Ed Wood (1994)

Title: Ed Wood (1994)

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Bill Murray, Patricia Arquette, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie

I appreciate Ed Wood's films because as I mentioned in my review for Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), I think his films had as much heart to them as they had bloopers. Plan 9 From Outer Space might seem silly to some (and they'd be right) but at at the same time, at its core it had a pacifist message, criticizing mans own tendency to self destruct. The aliens in that movie seem to think eventually we’ll end up destroying not only ourselves, but the rest of the universe! Even though Ed Wood is considered “the worst director in history” Plan 9 from Outer Space is a film that will go on forever, but why? Why has the film endured for so long? Well, there’s the fact that the film is incredibly funny, even when it’s not trying to be. The dialog alone, which seems to have been written in days, and probably was, is something to relish if you’re in the mood for some cheese. But who was the man behind these goofy movies? What kind of struggles did he endure in order to make these timeless sci-fi, b-movie classics? These are the questions that Tim Burton’s Ed Wood attempts to answer, albeit from an extremely positive and lighthearted angle.

In Burton’s film we meet Edward Wood Jr. a man struggling to get his films made. He starts very small by first organizing small plays in community theaters. Though not a whole lot of people go to see them and he gets terrible reviews, he remains optimistic, always seeing the positive side of things. But when he is in his bed, sleeping next to his wife, pondering where his life is going he is suddenly a man afraid that where he is in life is “as good as it’s ever going to get”. Fortunately, he doesn’t let negativity bring him down so he calls small movie studios to see if they’ll produce his movies. Luckily enough he convinces a studio to make a film called Glen or Glenda (1953) which was supposed to be a film about a guy who gets a sex change, but ends up being about a guy who confesses to his wife that he enjoys “dressing up in woman’s clothing”. Later, a chance encounter brings Wood to meet Bela Lugosi, the famous actor behind Dracula (1931). They develop a great friendship and Lugosi ends up acting in many of Wood’s films. But struggles continue to emerge: Lugosi is a heroin addict, Wood’s wife wants to leave him because she thinks he’s a freak and to top things off, he has no money to finish his movies! Will Wood ever get to make the one that he’ll be remembered by?

The impression you get after watching Ed Wood is that Wood was a man with lots of creativity and imagination; he had that drive to work in films, a medium that can, if you don’t have what it takes,  literally wipe you out. I know, because I’ve made a few films myself, and boy, organizing that small army of people isn’t an easy task! Selling your idea to a possible investor ain’t no easy task. Getting the actors…shooting the thing, getting the permits to shoot in a given location…finishing that script…editing, music, so many things to do, so many chores to delegate. This is the reason why cinema is such a collaborative effort; you have to work well with others. And that’s what I love about this film; it shows you the whole creative process behind making a movie, it is one of those films that is about film. You get to see Wood beging investors for completion funds to his movie. You get to see Wood beg producers to let him direct. You get to see Wood filming without a permit! You get to see Wood finally see his finished film with an audience. If you love the process of making films, then you will love Ed Wood.

Director Tim Burton has always had great admiration for Ed Wood’s films. He recognizes their b-level quality and the fact that they are not what one would call “great films” but Burton also sees past that and appreciates the love that Wood put into his films, the sincerity. The tone of this film itself is one of sympathy and admiration for Wood and those who worked with him on his films. Burton stated that he didn’t want to ridicule the filmmakers because they’d probably already had enough ridicule throughout their whole life for working on these films. This is probably why Wood and his crew are portrayed in such an optimistic way; the whole film plays out like a lighthearted comedy. Burton stated in an interview that he recognized that Wood could be redundant in some of his scripts but that they had a sincerity to them that made them heartfelt. I have to say I totally agree. In order to pay even more homage to Wood’s films Burton decided to shoot the whole film in Black and White. Burton really fought for this and I have to say it was the best choice he could have made. Most of Wood’s films were made in Black and White, so it makes perfect sense that a film about him was also shot that way. To be honest, the Black and White adds to the whole spooky /weird vibe that Wood infused his movies with. I love how Burton opens the film with a black and white, spooky grave yard, with lighting flashing, and people coming out of coffins telling us about how we’re about to witness the “shocking facts of the true story of Edward Wood Jr.” Burton really set the perfect tone in which to tell the story of this offbeat filmmaker.

