Lonesome in his own Heartbreak Hotel

THIS IS ELVIS (1981)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

 

Elvis Presley is not just a rock and roll legend - by all accounts, he seemed to make it dangerous and brought the sex appeal to it right from its very roots. And in the intervening years after his Army stint, his various films, and some concerts to pull back the audience who loved him in the 1950's, he began to slide under the influence of drugs and sang some sappy songs, and some truly incredible, mind-blowing gospel type music. He had a revival and kept trying to revive himself...and had he not died, he might still be playing to sold-out crowds in the Vegas strip.

 

"This is Elvis" is a hugely enthralling and sometimes bizarre documentary with various reenactments and/or recreations of Elvis's childhood, his early teen years, and clearly odd moments such as Elvis visiting the hospital after his mother passed or swimming in the pool with Priscilla, his future wife. There is also tantalizing footage of the King of Rock and Roll himself, including now classic film clips from "Love Me Tender" and "Loving You." We see Elvis in his absolute prime, just before his G.I. Blues, in the Ed Sullivan Show and the Milton Berle show. After one of these tapings, Elvis could only be photographed from the waist up (Police file footage of one of the tapings might make one think: why did anyone think this was so obscene? Could it be the fact that Sun Records was looking for a white man who sang with a black sound and that this was potentially a problem in the racist America of the 1950's?) But when he gets back from the Army, he appears in a show hosted by Frank Sinatra ("The Frank Sinatra Timex Special") and, though the spark is there, Elvis is not quite there. It is a foreshadowing of the darker days ahead.

Johnny Harra as Elvis 42 (above)
David Scott as teen Elvis (below)

There is a wealth of previously unseen footage here (the private archives were generously given permission to the filmmakers by Colonel Tom Parker), from various press conferences where Elvis makes it clear he is just an entertainer and is not involved in speaking out politically, to a party in Germany where he is clowning around and smoking pot, to his wedding to Priscilla, to a Groucho Marx show where a female president of the Elvis Presley Fan Club shows off Elvis paraphernalia, to Elvis practicing karate with 10th degree Black Belt master and Elvis's bodyguard Ed Parker, to Elvis's final days where he is bloated and forgets the words to his own songs at a concert. And yet the voice transmits and is as beautiful and evocative as ever. Yet such scenes leaves one with some burning questions - would Elvis, who went beyond his devilish rock and roll classics to superb yet less rocky music like "Suspicious Minds," ever truly go back and make a dangerous record again? Or did his agent, Colonel Tom Parker, make it too difficult for him?

Several critics at the time of the film's release excoriated the filmmakers, Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt (who went on to do 1985's "The Beach Boys: An American Band"), for the reenactments of key passages of Elvis's life. I rather enjoyed the good old days of Tupelo, Mississippi where we see a blonde-headed Elvis (Paul Boesnch III) singing at church and listening to some blues musicians in the segregated South. I also liked the opening sequence where we see Johnny Hara as a 42-year-old Elvis walking around his Graceland mansion (I've been in there and what is most striking is the numerous mirrors in every room). The teen Elvis years are also entertaining, though the late David Scott mostly shows how shy Elvis was in performing a song for a music class. Most of the Elvis impersonator bits do not bother me at all. I do find it a little silly to use actors to play concerned citizens about Elvis's welfare and his up and downs with Priscilla in the early 70's - it is all too obvious and pure hogwash (not to say fans were not concerned but who films and interviews a mechanic fixing his car in the middle of the road who is not even an Elvis fan?)

"This is Elvis" at its best shows a man at war with himself, overmedicating on prescription pills and Demerol (as evidenced by allegations from his former bodyguards). He ravages his appearance and his body, but not his voice. At the age of 42, Elvis died and left behind a legacy that is practically unparalleled in the history of rock and roll for good reason - he basically invented it. But a famous, iconic, generous family man with no privacy and a gradual loss of passion in his music, only to have it reinvigorated on occasion, is a tragic lesson in how crucial it is to maintain that balance between integrity and selling out while losing yourself by hiding. When he sings "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and forgets the words, it becomes both humorous, touching and sad. His power will live on because no matter who you are, Elvis will always be the king of rock and roll and this strange, brilliantly fragmented and condensed documentary proves it.

Footnote: Elvis's impersonators include blonde-haired Paul Boensch III as Presley at age 10 (Tupelo, Mississippi in 1946); David Scott as Presley at age 18 (Memphis in 1953, singing in high school, and at a Sun recording session); Dana MacKay as Presley at age 35, and Johnny Harra as Presley at age 42 (Opening credits, August 16, 1977). Paul Boensch III is alive and well and sells Rolex watches. Dana MacKay, an Elvis impersonator who lived with his girlfriend in a mansion called "Mini Graceland," were both murdered in their home in 1993 in a still unsolved cold case. David Scott committed suicide at the age of 30, eerily also in 1993. Johnny Hara, another Elvis impersonator, died in 2011 at the age of 64.

