Quickies for December 2013

Love is All You Need (2012) ✭1/2

Jimminy Christmas what a stinker. Susanne Bier, what were you thinking? On the plus side, Pierce Brosnan does not sing.

---

The Deflowering of Eva van End (2012) ✭✭

Director Michiel ten Horn has seen way too many Todd Solondz films. Quirk for quirk’s sake. Some nice moments, some nice robotic camera shots, but no real substance and by the end all you have is a blah feeling.

---

Cheeky! (2000) ✭✭✭

In this sexy, sexed-up sex film, sexy young people have all manner of sex in sexy places: Sex on beaches, sex in parks, sex in rowboats and sex in sexy swimming pools. Sexy women have sexy sex with each other while an oversexed, sexy young man attempts to have sex with the opposite sex. There is a sexy subplot in which a seductively sexy salesgirl explores her sexuality by having salacious sex insatiably. Warning: this film has scenes of a sexual nature.

Quickies for December 2013

Love is All You Need (2012) ✭1/2

Jimminy Christmas what a stinker. Susanne Bier, what were you thinking? On the plus side, Pierce Brosnan does not sing.

---

The Deflowering of Eva van End (2012) ✭✭

Director Michiel ten Horn has seen way too many Todd Solondz films. Quirk for quirk’s sake. Some nice moments, some nice robotic camera shots, but no real substance and by the end all you have is a blah feeling.

---

Cheeky! (2000) ✭✭✭

In this sexy, sexed-up sex film, sexy young people have all manner of sex in sexy places: Sex on beaches, sex in parks, sex in rowboats and sex in sexy swimming pools. Sexy women have sexy sex with each other while an oversexed, sexy young man attempts to have sex with the opposite sex. There is a sexy subplot in which a seductively sexy salesgirl explores her sexuality by having salacious sex insatiably. Warning: this film has scenes of a sexual nature.

TCM for December 2013

Lots of special gifts this month from TCM. There's a mini Bresson festival, several recent foreign films and of course, lot of holiday classics. Below are a few of my picks but much more is on offer. Click here for full schedule. All times Eastern.

12/1

2:00 AM

DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST (1951)

A young priest taking over a parish tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Claude Laydu , Nicole Maurey , Andre Guibert .

BW-115 mins, TV-14,

Diary of a Country Priest. Don't watch if you're depressed

12/3

12:00 AM

BIG HEAT, THE (1953)

A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster's moll to bring down a powerful gangster.

Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Glenn Ford , Gloria Grahame , Jocelyn Brando .

BW-90 mins, TV-14, CC,

12/5

10:45 AM

MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, THE (1955)

A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  Frank Sinatra , Eleanor Parker , Kim Novak .

BW-119 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12:45 PM

ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)

A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  James Stewart , Lee Remick , Ben Gazzara .

BW-161 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

3:30 PM

ADVISE & CONSENT (1962)

A controversial presidential nomination threatens the careers of several prominent politicians.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  Henry Fonda , Charles Laughton , Don Murray .

BW-138 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12/8

2:45 AM

PROCES DE JEANNE D'ARC, LE (1962)

Joan of Arc's trial and execution are re-created from the original court records.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Florence Carrez , Jean-Claude Fourneau , Marc Jacquier .

BW-64 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

The Passion of Joan of Arc. Artsy baby!

4:00 AM

PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, THE (1928)

In this silent film, Joan of Arc braves the threat of torture to stand fast for her beliefs.

Dir: Carl Th. Dreyer Cast:  Maria Falconetti , Eugene Silvain , Antonin Artaud .

BW-82 mins, TV-PG,

12/9

8:00 PM

TO BE AND TO HAVE (2002)

Over the course of a school year students and teachers in a French village learn how to live together.

Dir: Nicolas Philibert Cast:  Georges Lopez , Julie-Marie Parmentier , Stéphane Rideau .

C-104 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

To Be and To Have. A wonderful doc about education in rural France.

10:00 PM

RUSSIAN ARK (2001)

A mystery man visits scenes from Russia's past in search of his own identity.

