The Merchant of Venice (aka William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice) (Michael Radford/2004/GB-Luxembourg-Italy-USA/Drama/142’). 9.40pm DIRECTV Cine Canal Ch 556. Rated R for some nudity.
Starring Al Pacino, Jeremy

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (aka Harry Potter 5) (David Yates/2005/US-UK/Fantasy-Adventure/138’) 8.05pm HBO Ch 524. Rated PG-13 for very frightening images and sequences of fantasy violence. Colour.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie

Richard III (Richard Loncraine/1995/ UK/Drama-War-Shakespeare/104’) 8pm DirecTV

Neil Young: Heart of Gold (aka Prairie Wind) (Jonathan Demme/2006/ USA/Music-Documentary/70') 8.15pm DirecTV Cine Canal West Ch 558. Rated PG by pedantically politically correct Americans for some drug-related lyrics. Colour.
Starring Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, various musicians.
Directed by Jonathan Demme. Produced by Jonathan Demme, Tom Hanks & Ors. Edited by Andy Keir. Music by Neil Young. Director of photography Ellen Kuras.
Other films by same director: The Manchurian Candidate (2004); The Agronomist (2003); The Truth About Charlie (2002); Philadelphia(1993); The Silence of the Lambs (1995); Stop Making Sense (1984); Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia (1987); others.
Awards: Audience Award, NatFilm Festival
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: Jonathan Demme’s outstanding film of a Neil Young concert.
Even those completely unfamiliar with Neil Young’s music can watch Heart of Gold with complete satisfaction. Like Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, this

Bowfinger (Frank Oz/1999/USA/Comedy/97’) 8pm DirecTV City Mix West Ch 560 (4.30pm East Ch 559). Rated PG-13 for sex-related material and language. Colour.
Starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Jamie Kennedy, Adam Alexi-Malle, Kohl Sudduth;, Terence Stamp, Robert Downey Jnr.
Directed by Frank Oz. Written by Steve Martin. Produced by Brian Grazer. Edited by Richard Pearson. Music by David Newman. Director of photography Ueli Steiger.
Other films by same director: Death at a Funeral (2007); The Stepford Wives (2004); The Score (2001); What About Bob? (1991); The Indian in the Cupboard (1995); HouseSitter (1992); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988); Little Shop of Horrors (1986); at least three others.
Awards: Minor nominations.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: When the famous lead star refuses to take part, a scrunting movie director prevents his entire cast from bailing by persuading them the lead actor doesn’t want to talk to them and filming around the lead without his knowledge.

BC on TV will confess right out that, like most people, it dismissed Bowfinger as just another silly star vehicle that misfired, even if the stars driving it were

Mr Brooks (Bruce A Evans/2007/USA/Thriller/120’) 9.40pm DirecTV Cine Canal Ch 556. Rated R for strong bloody violence, some graphic sexual content, nudity and language. Colour.
Starring Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, William Hurt, Marg Helgenberger, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Danielle Panabaker, Aisha Hinds, Lindsay Crouse.

Directed by Bruce A Evans. Written by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A Evans. Produced by Kevin Costner & Raynold Gideon. Edited by Miklos Wright. Music by Ramin Djawadi. Director of photography John Lindley.
Other films by same director: Kuffs (1992).
Awards: Nominated for Discovery of the Year (Ramin Djawadi) World Soundtrack Awards
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: An unlikely serial murderer is blackmailed and has to figure a way out of his predicament.

Mr Brooks starts high, quality wise: superb cinematography, a lavish budget, style in abundance, an award-winning soundtrack and strong male leads in William Hurt and Kevin Costner. From that high start, though, it’s all

The Last King of Scotland (Kevin Macdonald/2006/GB-Ger-USA/Drama-Thriller/123’) 7.30pm, DirecTV City Mix Ch 522. Rated R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language.
Starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney, David Oyelowo, Stephen Rwangyezi, Abby Mukibi Nkaaga, Adam Kots, Sam Okelo.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Written by Peter Morgan & Jeremy Brock (from the Giles Foden source novel). Edited by Justine Wright. Music by Alex Heffes. Produced by Lisa Bryer, Andrea Calderwood & Charles Steel. Director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle.
Other films by same director: Touching the Void 2, Touching the Void (2004, 2002);
Awards: Won Best Lead Actor Oscar and BAFTA, Best British Film & Best Screenplay BAFTAs
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: An invented account of the rise and fall of Idi Amin Dada in Uganda as seen (i.e., imagined) through the eyes of his personal physician.

