12 mini-reviews for the short attention span, taken from dark corners of stevenl's video vault:

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: the Plan 9 Companion / directed by Mark Patrick Carducci (1992, VHS). Forrest J. Ackerman, Carl Anthony, Stephen C. Apostolof, Conrad Brooks, Joe Dante, Drew Friedman, Rudolph Grey, Valda Hansen, Paul Marco, Harry Medved, Sam Raimi, Harry Thomas, Vampira, Gregory Walcott. Container title: The Ed Wood Story. In spite of having the feel of an amateur production, or maybe because of it, this is the best of the attempts I've seen to document the phenomenon of Ed Wood and his unique method of filmmaking. Short-sighted critics who have called his movies and novels, "the triumph of will over talent" might change their minds after hearing some of the backstory. This is very much a video version of Rudolph Grey's excellent biography, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. It also reminds me a little of those Michael Wood documentaries, tracing the actual footsteps of the subject himself. We see where Ed Wood lived, where he liked to hang out, film locations, and the remains of the cramped little studio where Plan 9 was filmed. One of the many film critics interviewed made the point that Wood didn't employ "special" effects. When he used cheap flying saucer models on fishing line they were "symbolic" effects. In addition to Wood, coverage is given to characters out of what Walcott calls the director's "menagerie": Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Vampira, Criswell. Criswell was a psychic and I recall buying his book, Criswell Predicts, in Ralph's Thriftway in the 1960s. Among other things he predicted the end of the world in 1999. My father saw the book in my possession and just scoffed about Criswell finding another sucker. I was disappointed to see little mention of "Bunny" Breckinridge or Dudley Manlove in this documentary. My fellow comic art practitioners and comrades will enjoy the interview with Drew Friedman, who immortalized the cast with his amazing illustrations on a special card set. In case you sequential art guys want to look at Wood's work and laugh, Drew puts us in our place when he says, "The lowest kind of artist you can be is a cartoonist."

Ghost / directed by Jerry Zucker (1990, VHS). Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, Stephen Root. "The love inside, you take it with you." After watching a performance of Macbeth, Patrick Sawyze is killed by a mugger and finds himself part of a new subculture-- the dead community. On the cusp of the 1980s/1990s, this film brings all the sappy sentimentality of the earlier decade in a use-it-or-lose-it last effort before the later decade declares romanticism to be dead. For some reason I just couldn't warm up to Swayze and Moore's characters and literally fell asleep while watching this. Moore's haircut made her look like Emilio Estevez (see below). MTV's influence can be seen in the famous pottery scene, a mini-music video within a movie. Whoopi Goldberg provides some campy and much needed comedy, basically saving the story. Vincent Schiavelli as the bi-polar ghost is a hoot, giving us one his most memorable performances. The special effects are not really all that special, but they are still effective. I liked the director's use of color, particularly when it was used to enhance the feeling of a ghost walking through a wall or door. The soundtrack is designed to hit your heartstrings, so bring out the hankies if you cry at movies. When I wasn't sleeping through this, I found myself paying attention to odd details. For example, there seem to be a lot of left-handed people in the cast. My VHS cassette copy of this bit the Big One after this viewing, the tape just mangled or something. I had to bury it in my VHS cemetery next to the pets. Kind of fitting.

"Home of the Week" (I Married Joan) / directed by Ezra Stone (1954, VHS). Joan Davis, Jim Backus, Beverly Wills. Joan Davis was NBC's answer to Lucille Ball in this short-lived (1952-1955) series about a crazy manic housewife married to an easy-going judge. By today's standards, this show appears to be something out of the Ice Age of television. The sets are static, the cameras are merely recording the action, the humor is so innocent it goes over our Century 21 heads. Most adult Americans were radio-oriented in the early 1950s, and this series has the look and feel of a radio broadcast that is enhanced with some of Davis' slapstick vaudeville routines of doubletakes, mugging, and pratfalls. The husband/wife roles as portrayed by Davis and Backus are the kind of thing we Boomers liked to ridicule a decade later. Yet there is still something attractive and charming about this series. It is so earnest and simple and warm. In this episode, Joan almost lands her husband in prison on bribery charges when she borrows expensive decorations to outdo a neighbor to have the "Home of the Week" feature in the newspaper.