Burton, behind the camera on the set of Ed Wood (1994)

The icing on the cake is the spectacular cast that Burton gathered for this film. Depp as Wood was a genius choice, true, Depp is one of Burton’s favorite actors to work with (I’ve lost count on just how many films they’ve made together) but I doubt there was a better actor to portray that enthusiasm, zaniness and energy that Ed Wood was known for. Hell, if you look at a picture of Ed Wood, you’ll see that Depp even looked the part. Then we have Martin Landau as an aging Bela Lugosi on his last days on this earth. Landau’s performance is both touching and hilarious. Lugosi was an actor who gave his life to Hollywood, but as Lugosi puts it in the film, Hollywood “chews you up and then spits you out”. The film also takes its time to analyze the life of an aging actor, how sometimes they struggle after their fame has faded, apparently, Lugosi had it really rough during his last days. The film is also incredibly honest when it comes to Lugosi’s heroin addiction, it doesn’t shy away from showing the ugly bits, like when Lugosi hits rock bottom, almost commits suicide and ends up committing himself to a rehab clinic. The relationship that Bela and Wood develop is one of the most touching things about the film; they truly end up becoming great friends. It should be noted that Landau actually won an Oscar for his performance here. The loves in Wood’s life are played by Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays Dolores Fuller a woman who backs Wood in many of his crazy filmmaking ideas until she can’t stand the freakiness no more and dumps Ed and Patricia Arquette as Kathy O’Hara, a more understanding and loving soul. Rounding things off is Bill Murray as one of Wood’s gay friends. Murray plays a small role here, yet whenever he is on, he is truly funny. Jeffrey Jones plays Criswell, a television persona who was also one of Wood’s staunch supporters. We also get Burton’s then wife Lisa Marie playing ‘Vampira’, yet another television personality who backed Wood’s films. As you can see, this is an amazing cast, which just makes this film all the richer, everyone here brought their a-game as they say. 

Interesting thing about this project is that it was not originally a Tim Burton project, this film was written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski; two college buddies who at the time had only written two films the highly successful Problem Child (1990) and Problem Child 2 (1991). But they didn’t want to be known only for writing family films, so they wrote Ed Wood together, to try and break with that stigma. They originally wanted the director behind Heathers (1988), Michael Lehmann to direct, but he was committed to directing Airheads (1994) and so Burton, who was originally only going to serve as producer on the project ended up directing the film. To be honest, no other director could have done a better job than Burton; this film just fit his profile so perfectly. Burton has always loved science fiction and horror, some of his films are as goofy and offbeat as something that Wood might have directed. This is why say that It makes perfect sense that Burton ended up directing Mars Attacks! (1996) after he made Ed Wood. It almost feels as if after directing a film about Ed Wood, Ed Wood’s spirit possessed Burton for a spell there… because Mars Attacks! feels like a film that Wood might have directed had he all the millions that Burton had at his disposal. To me, Mars Attacks! was simply Burton making a film to pay his respects to Wood, to make the film that Wood never could. So to bring this review to an end I say if you are interested in the in and outs of filmmaking, and how fun, exciting and exhausting it can be, then give Ed Wood a spin. The whole experience of watching Ed Wood is enhanced when you have seen some of Wood’s films. I recommend you treat yourself to a triple feature. See Plan 9 from Outer Space, then follow that one with Ed Wood and end the whole shebang with Mars Attacks! (1996), trust me, it it’ll all make sense in the end.

Rating: 5 out of 5 

     

Mars Attacks! (1996)

Title: Mars Attacks! (1996)

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Pam Grier, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Tom Jones, Jim Brown, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Lisa Marie

Review:

Back in 1994, Tim Burton directed Ed Wood, a film that pays loving homage to science fiction and horror film director Edward Wood Jr., a director better known as ‘the worst director who ever lived’. One look at his movies and you’ll agree, Ed Wood wasn’t the best filmmaker in the world. But any film buff will tell ya that all the things that make a film like Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957) a ‘bad movie’ are the very same elements that make it a completely watchable film. I like seeing those strings hanging from the toy flying saucers, I like seeing the set falling apart as the actors walk through it, I like those random scenes of Bela Lugosi doing things that had nothing to do with the story, I liked the unnecessary, yet wildly entertaining voice over. These are the elements that give Plan 9 From Outer Space its charm, because even through all that, at its core, there’s a message, it says something, it’s good intentions cannot be ignored. It’s in that spirit that Tim Burton made Mars Attacks!, a film that Ed Wood would have made himself if he was still alive and had 70 million dollars to spare.

Mars Attacks begins in the dark recesses of space, as we follow an armada of thousands of Martian spaceships headed directly towards earth. We are then presented with the many characters that we’ll follow throughout the movie, characters who will no doubt converge at some point in the story. So we get Louise Williams (Pamela Grier) a bus driver and stern mother of two. We get Byron Williams (Jim Brown) an ex-boxer who is trying to get back with his wife and kids before the Martians attack. We get Jack Nicholson playing two roles, one as the president of the United States, and another as a gambler/empresario whose looking to open up his new hotel and casino, which by the way looks like a giant flying saucer. Basically, we meet a bunch of characters all living different lifestyles, who have to deal with the fact that these Martians do not come in peace, they come to take over! They’ve come to attack! Is humanity doomed to destruction by little green men?