A better-than-average Bruce Lee imitator

GAME OF DEATH II aka TOWER OF DEATH (1981)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Game of Death II" is not all it is cracked up to be. Released in 1981 under the title "Tower of Death" and multiple alternate titles, it is an in-name only sequel to the despicable original film. It also does not star Bruce Lee, though we are led to believe he has top billing thanks to cribbed inserts from some of his early work. Still, this is a far more entertaining and cartoonish sequel with incredible fight choreography to compensate for scant plot and story.

Tai Chung Kim stands in, as he did in "Game of Death," as the actor Bruce Lee playing Billy Lo (the famed international martial-arts star from the original). Billy is saddened by the death of his good friend and proficient kung-fu expert, Chin-Ku (Hwang Jang Lee), who died under mysterious circumstances. Chin-Ku's illegitimate daughter has some reel of film in a box, a box too small to fit a reel of 16mm film (unless it is 8mm and only a couple of minutes long). This reel of film may point to the culprit of Chin-Ku's death. We get a few fight scenes on the streets of Japan and in some greenhouse (the latter is a deleted sequence from "Game of Death"). Then we shift to Lee/Lung perusing some book of artistic pornography, ostensibly belonging to Billy Lo's brother. Then there is Chin-Ku's funeral where his tomb is taken away by the steel claws of a helicopter. Billy Lo grabs onto the tomb and is killed by a poison dart. Shift to Bobby Lo (also played by Tai Chung Kim) who wants revenge for his brother's death. He is shown the film that Chin-Ku's daughter had, which contains footage of the Palace of Death where the dangerously brutal Lewis (Roy Horan) resides. Lewis is so brutal that he will scratch your chest and bite your finger, and his valet will break your neck! But somewhere in this Palace of Death resides the Tower of Death, a sort-of upside-down pagoda!

"Game of Death II" is mediocre kung-fu theatrics until Bobby Lo arrives at the ominous Palace of Death. We also have to sidestep a laughable-looking lion that attacks Bobby (simply a man dressed up in a lion outfit) and a blonde beauty sent by Lewis or someone else to kill Bobby. The movie is forty minutes of several fight scenes with hundreds of minions in the Tower of Death and the palace guards. There is also a booby trap worthy of Indiana Jones, and a final fight that has got to be one of the longest most imaginatively choreographed fight scenes I've ever seen. It goes on for so long that you'll wonder why neither opponent gets tired.

I first saw this film on TV and noticed that clips of Bruce Lee were used mostly from "Fists of Fury." However, the DVD version uses outtakes and deleted scenes from "Enter the Dragon," including a meeting with Roy Chiao as the abbott. The clips are not seamless, at least not enough to give the illusion that Bruce Lee is in the film. As for the rest of the picture, it is mostly a retread of "Enter the Dragon," including a moment where Bobby Lo is dressed in the same black suit Bruce Lee wore in "Enter the Dragon" while parading around the Palace of Death at night.

Certain questions pop in while watching this highly unbelievable, though fun-filled, action picture. Is Lewis evil or does someone else in that island want Bobby Lo dead? Why does Lewis's valet pretend to be handicapped? Why did Chin-Ku leave a roll of film with his estranged daughter?

Questions of logic abound, but who cares about logic in a kung-fu film? For true grindhouse picture fans, there is sex, Bruce Lee (sort of), interminable fight scenes, plenty of cartoonish violence, sword and staff fights, hungry lions, peacocks flying at a master's request, bad dubbing, and the power of drug trafficking. For myself, "Game of Death II" has so much humor, unintentional and otherwise, and such terrific pacing and excellent fight sequences that I can't imagine anyone passing it up. It's not one of the greats in a disreputable genre but it gets high marks as a superior improvement over the original "Game of Death."

Living in a Less-than-Material World

GREY GARDENS (1975)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

 There is no way to describe "Grey Gardens" except as an elegiac poem of eccentric people. It is a devastatingly beautiful and serene documentary, unlike any I ever seen on any given subject. The fact that the Maysles brothers directed it (already having fashioned one of the best rock documentaries ever, "Gimme Shelter") should give everyone an understanding of how a documentary can be a work of art.