Repo Man (Video Version) / directed by Alex Cox (1984, DVD). Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson, Fox Harris, Zander Schloss, Miguel Sandoval, Richard Foronjy, Jimmy Buffet, Michael Nesmith (uncredited). About as perfect a film that ever existed. An aimless "white suburban punk" finds himself almost by accident employed as a Repo Man, or repossession agent= basically stealing automobiles from delinquent auto loan payers. Or is it an accident? As Miller the repo yard grease monkey tells us, everything is connected in a "lattice of coincidence," including the story's hub: a hunt for a 1964 Chevy Malibu with dead aliens in the trunk, spirited out of a secret New Mexico government installation by a lobotomized scientist. At the risk of sounding like an old Evergroover, I think Miller actually makes a lot of sense. Set in Los Angeles with a strong Punk culture backdrop and ironically released in "1984," this movie seems like a response to the paradox of Reagan-era Big Government/Big Brother/Big National Debt merging of church-state-media, capturing the feeling of alienation many of us felt in the 1980s when it came to our government. For in spite of Ron the Con's rhetoric, the Feds became bigger and more secretive than ever. And class division grew wider. So here we get to see the flipside of the Big 80s. There is also a jab at Scientology, and I wonder if Cox was "so sued" by that cult as a result. In the late 1970s I drove a taxicab and sometimes I think Alex Cox had visited our HQ, as the Repo Man office and atmosphere was so familiar! Just like the Repo Men, we had all sorts of unwritten rules and codes we lived by but always broke. Great casting and a career highlight for Estevez, Stanton ("I don't want no Commies in my car! No Christians either!"), and Walter as far as I'm concerned. The soundtrack still holds up after a quarter century, including cuts by Iggy Pop, Circle Jerks (who briefly appear in the story), and best of all the Plugz. A very tight script that moves along at a quick pace and provides us with a treasure trove of very quotable lines. The plot has many little spurs and cryptic, unexplained actions and quotes, but that really enhances the film and gives the audience sparkly enigmas that has made this title still so interesting after all these years. As I recall, this movie was released in two forms on the same day. First, on the movie screens, and second, as a VHS video. And they are different. The version that is sometimes run on television is the movie screen edition and it has more focus on Otto's parents who are addicted to televangelism and marijuana. A period piece but also far ahead of its time, anticipating and influencing the edgier works of the next decade. Thank you Alex Cox for one of the best films ever.

The Devil Bat / directed by Jean Yarbrough (1940, DVD). Bela Lugosi, Arthur Q. Bryan. There is enough corn in this baby to start an ethanol factory. Cheap sets, bad acting, low budget special effects, newspaper headlines, secret doors, ungodly experiments in evil laboratories with lots of electricity-- the main thing that really makes this worth watching is Lugosi's acting, you know, how he does that thing where he is menacing in a stately way. He plays a "kindly village doctor" (now there is a stretch) who has a secret agenda for revenge. It seems he gave a corporation his secret formula for perfume and aftershave, and in a bad business decision, he opted to cash out his discovery rather than risk profit sharing. But when the corporation made millions, he wanted revenge. So he invented an aftershave/perfume that would attract the attention of the homicidal giant bats he developed. When you view this and see the sort of "bombastic ignoramus" forces Lugosi is up against, you start realizing he is the hero of this story and you want him to emerge victorious. This film is a lot of fun and a special bonus is seeing Arthur Q. Bryan, the original voice of Elmer Fudd, in the role of a newspaper editor.