I watched Mars Attacks in theaters way back in ’96 when it was first released and I remember feeling really strange after seeing it. I’d seen it with my parents and I remember them saying something like “I don’t feel like I saw a movie”. My reaction was a bit different. I remember thinking it was undoubtedly a strange movie and I remember leaving the theater with this weird feeling of ‘what did I just watch?’ But I also couldn’t deny I had enjoyed it. I like Tim Burton when he does films like this one, films where he doesn’t give a crap what anybody is going to think, he just does what he finds entertaining, which is often times goofy and offbeat. I mean, can you deny that Beetlejuice (1986) is one of the weirdest movies you ever saw? No you can’t; but you can’t deny that it’s quite entertaining either. Sadly, Burton isn’t making films like these anymore, right now, his films play it safe. Though recently, Frankenweenie (2012) did manage to bring back some of that old Burton weirdness I love so much, I miss the old Tim Burton, the one who would wallow in his weirdness. I haven’t seen a truly risky Tim Burton film in a long while. I wish he’d do it more often; Burton works best when he does his own thing, left to his own devices. Mars Attack has that feeling going for it. It’s a film that isn’t afraid to go all the way bonkers. This is a big budget film that’s purposely showing its b-movie sensibilities, which of course spells awesome for me.

How bonkers is this movie? Well, for starters the movie is based on a series of Topps trading cards composed of 55 trading cards that came out circa 1962. These little cards would show gruesome depictions of Martians eradicating the human race. These might be little trading cards that fit into the palm of your hand, but they sure packed lots of gruesomeness! So much so that Topps had to cancel the trading cards out of public outcry! So these cards had an edge! I don’t think they were entirely aimed at kids, though I’m sure it was the kids that bought them. The film retains some of that gruesomeness without going into ‘R’ territory. This is why we get to see people smashing giant Martian brains, with green ooze slipping out and Martians doing all sorts of weird experiments on humans; like giving Sarah Jessica Parker the body of a Chihuahua, so these Martians have a meanness to them! The cards also had a bit of a sexual vibe going for them which on the film translated to Martians checking out playboy magazine. The film retains the spirit of the cards, sometimes while watching the movie you’ll feel like you’re watching a snapshot coming straight from the Topps card series. 

Another element that makes the movie interesting is that almost everyone is famous in one form of another! This is a star studded cast filled with cameos left and right. Thing is that most of these cameos are extended, they aren’t five minute cameos. Instead, you get to see quite a bit of each of the actors who appear on the film. I liked that about it, we go from Jack Blacks white thrash family, to Michael J. Fox’s stale marriage to Sarah Jessica Parker, to the President of the United States deciding if he should  nuke the Martians or not. It’s one of those movies with a lot of stories going on, but at some point they all come together. Jack Nicholson is absolutely amazing here as a businessman/gangster called Art Land, “I’m not a crook, I’m ambitious, there’s a difference!” He’s this sleazy drunkard who wants to open a new hotel; boy Nicholson really got into that character! He made me laugh on a regular basis, I was surprised to see him so game in a movie of this nature. Even Tom Jones shows up to kick some Martian ass! Natalie Portman plays the president’s daughter in one of her earliest roles, it's always fun to see artists who have become great (like Portman) doing their earliest stuff. Here we also get to see Jack Black taking his first baby steps as an actor. 

Tim Burton’s always displayed an admiration for stop motion animation, his first short ever was a stop motion animated feature called ‘Vincent’. Burton’s also produced and directed various stop animation films like Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride and most recently Frankenweenie, so it didn’t surprise me when I found out that Burton originally wanted to bring the Martians to life through the use of stop motion animation Unfortunately, the studio wanted to cut down the budget of the film so stop motion animation was eliminated from the project, plus, the special effects crew convinced Burton they could pull the effects off with computers, so Burton went with the CGI. Gotta wonder what the film would have been like had Burton used stop motion animation. So anyways, overall, with this kind of film you either get it or you don’t, it’s a love it or hate it movie. If you love 50’s science fiction films, trading cards, comic books, and the plain bizarre side of life, chances are you’ll get this movie. The rest of the world just won’t get it, which is probably why this film underperformed at the box office.  It didn’t lose money, but it didn’t make a significant profit either. But who cares about all that noise, the movie is fun times. At its core is an anti-war message: while fear mongers want to nuke the hell out of the Martians, the humble people of the world want to save the earth by other peaceful means. I highly recommend Mars Attacks! to those who enjoy a good laugh.

