As a rule, Johnny Depp tends to steal every picture he's in. There's nothing wrong with his performance as Ed Wood, the angoraphile transvestite director of history's worst B movies, but this time Depp actually has the show stolen right out from under his pencil-thin-mustache-enhanced nose by Martin Landau, as Wood's brilliantly fading fallen star, Bela Lugosi.
The movie operates on two levels: hoot and heartbreak, with Depp owning the former and Landau the latter. The hoot is watching Depp as the Micawber of subterranean, midcentury zero- budget moviemaking, ever chipper, his big eyes glowing and shit-eating-grin gloating after every hopeless take of trash classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space, even when the inept actors knock over walls and tombstones, and the crew neglects to steal the motor to the giant octopus they've stolen from the studio, so that poor Lugosi has to flop its arms around for it to appear alive during his big octopus-wrestling scene.
Director Tim Burton makes first-rate cinema out of re-enacting the filming of ninth-rate cinema, and startlingly makes it all look just like his previous work. To update T.S. Eliot: Immature artists imitate; mature artists steal -- and make what they've stolen their own.
More haunting is the film's deeper level, the platonic love story of Wood and Lugosi, the first major star to come out as a heroin addict in rehab. Among the special-edition DVD extras, Landau explains how he nailed the part -- he plays a Hungarian trying to hide his accent more vigorously than his junk habit -- and movingly notes that while the Oscar went to him, its shadow went to Lugosi's shade. The deleted scenes deepen the relationship: Lugosi puts Wood up for the night, and reminisces about the time he almost went back to Hungary in triumph --though possibly to the gulag.
My favorite deleted scene: Bill Murray as Wood's transsexual wannabe crony serenading a mariachi band in a meat locker with "Que Sera Sera" in a swoon of eccentric sexual passion. -- Tim Appelo
Although clearly very talented, horror sequel guru Jeff Burr (The Stepfather 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3) has never received much respect as a director. It's fitting, then, that one of his proudest moments as a filmmaker would be this low budget story of an actor (and former Elvis impersonator) struggling to make it in Hollywood. Based on a play by Eddie Presley himself (Duane Whitaker), the film attracted an eclectic cast (including Clu Galager, Lawrence Tierney, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Quentin Tarantino), virtually no financing, and even less distribution. Unfortunately, Burr's most recent film -- an impressive, poetic World War 2 film entitled Straight Into Darkness -- seems destined to the same fate.
Completed in 1992, Eddie Presley is finally available to the public thanks to filmmaker J.R. Bookwalter and his company Tempe Video. The company specializes in ultra low budget horror films, usually shot on video, with no discernible audience. Eddie Presley is a rare exception. Although Burr is primarily known for making horror films, this is Burr at his non-horror best. While the film occasionally lacks polish/rhythm and seems content to meander aimlessly, this is an enjoyably personal, sincere, and heartfelt film. In terms of style, Eddie Presley combines broad, almost surreal comedy and brutal, despairing realism. It plays like a hybrid of Alan Rudolph's dreamier work (think Trouble In Mind) and John Cassavetes' down-and-out-in-a-night-club classic, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
Tempe does a wonderful job with this unheralded gem in both 1-disc and 2-disc DVD editions. Disc 1 is the same in both packages. We get commentary by Jeff Burr and several collaborators, both cuts of the film (106 minutes and 126 minutes, both of which are Burr-approved), behind-the-scenes footage with commentary, trailers for Eddie Presley and other Tempe DVD releases, a still gallery, and a 5-minute preview for Straight Into Darkness -- which played to an enthusiastic response last week at Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival -- accompanied by the original Get Carter score and David Bowie's "Heroes."
The 2-disc version also includes many deleted scenes with commentary, more behind-the-scenes footage with commentary, several minutes of cast and crew interviews, scenes from the original stage play, a Sundance Channel segment on the making of the film, "A Tribute to the King" -- recorded by cast and crew on the 14th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death -- and a text insert by Bookwalter and Burr.