Dir: Alexander Sokurov Cast:  Sergei Dreiden , Maria Kuznetsova , Leonid Mozgovoy .

C-99 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM

CLIMATES (2006)

A university professor and an art director struggle through the collapse of their relationship.

Dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cast:  Ebru Ceylan , Nuri Bilge Ceylan , Nazan Kesal .

C-98 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

12/10

11:45 PM

WIND JOURNEYS, THE (2009)

A widowed musician reluctantly takes on an apprentice for a musical tour of his native Colombia.

Dir: Ciro Guerra Cast:  Marciano Martinez ,

C-120 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

Shamelessly hilarious Aaltra

2:00 AM

AALTRA (2004)

Feuding farmers join forces when a defective tractor leaves them both paralyzed.

Dir: Benoît Delépine Cast:  Benoît Delépine , Gustave Kervern , Aki Kaurismäki .

BW-90 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

12/12

5:30 PM

SOME CAME RUNNING (1958)

A veteran returns home to deal with family secrets and small-town scandals.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Shirley MacLaine .

C-136 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Cinema Paradiso. Prepare to weep.

8:00 PM

CINEMA PARADISO (1989)

A boy coming of age in WWII Italy develops a lifelong love affair with movies.

Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore Cast:  Philippe Noiret , Jacques Perrin , Salvatore Cascio .

C-124 mins, TV-MA,

10:15 PM

SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)

A filmmaker masquerades as a hobo to get in touch with the little people.

Dir: Preston Sturges Cast:  Joel McCrea , Veronica Lake , Robert Warwick .

BW-91 mins, TV-G, CC,

12:00 AM

TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN (1962)

A recovering alcoholic film director tries for a comeback in Rome.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Kirk Douglas , Edward G. Robinson , Cyd Charisse .

C-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12/13

1:00 AM

CHINATOWN (1974)

A Los Angeles private eye unwittingly sets up an innocent man for murder, then joins his seductive widow to unearth the corruption behind the crime.

Dir: Roman Polanski Cast:  Jack Nicholson , Faye Dunaway , Perry Lopez .

C-130 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

3:15 AM

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971)

Onetime college friends cope with the sexual revolution of the '60s.

Dir: Mike Nichols Cast:  Jack Nicholson , Candice Bergen , Arthur Garfunkel .

C-98 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

The Producers.  Everyone must see it at least once

12/14

1:30 PM

PRODUCERS, THE (1967)

A Broadway producer decides to get rich by creating the biggest flop of his career.

Dir: Mel Brooks Cast:  Zero Mostel , Gene Wilder , Dick Shawn .

C-90 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12/22

12:00 PM

PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1962)

A newlywed couple's honeymoon is disrupted by their friends' marital problems.

Dir: George Roy Hill Cast:  Tony Franciosa , Jane Fonda , Jim Hutton .

BW-112 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2:15 AM

AU HASARD, BALTHAZAR (1966)

The lives of a donkey and the girl who named him intertwine.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Anne Wiazemsky , François Lafarge , Philippe Asselin .

BW-95 mins, TV-PG,

12/23

Same for Meet Me in St. Louis

8:00 PM

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Judy Garland , Margaret O'Brien , Mary Astor .

C-113 mins, TV-G, CC,

12/26

10:00 PM

BILLY LIAR (1963)

An emotionally stunted clerk retreats into his fantasies.

Dir: John Schlesinger Cast:  Tom Courtenay , Julie Christie , Wilfred Pickles .

BW-99 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981)

A traveling salesman's music-inspired dreams lead to tragedy.

Dir: Herbert Ross Cast:  Steve Martin , Bernadette Peters , Christopher Walken .

C-108 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 AM

JULIET OF THE SPIRITS (1965)

An aging housewife seeks direction when she catches her husband in an affair.

Dir: Federico Fellini Cast:  Giulietta Masina , Alba Cancellieri , Mario Pisu .

C-137 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

12/27

8:00 PM

MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, THE (1942)

A possessive son's efforts to keep his mother from remarrying threaten to destroy his family.

Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Joseph Cotten , Dolores Costello , Anne Baxter .

BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC,

The many splendors of Jane in Klute

2:00 AM

KLUTE (1971)

A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.

Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast:  Jane Fonda , Donald Sutherland , Charles Cioffi .

C-114 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12/29

2:00 AM

MOUCHETTE (1967)

A neglected girl in rural France gets mixed up with a murderous poacher.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Nadine Nortier , Marie Cardinal , Paul Hébert .

BW-81 mins, TV-14,

3:30 AM

KES (1969)

A young man finds escape from his working-class life training a pet falcon.

Dir: Kenneth Loach Cast:  David Bradley , Lynne Perrie , Freddie Fletcher .

C-111 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format


12/31

12:15 PM

IT'S TRAD, DAD! (1961)

Two British teens and their friends bring "traditional" jazz to a small English town.

Dir: Richard Lester Cast:  Helen Shapiro , Craig Douglas , Felix Felton .

BW-78 mins, TV-G,

TCM for December 2013

Lots of special gifts this month from TCM. There's a mini Bresson festival, several recent foreign films and of course, lot of holiday classics. Below are a few of my picks but much more is on offer. Click here for full schedule. All times Eastern.

12/1

2:00 AM

DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST (1951)

A young priest taking over a parish tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Claude Laydu , Nicole Maurey , Andre Guibert .

BW-115 mins, TV-14,

Diary of a Country Priest. Don't watch if you're depressed

12/3

12:00 AM

BIG HEAT, THE (1953)

A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster's moll to bring down a powerful gangster.

Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Glenn Ford , Gloria Grahame , Jocelyn Brando .

BW-90 mins, TV-14, CC,

12/5

10:45 AM

MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, THE (1955)

A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  Frank Sinatra , Eleanor Parker , Kim Novak .

BW-119 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12:45 PM

ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)

A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  James Stewart , Lee Remick , Ben Gazzara .

BW-161 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

3:30 PM

ADVISE & CONSENT (1962)

A controversial presidential nomination threatens the careers of several prominent politicians.

Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  Henry Fonda , Charles Laughton , Don Murray .

BW-138 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12/8

2:45 AM

PROCES DE JEANNE D'ARC, LE (1962)

Joan of Arc's trial and execution are re-created from the original court records.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Florence Carrez , Jean-Claude Fourneau , Marc Jacquier .

BW-64 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

The Passion of Joan of Arc. Artsy baby!

4:00 AM

PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, THE (1928)

In this silent film, Joan of Arc braves the threat of torture to stand fast for her beliefs.

Dir: Carl Th. Dreyer Cast:  Maria Falconetti , Eugene Silvain , Antonin Artaud .

BW-82 mins, TV-PG,

12/9

8:00 PM

TO BE AND TO HAVE (2002)

Over the course of a school year students and teachers in a French village learn how to live together.

Dir: Nicolas Philibert Cast:  Georges Lopez , Julie-Marie Parmentier , Stéphane Rideau .

C-104 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

To Be and To Have. A wonderful doc about education in rural France.

10:00 PM

RUSSIAN ARK (2001)

A mystery man visits scenes from Russia's past in search of his own identity.

Dir: Alexander Sokurov Cast:  Sergei Dreiden , Maria Kuznetsova , Leonid Mozgovoy .

C-99 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM

CLIMATES (2006)

A university professor and an art director struggle through the collapse of their relationship.

Dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cast:  Ebru Ceylan , Nuri Bilge Ceylan , Nazan Kesal .

C-98 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

12/10

11:45 PM

WIND JOURNEYS, THE (2009)

A widowed musician reluctantly takes on an apprentice for a musical tour of his native Colombia.

Dir: Ciro Guerra Cast:  Marciano Martinez ,

C-120 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

Shamelessly hilarious Aaltra

2:00 AM

AALTRA (2004)

Feuding farmers join forces when a defective tractor leaves them both paralyzed.

Dir: Benoît Delépine Cast:  Benoît Delépine , Gustave Kervern , Aki Kaurismäki .

BW-90 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

12/12

5:30 PM

SOME CAME RUNNING (1958)

A veteran returns home to deal with family secrets and small-town scandals.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Shirley MacLaine .

