VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
I
was skeptical when I first started seeing the trailers a few months
back, but I am a bit of a fan of the old school Hammer films and a
sucker for a creepy looking period piece. I’m the sort of guy who gets
sucked in with the promise of Van Helsing and I found plenty to enjoy
with the Wolfman remake, all while fully recognizing the various faults
and flaws in these films and lamenting the missed opportunities each
film represented. And this movie reeked of missed opportunities and
misguided ideas to cash in on all those things the other films aimed to
achieve. I was going to see it anyway and I was going to swallow the
suckage that it promised.
I was wrong.
Daniel
Radcliffe’s “Igor” warns us from the very beginning that this is a
story we know- the mad scientist, the dark and stormy night, the
Monster, and all of the usual trappings we see in each and every
Frankenstein adaptation. No one is trying to reinvent the wheel here and
no one is going to even try. This is a familiar story and it’s not the
first time this kind of story made an attempt at telling it from the
assistant’s point of view, either. But what we’re going to be told is an
interesting take on the story- hitting familiar beats, striking a few
recognizable notes, but all done very well and with just enough
difference to be unique into itself. This is very similar to the
“Hammer” style of story-telling in that it takes familiar elements and
then makes something a little different.
And
this is really the first time we get extremely close to seeing the
monster as it is described by Mary Shelley- over ten feet tall, with
multiple organs and parts in order to retain the power necessary to
bring the creature to life (Lightning, once again… though never what is
actually specified in the book itself.) The CGI here is used in force
perspective with practical effects for one of the best Monsters I’ve
seen in recent years. And James McAvoy is maddeningly brilliant as the
good doctor himself.
It’s
utterly baffling to see this film take such a stumbling step forward on
its release weekend, but the marketing of the film has done nothing to
really sink its teeth into the fanbase. The timing of the release seems
designed to bury the film that should have come this past Halloween in a
place where it’s destined to fail, but let me assure anyone reading
this that this film is definitely worthwhile and fun for the Hammer
Horror fans who still dot the globe.
4 out of 5. Worth seeing and a definite recommendation.
“Hunger Games” : Mockingjay Part Two
I’m
not a huge fan of the first “Hunger Games” film. I kind of enjoyed the
second film because I thought it told a much better story and it
explored effects of what surviving such a game could do to somebody. And
I am probably the only person who actually preferred the slow-burn
build in the third film, the exploration of Katniss’ use as a propaganda
tool for a “rebel” force looking to sieze power, and the rescue of Peta
as a big finale to the end. So I was pretty much looking forward to the
fourth film- and then the reviews started to pour right in and I heard
so much negativity that I nearly didn’t catch this film.
Let
me say- I think the negativity is a little overboard in some cases. I
think the film is overly long and that it never quite figured out what
it should have been; brooding and dark or dangerous and exciting? The
film was as indecisive as the story’s lead character- but more on that a
bit later. Because of this very divided nature of the film, we were
treated to long establishing shots that stuck to certain points for
beats that were way too long and moments that never served the story’s
interest. Despite that, I thought the film did manage to blur the lines
of good and evil a little and it treated post-traumatic stress with a
seriousness that it deserved.
But,
let me stress this one point- Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence does a
commendable job with the character, but she is ultimately one of the
most self-absorbed characters on screen and manages to kill all sympathy
I had for her with one brief scene near the end. Her decision to
continue moving forward shred every last bit of respect or concern I
once had for the character and, while I knew she would ultimately
survive, I’m very very glad she would have nightmares for the rest of
her life.
3 out of 5 and worth seeing.
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