Friday, January 11, 2008

Born to Be Bad: Review for "Ed Wood"


Ed Wood is the biography of writer/director/producer/actor Edward D. Wood, Jr., who is claimed as the worst director of all time, while his films Glen or Glenda, about a man who likes dressing in women's clothes, and Plan 9 from Outer Space, which is about aliens raising corpeses from the dead to attack earth. Plan 9 is said to be the WORST. From it's less-than-convincing special effects to it's outrageous plotline. In reality, Ed Wood (Johnny Depp) was a good hearted young man, who liked to dress in women's clothes (which was his insparation to direct Glen or Glenda), who was a visionary artist with all the wrong ideas and crew. He eventually befriended his idol, Bela Lugosi (excellently portrayed by Martin Landau), who's career since Dracula and others had gone done the drain. He had been addicted to drugs for the last 20 years, but that didn't stop the child like wonder in Wood's eye.The film chronicles the making of some of his films. It is well done, though I think that Tim Burton tried to hard to give the Wood like feel to the film, corny music, bad camera angles, and weird lighting. While Ed Wood remains the worst director, Tim Burton is still great! It's just a matter of overdose.
Grade: B
For more on Ed Wood, click here

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