C-136 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Cinema Paradiso. Prepare to weep.

8:00 PM

CINEMA PARADISO (1989)

A boy coming of age in WWII Italy develops a lifelong love affair with movies.

Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore Cast:  Philippe Noiret , Jacques Perrin , Salvatore Cascio .

C-124 mins, TV-MA,

10:15 PM

SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941)

A filmmaker masquerades as a hobo to get in touch with the little people.

Dir: Preston Sturges Cast:  Joel McCrea , Veronica Lake , Robert Warwick .

BW-91 mins, TV-G, CC,

12:00 AM

TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN (1962)

A recovering alcoholic film director tries for a comeback in Rome.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Kirk Douglas , Edward G. Robinson , Cyd Charisse .

C-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12/13

1:00 AM

CHINATOWN (1974)

A Los Angeles private eye unwittingly sets up an innocent man for murder, then joins his seductive widow to unearth the corruption behind the crime.

Dir: Roman Polanski Cast:  Jack Nicholson , Faye Dunaway , Perry Lopez .

C-130 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

3:15 AM

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971)

Onetime college friends cope with the sexual revolution of the '60s.

Dir: Mike Nichols Cast:  Jack Nicholson , Candice Bergen , Arthur Garfunkel .

C-98 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

The Producers.  Everyone must see it at least once

12/14

1:30 PM

PRODUCERS, THE (1967)

A Broadway producer decides to get rich by creating the biggest flop of his career.

Dir: Mel Brooks Cast:  Zero Mostel , Gene Wilder , Dick Shawn .

C-90 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12/22

12:00 PM

PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1962)

A newlywed couple's honeymoon is disrupted by their friends' marital problems.

Dir: George Roy Hill Cast:  Tony Franciosa , Jane Fonda , Jim Hutton .

BW-112 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2:15 AM

AU HASARD, BALTHAZAR (1966)

The lives of a donkey and the girl who named him intertwine.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Anne Wiazemsky , François Lafarge , Philippe Asselin .

BW-95 mins, TV-PG,

12/23

Same for Meet Me in St. Louis

8:00 PM

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944)

Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.

Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast:  Judy Garland , Margaret O'Brien , Mary Astor .

C-113 mins, TV-G, CC,

12/26

10:00 PM

BILLY LIAR (1963)

An emotionally stunted clerk retreats into his fantasies.

Dir: John Schlesinger Cast:  Tom Courtenay , Julie Christie , Wilfred Pickles .

BW-99 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981)

A traveling salesman's music-inspired dreams lead to tragedy.

Dir: Herbert Ross Cast:  Steve Martin , Bernadette Peters , Christopher Walken .

C-108 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 AM

JULIET OF THE SPIRITS (1965)

An aging housewife seeks direction when she catches her husband in an affair.

Dir: Federico Fellini Cast:  Giulietta Masina , Alba Cancellieri , Mario Pisu .

C-137 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

12/27

8:00 PM

MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, THE (1942)

A possessive son's efforts to keep his mother from remarrying threaten to destroy his family.

Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Joseph Cotten , Dolores Costello , Anne Baxter .

BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC,

The many splendors of Jane in Klute

2:00 AM

KLUTE (1971)

A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.

Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast:  Jane Fonda , Donald Sutherland , Charles Cioffi .

C-114 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

12/29

2:00 AM

MOUCHETTE (1967)

A neglected girl in rural France gets mixed up with a murderous poacher.

Dir: Robert Bresson Cast:  Nadine Nortier , Marie Cardinal , Paul Hébert .

BW-81 mins, TV-14,

3:30 AM

KES (1969)

A young man finds escape from his working-class life training a pet falcon.

Dir: Kenneth Loach Cast:  David Bradley , Lynne Perrie , Freddie Fletcher .

C-111 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format


12/31

12:15 PM

IT'S TRAD, DAD! (1961)

Two British teens and their friends bring "traditional" jazz to a small English town.

Dir: Richard Lester Cast:  Helen Shapiro , Craig Douglas , Felix Felton .

BW-78 mins, TV-G,