NO-FI MOVIE REVIEWZ FOR APRIL
PETEY WHEATSTRAW: THE DEVIL'S SON-IN-LAW
directed by Cliff Roquemore, starring Bad Ass M.F. Rudy Ray Moore, Rated R
DVD Reviewed By: Chris Beyond
Rudy Ray Moore, known best for his Dolemite charicter in the film of the same name and it's sequel "The Human Tornado" followed thos films with this film which finds Petey, a kung fu stand-up comedian (well, what do you expect for Rudy?) who is killed by a rival comedy show. Petey is sent straight to hell where the devil (who wears a tall grey afro) gives him a deal to bring him back to life if he marries his (the devil's) daughter. After seeing a picture Petey says, "Hell No man! You can KILL me!". But the Devil offers him his own cane which carries all the powers of hell inside and Petey sees this as a way to get back at the portly comedians who ordered his death.
Like all of Rudy's films back in the 70s, you'll find plenty of action, violence, stand-up comedy, and Petey's style of rhyming his jokes. Rudy has a whole collection of the most styish pimp-wear that has to be seen to be believed. He also shows his sensitive side when a friend's younger brother is gunned down as well.
The DVD has little in special features (standard trailers), but what isn't advertised on the box is that Rudy has a commentary track that is so weird that it's almost understandable why they left it off. Basically the film starts and practically 5 minutes later Rudy finally chimes in to say that he's going to tell you about the "behind the scenes" of the film. Another 5 or 10 minutes pass before he speaks again only to say the title of the film and a few nonsensical words. Another 10 or twenty minutes later he finally says something about the film and all throughout the film he says "DVD lovers...turn the scene back...and watch it again." Well, I don't know about you, but if you turned it back, wouldn't he just say it again and you'd end up in an endless loop playing the same scene over and over? Anyway, I just gave away about half of the comentary, but check this film out not for that, but to transport yourself back into the 70s when any minute you could expect comedian gang wars to break out at any time. And for you DVD lovers, you can turn it back and watch the whole thing over again!
(Chris Beyond is the editor of No-Fi "Magazine" and is not the master of Pimp-Fu.)
MULHOLLAND DRIVE
directed by David Lynch, starring Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, Mike Anderson, Rated R
DVD Reviewed By: Chris Beyond
David Lynch has always said to treat his films more like paintings rather than your typical movie. I find this to be very true as, like a painter, he is always able to weave and twist his own vision on the screen to the point that almost every person in the audience has their own unique opinion as to what they have just seen.
The stronger examples of this are in his original film ERASERHEAD and the recent LOST HIGHWAY. There is absolutly no way to truely rationalize what you see in those films. Another odd thing about those two films is that each film plays like a really weird dream AND YET each film includes a dream sequence just to mess with your frazzled senses even more.
MULHOLLAND DRIVE finds itself between those films and his more linear films (like BLUE VELVET and TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME). It starts off with a car accident on Mulholland Drive and a woman emerging from the wreck only to walk off in a daze into the streets of Hollywood and into an abandoned apartment. Next we meet a young dance contest winner from the northwest with stars in her eyes who happens to be borrowing her Aunt's apartment which turns out to be the same apartment that the woman wanders into. After some confusion, Betty & the amesiac Rita (who finds her new name on a Rita Hayworth movie poster) try to solve the mystery of who she is and where she came from.
But David Lynch won't let the story be that simple.
Enter a young Hollywood director who is being pressured by his superiors to cast a woman that he doesn't want to work with in his own film. Causing a scene and finding his wife in bed with another man (played by Billy Ray Cyrus who was actually REALLY good and funny!), he finds himself on the run from the powers-that-be at the studio who give the impression that they'll kill him if he doesn't cast this girl who is a dead-ringer for the blonde Betty.
After the two stories begin to meld together, the stories seem to fly out into outer space in true David Lynch fashion. At this point there is NO WAY to describe this film except to say that is was directed by David Lynch and that is all you need to know.
I found this film to be very excellent which is not bad for a film that started out as a failed pilot for television that was completed with the help of foriegn investors. This is the David Lynch that brought us the Twin Peaks series and you could see that this was going to be another great show had it ever had a chance to air. Another great thing about this film was that all of the main parts went to "virtually" unknown actors and actresses. All did very well in their strange roles and special highlights go to "The Cowboy" who played the role calm and straight and yet was frightening in his down-to-earthness.