But the true highlight of this 2-disc edition is "Tierney's Tyranny," a brief piece concerning Lawrence Tierney's volatile on set antics. A similar feature was included on the 2002 DVD release of Reservoir Dogs -- the two films were made simultaneously; Tierney even claimed that Eddie Presley was the more professional production -- and, while that feature included several priceless anecdotes, there was no actual footage of a Tierney meltdown. The Eddie Presley DVD, on the other hand, includes an inspired Tierney temper tantrum, caught on tape by a camera-wielding onlooker. This is classic stuff and a fitting tribute to the late, great, love-to-hate character actor.
The full frame transfer is not particularly stellar but that's appropriate, given the film's under-financed, under-valued, under-dog status. Overall, this is an amazingly thorough package, sure to impress even the most casual Jeff Burr fan. In fact, even if you know nothing about this unfairly ignored cult auteur, I'd still suggest that you give this disc a chance. Like it or not, it's time for Eddie Presley's 15 minutes of fame. Movie rating: 7/10. Disc rating: 9/10. -- Jonathan Doyle
Listen up all you Polymorph fans, I know you're out there. There's a new DVD distributor on the street and they've got the goods to fulfill your home-made, direct-to-video needs. We all know you've been dying to check out J.R. Bookwalter's explosive sci-fi opus in all its cinematic glory. Okay, maybe that's a stretch. Still, if you're familiar with this caliber of $9000 guerrilla filmmaking then perhaps you've heard of Bookwalter, a key figure in films of this kind through his company Tempe Video.
All things considered, Polymorph is a rather satisfying C-film that may not necessarily be worth purchasing but it's still entirely worth checking out for fans of how-low-budget-can-you-go cinema. In the tradition of The Thing (more or less), a meteorite falls in the woods and begins infecting cocaine fiends and twenty-something hipsters. This meteorite has the uncanny ability to emulate anything it comes into contact with and, before we know it, the drug thugs and hipsters are stranded in the forest with nothing to do but fight for their survival. One of them even has the audacity to crack jokes about another's attire, soon after he has three of this fingers blown off. As cheap and cheesy as the film may be, it's still leagues better than some of the other direct-to-video crap. Plus, it's obvious that the cast and crew had a good time making the film.
Another selling point is the abundance of extras. We start off with, not one, but two audio commentaries with director/producer Bookwalter and the cast. Next up, we get a 30 minute making-of that's frequently informative and entertaining, 12 minutes of on-set footage, 10 minutes of bloopers, 11 minutes of auditions, still galleries, trailers, DVD-ROM stuff (MP3s and the screenplay), preview trailers, and a swell introduction insert by Bookwalter. Movie Rating: 6/10. Disc Rating: 9/10. -- Neil Karassik
J.R. Bookwalter is back with another slick-for-its-paltry-budget, direct-to-video feature. Ozone is a satisfying ride that's got some truly impressive effects for a film of this budget and specific time period (this is the 10th anniversary special edition). Another plus is the film's lean running time: I appreciate it when a filmmaker accepts that he isn't making The Godfather saga. At 78 minutes, the film never feels like a chore. It's action packed and the performances are consistently amusing.
There's a new drug on the streets and it's turning people into mutated, exploding, liquified corpses (you gotta check out the opening freeze-frame head explosion...cinematic gold). Officer Eddie Boone loses his partner and accidentally gets injected with the drug. What follows is a lot of tripping out. He sees -- and fights gladiator-style -- mutants then dreams of turning into one...and then dreams of screwing one. Boone's quest for truth and justice leads him to The Drug Lord, a cheap Bad Taste look-alike mutant that appears to be made out of old tires and pillow cases. Can Boone defeat the heinous monster or will he be forced to forever trip balls and subsequently have his head explode? I'm not typing another word.
