The Life and Times of Tim

Tim is an idiot. Or he may be the perfect guy. It all depends on your sense of humor when watching this hilarious HBO series created by and starring Steve Dildarian as Tim, a corporate peon who has more adventures – and misadventures – than almost any other badly animated character you can think of. Tim’s stories aren’t for children; two minutes into the first episode, Angry Unpaid Hooker, will prove that. But fans of adult humor, animated or otherwise, will quickly become addicted.

Callan Set 2

In the first set of this BBC drama, we watched British secret agent David Callan try to overcome his fears (based on being shot and nearly killed while on an assignments) to try and see if he still had what it takes to be the top man in his organization. By the end of the season, you felt he had. So imagine the shock you get when Season 2 opens with Callan’s funeral. He actually turns up only half dead after spending weeks in a Moscow prison, but Callan’s path on being rescued soon winds through the agency in ways you can hardly imagine. Each episode is an absolute nail-biter.

The Song of the Sparrow

Set in any country in the world, this heartfelt story of a father working hard to provide for his family would work. Being set in Tehran makes it a compelling must see for anybody whose knowledge of Iran and its people begins and ends with today’s nightly news. Mohammad Amir Naji is terrific as the father, Karim, the recently fired worker of an ostrich farm who finds a new life – and new temptations – driving a motorbike taxi in the big city. The relationship he builds with his son will break your heart…in a good way.

Endgame

While there have been many movies made about apartheid in South Africa, few have been able to capture the intensity of the ideologies behind both sides of the issue as this compelling drama, directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point). People without a degree in South Africa studies may find it a little tough to get into because of the film’s assumption that you already know a lot of South African history, but the impeccable cast quickly gains our confidence enough for us to follow them as they remind us all that wars are not always begun and ended on the battlefield, but in the boardroom.

Omnibus: King Lear

When Orson Welles wanted to test the waters of live TV he jumped into the deep end with this fascinating recreation of the Shakespearean classic. Trimmed down to a running time of under 80-minutes (host Alistair Cooke explains that all the unnecessary subplots have been cut out), Welles gives a compact, compelling performance that conquers the technical difficulties of 1953 TV (he never seems to know where the cameras are) to tear at our hearts. The supporting cast is equally impressive, particularly Margaret Phillips and Beatrice Straight as his thankless daughters, Goneril and Regan.

One Step Beyond

“What you are about to see is a matter of human record….” Premiering 10 months before The Twilight Zone, this classic television series presents mysteries that host John Newland claims are absolutely true. Whether they are or not doesn't really matters as you watch since the stories – and the acting – are all compelling enough to be taken on faith. There’s a few clunkers in this four-disc set, but even at their most outrageous, the stories being told are more interesting than most of the ‘mysteries’ on TV today.

Triangle

Its hard to imagine any three American film directors collaborating on a movie without making a total mess of it, but Hong Kong mavericks Ringo Lam (Point of No Return), Johnnie To (The Heroic Trio) and Hark Tsui (Once Upon a Time in China) don’t have any trouble dividing up the duty in this artfully done mystery about an ancient golden armor and the lengths people will go to get it. The action is top notch, but it’s the quirky characters that steal the show.