Monday, Feb. 4, at 2:45 pm/ET Gimme Shelter | SUND
It's been said that the '60s came to a crashing halt at California's Altamont Speedway where, in 1969, the Rolling Stones at their most satanic played "Sympathy for the Devil" while the Hell's Angels rampaged and a young man died. You'll get no argument from me: This classic concert film from the Maysles brothers captures the dark twilight of the Age of Aquarius.
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 8 and 9:45 pm Enter the Dragon | AMC
Bruce Lee is a legend for a reason, and even if you don't think you like "chop-socky" flicks, you need to check this one out. Lee stars as a martial-arts expert who enters a contest held in a remote island fortress, a setup that's been copied endless times ever since. This was Lee's last completed film before his untimely death in 1973, and he's spectacular.
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 8 pm Vertigo | TCM
I still personally prefer
Notorious and
Shadow of a Doubt, but I certainly won't throw down with anyone who contends that this dark and disturbingly romantic tale of an obsession that transcends death itself is in fact Hitchcock's greatest film. Once seen, it's never forgotten.
Thursday, Feb. 7, 8 pm 2001: A Space Odyssey | TCM
I've seen this one countless times and I still don't quite understand what it's all about, but I swear Kubrick's vision of the future (particularly the creepy HAL section) is getting better - and ever truer - with age.
Friday, Feb. 8, midnight Female Trouble | SUND
Pink Flamingos may be more notorious, but this relentlessly vulgar satire of a celebrity culture is my pick for John Waters' best film of the '70s (
Hairspray wins best overall). The divine Divine stars as Dawn Davenport, a bad girl with a bad attitude who becomes a notorious criminal.
Saturday, Feb. 9, 12:15 pm Rio Bravo | AMC
It's served as the inspiration for movies as diverse as
Night of the Living Dead and John Carpenter's
Assault on Precinct 13, but Howard Hawks' 1959 Western still stands as an original, and one of the last great American Westerns. John Wayne, Ricky Nelson and a too-often-underrated Dean Martin star.
Sunday, Feb. 10, 10 pm Idiocracy | CINEMAX
Mike Judge's intermittently brilliant follow-up to
Office Space was denied a theatrical release when it was rudely dumped to DVD. Why? Hard to say, unless it's all part of a vast conspiracy to bury the inconvenient truth of its premise: The dumbest among us are reproducing much faster than the best and the brightest, and we're fast heading for a future where literacy is dead and "Ow! My Balls!" is the top-rated show on TV. So true it's scary and so funny because it's true.
More Strike Survival guidance:
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Why You Should Make a Date with Old Christine
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It's Not Too Late to Find Lost