The Late Show / directed by Robert Benton (1977, DVD). Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, Joanna Cassidy, Howard Duff. Raymond Chandler meets the 1970s. This was a DVD I bought from the bargain bin at Grocery Outlet several months ago. It just looked interesting and I knew nothing about it. But I was unprepared for how good it was. A real sleeper that deserves more recognition. Carney, who started specializing in playing senior citizens with issues at this point in his career, is a private eye who has seen better days. He has a hearing aide, he limps, and his ulcer sometimes immobilizes him. Tomlin is a flakey and floaty young woman who wants help finding Winston, her missing cat. Although both of these fine comedians bring some bathos into the story, it is their dramatic side that engages us. Carney in particular gives a strong and complex performance. Tomlin makes a reference to the Thin Man series and it makes sense. Many of the great old 1940s detective story devices, lingo, and sleazy characters are here, but against the foil of the Jimmy Carter era. Tomlin is usually in scenes bathed in warm colors, Carney gets the black and white visuals, as if he stepped out of an old movie. Washington State native Howard Duff has a brief but important role.

"Whither Canada" (Monty Python's Flying Circus ; v. 1, episode 1) / directed by John Howard Davies, Ian MacNaughton (1969, VHS). Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland. Famous deaths, Italian language class, Whizzo Butter and a dead crab, It's the Arts, Sir Edward's latest film, Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson, Picasso's cycling tour, Extended Gilliam cartoon, Funniest joke in the world. They are still forming their timing and chemistry in this one. "Two Sheds" is the most polished skit in the lineup and "Funniest joke" is the most ambitious. My God, this is almost 40 years old. The cast look like babies. Hard to believe.

Night Falls on Manhattan / directed by Sidney Lumet (1996, VHS). Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, James Gandolfini, Lena Olin, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Colm Feore, Ron Leibman, Richard Dreyfuss, Paul Guilfoyle. A young and idealistic newly elected NYC District Attorney learns the hard way about the grey areas of the law. In this muddy swirl of politics and campaigning, backroom deals, bribes and cops on the take, someone tells the crusader, "You want clean hands? Become a priest!" (OK, so it was 1996). I kept wondering how Toody and Muldoon would fit in. Funny how a movie that has so much going for it somehow fails to excite my interest. Great acting by Garcia, Holm, Gandolfini-- and incredibly hammy performances by Leibman and Dreyfuss, which were fun but not really appropriate. Lumet's choice of zooms and pans, as well as the subtle and noninvasive soundtrack, had authentic class. One not nice character, played by Feore, was obviously trouble from his first frame as evidenced by the fact he was the only person with the ever-odious bowtie. The courtroom scene could've used better audio. Basically, this movie was a downer, not something to view if you're already depressed. Still, Lumet gets points for getting his hands dirty, respecting the intelligence of his audience and not delivering the predicitable American film finish.

Primary Colors / directed by Mike Nichols (1998, VHS). John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, Diane Ladd, Paul Guilfoyle, Rob Reiner, Geraldo Rivera, Larry King, Charlie Rose, Bill Maher. A cinema à clef (is that a real word?) about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the presidency. John Travolta presents a good superficial imitation of the charismatic dreamer and Empathizer-in-Chief, and Emma Thompson captures the spirit of his spouse, you know, the one who really runs the show. Elaine May's screenplay tracks the progress of this unknown Southern governor ("Jack Stanton") in the Democratic Party primaries through the eyes of a young African American campaign aide. We see the candidate's idealistic side, his "Comeback Kid" persistence, his genuine connection with working people. And we see his flaws: flashes of anger, dealing with bimbo eruptions, covering up a radical past, embellishing the truth, and eating lots of junk food. The James Carville-like character (Thornton) comes across as psychotic. Kathy Bates is in a supporting role as a symbol and reminder of the old days in 1972 when us young folks at the time sincerely felt that particular campaign was good vs. evil if ever there was one. Bates as a contrast to her more practical peers results in one of the most interesting conflicts presented in this film. She also demonstrates the inevitable heartbreak of political activists who attach themselves to personalities rather than ideas. Mike Nichols' direction is, as always, amazing. The guy really knows how to visually compose any scene. As nasty as some of the situations are in this story, this film was probably a little too idealistic about how our political process works. The issue of campaign finance was a big missing chunk, for example. As for Bubba, I think he was a lot more intelligent than Travolta played him-- at least from the neck up. The film includes a clip of that incredibly annoying kid from Shane. When I first saw this movie in a theater, there were less than a half dozen of us in the audience. Why? Everyone was at home glued to the tube watching the even more dramatic story unfold on the news concerning the real President Clinton. Larry Hagman is terrific as a political rival, and had some words that are worth noting: "You know, the world is getting more and more complicated and politicians have to explain things to you in simpler terms, so they can get their little oversimplified explanations on the evening news. And eventually instead of even trying to explain things they give up and just start slinging mud at each other. And it’s all to keep you excited, to keep you watching ..." Words to remember a decade later.