This DVD is loaded, as are all the Tempe releases associated with Bookwalter's own films. We get a commentary track with the director/producer, a 30 minute making-of, 8 minutes of James Black on Ozone, 7 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, a 5 minute location tour, 13 minutes of early test footage, 12 minutes of scenes from the Spanish language version, an isolated music score, 6 minutes of 1992's B-nest video magazine intro, a production still gallery, conceptual art, articles and reviews, Tempe trailers, and an insert with an introduction by none other than... Bookwalter. One really annoying thing about the disc, though: you cannot rewind or fast-forward, you can only skip chapters. Maybe this is done so we can't revisit effects several times and pinpoint their inadequacies. But that's the best part. Movie Rating: 6/10. Disc Rating: 9/10. -- Neil Karassik
Clocking in at an impossibly long 2 hours, Zombie Planet is definitely way too ambitious for its own good. Even Romero only dared make one of his zombie movies this long. Zombie Planet tries to incorporate every other zombie plot into its overly dense narrative. It even finds time to make Beyond Thunderdome references. The unreasonably long running time is the only major flaw of an otherwise solid lowww-budget film. But still, EVERY single scene in the film seems to drag on (and on) and there is way too much tiresome back-story and banter. I mean, who the hell wants to see anything but 100% zombie carnage in a film like this? This is super-cheap filmmaking that frequently verges on unwatchable...so I don't need the social commentary and endless chit chat, thank you very much.
Still, the gore and make-up effects are pretty good and there are some truly funny characters. The story is so ludicrous, I'm not even going to get into details. All I can say is that a carb-burning diet enzyme makes people go all grrr...argh. There's also an evil government controlling the districts where people can reside free from zombie terror. Much like Land of the Dead, the poor are exploited by the upper class who live in walled-off cities known as safe-zones. Also, as in Land, there is a retarded but far less dynamic character that chugs along with the team known as the Dregs. However, unlike Land, there is a lot of slightly kick-ass-if-only-in-a-campy-kind-of-way-man-on-zombie kung-fu. See our hero (Kane) slice off a zombie's arm and beat him with it while round-housing another zombie behind him. And that's just in the opening credits.
The DVD is pretty decent. It comes equipped with two commentaries (isn't one enough?), one by writer/director George Bonilla and the other by the film's four (!?) cinematographers. Also included is a teaser for, gasp, Zombie Planet 2: Adam's Revenge and some other Tempe films. Movie Rating: 5/10. Disc Rating: 7/10. -- Neil Karassik
Okay, this movie truly sucks. It has absolutely nothing going for it. It isn't funny, not even for a moment, not even by accident. The horror/gore is completely un-engaging and the actors are infuriating, even by bottom-of-the-barrel standards. In short, nothing works and the result is a totally unwatchable film. Honestly, I dare you to sit through this sober, alone, and without hitting the fast-forward button. I didn't but I came very, very close (I'm taking one for the team here). Who knows, maybe fans of Ratt front man Stephen Pearce will want to check this out. He's pretty much only in the infinitely long opening credits but we constantly flashback to him as some kind of desperate filler.
The story goes as such: in 1969, in a small hippie community in Northern California, self-proclaimed guru Timothy Bach began killing all of his hippie friends in a LSD-induced rage. 30 years have passed and five teenagers have returned to the scene of the crime to party and get laid. Of course, murders begin occurring, although no one seems to mind that much. The entire plot is handled as a sort of half-assed, Z-grade Kevin Williamson meets Blair Witch scenario. The results are not too good, though the girls are cute and we do get to see them topless. Think of this as the softest-core porn you'll ever see. Hell, my bar-mitzvah video looked better than this.
The DVD is also pretty weak. All we get is a short (but adequate) on-the-set featurette, a still gallery, and other Texas Trouble (?) previews. This release is nowhere near the quality of other Tempe releases and, oddly enough, the DVD doesn't even carry the official Tempe logo. Is someone embarrassed? They ought to be. Movie Rating: 3/10. Disc Rating: 4/10. -- Neil Karassik
This film features American Splendor's uber-nerd Toby Radloff in the lead role. He's even on the flippin' cover AND he does a video introduction. That alone warrants a viewing, if not a purchase (at the right low price, of course). Surprisingly, this is a very quirky film that is entirely watchable from beginning to end. Sure, it's dirty, crass, and sleazy, but that's the appeal. Another thing they get right is the breezy running time, which definitely enhances the film in terms of pacing and tolerance. Why is this film better than the rest? For starters, we get Radloff engaging in some necrophilia action, skinned, cooked squirrels, ring pops, comic books (mainly Captain America), a girl defecating on the sidewalk, sweet-ass, psychedelic ninja moves, and a guy named "The Licker" who likes to sample lick everything in sight. This film is actually decent enough to be classified as a C or even B-movie and that's saying a lot for this dubious spotlight.
