. The results are both routine and decidedly dull. (24 March, Showtime, 10PM EST)
Indie Pick
Stoned
It remains a stellar subject for a motion picture – the meteoric rise, and unexplained death, of the Rolling Stones’ artistic soul, guitarist Brian Jones. While many believe his passing was the work of drugs and their accompanying downward spiral, there are a few who believe that murder was the case made against the enigmatic musician. There are even those who would go so far as to push for a conspiracy and cover-up. While many have faulted this film for being one dimensional, vague, and less than conclusive, most agree that Leo Gregory’s performance as the title character is well worth paying attention to. Someday, we may have all the answers. Until then, we have this uneven entertainment to keep the tale – and the very talented and tormented man at the center of it – very much alive. (29 March, Sundance, 10PM EST)
Additional Choices
Glengarry, Glen Ross
There is only one word to describe this amazing movie – brilliant! Or maybe, masterpiece! Whichever you choose, there is no denying the power inherent in the performances brought to David Mamet’s award winning play. Thanks to James Foley’s no nonsense direction, and the verbal fireworks contained within the script, you have the recipe for acting excellence. And the stellar cast does not disappoint. (25 March, IFC, 10:50PM EST)
Velvet Goldmine
Johnathan Rhys Meyers is David Bowie – sort of. Ewan “Obi-Wan” McGregor is a punked out Iggy Pop – almost. Together they take center stage in Todd Haynes homage to the glam rock rebellion that linked the Beatles to the Sex Pistols as Britain’s meaningful musical trend. With equally effective turns by Eddie Izzard, Toni Collette and Christian Bale, this overlooked gem deserves a second chance. As with most of Haynes work, there is more to this decent into debauchery than meets the eye. (26 March, IFC, 10:35PM EST)
Vital
As part of their tribute to the (now dying) fad of J-Horror, Sundance summons up this uneven effort from the original Japanese cyberpunk, director Shinya “Tetsuro; The Iron Man” Tsukamoto. While all agree this is not one of his finest works, this uneasy tale of an accident victim who attends classes in dissection as a way of dealing with the death of his girlfriend has its horrifying moments. (25 March, Sundance, 12AM EST)
Outsider Option
Where the Buffalo Roam
Long before Johnny Depp perfected the fictional onscreen persona of famed author Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Murray took a stab at one Raoul Duke – and almost got it right. This intriguing abstract bio pic, complete with a monstrous turn by Peter Boyle as the lawyer/lothario Oscar Z. Acosta (here, renamed Carl Lazlo for legal reasons) expands beyond the whole ‘fear and loathing’ ideal to deal with Thompson’s battles with Rolling Stone and his infamous coverage of the Super Bowl. Some may prefer the way Depp, and Benicio Del Toro took on the depraved, doped up pair, but there is something intuitively real about the way in which Murray manipulates the material to make this larger than life figure seem very real. Until the definitive Thompson movie appears, we will have to settle for this slightly surreal exercise in explanation. (28 March, Indieplex, 9PM EST)
Additional Choices
Night of the Living Dead/The Crazies
Repeating installments from months past, TCM’s Underground (which may or may not feature host Rob Zombie, depending on if this is a REAL rerun or not) looks back at the legendary first films of zombie titan George Romero. In this case, we have his genre defining cannibal corpse epic, as well as a variation on the theme involving a town filled with chemically created madmen. Both blow away modern interpretations of the genre thanks to this director’s unflattering, cinema verite style. (23 March, Turner Classic Movies, 2AM EST)
Blind Beast
For 1969, this was some incredibly sick stuff. Blind sculptor Michio, with the help of his conniving mother, kidnap a young woman so that sonny boy can “study” her for his sculptures. Talk about your Psycho sidetracking. Of course, things turn kinky, then craven, as lust translates into longing, and then something quite lethal. An inspirational effort in its native Japan, we can now sample its strangeness, thanks to Showtime’s specialist channel.(27 March, Showtime Beyond, 10PM EST)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Sergio Leone steps up and delivers yet another stellar spaghetti take on the overwrought Western genre, this time focusing on three gunmen out to find a hidden treasure. With a signature score from none other than Ennio Morricone, and as much stylized cinematography as a Frank Miller adaptation, it’s the kind of mindblower that just gets better with age. Removed from the John Wayne jingoism of the cinematic category, what we end up with is a landmark of moviemaking machismo. (28 March, Retroplex, 8PM EST)
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