Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

I am officially moved in to my new apartment!  Unfortunately, as of the writing of this update, everything is still in boxes which means that I was not able to watch anything the last couple of days.  I've been so tired it hasn't really mattered to me but it does leave me fresh out of things to post.  I was re-watching Bride of Frankenstein when I had to disassemble all my electronics so I'm going to re-post my review for today.  Now that everything is moved, I'm hoping I can get at least one blu-ray player hooked up today so I have something to watch for tomorrow's post.  A friend from work (shout-out to Jim!) loaned me a drill so I can put up the living room TV but I don't know if I'm going to get to it today.  There's so much that needs to be done before I can even consider drilling into the walls.  I appreciate everyone's patience and I am going to try and get stuff posted on schedule this week.  Originally published 14 Apr 2013    This is the rare sequel that surpasses the original.

Picking up immediately where the previous film left off, the fire is still burning at the old watch tower.  The Creature (Boris Karloff) manages to crawl out of the wreckage and escape into the town.  After being captured and escaping a couple of times, he finally makes it into the woods, where a blind hermit (O.P. Heggie) shelters him and teaches him the finer things, like cigars and drinking.  Oh, also, talking.  Meanwhile, the body of Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is taken back to the castle.  His fiancée, Elizabeth (now Valerie Hobson, in a little break in continuity), takes care of him and nurses him back to health.  Henry vows to never have anything to do with his experiments again.  This is bad news for creepy visitor Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who really wants Frankenstein to help him create a whole new race of people by building the Creature a mate. 

There is a lot more going on in this movie.  I was pleased there was some character development for the Creature but I would have liked to have seen more from Elsa Lanchester.  I know that's supposed to be the "big reveal" but still.  At least she got an earlier bit where she could play Mary Shelley, narrating this sequel for her husband and Lord Byron.  That part was cute. 

Frankenstein (1931)

I did end up buying the Frankenstein Legacy Collection and it's currently the only DVD that is not packed.  I have no idea if I've mentioned this previously, but I am in the process of moving from my current apartment and have spent what feels like an eternity packing.  The move-out date is only a couple of days away now so I'm down to bare bones in my apartment.  Obviously, this has not left me a great deal of time to see new movies so I appreciate your collective patience.  I have been watching assorted anime series on the server like Magical Girl Squad, which was cute, and Magister Negi Magi, which was not.  I honestly couldn't even get through three episodes of the latter.  Too pervy.  I hope things will be returning to normal here in the next couple of weeks so bear with me.  Originally posted 4/13/13    I had never actually seen the iconic Karloff Frankenstein all the way through.  I had seen countless clips and references but I had never sat down and watched it before.  Even now, after eighty years, this is a great movie.

Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is a man obsessed.  He has called off his own wedding and holed up in an abandoned watch tower in order to conduct his experiments, with the help only of his hunchbacked assistant, Fritz (Dwight Frye).  His father, the baron, is furious and sends Henry's fiancée and best man out to get him.  They arrive during a terrible storm, just as Henry's greatest experiment is scheduled to be completed:  the reanimation of dead tissue.  The Creature (Boris Karloff) is stitched together from stolen corpses and a abnormal brain.  For all that, he is quite passive until Fritz discovers his irrational fear of fire.  The little hunchback takes every opportunity to harass the Creature, until the inevitable happens.

I already own the Dracula and Wolf Man Legacy collections and it looks like I'll have to add this one to my list.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

  I know, I know, I'm a week behind.  It's been a very busy summer for me, if not for the box office.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is waylaid by a mysterious villain (Sean Harris) in London at the same time as the Impossible Mission Force is shut down by the CIA.  Brandt (Jeremy Renner) is running interference at home while Ethan tracks a series of catastrophic events around the globe.  He knows he can count on support from Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) but femme fatale Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) is a different bag altogether.  Still, they must pool their resources if they ever hope to take down the Syndicate.

Ghost Protocol is still the best entry in the series so far but this one isn't terrible.  The stunts are good; Tom Cruise is crazy for doing them himself but Lord love him for being in that good of shape at his age.  Simon Pegg gets a much beefier role this time around, which is great since he is much more of the beating heart than Cruise, who is just slightly too removed and aloof.  There's a wonderful set piece in the opera house in Vienna that was probably my stand-out moment, but it was not all wine and roses.

It felt as though the filmmakers tried a little too hard to make this into a Sherlock-Moriarty game.  The central villain is meant to be a dark mirror to Ethan Hunt and Sean Harris does a helluva job.  The strain came from everyone else's reactions in the film.  Over and over, characters ask Ethan if the Syndicate could be all in his head.  That kind of schtick only works if there is doubt in the audience's mind and it's explicitly shown to those of us watching that the Syndicate is very much a thing.  Then it feels very much like the drama is forced.  Like you just want to yell "He is not making  it up!  Can you get off your asses and lend him a hand?!" at the screen.  Maybe that's just me.

