Review: Frankenweenie

So, I watched Frankenweenie tonight. I made it my own personal mission to find out if Tim Burton had a single ounce of talent left, since I'd seen pretty much all the movies he's made in the past 14 years or so and all have been pretty bad.

So, was it a steaming pile of crap? The short answer: No. I'm happy to report that it was actually very charming, and it felt like a return to the zany Tim Burton who took chances like in the old days. It's not as whimsical as some of his classic films; instead, it feels like a more grounded entry in that it's reliant on its characters to tell the story rather than on goading you to feel one thing or another by way of its score.

The plot is familiar, and by now we've all become acquainted with the story of Frankenstein, as it plays out similarly here. That being said, there is an added moral lesson to the story, which is new and interesting, and the final act of the film really steals the show, and feels like classic Tim Burton having fun. He pays homage to many Universal horror classics, but it feels more inspired by them rather than straight-up ripoffs. Some characters feel reminiscent of classic Frankenstein characters, but they're utilized differently here and have more ambiguous roles in the story.

On style, it's Tim Burton's usual stuff; really skinny, long-legged, pale people animated using claymation. But again, the final act does a lot to justify this style.

I don't think Tim Burton can pull of musicals, and the reason I say that is because both Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd felt overlong to the point of boredom. There needs to be a way to make the musical numbers feel pertinent to the story and not just dangling distractions for the mind to wander. That being said, I'm glad Frankenweenie is just a simple claymated tale, no musical parts to muddy up the story, because frankly, it doesn't need it.

Overall, it feels like a fresh take on the classic Frankenstein story, and though it's mainly for kids, I think there's still some value to take away as an adult.

I watched this film to see if Tim Burton had any talent left and if any of that talent would be utilized for a new Beetlejuice film. It looks as if there's still a spark there, I just hope he puts some effort into it.

Review: Godzilla [2014]

Hey Punks! Did you guys see Godzilla yet? I did, just today. Here's my review, if you're interested:

Overall, I liked it. I thought the music was great. I guess for me, music plays a big part in whether I enjoy a movie or not. It's more than that, though. The sound design and music really plays into the action as well, building up tension in the monster brawls until it releases in a burst of sound.

Besides that, even though I'd never seen a real Godzilla movie before (besides the 1998 US version), I think they really did the franchise justice with this one. It was a serious take on a character that has been the butt of jokes since I can remember. Here you have no choice but to be quaking in your boots, because Godzilla's pretty terrifying here.

I like how they essentially say that Godzilla is a force of nature, restoring balance to the world. He doesn't have feelings or a personal stake in this, it's purely his job to restore order. I wasn't really all that concerned that Godzilla didn't show up until 45 minutes in, because you're learning about the human characters and what's leading up to the ultimate monster clash. It's interesting if you're into sciency stuff.

Once Godzilla shows up, however, things start to get interesting. That being said, the fight scenes were good, but I felt like they could have had more of them. Every time they had a fight going on, they stopped it completely to focus on something boring, which I felt robbed the film of a little intensity and left set pieces feeling unfinished.

I hate to compare it to Jurassic Park, but it's inevitable. There's the iconic scene when the T-rex gets loose, and you see it tearing up the jeeps and just being terrifying. That thing is SCARY, first off, but just imagine if in the middle of that scene they cut away to Hammond eating ice cream. Here it feels a bit like they wanted to tease you and not blow their load in one shot, as if two giant monsters fighting would get boring to watch over time, but there should feel like there is a conclusion to each scene, like a "round 1, round 2" kind of thing.

Anyway, I'm just nitpicking, but I feel with a sequel, it can only get better from here on out. Now they don't have to explain every little thing and can just get to the monster fighting.

My Score: B+

UPDATE: After seeing it a 2nd time, it's still enjoyable to watch, but you really do feel jipped when they keep cutting away from the fight scenes. I wouldn't even mind this too much if they had just finished a fight scene, but what they do is just start the fight scene, then cut to somewhere else where the fight is reduced to a minuscule size, then cut back and the fight is already over. I wouldn't care if they chopped up the fight, but to just cut it out completely annoys me.

That's a sin that I hope they remedy with the sequel, which I've heard is already in talks. That and also make the human characters a little more interesting, a little more entertaining, would add a lot to the enjoyability of a future film. Not to mention, killing off your most interesting character within the first half of the movie, leaving us with a boring jarhead? Come on, you guys know better than that.

Overall, still a B+, but I don't think it will get many repeat viewings from me, even though the end fight scene is pretty damn good.