Rating: 4 out 5

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

Title: Flight of the Navigator (1986)

Director: Randal Kleiser

Cast: Cliff De Young, Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Veronica Cartwright, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matt Adler

Review:

Director Randal Kleiser has had a very eclectic directorial career; he is responsible for a very disparate bunch of successful films, never adhering to one genre. For example, this is the guy that directed one fo the most popular musicals ever; Grease (1978) and yet also the guy who directed Honey I Blew Up the Kid (1992) and The Blue Lagoon (1980). He also made Big Top Pee Wee (1988) which to me is one of the worst movies ever made, but I’ll forgive him for that one, every director is entitled to a stinker or two in their career. Flight of the Navigator is another one of Kleiser’s eclectic directorial choices; a sci-fi family film from Disney. It is one of the most endearing of movies for me because I watched it a whole lot when I was a kid, so yeah, this review is coming from the perspective of my nostalgia goggles, which is kind of cool because you’re getting the opinion of a true child of the 80’s!

Flight of the Navigator starts out in 1978, during a very sunny and beautiful  4^th of July day. Here we meet the Freemans, your typical American family comprised of mom, dad, two brothers and a dog. The focus of the story is on David Freeman, a twelve year old kid with twelve year old preoccupations: getting his dog to learn how to catch a Frisbee, fighting with his little brother and having the hots for a girl, but not knowing how to go about it. One day, while searching for his brother in the woods suddenly David discovers that he has traveled seven years into the future! How did this come to be? And what does it have to do with the spaceship that the U.S. government has found? 

So I love this movie for various reasons, one of them is because it sends out a very pro-family message. I am a family man at heart and I love it when films augment the importance of family. Flight of the Navigator speaks about the importance of appreciating your family when you have them, because you never know when you might lose them. The moments when David is sharing time with his family are really good, I mean, Kleiser really captured the feeling of a bright, colorful, sunny day with the family, those moments when the family is just having a great time with each other really clicked for me, made me want to be 12 years old again and spending time with my family. But when David gets swiped to the future, suddenly his family isn’t his family anymore. His little brother is older than he is, his mom and dad are older, it’s just not the family he had back in 1978, back when things were normal. So this is a story of David simply trying to get back to his time, and his family the way he knew them; not the altered reality version of them. Basically this is a kiddy friendly version of Back to the Future (1985), sans the sex and alcohol. And I’m pretty sure this is exactly what these filmmakers where aiming for, after all, just a year before Flight of the Navigator was released, Back to the Future made many millions at the box office, so this type of story was popular at the time.

The difference between both films is the science fiction angle is stronger on Flight of the Navigator. While the DeLorean in the Back to the Future films was created by a semi mad scientist, the time machine in Flight of the Navigator is an alien spaceship from another galaxy. Speaking of the alien spaceship, this is one cool looking ship! When I was a kid, I wanted to be David piloting that super cool alien craft. The ship was voiced by Paul Reuben’s;  a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman. Reuben’s distinct voice goes unnoticeable for most of the film because the filmmakers altered it to make it sound more like a computer, sometimes you’ll hear Reuben’s distinctive Pee Wee like laughter emerging. The ship is a combination of various forms of visual effects, but most noticeable of all is the use of computer generated images, which at the time were just getting started. I remember, as a kid, those few instances of computer generated images where awesome! Now of course, little bits of computer generated images like the ones found in Flight of the Navigator are childsplay; today entire films are computer generated! But back then, seeing something like this was innovative and exciting. So expect a film in which CGI was taking its first baby steps towards becoming the out of control rampaging monster it is today.

Another reason I love this movie is because it instantly takes me back to the 80’s. There’s this moment in which the government takes David to some sort of complex in order to perform some tests on him and in order to make him feel more at home, they buy him a bunch of toys. So when he gets to his room, it’s filled with a bunch of G.I. Joes and Transformers. Wow, now that took me back! They also talk about MTV (back when MTV was cool) and Twisted Sister and they have Sarah Jessica Parker dressed up all Madonna-like; it’s little bits like these that took me back to the decade. Another thing that makes this one very 80’s is how the entire film is centered on a twelve year old kid, so we’re talking about alien spaceships, time travel and mind melds, but everything depends on the actions of this kid! If I had to say anything negative about the film it’s that it’s very simplistic in nature, but then again, this is a film aimed at twelve year olds, so it’s not meant to be deep, the main purpose here is to feel good and have fun, and in this sense the movie delivers. There’s this really cool moment where David is flying the ship while listening to “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys, definitely felt some good vibes all around.  But then again, I was feeling good vibes from this movie all the time. It's one of the best kid movies from the 80's which is the reason why I mentioned it on my Quintessential Kid Films from the 80's blogpost, it’s lighthearted family fare of the best kind.

Rated:  3 1/2 out of 5