Even though many raised an eyebrow at Forest Whitaker being nominated in 2007 in the Lead and not Supporting Actor category

Superbad (Greg Mottola/2007/USA/Teen-Comedy/114’) 6.30pm HBOP Ch 526. Rated R for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image, all involving teens.
Starring Johan Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone, Aviva, Joe Lo Truglio.
Directed by Judd Apatow & Shauna Robertson. Written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg. Produced by Wolfgang Petersen & Paula Weinstein. Edited by William Kerr. Music by Lyle Workman. Director of photography Russ T Alsobrook.
Other films by same director: debut.
Awards: Nominated for Best Comedic Performance (Jonah Hill), Best Movie, Best Breakthrough Performance (Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) MTV Movie Awards.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: Three thoroughly nerdy young high school boys scheme to get into a cool teens’ graduation night party and/or lose their virginity.

Though just the sort of film that could enrage feminists, indeed, almost any thinking person in the scrunting Third World, this is actually

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway/1989/UK-France/Drama/124’) 9.30pm DirecTV City Mix Ch 559 . Rated R.
Starring Richard Bohrigner, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Ciaran Hinds, Gary Olsen, Ewant Stewart, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ron Cook, Liz Smith.
Written & directed by Peter Greenaway. Produced by Kees Kasander. Edited by John Wilson. Music by Michael Numan Director of photography Sacha Viermy.
Other films by same director: Nightwatching (2007); A Life in Suitcases (2005); The Man in the Bath (2001); 81/2 Women (1999); The Pillow Book (1996); Drowning by Numbers (1988); A Zed and Two Noughts (1985); at least ten others.
Awards: Non-mainstream wins & nominations.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A woman takes a bizarre form of revenge on her cheap hoodlum husband by having an affair and serving him his comeuppance.
This tale of a wife’s revenge is perhaps not Peter Greenaway’s best film for Greenaway fans but it is still hugely compelling. Strangely beautifully shot – including the torture scenes – it could be

The Dark Knight (aka Batman Begins 2: The Dark Knight) (Christopher Nolan/2008/USA/Action-Thriller-Crime-Drama/152’) All day DirecTV Pay Per View Ch 402. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Çaine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Chin Han, Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by Christopher & Jonathan Nolan (based on the Bob Kane source comic book hero). Produced by Emma Thomas. Edited by Lee Smith. Music by James Newton-Howard & Hans Zimmer. Director of photography Wally Pfister.
Other films by same director: Batman Begins (2005); The Prestige (2006); Insomnia (2002); Memento (2001); Following (1998)
Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) BAFTA & Golden Globe; nominated for same Oscar and for Best Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Make-up, Music, Sound, Sound Editing, Art Direction & Visual Design Oscars & BAFTAs.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A depraved villain is determined to destroy both the Batman and Gotham city.

For only the second time in its nearly five-year history BC on TV chooses a DirecTV PPV selection – but it’s one of the best. You should, of course, watch it on Ch 402 in 16x9 widescreen rather than the dreadful

Notes on a Scandal (Richard Eyre/2006/GB/Drama-Mystery-Thriller/92') 7pm DirecTV City Mix Ch 559. Rated R for strong language & some aberrant sexual content.
Starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Sandy Pabblem, Bill Nighy, Juno Temple, Phillip Davis, Joanna Scanlan.

Directed by Richard Eyre. Written by Patrick Marber (from the Zoe Heller source novel). Music by Phillip Glass. Edited by John Bloom. Produced by Robert Fox, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich & Scott Rudin. Director of photography Chris Menges.
Other films by same director: Stage Beauty (2004); Iris (2001)
Awards: Nominated for: Best Lead Actress (Judi Dench), Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Music (Phillip Glass), Best Adapted Screenplay (Patrick Marber) Oscars; Best British Film, Best Screenplay & Best Actress (Judi Dench) BAFTAs and Best Actress (Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett) & Best Screenplay Golden Globes; won Teddy Audience Award, Berlin last month.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A female secondary school teacher receives left-handed support from an older colleague when caught in a sexual relationship with one of her young male students.