Although this is technically a drama, this film was VERY funny too with weird things happening and being said all throughout the film. There were some definite scary moments too. Think of this as a Nancy Drew mystery meets Savadore Dali. Just sit back and watch what happens and decide for yourself what the film was about.
On the new DVD release, it costs about 30 bucks which wouldn't be so bad except that there are no real extras except for the normal Trailer and short bios for some of the cast and crew. Why don't we ever see the "Grip's" bio? What about the assistant to the caterer's bio? It's always the lil' guy being stepped on by the studio, isn't it! Anyway if you feel like spending 60 dollars then you can buy BOTH covers for the same DVD! Wowie! Mind you, the covers are based on the main posters for the film which is always good when they use the actual poster on the box (I hate it when they don't!). Anyway, other than the price, lack of extra-extras, and having to pay twice as much to get two different covers, the most shocking thing about this DVD is that David Lynch actually censored himself! In a short scene where we see Rita nude, Lynch has now blurred her lower region a la "Cops". The word is that he was afraid that captures of the scene would be all over the internet, but if that is the case then he shouldn't have filmed it at all which would have been fine, but it's pretty lame to have it on the big screen and then censor it for DVD. When I was a little kid and we saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark on the big screen (several times), there were a couple very short scenes (like only seconds each) that were cut from the theatrical version for the video version and it still bugs me to this day! (Hopefully THEY will be restored for DVD soon.) Oh and don't wait up for a David Lynch commentary because he has said that his films speak forthemselves and he shouldn't have to explain them to anyone. Anyway, did mention that the movie is excellent? Well it is and hopefully that blurring in the film won't ruin it for you purists out there.
Oh, and before I forget, I've been told to tell people to see it twice so they can figure it all out. I think it shouldn't take twice to figure it out what it means to yourself, but hey, if it helps then go for it.
(Chris Beyond is the editor of No-Fi "Magazine" and has been a fan of David Lynch since he was a sick little kid.)
DONNIE DARKO
directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and a giant cyber-bunny, Rated R
Reviewed By: Roger Boxx
For several minutes, I gnawed and clawed at the shrink-wrap skin to no avail. My efforts to liberate the new "Donnie Darko" DVD from the clear outer coating were fruitless. Defeated, I surrendered to a serrated stake knife in the kitchen. The shrink-wrap proved no match for the sharpened steel and the DVD box was liberated into the dank, open air of my Echo Park home. I sighed as I examined my new obstacle. Three stickers closed each edge of the DVD box. Two of the stickers, which sealed the DVD package shut, read, "Security Device Enclosed." The third blockading sticker exhibited the title and a barcode for the product. The stickers were nearly impossible to remove without scratching the pristine box.
For some reason, I want to keep all of my DVD boxes in perfect appearance for shelved presentation. Not like my CD collection, which sits comfortably in the pocketed pages of several zipper-books on a bookshelf in my bedroom. The jewel cases have long since been discarded in conservation of space. To economize valuable room on my shelves and to make the enormous music collection more conveniently mobile, only the discs and packaging booklets survive in the faux leather storage books. The DVD packaging is held in much higher regard. No pouches and zipper-books for my favorite films. The growing DVD collection is prominently displayed in alphabetical order on shelves hanging on the wall next to the television.
I remember when my family got our first Beta-Max. The beastly machine was bigger than a breadbox, but smaller than our sofa set. The first mom-and-pop shops offered a few dozen titles on Beta tapes and a few dozen titles on laser-disc. It cost around $8 to rent one tape for a night. Having access to watch unedited films in the privacy of our own home, on our own schedule, was even better than HBO, On TV, or The Z channel (all of which seemed to repeat "Flash Gordon" and "Popeye" several times a day). It was awesome to have my father expose me to films that had been released before my time or to see some of my favorites I could barely remember having seen in the theater. Also, my friends and I were given access to hardcore porn films, which far surpassed the limitations of magazines. When bigger chains, like Tower Records, started renting videos and laser discs prices fell. Greedy Sony's ingenious blunder of keeping Beta technology to themselves, quickly gave rise to the lesser quality product: VHS. Inside my grandma's garage is a box with the entire series of "Robotech" rotting away on Beta tapes. Over time, we learned that the magnetic tape of VHS and Beta deteriorate. Costly laser discs continued to offer a crisp picture and bitchin' audio, often with exciting "extras," but full-length features called for a break, during the film, in order to flip the disc. I knew a couple kids who had laser disc players, but they weren't allowed to use the machine because of the fragility of the discs' surface.