Rhodes / directed by David Drury (1996, VHS, off-air). Martin Shaw, Frances Barber, Joe Shaw, David Butler, Ken Stott, Washington Xisolo. "I shall work for the furtherance of the British Empire, the recovery of the United States of America, and the bringing of the whole civilized world under Anglo-Saxon rule. What a dream! Yet it is possible. It is probable." So wrote Cecil John Rhodes, the South African Brit who provided the world with a classic case of the relationship between capitalism and imperialism. He is also the subject of this 6-hour PBS TV miniseries produced in the then new Mandela era. Filmed with wonderful production values, the late 19th century frontier setting brings to mind the many parallels between European land grabs in Africa and Americans taking the Old West, with the same sort of criminal treatment of the native peoples and willingness to go to war with rival invaders. The father/son combination of Martin and Joe Shaw portrayed Rhodes as old and young, showing his story in a series of confusing flashbacks. In this biopic, he is painted as a money and power-driven megalomaniac who has no use for emotional attachments, although there are suggestions here he was affectionate toward at least one young male secretary. Like Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Shaw plays Rhodes as someone who is consumed by greed in increments until at life's end his face is a dark mask of anger and bitterness. Good performances by Barber as nightmare stalker Princess Catherine Radziwill, Ken Stott as the fun-loving rival and later business partner Barney Barnato (who paid dearly for this association), and Xisolo as Lobengula ("What do you know about time? Time is made for slaves.") The director has an effective technique of overlapping sound from one scene to the visuals of another, usually as a way of demonstrating a difference in perceptions between the characters. But for all the impressive qualities of this movie, there are many major flaws. I had difficulty following some of the dialect. The line, "Is he off his head?" at first sounded like, "Is he office head?" which of course made me laugh pretty hard at the play on words once it dawned on me. The line "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" was used by Rhodes when the body of his dead young assistant was carried away. I have been told by America's Best Playwright that the "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" device is always a sure sign of shoddy writing and cheap theatrics. It should be added that I figure the more "o"s in "No" the worse it is. For example, "Noooo!" is not as bad as "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" The soundtrack could've been more diverse. The same theme was frequently brought in to punch up the pace a bit, and in a very short time it became repetitive and annoying-- a common weakness of TV miniseries. In spite of these artistic bad choices, this is worth checking out if you enjoy history, politics and even Westerns.

"Get Well, Officer Schnauser" (Car 54, Where Are You?) / directed by Al De Caprio (1961, VHS off-air). Joe E. Ross, Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Charlotte Rae (uncredited). A wonderful romp through an innocent and funny parade of comedic expressions and double-takes. Gunther Toody helps the FBI track down "No Face," a notorious bank robber. In the process of his police work, Toody disguises himself as a Beatnik. Yes, a Beatnik. 1961 style. This episode is worth seeing just for this. I laughed out loud many times. 1960s television character actor Charlotte Rae, a well known fixture to those of us from that era, and Al Lewis, are both very good. When I was a kid I probably watched this with a very serious expression of soaking in information about the world out there. I can still recite the lyrics to the Car 54 theme but I'd be hard pressed to name my current County Commissioners or City Councilpeople. Sometimes I think my brain needs an enema.

Whoa, Be-Gone / directed by Chuck Jones (1958, VHS off-air). Mel Blanc (voice). Another bit of insanity where the Coyote repeats his compulsive behavior and fails to capture the roadrunner. Two thoughts here: First, where do I find a copy of the Acme Catalog? Second, why do I identify with the coyote more than the roadrunner?