Even the literary snob minded to sneer at a film based on a Zoe Heller novel might be

Juno (Jason Reitman/2008/USA/Teen-Romantic Comedy/96’) 5.45pm, DirecTV Movie City West Ch 554. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language. Colour.
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Olivia Thirby, Eileen Redde, Rainn Wilson, Sierra Pitkin, Cameron Bright
Directed by Jason Reitman. Written by Diablo Cody Produced by Lianne Halfon & John Malkovich. Edited by Dana E Glauberman. Music by Matt Messina. Director of photography Eric Steelberg.
Other films by same director: Thank You for Smoking (2005); Consent (2004); Uncle Sam (2003); Operation (1998); three others
Awards: Won Best Original Screenplay BAFTA; Nominated for Best Directing, Best Picture, Best Lead Actress (Ellen Page) and Best Original Screenplay Oscars & Best Lead Actress BAFTA
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A teenaged girl faces her pregnancy while at high school.

Though snagged by the pair of tags – “Teen” and “Romantic Comedy” that all but condemn a film to mediocrity, Juno is one of those surprises, like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, A Nightmare on Elm Street or Casino Royale that rise above its genre. Powered by a smart script and driven by the finest performance by a young actor BC on TV has seen since

Pan’s Labyrinth (aka El Laberinto del Fauno) (Guillermo Del Toro/2006 Mexico-Spain-USA/Fantasy-Drama-Thriller/119’) 9pm Cinemax. Rated R for graphic violence & some language.
Starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, Alex Angulo, Roger Casamajor,
Written & directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Edited by Bernat Vilaplana. Produced by Alfonso Cuaron, Frida Torresblanco & Alvaro Augustin. Music by Javier Navarrete. Director of photography Guillermo Del Toro.
Other films by same director: Hellboy (2004); Blade 2 (2002); The Devil’s Backbone (2001); Mimic/Mimic 2 (1997/2001) Cronos (1994)
Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup Oscars; Best International Film & Best Young Actor Saturns; nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Foreign Film, Best Music Oscars & Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Supporting Actor Saturns.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: In Spanish Civil War/WWII 1944, a young girl creates a fantasy world to escape the brutal real one inhabited by her solder father

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles/1941/USA/Drama/119’) 9pm Turner Bogus Classic Movies Ch 505 DirecTV. Rated PG. B&W.

Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Paul Stewart.

Directed by Orson Welles. Written by Orson Welles & Herman J Mankiewicz. Produced by Orson Welles. Edited by Robert Wise. Music by Bernard Herrmann. Director of photography Gregg Toland.
Other films by same director: F For Fake (1976); The Immortal Story (1968); Touch of Evil (1958)
Awards: Best Original Screenplay Oscar; nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Sound Recording.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: Orson Welles’ thinly disguised biography of American newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, told as a mystery story surrounding the meaning of the last word the film tycoon, Charles Foster Kane utters: “Rosebud”.

The American Film Institute’s best film ever, Citizen Kane beats everything but The Godfather I & II for BC on TV. A lifetime after its release, there may or may not be many people in Trinidad & Tobago who

3:10 to Yuma (James Mangtold/2007/USA/Western/122’) 9pm HBOC. Rated R for violence.
Starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Logan Leman, Ben Foster, Gretchen Moi, Dallas Roberts, Vanessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains.
Directed by James Mangtold. Written by Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (from the Halstead Welles screenplay, itself from the Elmore Leonard source short story). Produced by Cathy Konrad. Edited by Michael McCusker. Music by Marco Beltrami. Director of photography Phedon Papamichael.
Other films by same director: Walk the Line (2005); Identity (2003); Kate and Leopold (2001)
Awards: Nominated for Best Music & Best Sound Oscars; Best Thriller & Best Supporting Actor (Ben Foster) Saturns; others.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A small farmer desperate for money accepts the job of escorting a dangerous gunman to his trial in another town.