"Grey Gardens" takes place in a largely decrepit Easthampton, NY 28-room mansion where Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie, reside. Edith and Edie mostly sleep in the same room where they keep a radio - their only real communication to the outside world. Newspapers litter their beds, though Edie keeps her bed made for the most part. Their diet consist of canned goods - Mrs. Beale mostly eats corn. Cats are everywhere, as is their urine. The attic has a large hole in the wall where Edie feed slices of Wonder Bread to the raccoons. The kitchen has counters with mounds of dust and who knows what else. And this is the mansion at its best, it was declared unlivable and a health hazard at one time until the Beales cleaned it up, somewhat.

The strange aspect of "Grey Gardens" is that Mrs. Beale and her daughter are related to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. You think they would ask for financial assistance but they are too stubborn and rebellious - the Beales are separate from what society expects of them. They wallow in filth and yet they are having a ball, to some degree. Mrs. Beale probably accepts that she will die in that mansion. Edie wants out but feels a responsibility to care for her ailing mother. Still, as she declares briefly, "I can't spend another winter at Grey Gardens." This documentary is like watching ghosts who have been forgotten and are living in isolation in an abandoned house.

"Grey Gardens" is not a comfortable viewing experience but it is an enlightening, poetic film due in part to the two women's discussions, rants, and raves and their desire to see some measure of optimism in their future. Mrs. Beale doesn't want the glamorous, beautiful pictures of yesteryear shown - she would rather forget the past. Edie insists on showing them, and sometimes she speaks in a whispering tone so her mother can't hear her - she wants to live in the present, not the past. Mrs. Beale sits outside on a lawn chair, taking in the sun, while Edie sunbathes on the beach. This is life in the mansion - separating their existence from the world that they are no longer a part of.

"Grey Gardens" is not exactly whimsical yet it is lyrical. The Maysles brothers have crafted an elegiac and bittersweet experience that is at odds with the norms and conventions of the typical documentary. It is sad yet uplifting, tragic yet strangely funny (no wonder this was later made into a Broadway musical). You won't soon forget Mrs. Beale or the singing Edie with her flowing skirts as she practices her dance moves in this deteriorating household. Yes, everything is falling apart yet they remain sane and stick to their fears, their longing to make amends, perhaps, and their desires. They want to escape the past, yet can't help but relive it in their hearts. A truly unique and heartfelt film.

Gobble, Gobble

BLOOD FREAK (1972)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

Talk about the ridiculous and the sublime! That might be "Plan 9 From
Outer Space," which stands as the most sublime and ridiculous cult
film of all time (though "Glen and Glenda" is the better movie). And then there are the psychotronic movies of the truly absurd variety, which are so stupefying and insanely botched visions that they merit some degree of analysis and context. I see what might have been with 1972's "Blood Freak," but it is such a messy piece of garbage that it is hard to get a handle on it.

A motorcyclist picks up a woman with car trouble. She is Angel (Heather Hughes), a strictly religious, Bible-thumping woman who invites the motorcycle stranger known as Herschell (Steven Hawkes) to a party where drugs make an appearance in the form of cocaine and weed. Herschell says no to drugs and advances from women at the party. Angel's flirtatious, sexed-up sister, Anne (Dana Cullivan) is at the party and she gets the standard preaching from Angel about the dangers of drugs and sex. Herschell seems inclined to believe in Angel, or so we think. Before long, he starts boinking Anne after she gets him to smoke weed at her pool, which he is either cleaning with some pole or it is one big phallic joke! He should've calmed Angel's moods, who wears an extremely short skirt! Who knew female Bible thumpers were so sexy!

"Blood Freak" degenerates even further when Herschell gets a job at a turkey farm and engages in an experiment by two scientists. In exchange for essentially being a human guinea pig, he gets to smoke all the weed he wishes. So what is the experiment? Eat a whole turkey. Wow. And then Herschell gets violent convulsions and literally becomes half-human and half-turkey. Talk about too many drugs - moderation, my brother, moderation.

I like summing up movies like this by illustrating the content of specific scenes. We have the titular man with a turkey head; various shots of turkeys in close-up; women being hung upside down with blood pouring out of their necks thanks to Mr. Turkey Man who has an unhealthy blood lust and kills his victims - some of them are junkies (of course, turkeys are killed the same way); a foot amputated by a table saw; Mr. Turkey Man having sex with Anne in complete darkness (and I do mean complete darkness - only the soundtrack tells us that some boinking is occurring); lots of drug usage; a rape attempt; an actual live turkey that has its head chopped off; and a Narrator (the director himself) chain-smoking and telling us of the moral choices that Herschell makes.

"Blood Freak" is a freak show that is so poorly made, it actually achieves a special charm for my Truly Moronic and Unintentionally Funny Bad Movie List. I was not bored by this movie but I will not likely see it again. I can only handle so many anti-drug, anti-smoking messages wrapped around a turkey's head.