Now we have DVDs! Digital picture with no deterioration. NEW DIGITAL TRANSFERS FROM HI-DEFINITION TRANSFERS. STATE-OF-THE-ART 5.1 STEREO REMIX AUDIO WITH DOLBY DIGITAL AND THX SURROUND SOUND. Behind the scenes Documentaries. Photo Galleries. Feature Commentary Audio Tracks. Alternate, Extended, and Deleted Scenes. Wide Screen. Theatrical Trailers. Production Notes. C.G. Interactive Menus. Scripts. Storyboards. Production Art. Promotional Materials. Hidden Menu Features and Easter Eggs. Fucktacular!
I love movies (sometimes carnally) and thusly, I truly appreciate DVDs. I do have some complaints with DVDs. Some films can have as many as four or five different versions of release on DVD. Many DVDs are labeled as being the "Collector's Edition" or the "Special Edition," even if there is no "Normal Edition." Of course, DVDs are not just films. Television shows, concerts, and music videos are also being released on DVD. Before you buy your favorite film on DVD, you may want to research online to see if a better DVD is out there or being released soon. For example, there are a couple versions of "Blade Runner" out on DVD. But a "Special Edition Blade Runner" DVD set is supposed to be released sometime this year. I have been burned in the past. I bought an early version of "12 Monkeys" on DVD. It was wide-screen and had a theatrical trailer, but offered little else. Two subsequent DVDs have been released since my original "12 Monkeys" purchase. The newer "Collector's Edition 12 Monkeys" includes feature commentary with Terry Gilliam, among others, and a totally rad documentary film about the making of the movie.
Production companies have recognized the audience for supplemental material and as a result, the newer DVDs generally have more bells and whistles from the onset. Also, some of the newest DVDs have more lead-in material we must sit through before we can get to the DVD menus. Some lead-ins include MPA rating, FBI warnings, production company logos, and even commercials for other movies.
Researching online helps, but you never really know what you're getting until you rent a copy of the DVD. Of course, many stores rent limited "rental" versions of the DVDs that do not include all the supplemental material presented on the DVDs for purchase. You can always buy a DVD you are interested in and return it or tape it onto Beta and then return it.
My local video store has a very small selection of DVDs for rent. What they lack in selection they make up for in defiance to release date contracts. As soon as they receive the new products, they put the DVDs and videos out for rental. Often, you can rent a film there a couple weeks before anyone else offers the same title. Last week, I rented "Donnie Darko" on DVD, which wasn't released for sale or rental until today. I originally saw the ignored film at a local arty-farty theater in October and enjoyed the depressing film quite a bit. "Harvey" meets "American Beauty" meets "Twin Peaks" meets "The Abyss." Early in the rad 1988 period film, Donnie, a sex-obsessed teenager from an upper-middle class family, receives a visit from a six-foot, demonic rabbit, which saves the teen from certain death. From there on in, the movie starts to get surreal. I don't want to say too much. The less you know going in, the more enjoyable the film will be. That is true with most good movies. (If I were offering my review of a horrible film, like "The Time Machine," I would have loads to say without feeling guilty about revealing anything.) "Donnie Darko" is the most engaging film I have seen since "Memento" and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys Patrick Swayze movies. Just kidding. Patrick has a small role in the movie, but he is actually pretty good for the part and doesn't distract.
It is not a "Special Edition" or "Collector's Series," but the DVD offers gnarly supplemental material. Special Features include Director and Cast Commentary, 20 Deleted/ Extended Scenes, raw footage from infomercials seen in the film, and much more. As a side note, the Donnie Darko website offers a groovy graphic web-experience for those with too much time on their hands to look at content on the Internet.
(Roger Boxx is a contributing writer to No-Fi "Magazine" and has been known to "boogie down.")
