The charms of Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" are many, but the greatest of them all springs from the real-life can-do spirit of the director the bio-pic is based on (that Ed Wood was so sweetly imagined by Johnny Depp is a help, too). Though Ed Wood was drawn to darker subject matters, his pluck and gee-whiz-ness kept his monster-riddled visions alive and his ragtag group of players on their feet.
Burton's black-and-white love letter to B movies, and one B-movie king in particular, is always a treat on the big screen -- gorgeous and shadowy, and the props that are meant to look cheapo look extra cheapo (like the giant rubber octopus) on such a large scale. Not to mention that the film includes one Bill Murray, who just happens to be in one of the funniest, weirdest scenes in movie history, the swimming-pool baptisms.
Bigger than all that, however, are the special guests at tonight's screening: Oscar winner Martin Landau, who plays an aging Bela Lugosi in the film, will make an appearance, as will the film's screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.
Wednesday, November 5, 7:30PM
$10
Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica
310-260-1528