GLADD vs. Cock-Knocker

JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (2001)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Viewed on September 7th, 2001

Warning: if you are not a fan of "Clerks" or "Chasing Amy," not to mention "Mallrats," then it is very likely that you will find little enjoyment in Kevin Smith's newest film. "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back" is a delirious joyride for all View Askew fans, taking us from New Jersey to Hollywood and back with many belly laughs and a few lulls along the way. It is mandatory that you are educated in this universe or else, you'll have a joyless time.

To anyone not familiar with View Askew, it is the name of Kevin Smith's production company in Red Bank, N.J. and the universe in which all his characters from his first four films reside in. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are the two drug dealers who have appeared in all of Smith's films. Usually left on the sidelines, they take center stage this time as they continue selling drugs in front of the Quik Stop convenience store in Leonardo, N.J. Jay and Silent Bob get wind from their old friend, Brodie (Jason Lee), that the comic book based on them, Bluntman and Chronic, is getting made into a Hollywood movie by their other old friend, Banky (also played by Jason Lee). Huh? Okay, if you saw "Chasing Amy," you'll recall that Banky and Holden (Ben Affleck, who reprises his role here) were comic book artists who made their claim to fame with their "Bluntman and Chronic" comic book. In this movie, Banky sold the rights to Miramax studios to make the movie. Jay and Silent Bob are infuriated that they are not getting a piece of the collective pie so they embark on a journey to Hollywood that includes some hot babes dressed in slinky outfits, a wild orangutan, plenty of gay and fart jokes to make GLADD blush (which they reportedly have), Carrie Fisher as a nun, George Carlin as a hitchhiker, clumsy federal marshals, Internet bashing, and more in-jokes (many associated with "Star Wars") than almost any movie I have ever seen.

"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" has quite a few good laughs but there are also far too many lulls. The scenario involving a federal wildlife marshal simply marks time (including an unfunny cameo by Judd Nelson). Plus, those slinky-outfitted babes (which includes a vivacious Shannon Hamilton) exude more groans than smiles, aping the recent remake of "Charlie's Angels." Best bits involve the Quik stop employees, Randal and Dante from "Clerks" (played by Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran), who call the police in to arrest the likable drug dealers. I also liked Ben Affleck as Holden and as himself, not to mention Matt Damon as himself, as they trade asides on each other's careers and mocking their joint effort, "Good Will Hunting." There is also Mark Hamill as Cock-Knocker, which has to be seen to be believed, Wes Craven making another "Scream" sequel, and Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek as themselves portraying Bluntman and Chronic in the movie version. You can also count on several other cameos by other characters from Smith's View Askew universe.

The stars of this show are Jay and Silent Bob and they are often hysterical to watch. Jason Mewes in particular steals the show as Jay with his sexual body language and obscene comments having to do with one particular area of the female anatomy. Kevin Smith as Silent Bob merely makes disapproving looks and gestures and too much of this can go a long way. Still, they make a fitting pair, as always, and drive the movie forward with more scatalogical jokes than one can count in this jaded day and age of sexually promiscuous teen movies.

"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is fitfully funny and often clever enough for those not easily offended by gay and fart jokes (count me in the mix). It is not half as good as "Clerks" or as hackneyed as "Mallrats" or "Dogma," but it does fall somewhere in between.

Eat, Drink, Men, Women

CARNAGE (2011)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A French play that takes place inside of an apartment for 80 minutes? Most film directors might be inclined to open up the proscenium of a play by introducing the outside world. Not Roman Polanski who has managed to make a brisk, funny, darkly comic movie out of something almost mundane on the surface.

Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly) are the parents of a child, Zachary, that was struck in the mouth with a stick by his friend. We see this event transpire in the opening sequence and are startled by the abrupt violence, but we also see how it is almost a childlike moment of two kids who just don't know better (the scene is silent with music layed in so that we don't know if Zachary provoked his friend or not). The Longstreets invite Zachary's friend's parents, the Cowans (played by Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet), to discuss the matter. What follows is their conversations that extend beyond the kids and more on their distinctive personalities. Mr. Cowan is an attorney who is beset by one cell phone call after another and cannot be bothered by this incident. Mrs. Cowan is upset by the incident, her husband's lack of manners and hopes for some sort of truce, but her true colors are revealed when she drinks alcohol. The Longstreets want to make nice with "pleasant serenity" by making cobbler with apples and pears (I'd like to try that), espresso and a vase of tulips. Michael sells kitchen items whereas Penelope is a writer, works part-time in a bookstore, and is very politically correct. What could go wrong?