Like Mystic River and Gangs of New York, 3:10 to Yuma powers along for most of its runtime, only to

Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg/1993/USA/Drama-War/197’) 8pm DirecTV Cine Canal Ch 556. Rated R for language, some sexuality and violence. B&W.
Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroling Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz, Malgoscha Gebel.
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Steven Zaillian (from the Thomas Keneally source book) Produced by Branko Lustig, Gerald Molen & Steven Spielberg. Edited by Michael Kahn. Music by John Williams. Director of photography Janusz Kaminski.
Other films by same director: Munich (2005); The Terminal (2004); Catch Me If You Can (2002); Minority Report (2002); A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); Jurassic Park trilogy (1993-2001); Saving Private Ryan (1998); Indian Jones trilogy (1981-1989); E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Jaws/Jaws 2 (1975/78)
Awards: Seven Oscars: Best Director, Picture, Screenplay, Cinematography, Music, Film Editing, Art Direction; six BAFTAs: David Lean Award for Direction, Best Film, Supporting Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Cinematography, Editing, Score & Screenplay. nominations for Best Lead (Liam Neeson) & Supporting (Ralph Fiennes) Actor Oscars.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: The true story of the German, Oskar Schindler, who personally saved thousands of Jews from the fires of the Holocaust by creating jobs for them in his factory.

A contender for Steven Spielberg’s great work and at the top of most lists of Holocaust films, Schindler’s List is as

Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathon Dayton-Valerie Faris/2006/USA/Comedy-Drama/101’) 8pm DirecTV Cine Canal Ch 556. Rated R for strong language, some drug & sexual content.
Starring Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Nick Urata Devotchka, Jill Talley.
Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. Written by Michael Arndt.  Edited by Pamela Martin. Produced by Marc Turtletaub, David T Friendly, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa. Music by Mychael Danna. Director of photography Tim Suhrstedt.
Other films by same directors: debut for both
Awards: Best Supporting Actor Oscar & BAFTA (Alan Arkin); Best Original Screenplay Oscar & BAFTA; nominations for Best Picture & Best Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin) Oscars.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A little girl is taken by her severely (and comically) dysfunctional family on a road trip to take part in a children’s beauty pageant.


Every now and then, American cinema surprises with a movie that is completely engrossing without a single frame of CGA. Husband and wife directing team of Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris won the imagination of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as well as those of Middle America and (at least) middlebrow America with

The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass/2007/UK-USA/Thriller/111’) 9.15pm DirecTV Movie City Ch 552. Rated PG-13 for violence & intense action sequences. Colour.
Starring Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Albert Finney, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Joey Ansah.
Directed by Paul Greengrass. Written by Tony Gilroy, George Nolfi & Scott Z Burns (from the Robert Ludlum source novel). Produced by Frank Marshall, Paul Sandberg, Doug Liman (exec) &  Ors. Edited by Christopher Rouse. Director of photography Oliver Wood. Music by John Powell.
Other films by same director: United 93 (2006); The Bourne Supremacy (2004); Bloody Sunday (2002); The Theory of Flight (1998).
Awards: Best Editing, Best Sound Oscars & BAFTAs; Best Sound Oscar; nominated for Best British Film, Best Cinematography, Best Director BAFTAs and Best Thriller, Best Direction & Best Music Saturns.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: The final chapter in the Bourne Trilogy takes the story up from the end of The Bourne Supremacy, leading Jason Bourne back to himself.


The last of the Bourne films is the one that nudged them into the BC DVD ABC’s top trilogy list ahead of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western trilogy – and its excellence is largely due to Paul Greengrass. Doug Liman handled the first film, The Bourne Identity extremely well, turning in an action flick that aspired to psychological thriller credentials; Greengrass extracted  a chillingly cold performance from the normally wooden Matt Damon, adding

Marie Antoinette (Sophia Coppola/2006/USA/Historical drama/123’) 9.45pm Cinemax. Rated PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo. Colour.
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Marianne Faithfull, Shirley Henderson, Steve Coogan.Written & directed by Sophia Coppola. Produced by Ross Katz & Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola exec). Edited by Sarah Flack. Music by dead old firetrucks & hip young bands. Director of photography Lance Acord.
Other films by same director: Lost in Translation (2003); The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Awards: Best Costume Design Oscar.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: From the Los Angeles perspective, the life of the famously misquoted French queen seems more like that of a prom queen.