Monkey Business (1931)

  This was my very first Marx Brothers movie. I am now a fan forever and for always.

The four Marx brothers, Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo, stowaway on an ocean liner.  While hiding from the crew, Zeppo meets the lovely Mary Helton (Ruth Hall), whose father, Joe (Rockcliffe Fellowes), is attempting to cut ties with his gangster past.  Joe's biggest rival, Briggs (Harry Woods), has followed him onto the boat in order to force Joe to acknowledge Briggs as the new gang leader.  Groucho immediately begins putting the moves on Briggs' attention-starved wife, Lucille (Thelma Todd).  Briggs is not to be distracted, however, and kidnaps Mary from a party, forcing the Marx Brothers to band together and rescue her.  Ok, mostly they provide running commentary while Zeppo attempts to rescue her.

This movie is 84 years old and still works as perfectly now as it did when released.  There is something so timeless about these four and their antics that really can't be described.  I've always come across quotes from Groucho Marx, mostly from his television show, but seeing him in action, especially his interactions with Chico, was magical.  I'm not a huge physical comedy person so I thought I'd probably like Harpo the least, since he's always mute, but I was stunned at how charismatic and likable he was.

If you've ever been curious about the Marx brothers or are just a fan of whiplash one-liners and expert pratfalls, give them a try.  They are excellent.

The Fox and the Hound II (2006)

  I'm not sure what genius thought this needed to be made, but they were wrong.

Set at some unspecified point in the main characters' youth, Tod (Jonah Bobo) the fox and Copper (Harrison Fahn) the hound are very excited at the prospect of a county fair.  Chief (Rob Paulsen) is competing as a tracker and Copper wants to do the same, but has not quite mastered the art of using his nose and is relegated to his barrel.  Tod liberates his friend and they explore the various attractions, including all-dog a cappella group The Singin' Strays.  Lead singer Cash (Patrick Swayze) clashes with diva Dixie (Reba McIntire) and hires Copper to fill in, just to tweak her nose.  Dixie retaliates by cozying up to a left-out Tod in the hopes of sabotaging the group's audition for the Grand Ole Opry.  Of course, everything backfires and Tod and Copper must use the Power of Friendship to make everything right.

This is nothing more than a shameless grab for cash, despite the inclusion of bonafide stars Swayze and McIntire.  Their musical numbers would almost make this worth watching if there wasn't so much wrong with the rest of it, including a flimsy premise, tired gags, and too many side characters.

The Fox and the Hound (1981)

  I swear, I thought this movie was made way earlier than 1981.  It is such a throwback to old-style Disney movies in style and animation that I was shocked when I looked it up in IMDb.

Orphaned by hunters as a kit, Tod (Keith Coogan and Mickey Rooney) is raised by the Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan), a human woman, and Big Mama (Pearl Bailey), an owl.  On the farm next to the widow's, a hunter named Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) lives with his dogs, Chief (Pat Buttram) and Copper (Corey Feldman and Kurt Russell).  Copper and Tod are the same age and enjoy playing together but Amos Slade is determined to turn Copper into a hunting hound.  After an accident where Chief is injured, the blame falls on Tod and the widow decides to set him free in a game preserve.  But protected land is no deterrent to the vindictive Slade.

This was never my favorite of the Disney collection.  It's under-characterized, there aren't any musical bits to speak of, and it's a highly simplistic storyline.  I know there are people who really love it, though, so I guess I'm in the minority.  It just never grabbed me.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

  This was surprisingly funny.  I haven't been as big a fan of this franchise as I have of the other DreamWorks fare.  It tends to fall under the "children only" category, not "fun for all ages".  I don't know how this would hold up to repeat viewings but it at least made me interested in seeing the Penguins spin-off.

The four New York zoo animals, Marty (Chris Rock), Alex (Ben Stiller), Gloria (Jada Pinkett-Smith), and Melman (David Schwimmer) find themselves abandoned in Africa after the penguins and the chimps take a plane to Monte Carlo, instead of for rescue.  Alex gets fed up with waiting and decides to hunt down the penguins and force them to help the refugees get back to the zoo.  They find the penguins living it up in a casino but must quickly change their plans as they come into the sights of an overzealous animal control officer (Frances McDormand).  As a cover, the mismatched group joins a traveling circus that has seen better days.  In order to get a contract to perform in America, the circus must impress a talent scout in Rome.  Alex and crew must reinvent this sad troupe into a group worthy of attention if they ever want to see home again.

There was one moment in this film that made me laugh so hard I had to hit pause.  It is the only real dark comedy gag and it was so unexpected and delightful that the rest of the movie could have been shit and I would still recommend it.  It is worth it for that moment alone.  The rest of the movie is cute, don't worry, but that scene is the real stand-out for me.