Ten Monologues from the Lives of the Serial Killers (1994)

Director: Aryan Kaganof

Writers: J.G. Ballard, Aryan Kaganof, Roberta Lannes, Charles Manson, Henry Rollins

Starring: Ed Kemper et al

More info: IMDb

Plot: Ten monologues are presented in many forms, few of which are from serial killers.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I'm fascinated by serial killers and equally so by those who hunt them.  This 50 minute video is mis-titled.  It opens with the best of the bunch and that's the voice of Ed Kemper while some actor sits in a chair with mood lighting and a camera slowly moving around his head for dramatic effect.  What follows is a mix of songs (by Geto Boys) about grisly serial killer-type murders, the writings of novelist J.G. Ballard, the writings of novelist Roberta Lannes, the writings of known bonkers man Charles Manson, the voice of Ted Bundy talking about the dangers of pornography, a diary entry from musician and all around Renaissance Man Henry Rollins and the voice of one of the Hillside Stranglers Kenneth Bianchi.  So out of the 10 you get 4 segments from actual serial killers and only two of which are in their own voices.  None of them are seen.  Is it interesting?  Mildly.  If anything it made me want to watch any number of videos of the killers in interviews.  There's plenty out there.  Why was this made?  Beats me.  Mabye there's a flow to what each segment has to say that says something on a larger scale.  That would be something to ask the director.  As a piece of entertainment, bypass this and look for video of these heinous fucks spilling their guts on camera. 

The Films of Jeff Krulik and Friends (1998)

Director: Jeff Krulik

Starring: Jeff Krulik, Ernest Borgnine, Freddie Blassie, Howard Stern

More info: IMDb

Plot:  A collection of short films by Jeff Krulik made for cable access in the 80s and 90s.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This sounded a lot more fun that it was.  I would've rated it lower if it hadn't been for the Ernest Borgnine film that closed the video out.  That was really great but then I'm a big Borgnine fan so that's pretty much a given.  The rest of the video is OK to terrible with the latter being spending way too much time with Freddie Blassie.  Man, was that guy annoying.  He wouldn't stop saying 'pencil neck geek' (he recorded a song with that tile fifty something years ago.  The Krulik short film he's known for is HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT (1986) which is just him talking to wacked out fans in the parking lot for a Judas Priest concert.  Most of them are either drunk or drugged and are making fools of themselves.  That could be funny but it rarely was as they were just acting stupid with very little entertainment value.  You might dig this if you like random obscurities.

A Visit to the Underground Cities of Mars (1977)

Director: ???

Writers: Ruth Norman, Thomas Miller

Composer: ???

Starring: Ruth Norman, Thomas Miller

More info: Wikipedia

Plot: Take a psychic voyage to Mars and learn of the exciting way of life the Martians lead.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

If there are only two science fiction films released in 1977 you must see before you die it's STAR WARS & this peculiar gem.  At just under an hour, this film (made by the religious (of sorts) organization called Unarius Academy of Science) is essentially a fantastical commercial for taking a trip to Mars.  You get to know all about the spaceship that'll take you there (the dimensions, how it works and so on) as well as many aspects of the culture and civilization that exists on Mars.  Visually it's bonkers with re-enactments of ceremonies, cultural events and whatnot.  There are models, drawings and other effects to help bring this to a reality.  It's a fun, well thought out piece of sci-fi that's to be taken seriously.  Seriously.  Check out the amazing documentary called CHILDREN OF THE STARS (2012) and then watch this.  It's nuts. How nuts?  The following ends the picture: The preceding film was an actual psychic visitation experienced and written by Uriel (Ruth Norman) and Cosmon (Thomas Miller).  'Nuff said.

The Do-It-Yourself Film Animation Show (1974)

Director: Anna Jackson

Starring: Bob Godfrey, Bruce Lacey, Terry Gilliam

More info: IMDb

Plot: Terry Gilliam demonstrates how to make animated films using cut-outs.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

This is super neat.  Fans of animation or Monty Python should check this out.  It's on YouTube and it's fifteen minutes so there's no excuse.  This is one episode from a short-lived British TV series about the different aspects of animation.  Terry Gilliam is the guest on this episode about table-top and cut-outs.  He takes you through each step, in detail, on how he made those classic animation for MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS (1969).  Fans of Python will recognize a lot of what he shows.  It's super-fun and informative.  I dig hearing Gilliam talk about stuff because he's so passionate, smart and knowledgeable.  Someday I'm going to check out the rest of the episodes.  I hope there as interesting and fun as this one.

Jackass: Volume One (2000)

Writers: Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Aron Watman

Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo, Ryan Dunn, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Steve-O, Ehren McGhehey, Jeff Tremaine, Rick Kosick, Jason 'Wee Man' Acuna

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Don't try this at home.

Plot:  Johnny Knoxville and pals subject themselves to silly and sometimes painful stunts for our amusement.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

While I never saw the show (until now, sorta), I was aware of it when it came out and saw some bits here and there.  It looked like fun.  It wasn't until the movie came out that I saw that one in the theater and got the Jackass experience.  This DVD is the first of what looks like three volumes that compile not-seen-on-TV segments from the show.  It's not as fun as the movies that came after but that doesn't mean that it's not worth a look.  I got the most laughs from the fake baby gags and the prosthetic hard on bit.  That was some funny shit.  It's only about an hour and a half but it sure felt like much more.  There are dozens and dozens of segments.  The Paramount DVD presents the show in its original fullscreen format with the only extra in a commentary track.