It’s difficult to say how much of Marie Antoinette’s success is intentional. More critics have praised it than panned it – but its admirers seem to invest more meaning than the director may have intended. If Sofia Coppola’s treatment of the woman generally regarded as the most contemptuous in history

Today’s Gold Medal Film is:

The Godfather Part I (Francis Ford Coppola/1971/USA/Crime-Drama-Thriller/175’) 8pm American Movie Classics DirecTV Channel 511. Rated R for violence. Colour.
Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Richard S Castellano, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Talia Shire, Al Lettieri, Gianni Russo, John CazaleDirected by Francis Ford Coppola. Written by Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo (from the Mario Puzo source novel). Produced by Albert S Ruddy. Edited by William H Reynolds & Peter Zinner. Music by Nino Rota. Director of photography Gordon Willis.
Other films by same director: Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2000); The Rainmaker (1997); Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992); The Godfather Part II (1974);  The Godfather Part III (1990); New York Stories (1989); Peggy Sue Got Married (1986); The Cotton Club (1984); Apocalypse Now (1979); at least 12 others
Awards: Best Picture, Best Lead Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Screenplay Oscars; Best Music BAFTA; Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Music, Best Screenplay Golden Globes;
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: At the end of the day, family life is family life, even if that life (and a lot of death) takes place in The Family.

The best American film – perhaps the best film ever– speaks for itself far more eloquently than this small space and/or thinker could: “Leave the gun; take

Derailed (Mikael Håfström/2005/US/Thriller-Drama/110’) 10.25pm DirecTV City Vibe Ch 561. Rated R for strong disturbing violence, language, some sexuality. Colour.
Starring Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, RZA, Xzibit, Addison Timlin, Giancarlo Esposito, Tom Conti.
Directed by Mikael Håfström. Written by Stuart Beattie (from the James Siegel source novel). Produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura. Edited by Peter Boyle. Music by Ed Shearmur.  Director of photography Peter Biziou.
Other films by same director:  1408 (2007); Drowning Ghost (2004); Days Like This (2001).
Awards: No major
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A couple in an adulterous love affair are blackmailed by a thug and seek to turn the tables on him.
It takes a great deal of throat-clearing for a film column with a bias towards the literary worth and a barely-concealed contempt for Hollywood to recommend a Jennifer Aniston movie but BC on TV does it happily enough. Though a long way from The Usual Suspects, Derailed is

The Others (Alejandro Amenábar/2001/USA/Horror/101’) 7.15pm HBOC. Rated PG-13 for language and scenes of peril. Colour.
Starring Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Eric Sykes, Elaine Cassidy, Renee Asherson, Keith Allen, Michelle Fairley, Alexander Vince.

Written & directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Produced by Fernando Bovaira, Jose Luiz Querda & Sunmin Park. Edited by Nacho Ruiz Capillas. Music by Alejandro Amenábar. Director of photography Javier Agquirresarobe.

Other films by same director: The Sea Inside (2004); Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) (1997); Tesis (1996); Luna (1995).
Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Actress (Nicole Kidman) and Best Supporting Actress (Fionnula Flanagan) Saturns. Nominated for Best Director & Screenplay Saturns, Best Screenplay & Best Lead Actress BAFTAs.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: Too good a plot to spoil with even a one-sentence summation so catch it from the start.

Films like The Others are the raison d’etre of BC on TV. A real pleasure to watch and an even greater one to recommend, this horror features an exceptionally good performance from probably the best living actress of her time and an unusually good script. BC on TV will say nothing about the plot to avoid spoiling a great horror with a chilling denouement – but it will

Rihanna (aka Good Girl Gone Bad) (Paul Caslin/2007/USA-Barbados/Concert/95’) 11.45pm DirecTV City Vibe Ch 561. Rated PG-13.
Starring Rihanna.
Directed by Paul Caslin. Produced by Rupert Style & Ors. Director of photography Jason Shepherd.
Other films by same director: debut.
Awards: Nominated for Best Long Form Music Video
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: Barbados (and Jay-Zee’s) Rihanna does her thing; sometimes in S&M style.

BC on TV could not forgive itself if it did not pounce upon Barbados’ pop superstar when she was available, even if it means staying up late for her

Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen/1981/West Germany/War-Drama-Thriller/149’) 8pm Turner Bogus Classic Movies Ch 505 DirecTV Ch 82 Flow. Rated R for some war violence & brief language. Colour.
Starring Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmerlogge, Bernd Tauber, Erwin Leder, Martin May, Heinz Hoenig, Claude-Oliver Rudolph, Oliver Stritzel.
Written (from the Lothar G Buchheim source novel) & directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Produced by Gunter Rohrbach. Edited by Hannes Nikel. Music by Klaus Doldinger. Director of photography Josh Vacano.
Other films by same director: Poseidon (2006); Troy (2004); The Perfect Storm (2000); Air Force One (1997); Outbreak (1995) The Neverending Story (1980)
Awards: Nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Effects and Best Editing Oscars & Best Foreign Film BAFTA and Golden Globe
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: The gripping, claustrophobic account of life onboard a German U-boat during WWII, as seen through the eyes of its captain and crew.

