Friday, March 26, 2010

Two Sides of Insanity

Val Lewton's Bedlam (1946) is the main Lewton horror flick Scorsese borrows from for his Shutter Island. This might be the most speaking I've seen Boris Karloff do in a film and yet he's still quite smarmy. Anna Lee pushes the film along for another strong edition in the catalog.

The animated Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1986) is a strange piece indeed. Clearly made for children yet still possessing the elements that make the Robert Louis Stevenson novel rather haunting. Unfortunately it doesn't succeed in balancing both these aspects.

I could write many words on Dreamworks' latest How to Train Your Dragon (2010) but suffice it to say I've said all I want to say on my twitter and frankly I just don't care anymore. Yes, I like the film. No, it's no where close to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Yes, it has some wonderful flying sequences & touching story. No, it's not the best Dreamworks film to date. The amount of praise I've seen / heard some movie bloggers / podcasters heap on this film is astounding. Seriously. Act 1 is sorely lacking and dull. Act 2 & 3 are sweet yet predictable. Animation is average. Did not see 3-D version but hear it's the best way to view this. Lastly, thought the character models resembled Rankin & Bass designs (which I liked) but the voiceovers were meh. Good one for pet owners. Go see it.

Finally crossed Erin Brockovich (2000) off the blindspot list. Another film I wasn't keen on viewing but captured my attention with excellent acting and good writing. Glad I had lower expectations settling into this otherwise I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. Albert Finney is a treasure.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm with you on How to Train Your Dragon. I liked it but it didn't blow me away. It's in my top movies of the year list only because I have nothing better to put on it.

sleestakk said...

Looking at 2010 releases so far I'd agree... but doubtful it will remain in my top 10 as more worthy films get released (IM2, Kick Ass, etc.). Thanks for reading!