Schlarb, Ohio, a once peaceful town, is now run by misfits, freaks...townies as they like to call them. The local kids loath townies and try to find new ways of torturing them each day for amusement. The film culminates with all of the townies' abuse being taken too far. Each townie pretty much does something climactic towards the end of the film, for better or worse. Whether it's fucking a dead body, sort of kidnapping a child, doing sweet ninja moves, urinating on some tied-up girl's head...the townies will have their day.
The film definitely has a kind of John Waters appeal. In fact, after watching the film and thinking this, I turned around the DVD to discover that I'm not the only one who feels this way. A quote on the back also references Waters' and says he'd be proud of Townies. Tempe has given this film the deluxe DVD treatment. We get a commentary by the director, Radloff, and other cast members, 15 minutes of outtakes, 7 minutes of Toby Radloff interview footage, 11 more minutes of Toby Radloff web segments, an 18 minute short zombie-ish film called Payback is a Bitch, a production still gallery, Tempe trailers, and an insert by Tempe chief J.R. Bookwalter. Man, this guy's really starting to grow on me: he's all over these discs. Movie Rating: 7/10. Disc Rating: 9/10. -- Neil Karassik
A NOTE ABOUT AUDIO/VIDEO: All films are presented in full-frame. Some films look better than others, due to the varying quality of the cameras used. Films shot digitally are quite nice, though night scenes all look pretty terrible. Bookwalter's Ozone and Polymorph also contain solid Dolby Digital 5.1 surround remixes. -- NK
Megyn Kelly delivered a biting and powerful monologue in response to the bombshell New York Times report on Bill O’Reilly’s massive $32 million settlement with Fox News analyst Lis Wiehl over sexual harassment allegations.
Kelly kicked off her show — ahead of her interview with O’Reilly accuser Juliet Huddy — emphasizing the enormous settlement payout made by O’Reilly to Wiehl, the analyst who reportedly accused the anchor of “repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship and the sending of gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her.”
Kelly, who made accusations of sexual harassment against Ailes in her memoir Settle For More, went on to detail her own problems with O’Reilly. Kelly recalled a time O’Reilly appeared on CBS News, as Settle For More was released, to hit back against those who try to “make [Fox News] look bad.”
O’Reilly’s appearance apparently prompted Kelly to pen an email to the then-co-presidents of Fox News, Bill Shine and Jack Abernathy, in which she slammed O’Reilly for “his attitude of shaming women,” and reminded the executives of his history of sexual harassment accusations.
But apparently the Fox heads didn’t listen: though Shine told Kelly he had dealt with O’Reilly, the Fox News anchor used his primetime show that evening to again bash the sexual harassment victims that were speaking out.
Kelly ended her opening monologue with an evocative diatribe against the culture of harassment and fear that she claims is pervasive:
“This is not unique to Fox News. Women everywhere are used to being dismissed, ignored or attacked when raising complaints about men in authority positions. They stay silent so often out of fear. Fear of ending their career, fear of lawyers, yes. And often fear of public shaming, including through the media.”
“At Fox News, the media relations chief Irena Briganti is known for her vindictiveness. To this day she pushes negative articles on certain Ailes accusers, like the one you are looking at right now.”
Kelly noted that her former employer has “absolutely made some reforms since all of this went down,” before concluding:
“But this must stop. the abuse of women, the shaming of them, the threatening and the retaliation, the silencing of them after the attack,” Kelly declared. “It has to stop.”