The benchmark for all submarine movies is so far ahead (below?) its imitators as to genuinely be in a class by itself. Originally made for West German television, this edit – a full hour shorter than the director’s cut – loses some of the characterization but works in almost all of the gruelling underwater tension. It ought to lead the real cinema lover to

Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott/1991/USA/Drama/129’) 8pm DirecTV American Movie Classics Ch 511. Rated R for strong language, some violence and sensuality.
Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt, Christopher McDonald, Stephen Tobolowsky.
Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Callie Khouri. Produced by Ridley Scott & Mini Polk. Edited by Thom Noble. Music by Hans Zimmer. Director of photography Adrian Biddle.
Other films by same director: Body of Lies (2008); American Gangster (2007); A Good Year (2006); Kingdom of Heaven (2005); Matchstick Men (2003); Black Hawk Down (2001); Hannibal (2001); Gladiator (2000); 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992); Blade Runner (1982);Alien (1979); at least eight others.
Awards: Best Screenplay Oscar & Golden Globe; nominated for Best Lead Actress (Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis), Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography Oscars & BAFTAs and several other nominations.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A woman leaves her husband and sets off on a road trip with her best friend, finding freedom, complications, Brad Pitt and trigger-happiness en route.

Ridley Scott is firing on all cylinders in Thelma & Louise – and the girls (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) make him look like he’s all thumbs, they’re so damned good. The pacing is superb and the excitement builds as fast as the women drop their

Midnight Express (Alan Parker/1978/UK/Thriller-Drama/121’) 9.50pm Turner Bogus Classic Movies Ch 505 DirecTV Ch 66 analog cable. Rated R. Colour.
Starring Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Bo Hopkins, Mike Kellin, Paolo Bonacelli, Franco Diogene, Irene Miracle.
Directed by Alan Parker. Written by Oliver Stone (from the William Hayes source memoir). Produced by Alan Marshall & David Putnam. Edited by Gerry Hambling .Music by Giorgio Moroder.  Director of photography Michael Seresin.
Other films by same director: The Life of David Gale (2002); Angela’s Ashes (1999); Evita (1996); The Commitments (1991); Mississippi Burning (1988); Angel Heart (1987); Birdy (1984); Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982); Fame(1980); at least four others.
Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Music Oscars; Best Picture, Best Debut Actor (Brad Davis) & Actress (Irene Miracle), Best Supporting Actor, Best Music, Best Screenplay Golden Globes.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: The true (but dramatized) story of an American man caught attempting to smuggle hashish out of Istanbul who eventually escapes from a Turkish jail.


You can’t expect depth from an Oliver Stone screenplay; the character most likely to break the viewer’s heart walks on four legs, for example; and Stone’s xenophobia contaminates the whole thing. But Midnight Express offers much compensation, including a score that would make John Williams (of Jaws shark attack fame) anxious,

The Sergio Leone “Dollars” Trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars, 5.30pm; For a Few Dollars More, 8pm; & The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, 11pm, DirecTV American Movie Classics Ch 511

For the first time, and on the first Saturday it makes a selection, BC on TV picks three films in one.

A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone/1964/Italy-W Ger-Spain/Western/100’) Rated R for violence.
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch, Pepe Calyo, Wolfgang Lukschy.
Sergio Leone’s first spaghetti Western with Clint Eastwood in the lead is a remake of Akiro Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Though not as well done as Kurosawa’s original, it makes up in pure fun for whatever it might lack.

For a Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone/1965/It-Sp-W Ger/Western/130’) Rated R.
Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte, Klaus Kinski, Mara Krup, Aldo Sambrell, Mario Brega.
The second film in the Dollars Trilogy teams Clint Eastwood up with Lee Van Cleef; it is an in-between film but not a halfway in-between one: a huge step up from A Fistful of Dollars, yes,

Quigley Down Under (Wincer/1990/US/Western/119’) 5.30pm DirecTV American Movie Classics Ch 511. Rated PG-13. Colour.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: An American man hired by an Australian landowner to shoot dingoes (wild dogs) discovers, on arrival Down Under, that he’s really been hired to kill aboriginal human beings – and instead becomes their champion.

