Turner Classic Movies — TCM for short — now has an app for the Android phone users.
Thousand of movie fans are cheering. Loudly. The cable channel is among the brightest spots in the cable world's movie offerings, and the availability of the mobile app enriches the experience of those who have grown to love the channel, its presentation of some of the world's greatest films, its showcasing of great actors and actresses, and its continuing efforts to develop programs of films that explore themes about the human condition. This month's theme, for example, is "Acts of Revenge," highlighted by a picture of actor Lee Marvin at his malicious best in "Point Blank": a film that ranks among the best revenge films ever made.
The TCM app is also available for iPhone and Blackberry users. There's no word about the app for Palm and Windows phones so far.
I own the app on both my iPhone and Android phones, and they seem identical in speed and performance.
The app includes schedules of movies that are airing today, tomorrow and for two months hence. Virtually every film has some kind of essay attached to it that helps fill in the back story of a film: sometimes notes about the conditions that made each film succeed — or fail — profiles of the performers or director, or just good gossip. More often than not there are movie trailers that accompany each film, and still photos that may be either studio stills from the film or candid shots from the production. There's a film synopsis, and finally, a place for users to comment about the film.
A well-written blog section is included, covering movie subjects from the past and present. There's a blog about the recent Teluride Film Festival, and another about the reall world history of Prohibition gangsters, coupled with the blogger's favorite gangster flicks.
The cost of the app is $2.99 on all plaforms: 3 bucks well spent if you love movies. It's available in the app store for each mobile format.