Mat Hoffman's Tribute to Evel Knievel (2008)

Director: ???

Composer: ???

Starring: Mat Hoffman, Johnny Knoxville, Travis Pastrana, Scott Palmer, Allan Cooke, Davin "Psycho" Halford, Trigger Gumm, "Harley" Jeff Schneider

More info: IMDb

Plot: Stuntmen and daredevils, all getting their early inspiration from Evel Knievel, attempt to set motorcycle jump world records of varying kinds.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I loves me some Evel and I loves me some stunts.  This (about) 45 minute film gives you a sizable number of world-breaking jumps in one spot.  Not everyone makes it but they're still great to watch and some are incredible.  Trigger Gumm does an amazing 300' or so jump. You'd think that'd be hard to top but later Scott Palmer jumps out of an airplane without a parachute and wearing only a pair of shorts and deck shoes.  Wow.  After that what's left to offer pales in comparison.  It's worth watching once for fans of this sort of thing but I can't see many folks re-watching it.  I'm sure there are individual clips on YouTube that you can find a favorite and watch again.  The Paramount DVD has a non-anamorphic widescreen print, 34 minutes of extra footage, 3 music videos and some previews of MTV shows including one for A SHOT AT LOVE WITH TILA TEQUILA reality show.  Ugh.

This Filthy World (2006)

Director: Jeff Garlin

Writer: John Waters

Composers: Jared Gutstadt, Lukas Kaiser

Starring: John Waters

More info: IMDb

Plot:  Philosopher of filth and reigning king of bad taste, John Waters presents an outstanding live one-man show that celebrates his origins of trash.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I'm a HUGE fan of Waters.  I enjoy his pictures and I love hearing his stories about making movies and anything else he wants to talk about.  That said, I was disappointed with this, his one man show that he took on the road and performed to sold out audiences.  He's had a wild career and he's a really interesting cat.  In the show, he speeds through his career so fast that he had to have burned more calories than a brisk one hour walk. He's like lightning and it sounds like he's on a schedule and has to split, the way he goes from one story to the next.  It's either his segues are very awkward or there are none and he just rambles right to the next.  It was really odd. I still dig the guy's stories and I'm keen to listen to him any time.  I should check his DVDs on my shelf and see if they have any commentaries. I'm sure they do and I'm willing to be that he's a lot more relaxed and probably more focused instead of sounding like he's rushing through dialogue to get to the end of the night.  I'm going to a con very soon where he'll be in attendance.  He's going to perform this concert and I'm less inclined to go but then a lot may have changed in the past 9 years and maybe he's gotten a lot more comfortable with his role on the stage.  We'll see.

Presidential Bloopers (1999)

Director: ???

Writers: Lorna Anozie, Mike Jerrick

Composer: ???

Starring: Mike Jerrick

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A hilarious look at our nation's leaders

Plot: A look back at some of the funniest presidential moments in history.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Bloopers are fun.  Seeing political leaders screw up is even better because most of them are full of shit most of the time.  If you like that obnoxious show AMERICA'S FUNNIEST VIDEOS then you're going to love this.  I didn't and it's not because of the content.  It's the horrendous cartoon-y sound effects, silly music and stupid commentary by the host.  I'd rather watch the funny bits on their own merit.  This video also repeats clips which isn't necessary when you've only got 42 minutes to fill.  And there's more than a few clips that aren't even bloopers but instead are well-known politicians (mostly presidents and vice-presidents) cracking wise. That's all fine and good but with all of the other obnoxious things this video presents it just adds up to either a desperation to fill 42 minutes or a lack of talent in the production team.  Ronald Reagan comes off best overall.  He's hilarious.  Seeing Nixon play the piano for Pearl Bailey and hang out with Sammy Davis Jr. was a hoot and the bit with Chris Farley and Newt Gingrich was a riot.   Fortunately you don't have to pony-up the dough for the Time Life DVD to watch it, just check it out on YouTube above.  And I'm sure you can find every single clip from this video online and without the bullshit noises added for this release. 

6-18-67 (1967)

Director: George Lucas

Writer: George Lucas

Composer: No score

Starring: The Utah desert

More info: IMDb

Plot: Mostly exterior shots of the Utah desert during the filming of MACKENNA'S GOLD (1969)

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I'm watching a picture called GEORGE LUCAS: MAKER OF FILMS (1971) made long before he did STAR WARS (1977) and suddenly the interview stops and one of Lucas' short film s from the 60s starts.  NEAT-O!  Only it's not interesting at all.  The IMDb plot says it's a documentary of the behind the scenes stuff from MACKENNA'S GOLD (1969) except it's not.  There is a little bit of dialogue from Omar Sharif and you get a couple of brief shots of the distant crew but that's it.  The rest of it is simple nature shots of the area from the flowers, rock formations, a flash flood, the sun setting, etc.. That's all there is.  No music, either, just the sounds of nature.  It's five minutes of that.  What's the point of it all?  Beats the hell out of me. Hence the low score.  There barely anything to this.  You can see for yourself in the video above.