It needs to be said clearly that this is not said snidely but the lead in Quigley Down Under is easily Tom Selleck’s best role and far, far better than you’d expect a Tom Selleck Western set in Australia to be. For the courage of its convictions alone

On the Waterfront

(Kazan/1954/USA/Drama/108’) 10pm Turner Bogus Classic Movies Ch 505. Unrated but contains a disturbing violent image

Borat (aka Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) (Charles/2006/UK-USA/Comedy/84’) 7.30pm DirecTV Movie City Ch 552. Rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language.
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell the Prostitute, Pamela Anderson (consent not given, consent not necessary).

Imagine: John Lennon (Solt/1988/USA/Documentary-Biography/106’) 10pm Cinemax Ch 536.  Unrated but probably PG-13 for language. Colour and B&W.
Starring John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Elton John, Cynthia, Julian & Sean Lennon, Brian Epstein, George Martin, Andy Warhol, Phil Spector, Dick Cavett, Salvador Dali
Directed by Andrew Solt. Written by Sean Egan & Andrew Solt. Produced by David L Wolper & Andrew Salt. Edited by Howard Heard & Bert Lovitt. Music by John Lennon, the Beatles. Director of photography Nestor Almendros.
Other films by same director: CBS: The First 50 Years (1998); Remembering Marilyn (1987); It Came from Hollywood (1982); television shows and music videos.
Awards: no major.
Spoiler-Free, One-Sentence Plot Summary: A portrait of murdered Beatles leader, John Lennon, assembled largely from his own materials.

Focus (Slavin/2001/ USA/Drama/106’) 8.50pm DirecTV City Mix Ch 559. Rated PG-13 for thematic material, violence and some sexual content.
Starring William H Macy, Laura Dern, David Paymer, Meat Loaf, Kay Hawtrey, Michael Copeman, Kenneth Welsh, Joseph Ziegler.
Produced & directed by Nicholas Slavin. Written by Kendrew Lascelles (from the Arthur Miller source novel). Edited by Tariq Anwar & David B Cohn. Music by Mark Adler. Director of photography Juan Ruiz Anchia.
Other films by same director: debut.
Awards: Two minor wins, three minor nominations.

BC ON TV the best of prime time cable & DIRECTV movies by BC Pires
for Wednesday 21 January 2009

OF COURSE I had to work on Emancipation Day. While everybody else from vanguard to vagrant was wining on either the Promenade or a beach, I was slaving away. It's immaterial that my "work" amounted to eating an excellent meal in a fancy restaurant at an upscale beach resort – I still had to do it on Emancipation Day, and that's not self-employment, that's self-exploitation! I'd rise up against my boss if I didn't have to approach him-self for a pay rise. Imagine myself making myself work on the anniversary of the freeing of our African ancestors! The irony is so strong it becomes steely; I temper myself with the mango cheesecake and the thought that man is born free and at le

IF YOU OR a close friend didn't have a baby at just around the time of the coup who would be a teenager who just did O'levels today (unless he was dunce), it would be almost impossible to comprehend that Abu Bakr's jokey little horror show took place 16 years ago. Yes, shake your head and your groove thang alike but it was 16 firetrucking years ago today that the good imam took up arms (as measured from Friday to Friday, which remains, in this space, the best way of measuring anything and has proved itself more reliable than, say, the length of time it takes to complete a simple mediation involving high-ranking public officials or arrest someone charged with a criminal offence).

IT'S BECOMING KIND of interesting to see which will fall apart first, the UNC or the CJ.

You kind of want to bet on the UNC, still the putative Opposition party (at least up to press time last night) because there are so many people tugging at the little that remains of it, it really ought to have been torn apart long ago.

If satire is, "the use of humour, irony, exaggeration and ridicule to expose or criticize the vices or stupidity of (especially prominent) individuals", as my PowerBook dictionary says, Trinidad & Tobago has become all but impossible to satirize.