Adapted from Yasmina Reza's comedy play of manners entitled "God of Carnage," "Carnage" is exceptionally well-made and perfectly crafted by Roman Polanski. He is the only director, as proven with his other adaptation of a play "Death of a Maiden" that was also confined to one setting, that can hold the tension inside a room for maximum impact. I do not know how Polanski does it but no shot ever looks the same, from the spacious living room to the bathroom which are the only two rooms where the action takes place (aside from two brief shots of the hallway to the elevator). His framing of the actors also changes brilliantly, particularly where one actor is in the foreground in contrast to someone else in the background. Into the fray of claustrophobia are some of our finest actors, including Jodie Foster whose Penelope character is more shrill and more human than anyone else. John C. Reilly once again proves he is a master of comic subtlety, particularly his shift from a caring, gentle man to a rough loudmouth. Christoph Waltz also excels in dialing it down, and the way he eats cobbler reminded me of the dramatic tension of his eating habits in "Inglorious Basterds." Kate Winslet is the only actor who feels a little off in the translation - too histrionic for my tastes which might have suited the play more than the film.

"Carnage" is lucidly written and directed with an appropriately abrupt finish. The whole film is timed and paced just right, but it is more of a lark for Polanski than the masterstroke of his grandly thrilling "The Ghost Writer." Still, a near-great Polanski film is miles better than no Polanski film.    

Zooey's wintry personality

WINTER PASSING (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If you are expecting the lively, charming Zooey Deschanel from "Almost Famous" or from her brief turn in "Failure to Launch," you are in for a disappointment. Though it will take a few more films before she becomes a really good actress, her solemn, methodical performance in "Winter Passing" is a future reminder of a fine talent indeed. The film and her performance will remind you of the great Ingmar Bergman, and that isn't faint praise.

Zooey is Reese Holden, a repressed young actress living in New York City. She works as a bartender and does anything she can to, well, feel something. She detaches herself from everything, including sex, drugs, smoking, her cat - everything. Feeling pain seems to be an afterthought - she violently slams her hand in a drawer and there is still no emotion. But things invariably change when a book publisher (Amy Madigan) tells Reese that she inherited some letters - the publisher wishes to publish them. It turns out that Renee is the daughter of a J.D. Salinger-type, Don Holden (Ed Harris) - her own mother had recently passed (Reese chose not to attend the funeral).

Taking the payment up front, Reese travels to Michigan to see her father. Most movies show writers in a sanitized manner. Not Don Holden - he is a stubborn drunk who practically lives in his garage with stacks and stacks of books and papers messily strewn about - he is working on his latest novel which has taken him more than twenty years to write. He is angry at Reese for not attending the funeral, and he is in his own self-imposed cocoon of misery. He does have roomates, though they do not reside in the garage. In the big house, there is Corbit (Will Ferrell), a wannabe musician and devout Christian who occasionally wears eyeliner (!), and Shelley (Amelia Warner), a former student of Holden's. They are the caretakers of the house.

Reese suspects there is an affair between her father and Shelley, who does everything for Holden. She questions Corbit for not coming on to her. Reese also senses she is not loved by her father and tries to pick up the pieces. Can Reese ever feel anything again, or will emotions rise to the surface and cause harm? Who can say because the film doesn't really go down such a familiar route. Reese goes for frequent drives and tries to find solace at a local bar. But will she find solace ever?

Zooey Deschanel as Reese makes us squirm and anxious, as we try to make peace with her. We hope she can find peace but we don't know if she will ever have closure and move on. Her performance is so good that it made me fidgety and uneasy - I really felt as if Reese jumped out of the screen and I was sharing her experiences. That is high praise indeed, so I will retract my original comment at the start and say that Zooey gives not just a good performance but a great one.

Ed Harris's Holden and Will Ferrell's Corbit could easily lend to ridicule or melodrama, but playwright and debuting director Adam Rapp takes their characters seriously enough. In fact, the whole second half of the film could've been a farce of absurd proportions. Thankfully, even Ferrell plays it straight, particularly when displaying karate moves.

"Winter Passing" is like reading a despairing novel during a winter storm. The setting and the performances remind one of Ingmar Bergman, perhaps "Through a Glass Darkly" without any of the religious discussions about the existence of God. There is one scene in "Winter Passing" that may be cringeworthy for animal lovers but it is an essential scene involving Reese, if you put it in the right context. The film is tough to sit through at first but its melancholy and melodic tones can be digested albeit slowly. "Winter Passing" doesn't wallow in despair, only Reese does and eventually we get the impression she'll get over it.