THERE CAN HARDLY be a clearer picture of the state of the country than Wednesday's front page, full-colour one of new UNC Senator Dr Shastri Moonan, dribbling on himself, sound asleep in the senate after fully one hour on the job. What delight it gave me! To say I'm thrilled would be an understatement along the lines of saying the Grand Canyon is a hole in the ground or Brasil played woodenly this World Cup. It's all I can do not to burst out laughing. What a firetrucking country! And I thought I had a good job watching movies and going to restaurants. (Dr Moo insisted he was not asleep but merely resting his eyes; if that is indeed so, he appeared also to be doing a good job of resting his neck and lower lip.)

WITH THE SOCA Warriors still making headlines every night and the World Cup's first quarter-final kicking off this morning, it's unlikely that anyone in Trinidad & Tobago will be talking or thinking about anything other than football today and who could blame them? Even those 34 men who allegedly lined up to rape a handicapped teenager in Barrackpore last week (apparently allegedly sold cheap by her own allegedly loving female relative) might find themselves more interested in whether Crespo & Co can get past a rampant Germany than in their personal favourites amongst the little girl's available cavities. To thread a thought her way, you'd have to package it as football and screen-pass it like Ronaldinho to Ronaldo; talk about a penalty box but what do you reckon: could she bend it like Beckham?

SO FAR, THIS seems to be another one to add to the disasters piled up under the rubric of, "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time": five people (four adults aged 40-50 and a moderately hyperactive 16-year-old boy) in a mobile home the size of a small maxi-taxi, with clothes and food for 15 days – plus two computers, four cell phones and a large, borrowed video camera. I got on to the camper van thinking I might make a documentary -- it's really a horror. If someone doesn't go berserk on this trip a la Jack Nicholson in The Shining, it'll be a testament to the restraint and diplomacy of the occupants at nearly all times -- and generous applications of Trini rum & German pilsner bier at anytime else.

SITTING in a restaurant in London's Chinatown, a small strip of eateries & groceries in the West End I once heard derided by an American comedian as, "more like China Block-and-a-half" I looked at three men at another table. In England, they would be an Asian, a Bengali and an Eurasian; in Trinidad, we would know to call them Indian, dougla and white, respectively. The white (or whitish) fella had a strangely familiar look, though the strangeness could have been explained by his hair, which was dyed red, white and black.

IN MY MID- to late-twenties, I had this thing on my scrotum. It was about the size of a little fingernail, round and hard, as if a Barbie doll had implanted a toy CD. It fascinated me – and a series of girlfriends - for years. What the hell was it?

Today’s pick is: There Will Be Blood (2007 USA Drama)

It’s Thursday night and the Studio Film Club’s free 7.30pm screening up at Backstairs, Bldg 7, Fernandes Industrial Complex, Eastern Main Rd are back – but they go up against Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar-winning performance. At home, there’s only one former BC on TV pick, but a good one (Sin City, 10pm Cinemax W).

THE POPE, IN his New Year’s message, extended the Catholic church’s sacred duty to save the Earth from environmental disaster to include saving it from the evil threat of homosexuality; yes, it’s true: the Supreme Pontiff has declared Adam & Steve to be as threatening as the Exxon Valdez, Bhopal and Chernobyl.

Today’s Gold Medal Film is: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (aka T2)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (aka T2) (James Cameron/1991/USA Sci-fi- Fantasy-Thriller/137’) 3pm DIRECTV American Movie Classics Ch 511. Rated R for strong sci-fi action and violence and for language. Colour.

POKER PLAYERS UNDERSTAND the “tell”, a visible outward sign – say, a quick stroking of the chin – that reveals an opponent is bluffing. In the Caribbean, the plainest tell of our own intellectual bluffing is the “debates” we choose to enter.

The Great Trinidad & Tobago National Debate is: Which Taste Better, Small Cokes or Big Cokes? (Taking cognizance of modern packaging, it has recently been amended to: Which Taste Better, Cokes in Glass Buttle, Cokes in Plastic One or Cokes in Can?). I haven’t been here long enough to declare whether the Great Bajan Debate is: (a) Why Is The Cheffette All-Chicken Roti More Expensive When The All-Beef Is Better ?; or (b) How Long Should A Driver Wait Behind A Stalled Bus On An Empty Road, All Day Or Just All Morning ?

WHO'S GOT THE best breasts in Parliament, do you think? It's a critically important question this week, even though it might have been even more pertinent last week and might sound a bit rude at any time. (For those still worrying this might be just another impolite column, such as my editors and publishers, don't fret: all shall be revealed; below, naturally.)